Hello, Daily Duffer readers! Sarah Chen here, and I’m thrilled to share some insights with you about one of the most impactful areas of the game: your short game around the green. As a PGA-certified instructor with over 15 years of experience, I’ve seen firsthand how refining these crucial shots can dramatically lower scores for players of all levels, from aspiring pros to dedicated weekend warriors. While hitting greens in regulation is certainly important, let’s face it, even the best players in the world miss the green!
That’s where the magic of a great short game comes in. As the article points out, Tour players only average around 13-14 greens hit per round. The difference between them and the rest of us often lies in their ability to get up and down the vast majority of the time. This is truly where you can make significant strides in your game quickly.
Oftentimes I will hear instructors say that if you want to knock a shot or two off your scores in short order start with the low hanging fruit. And that, for the vast majority of golfers, would be chipping and pitching.
I couldn’t agree more! Chipping and pitching are indeed the “low-hanging fruit” of golf improvement. They say “big swings for show, small swings for dough,” and there’s a lot of truth to that. Let’s dive into some foundational principles for mastering these essential short game shots.
The Foundation: Your Setup
A consistent and correct setup is the bedrock of any successful golf shot, especially in the short game. While chips and pitches are related, they require slightly different approaches in your setup to optimize contact and trajectory. Let’s break it down:
For Chip Shots (shorter shots, more roll):
- Feet Close Together: Imagine a clubhead’s width between your feet – this promotes a compact, controlled swing.
- Weight Forward: Crucially, 60-70% of your weight should be on your lead foot (left foot for a right-handed golfer). This encourages a downward strike through the ball for clean contact.
- Ball Slightly Back: Position the ball just slightly back of center in your stance.
- Hands Slightly Ahead: Your hands should be slightly ahead of the ball, helping to de-loft the club and promote a crisp strike.
For Pitch Shots (longer shots, more airtime):
- Feet Wider: A slightly wider stance than for chips provides more stability for a longer swing.
- Weight Forward (still!): Maintain that 60-70% weight distribution on your lead foot. This is a non-negotiable for consistent short game contact.
- Ball Position Centered: For pitches, the ball should be pretty much centered in your stance.
- Hands Slightly Ahead: Similar to chips, keep your hands slightly ahead of the ball.
One excellent visual from the article that I always emphasize is creating the “Y” shape:
As you can see, your arms and the club shaft should form a “Y.” For a chip shot, you want to maintain this “Y” throughout the swing, using your shoulders to rock the club back and through. This keeps your wrists firm and prevents scooping.
The Magic of the “L” for Pitch Shots
For pitch shots, where you need a bit more loft and distance, the concept shifts slightly. Here, we introduce the “L.”
With pitch shots we form the letter ”L” between the lead arm and the shaft at the top of the abbreviated backswing. There is an “L” in the backswing and an “L” in the through swing. I always want to see the backswing and through swing lengths to be the same.
This “L” refers to the angle created between your lead arm and the club shaft at the top of your limited backswing. This controlled hinge adds power and allows for greater distance control. Crucially, as the article emphasizes, you want to mirror this “L” in your follow-through!
Preventing the “Scoop” with Rotation
One of the most common pitfalls I see with higher handicappers in the short game is the dreaded “scoop.” This happens when your chest rotation stalls in the downswing, leading to you trying to lift the ball into the air with your hands and wrists instead of letting the clubface do its job. This is essentially a smaller version of “casting” in the full swing, and it rarely ends well, often resulting in fat shots or thin misses.
So even on a chip shot where you are only flying the ball less than 10 yards in the air, we still need to have some amount of chest rotation through the impact zone.
Even for the shortest chips, your body needs to rotate through the shot. Think of your shirt buttons: for a chip, they should tilt slightly towards the target at setup. This helps you maintain forward shaft lean and ensures ball-first contact, moving the low point of your swing past the ball. When you rotate through impact, those buttons should continue to face the target, preventing that stall.
Actionable Drills to Master Your Short Game:
Ready to put these concepts into practice? Here are a few drills I use with my students to solidify their short game:
1. The “Lead Leg Only” Chip Drill:
Purpose: To ingrain the feeling of having your weight on your lead foot and rotating through impact, preventing the scoop.
How to do it: Set up for a chip shot as described above, ensuring 60-70% of your weight is on your lead foot. Now, lift your trail foot (right foot for a right-handed golfer) slightly off the ground, balancing on your lead leg. Make small, controlled chip swings, focusing on feeling your body rotate around your lead leg. You’ll quickly learn to trust your rotation and forward weight to make clean contact without “flipping” at the ball. Start with very short chips, and gradually increase the distance as you gain confidence.
2. The “L-to-L” Pitch Drill:
Purpose: To develop consistent length of swing and control for pitch shots, mirroring the “L” shape.
How to do it: Take your pitch shot setup. Make a backswing where your lead arm and the club shaft form a clear “L.” Hold it for a second to ensure the correct position. Then, swing through, making sure your lead arm and the club shaft form another “L” on the follow-through, matching the backswing’s length. Practice this without a ball first, then introduce balls, focusing purely on matching your backswing and follow-through “L”s. Once you can consistently make this swing, you can start to calibrate distances based on how far your “L”s carry the ball.
3. Distance Calibrator (Lead Arm Parallel):
Purpose: To establish specific carry distances for your pitch shots based on arm length.
How to do it: Select your pitching wedge or sand wedge. Using the “L-to-L” motion, make a swing where your lead arm goes back only until it’s parallel to the ground (think of it like the 9 o’clock position on a clock face if your target is 12 o’clock). Hit a few balls,
focusing on solid contact, and note how far the ball carries. This is your “9 o’clock” distance. Then, try taking your lead arm back slightly further, perhaps to 10 o’clock or even 10:30, and recalibrate your distances. By knowing these specific carry distances, you can better select the right swing for any given pitch shot.
Remember, practice doesn’t have to be perfect, but it needs to be intentional. As the original article wisely states, “Always make practice challenging so that shots on the golf course are easier.” By incorporating these setup principles and drills into your routine, you’ll be well on your way to a sharper short game and lower scores.
Keep swinging, and I’ll see you on the course!
