Hello, fellow golfers! Sarah Chen here, your golf instruction editor at The Daily Duffer. As a PGA-certified instructor with over 15 years on the lesson tee, I’ve seen countless golfers transform their game, from tour players to enthusiastic weekend warriors. And I firmly believe that with the right guidance and practice, anyone can improve. Today, we’re diving into a part of the game that often holds the key to lower scores: your short game.
It’s no secret that hitting more greens in regulation is a significant indicator of your scoring potential. However, even the pros you watch on TV hit only about 13 to 14 greens per round. This means they rely heavily on their short game to save pars and make birdies. As the source article insightfully puts it:
“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.”
This couldn’t be more true! Mastering your chipping and pitching is one of the fastest ways to shave strokes off your scorecard, and it’s a part of the game where you can see immediate improvement with focused effort. Let’s break down some fundamental techniques and give you some actionable drills to get started.
Building a Solid Foundation: Your Short Game Setup
Consistency in your short game starts with a consistent setup. While chips and pitches have some nuances, there are core principles that will serve you well for both.
Weight Distribution and Ball Position: For both types of shots, you want to favor your lead side, with about 60-70% of your weight on that lead foot. This helps promote a downward strike, ensuring you hit the ball first, then the turf. For chip shots, the ball should be slightly back of center in your stance. For pitches, it’s generally more centered.
Hand Position: Always strive to have your hands slightly ahead of the ball. This delofts the club slightly and encourages a descending blow, crucial for crisp contact.
Feet and Stance: For chips, keep your feet close together – maybe a clubhead’s width apart. This reduces unnecessary body movement and promotes a more arms-and-shoulders swing. For pitch shots, you’ll want a slightly wider stance for better balance and power. Importantly, for chip shots, imagine creating the letter “Y” with your arms and the club shaft at address. Maintain this ‘Y’ throughout the chipping motion.
The Dynamic Motion: Chest Rotation and the “L” Drill
One common mistake I see among higher handicappers is a stalling of the chest rotation in the downswing for short game shots. This often leads to “scooping” or “casting,” where you try to lift the ball rather than hit down through it. Even on a short chip, some rotation is vital!
“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.”
To ensure proper rotation and ball-first contact, think about your shirt buttons. For short game shots, I teach my students to set up with their “button line” angled slightly toward the target. This pre-sets you for that essential downward strike and helps you reach the low point of the swing on the target side of the ball.
For pitch shots, we introduce a slightly more dynamic motion than the “Y” for chipping. Here, we aim for the “L” shape with your lead arm and the club shaft at the top of your abbreviated backswing, and again in your follow-through.
Actionable Drills for Improvement
Ready to put these concepts into practice? Here are a couple of drills I use with my students:
1. The “Y” Maintenence Drill (for Chipping):
- Setup: Take your chipping setup – feet close, weight forward, hands slightly ahead, forming that “Y” with your arms and club.
- Execution: Place a headcover or small towel just an inch or two behind your ball. Your goal is to swing back and through without touching the headcover. This forces you to maintain the “Y” shape, prevent early wrist hinging (breaking the “Y”), and ensure you hit the ball first. Focus on keeping your chest rotating through impact towards the target.
- Why it works: This drill instills the feeling of hitting down on the ball, contacting it before the turf, and maintaining the proper wrist hinge for predictable chips.
2. Clock Face Pitching Drill (for Distance Control):
- Setup: Find an open area on the short game green. Pitch shots involve a slightly longer swing, so give yourself some space. Use your normal pitching setup.
- Execution: “Dial in” distances using your lead arm’s position.
- 9 o’clock: Swing your lead arm back until it’s parallel to the ground, like the hour hand on a clock at 9 o’clock. Swing through to an equally long follow-through. Hit 10-15 balls from this position, noting the average distance.
- 10 o’clock: Repeat the process, swinging your lead arm slightly further back to the 10 o’clock position, and matching it on the finish. Note this new distance.
- Why it works: This drill helps you calibrate your swing length to specific distances, teaching you consistent rhythm and tempo. Repeat until you can reliably hit your chosen distances. Remember, this works best with solid contact!
Course Management: Assessing the Lie
Beyond technique, knowing how to assess your lie is critical. A 30-yard shot from thick, juicy rough can be easier to manage than the same distance from an ultra-tight fairway. When practicing:
“When you are practicing don’t move the ball around until the lie is perfect. Make shots difficult so that you learn. As Nick Saban often said, “We make practice hard so games will be easy.””
Embrace the challenge! Practice from different lies – uphill, downhill, fluffy, tight – to build confidence for any situation on the course.
Finally, remember that the less loft you use, the less risk you generally take. Don’t be afraid to experiment with a hybrid for chipping around the green – it’s a surprisingly effective “risk-proof” shot!
The journey to a better short game is incredibly rewarding. With dedicated practice, focusing on these fundamentals, and challenging yourself, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can start knocking strokes off your score. Keep practicing, stay positive, and I look forward to seeing your improved short game on the course!
