The Short Game in Golf – Master the Last 150 Yards and Your Score Will Improve

There is a saying in Golf that goes like this “Drive for Show and Put for Dough”. This is so true when it comes to score. Think about this, there are typically 14 holes that require 2 or more shots to reach the green. That means that there are only 14 times in a round that you will tee it up and hit a Driver or possibly a 3 Wood (I still call them woods even though they are made out of an alloy material). Yet, there is so much emphasis placed on the Drive.

The real area of your game that will save or cost you strokes is from 150 yards in. If you improve your approach shots and hit more greens from this distance, then stands to reason that you will have fewer overall strokes per hole, thus lowering your score. Now this is not to say that hitting a good drive is not important, but from experience, I have found that practicing my short game has drastically improved my ability to score.

So what do you need to do to improve your short game? It all starts with the mind set. If you believe that the short game is most important, then you will spend more time practicing that part of your game. Have you ever noticed that most people will spend more time hitting drives at the driving range than they will say a pitching wedge or 9 iron?

Change the way you practice and you will find that your entire game will improve with a bit less effort. I always start a practice session with some warm up exercises. You need to stretch those muscles and loosen up before you start to swing.

I always start with a short club. I normally will hit 3 or 4 half swing shots with a pitching wedge to get the feel of the swing. Then I will take a half dozen full swing shots aiming at a particular target about 100 yards or so down the range. I will then do the same thing stepping clubs up until I reach the 3 Iron. I like to practice the odd numbered clubs one day and the even numbered the next time. It gives me a chance to get comfortable with my entire set over time. Let’s face it, we all have our favorite irons and those are the ones we usually go to when we are pressured or not sure.

I then will hit 6 to 8 shots with my 5 wood off the surface before teeing it up. From this point I like to take about 6 or 8 shots with my Driver and then repeat with my 3 wood, but this is just personal preference. You may like to hit 3 woods first and drivers last. Either way will work just fine.

One thing that most people forget when practicing on the driving range is to practice their routine. I like to take the time to go thru and entire shot routine at least a couple of times with each club. When doing this, I think it helps to develop a mindset that you can carry out to the course.

If your practice facility has bunkers for practice, take time to practice various shots from the bunker. It will pay big dividends when you are out on the course.

Remember, practice doesn’t make perfect, but perfect practice will improve your game.