Short Game Cure for Putting, Chipping, and Pitching Woes

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Short Game Cure for Lower Scores

Statistics tell us that in a round of golf, over 50% of our score comes from short game shots. That's chipping and putting, and pitching from 100 yards or less.  Wow, over 50%.  So why are we always hitting drivers on the range and hardly ever spending time around the practice green?

Depending on our skill level, we can probably save 5 to 15 strokes per round by improving our play from 100 yards in.  We are a true candidate for a Short Game Cure if we answer yes to some of the following:

Do we consistently miss greens from 100 yards?

Do we struggle to get close from greenside bunkers?

Do we skull and chunk our wedges?

Do we make a habit of changing putters and putting grips?

Do we miss too many putts from 4 feet or less?

For those of us answering "yes", it might be a good time to visit ShortGameHelp.info for some chipping and putting tips.

Short Game Cure to Save Your Round 

A Good Short Game can hide those ugly flaws in our game

At the end of the first round of the 2007 Masters, Justin Rose was tied for the lead. He had a phenomenal round of 3 under par, including 15 pars and 3 birdies. It was the only bogey-free round of the day. You might think he hit nearly every fairway and green in regulation. Not exactly.

On this day, Justin Rose hit only 5 of 18 greens in regulation, a statistic usually reserved for a 90+ shooter. But Rose got up and down so well he took only 20 putts in his round of 69. That is getting up and down at its finest, even for a touring pro.

What we don't learn from this story is how much time Justin Rose devotes to his short game practice. Obviously, he spends endless hours on putting and chipping drills to enable him to turn in such a stellar performance under major championship pressure. If you need help getting up and down, you might want to visit ShortGameHelp.info

How About Some Free Golf Lessons That Will Help You Lower Your Scores 

Short Game Cure for Putting 

So You Like to Change Your Putter and Putting Style?

Even the pros will change putters and putting styles from time to time. After all, they get their putters for free, which is a pretty sweet deal.

But if you look closely, it's the players that are putting poorly that do most of the changing. In the last few years, we've seen Vijay Singh with a regular length putter and conventional grip, regular length putter and cross-handed grip, and various combinations of belly putters and grips. At one time he even putted in a tournament while looking at the hole during the stroke, not the ball.

Jim Furyk is on the other end of the spectrum. He began putting cross-handed when he was 7 years old at the recommendation of his father. He still grips the putter that way today and rarely changes putters. He is known as a very solid, consistent putter.

Putting is the most individualistic part of our golf game, with many options and choices. To learn the Tiger Woods putting method, visit ShortGameHelp.info

Short Game Cure for Chipping 

There's a right club for every chipping situation

Just as putting is the most individualistic part of our golf game, I believe that chipping is the most creative part. Great chipping has two fundamental components - solid technique and the ability to choose the right cub for the given situation. That's where the creativity comes in.

With today's green complexes, we see a little bit of everything around the putting surface - long rough, shaved chipping areas, deep bunkers, and severe drop-offs. These challenges require us to be skillful chippers with a variety of clubs. The best players will use everything from hybrid woods to a lob wedge to get the ball close to the hole. They will commonly choose irons from 5 through 9, plus wedges with lofts from 48 to 64 degrees.

Should our focus really be on holing the chip? Realistically, no. Occasionally, we'll make a chip, but our focus should be on "where to miss the chip," that is, what kind of putt do we want to leave? A 6 foot, straight, uphill putt may be far more desirable than a 3 foot, breaking, downhiller.

Visit ShortGameHelp.info for tips on chipping club selection that will help make you a better chipper and putter.

Phil Mickelson and his Backward Shot Chipping Drill 

You might want to try this when no one is around

Phil Mickelson shows off a backwards shot that almost goes in

http://www.CallawayGolf.com/CGTV

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Short Game Cure for Pitching 

Can you spin those pitch shots when you need to?

We usually think of a pitch shot as an approach to the green from 20 to 70 yards. Unlike the chip shot which spends most of its time rolling on the ground, the pitch spends most of its time in the air. The pitch shot is played with one of your wedges and is normally hit with a high trajectory.

Most of us have some difficulty with the pitch shot because it is not a full swing. For a 70 yard shot we could hit a half pitching wedge, a three-quarter sand wedge, or a full lob wedge. Pitch shots are all about "feel," not power.

The basic set-up for a standard pitch shot is as follows:

Slightly narrow stance
Front foot slightly open towards the pin
Ball positioned a little toward the back foot
Hands ahead of the ball
Weight on the front foot

And once that ball lands on the putting surface, we want it to sit down quickly. For some great pitching tips and techniques, and to learn how to spin that ball, visit ShortGameHelp.info

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Read More About Lowering Your Scores By Improving Your Short Game 

In a round of golf, over 50% of our strokes are short game shots. But that's probably the part of our golf game that we practice least. It's so much more fun to launch monster drives on the range than to stress our back working on 5 footers. But, ironically, a 300 yard drive counts the same as a 3 foot putt.

There's no question, the most effective way to lower our scores is to get serious about our short game. Below are some sites that will help you with short game tips, techniques, and drills.