How to Fix Common Faults of Your Short Game
The short game is really where your score is going to be determined during a round of golf. While every golfer loves to hit long and straight drives off the tee, it is the short game where you can turn bogeys into pars and pars into birdies. If you are serious about improving your scores and lowering your handicap in the year ahead, you would be wise to pay more attention to your short game. That means spending your practice time less on your full swing and more on the chips and putts that will help you record lower scores.
Following are a few tips that address some of the common short game faults –
- Stay steady to make short putts. Missing short putts is a common short game problem and a major issue when you are trying to record a low score. Most golfers struggle with short putts when they move around too much during the stroke – especially during the forward stroke through impact. When you are able to keep your lower body steady and your eyes on the ball all the way through the stroke, you will have a much better opportunity to sink the majority of your short putts.
- Pick safe targets with chip shots. While you always want to chip the ball as close to the hole as possible, it is even more important to make sure you get the chip shot onto the green and at least give yourself a chance to make a putt. If you pick a line for your chip that is too aggressive and you end up leaving the ball in the rough instead of getting it up onto the green, you could wind up making a big number on that hole. Focus on getting on the green first, and then work on getting the ball closer to the hole.
- Speed control is a matter of practice. Controlling the speed of your short game shots – whether chips or putts – is vital to your success. There is no substitute for practice when it comes to learning how to control speed. Make sure to spend some time on the practice green before each round to get comfortable with the speed of the greens that day. As long as you are confident in your ability to control speed, a productive short game shouldn’t be far behind.