The short game is NOT putting!

 

 I get sick and tired of people lumping putting in with the short game. It's not part of the short game...it's a game all by itself.   Putting is a separate game all by itself as you will see from the” All about putting” article.

So with that being said, here's what the short game consists of...

§         Chipping

§         Pitching

§         Distance Wedges

§         Bunker shots

And that's the order you should work through to improve your short game.

 Let's now start at looking at what you need to do to have a great short game and more specifically, we'll start by looking at chipping

Chipping

Chip Shot Definition...a chip shot is a motion that is very close to the pendulum putting motion as it requires no independent wrist movement.

Now the action of chipping is very close to the putting action. Conversely, the action used for distance wedges is very close to the full swing action.

That may be one reason why a lot of golfers suffer with the short game. It's a mixture of different aspects of golf. But the short game can definitely be mastered.

Next, after putting, chipping is the easiest motion in golf. And the reason for this is because a chip shot has the least moving parts after putting.

And I teach something called chip-putting.....And to learn more ........click on......Chipping

 

Pitching

 

A pitch shot differs from a chip shot in a few major ways. The first is that you SHOULD cock your wrists when swinging. And the second is that your setup is a lot more like you should setup for a long shot.

 

Also, the characteristics of a pitch shot over a chip shot differ. A pitch shot flies longer and higher than a chip shot. And once it lands the ball normally rolls about the same or slightly shorter than the distance it flew.

 

But apart from those two things everything else is the same as the chip shot. So let's start by looking at the setup needed for a pitch....click on....Pitching

…

Distance Wedges

 

A distance wedge shot is a shot between 30 and 100 yards. So naturally to hit the ball longer than a pitch shot you have to turn your body further and swing further.

And for a distance wedge shot you should setup as you did for a pitch shot BUT you should have your feet a fraction wider than you did...they should be about the width of your shoulders apart like this....click on....Wedges

Bunker Shots

 

Now the actual swing needed to hit the average bunker shot is no different than the swing needed to hit a distance wedge shot.  The only difference needed to successfully play the average bunker shot is with the setup.   You need to change your setup so that instead of hitting the ball first, you hit the sand first.  And more on bunker shots.....click on ...Bunker Shots

And may you always enjoy your continuous improvement of your game!!

 

 

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3 Things You Need To Have For A Great Short Game

1. You need to have control over the physical swing as that produces the trajectory, velocity and spin rate of each shot. And all of this determines where your ball lands

2. You need to be able to determine and accurately predict how the condition of the ball is lying is going to affect the shot you're going to play

3. You need to have a good idea and feel for how the ball is going to react when it lands.