YOUR FIVE STEPS TO A SHARP SHORT GAME

Like any part of the game, improving your chipping, pitching and bunker play requires more than just an upgrade in technique. You’ll need to develop solid basics, club selection, good strategy and decision-making skills, and practice habits.

MASTER THE BASICS FIRST

Having an arsenal of fancy recovery shots is all well and good, but you need a stock shot to rely on. A simple chip-and-run will get you out of trouble far more often than a risky flop over a bunker, so master the simple option before working on the adventurous shots.

COMMIT TO REGULAR PRACTICE

Ask any Tour pro how they structure their practice and they’ll likely tell you that they spend at least twice as much time working on their chipping and putting as they do their long game. The reason for this is simple – a sharp short game will compensate for bad shots and approach shots keep your scorecard tidy.

PLAY THE PERCENTAGES

Just as the best strikers in football never take on the complicated finish when an easy one will do, the same rule applies to the short game. The more difficult the shot, the higher propensity for disaster! As a rule, this means playing the ball along the ground where possible.

UNDERSTAND YOUR WEDGES

Equipment is important for every shot, but for the short game you need to know how the ball will react using different clubs in your bag. For example, if you don’t know how far you can carry the ball and how far it will run out with each iron using different length swings, you’ll never get the ball close. You’ll also need wedges that suit your swing characteristics.

DON’T NEGLECT YOUR PUTTING

Realistically, you won’t hit every chip stone dead. More often than not, you’re going to have to rely on your short-range putting to finish the job. In addition to improving your short game, focus on improving holing out inside six feet. Make more than you miss from this range, and you’ll see your scores tumble.