Is a good short game the key?

[Robobum]

A good short game isn't the be all and end all of low scores/ h'caps though (IMO)

Whoah! Here we go

Care to elaborate on that?

It's not black magic. If you are hitting a lot of greens why do you need a good short game??

A decent enough player can hit [let's say] 14 greens a round. He doesn't get up and down on the 4 he misses but he has given himself 14 birdie chances. Even if he only converts 1 or 2 of them he will still be shooting low-mid 70s.

 

[Robobum]

Really? Is that actually a consideration? When I'm looking at my shot to the green, I'll look at where the danger lies and I'll probably consider where the best place to miss is (ie if there's a pond on the left, err to the right) but I never think about whether I'll get up and down if I do miss. That, to me, is negative thinking, when you're preparing for a shot you shouldn't be thinking about if you're going to muck up the shot after or not if you miss. You should be assuming you WILL make the shot, surely anything else is self-defeating?

You are half thinking about the miss anyway by erring away from the pond. Take that a step further and that is all I'm talking about. Pond left, err right, however that'll leave a tricky down hill chip towards the pond if I do miss right. One less club and I still get onto the green front but if I miss front right then that will give a straight and easier chip up the length of the green.

It's just managing your game to keep the disaster off the card.

 

[Fyldewhite]

To me there are basically 3 ways most players under around 18 handicap play a hole (assuming they are not hacking)...
1. Bad drive, recovery shot, carry on
2. Decent drive, hit the green
3. Decent drive, miss the green

To do a great score then all three scenarios require a good short short game to make par or at worst a bogey. Even if you hit the green you are likely to have a long tricky putt and must 2 putt these nearly all the time. Missing the green must result in getting up and down a good percentage probably dependent on handicap but never taking 4 from 30 yards out. Lower players need to take advantage of the shorter holes to knock it close and rack up a few birdies too.

Of course there are a myriad of other elements to the game but I've personally never seen anyone coming off the course with a mid 60's nett saying "I chipped and putted like a clown"

 

[The_LHC]

Really? Is that actually a consideration? When I'm looking at my shot to the green, I'll look at where the danger lies and I'll probably consider where the best place to miss is (ie if there's a pond on the left, err to the right) but I never think about whether I'll get up and down if I do miss. That, to me, is negative thinking, when you're preparing for a shot you shouldn't be thinking about if you're going to muck up the shot after or not if you miss. You should be assuming you WILL make the shot, surely anything else is self-defeating?

You are half thinking about the miss anyway by erring away from the pond. Take that a step further and that is all I'm talking about. Pond left, err right, however that'll leave a tricky down hill chip towards the pond if I do miss right.

Yes but that's my point, I won't think about missing the green right, I'll take the water out of the equation but beyond that I'm thinking I WILL hit the right side of the green.

One less club and I still get onto the green front but if I miss front right then that will give a straight and easier chip up the length of the green.

Surely if a hypothetical chip from the right is downhill then a chip from front right will simply be across and down the hill? Which actually sounds like a harder shot to me.

Yes but planning for a miss is surely the easiest way to make it happen?

Look at it another way, take the pond out, there's just rough one side and rough the other, no real difference the green doesn't slope from one side to the other or anything like that, you're aiming for the middle of the green, would you then start thinking which side you'd be better to miss on? I wouldn't, I'd just be expecting to hit the green, regardless of what reality might otherwise tell me (obviously if I always hit the ball left to right I'll aim left but that's still expecting the ball to end up in the middle).

 

[Robobum]

It's a personal preference of where the best miss is. If bunkers hold no fear then that is a decent miss approaching a tricky green or if pitching is a poor part of your game why leave yourself 40yd shots?? All depends what you are (relatively) good at.

If you prefer a downhill chip towards a flag with water behind then you must have balls of steel!!

 

[jammydodger]

It all depends on what your h/c is and what level you want to play the game. For me off 4 then I need a very competent/imaginative short game. I watch people playing off lets say 12 and their short games are usually pretty average tbh (occasional terrific shots but generally struggling to get within 6' from easy lies to easy pins). I then watch the higher h/cs off 18+ and just want to throttle them sometimes over their choice of shots around the green. I see them trying to play flop shots to tight pins or trying to get out of bunkers with a technique that is frankly a shambles.

Put it this way.....I dont see many (if any) higher h/cs with good short games , I dont see many (if any) cat 1 golfers with bad short games. You work it out for yourself..

 

[bobmac]

Put it this way.....I dont see many (if any) higher h/cs with good short games , I dont see many (if any) cat 1 golfers with bad short games. You work it out for yourself..

What he said

 

[kid2]

A good score requires a good short game, but without a half decent long game first, you are on a loser.

Completely agree with Murph.......
You have to have a half decent swing and be able to hit some sort of decent distance to get the most from a good short game..And also have your ball in play...
At the moment its my nemisis.....Iv got a fairly sound long game i can get to within chipping distance on our par 5's and make all our par 4's in 2 if im straightish off the tee but i had 35 points on sunday with a scratch and if i had chipped better for closer puts i would have nailed CSS.....I had 6 1 pointers when i could have taken a couple of birdies and the rest pars if my putter was listening to me ....Still theres always this weekends medal.....

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I think the OP was suggesting at least some semblance of a repeatable swing. I think providing you can keep it in play whether that is in the rough, trees or on the fairway, a lot of players will miss a lot of greens. Let's assume you are aiming for level 5's (90) then for most golfers that will be net 72 or so (give or take a few shots either way) and so there is less pressure havinmg to hit all the long par 4 in regulation. However a decent short game will give you the possibility to make some of these into pars and the same at the par 5's where you might be near the green in three.

I don't like this idea of looking at the pond and aiming to play away. To me that is putting negative thoughts into my head. The brain doesn't recognise don't so if you say don't miss right compensating for the pond left then chances are that is where you will go. At the end of the day you'll miss the target and be faced with a chip of some description so better to be able to play them well

 

[Imurg]

A couple of years ago I played 2 rounds on consecutive days. Shot 75 both times

First day the long game was shoddy but the short game red hot.
Second day the long game was on fire and the short game ice cold.

Go figure that one..........

 

[chrisd]

I played about 11 holes today before the rain came and chipped in twice - once to save par and the next for an eagle after being on the fringe for 2 on a par 5.

Went bogie, birdie, par, birdie, eagle, bogie from the 6th to 11th before wandering in as it was raining hard. IT was the short game that produced the scores!


Chris

 

[IM01]

Mickleson 4 v Westwood 0

Definitely a help.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes & yes. With a good short game in the last 2 comps I'd be off nearer 9 than 11. I don't think I could hit the ball any better, just waste too many around and on the green.

 

[Leftie]

Off an average h/cap..

Miss fairway but ball in play, so what?

Miss green in regulation, so what?

Chip and 1 putt - par.

Chip and 2 putts - bogie, perhaps net par.

Provided your long game doesn't cost you shots then short game is king.

 

[EastPreston]

How do you all go about improving the short game.

a) Spend hours on the putting green
b) Spend hours going around the par 9/pitch and putt.
c) Get out on the course and practise?

 

[jammydodger]

How do you all go about improving the short game.

a) Spend hours on the putting green
b) Spend hours going around the par 9/pitch and putt.
c) Get out on the course and practise?

Personally it is time spent with a tube of 20 older prov's around our chipping green. I do what a lot of the chaps on here do and spend an hour or 2 a week just hitting all sorts of flop shots/low runners/etc

I groove the shots so I could play them blindfolded , so when I get to the course I have no worries about technique I just have to worry about how far to carry it to the ideal landing spot.

For 120 yards in I just spend time on our practice field hitting my 3 wedges to different distances with diferent trajectories.

It's all quite simple stuff but needs you to have patience and a little time and effort. You also need to be comfortable in your own company and not get sidetracked wanting to nip onto the course and smash your driver.

By the way I practice putting maybe once a month at most and then for maybe 10 mins cos thats the one thing that bores me rigid , I may have 1/2 dozen putts before I play to get a feel for the greens but thats it.

 

[USER1999]

If I drive well, I play well, simples. The real key to a good score is keeping the same ball for 18 holes.

 

[Robobum]

Monty did ok with a poor short game, hardly ever missed a green to need it.

Everyone loves to have a dig @ Westwoods short game, he's not doing too bad either.

My 4somes partner (plays off 1) has a poor short game. He will try to putt through light rough!! However he hits so many greens and must average 3 or 4 birdies per round to make up for those missed green bogies.

 

[CrapHacker]

Put it this way.....I dont see many (if any) higher h/cs with good short games ,

That's it, take away any hope I might possibly have had.










I'll just go and top myself now, then...

 

[EastPreston]

The real key to a good score is keeping the same ball for 18 holes.

Really? So by using the putter the whole way around the course and keeping the same ball will bring my handicap down?

I think that is the key to not having a dreadful score, but not acheiving a good score.