Golf's Short Game For Dummies

Michael Patrick Shiels, Michael Kernicki

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780764569203
• eBook ISBN: 9781118069929
• Edition: 1

Easy-to-grasp techniques for improving the short game
About 70 percent of the shots in a round of golf are taken 75 yards from the pin or closer, making the short game the most significant factor in a golfer's score. This practical guide shows readers how to shave strokes off their game by improving their pitching, chipping, bunker play, and putting. Golfers will find expert tips on choosing the right wedges, putters, and balls, as well as illustrated step-by-step instructions on swings used in short-game shots. They'll also find information on how to beat bunkers and other hazards and how to play various lies-in deep rough, from the fairway, uphill, side-hill, and off bare ground. There's also a section on stretches, exercises, and drills to improve techniques, as well as tips on reading greens for accurate putting.
Michael Patrick Sheils (Birmingham, MI) is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America. He has written four books, and his articles and columns have appeared in worldwide magazines and newspapers. Michael Kernicki (Miami Beach, FL) has been a PGA member for 27 years and is currently the Head Professional at the historic Indian Creek Country Club in Miami Beach.

Part I

Walking the Short Game

In this part . . .

D rop that driver! Come over from the dark side and experience the force of the short game. You’ll be wielding your pitching wedge like a light sabre after you realize the importance of the short game and start improving yours. Part I gives you an overview of the short game universe and gets you geared up to practice and play.

Chapter 1

Sharpening Your Approach

In This Chapter

Defining the short game through statistics

Establishing your short-game repertoire

Using the ground to your advantage

Clearing your schedule for practice

Sidestepping common short-game sins

G olf is a journey with no final destination — a series of trips up and down hills — but if you play long enough, you’ll come to enjoy the ride. You discover nuances of the game as you go along, and sometimes you learn important lessons the hard way.

Players who seek improvement — and who tire of seeing three-digit numbers on their scorecards at the end of a round — often just want to have some consistency in their game. Who can blame them? What’s worse than swinging a golf club and wondering where the ball will go or even worrying about making contact? Nothing we know of. Well, maybe swinging with these thoughts while wearing a Jesper Parnevik outfit.

Precision is never more important than when you get the ball close to the green or the hole, and as we convey in this opening chapter, the short game is the most complex and varied aspect of the game of golf. But lucky for you, the short game is also the area in which you can make the most immediate and significant improvement.

In this chapter, we take a look at the importance of the short game, the best way to approach it, and how to prepare yourself to hit the shots that can improve your scores. Improved scores give you a greater sense of enjoyment — and who could ask for more?

Approaching the Short Game Statistically

According to the National Golf Foundation, a fine group of folks who make it their business to study the business side of golf, as many as 36.7 million people play golf in the United States. (Of those 36 million golfers, about 45 percent are between the ages of 18 and 39, and 22 percent of all golfers are female.) In a year’s time, these golfers spend about $25 billion on golf equipment and fees. That’s billion, with a B.

But like the old saying goes, money can’t buy you love. And it can’t buy you a 72 either. Even with all the cash players currently spend, average scores have changed very little over the years. Only 22 percent of all golfers regularly score better than 90 for 18 holes. For females, who shoot an average score of 114, the number is just 7 percent; for males, who manage to shoot an average score of 97, 25 percent break 90. The overall average is an even 100.

But par, on almost all golf courses, is 72.

When asked what they want to shoot, most golfers say they’d be satisfied shooting 85.

Although critics and the media place a great deal of emphasis on how long a player can hit a golf ball, you use driver from the tee only 14 times on a golf course. By contrast, you use the putter and short irons for as many as 50 percent of the total strokes.

The secret of golf satisfaction is in the short game. No matter what your score is, half your strokes come from the short game. Statistics prove that 50 percent of your score comes from shots within 75 yards of the green — whether you shoot 120 or you shoot 67. The percentage includes your putts, your chips, your pitches, and your bunker shots.

For instance, say you go out and shoot that 67. You hit all 18 greens in regulation. You make five birdies with five one-putts to shoot 5-under. That means you hit 31 putts out of 67 shots. And to sink some of those one-putts, you had to hit the ball close to the hole. You probably had a wedge or some type of short iron in your hand to do that. You didn’t miss any greens, because you used your short game to get into position. Adding six more strokes to the putts, you have half your strokes accounted for.

If you shoot 110, you surely didn’t hit all the greens in regulation, because if you did, you would have used 70 putts (or four putts per hole) to shoot that 110 — a dismal result for even the worst of putters. More likely you missed some greens and needed to hit some short-game shots — all the more reason to improve your short game.

Approaching the Short Game Athletically

The short game, by definition, covers short shots. You hit short-game shots from 75 yards and in — which is also known as the scoring distance. The short game requires a shorter swing. A 100-yard shot, by contrast, is a full-swing shot.

The short game is all about scoring and precision — not distance and strength. You want to get the ball onto the green with a single approach shot and into the hole with two strokes. (See Chapter 2 to help set your goals and expectations for the short game.)

The short game is the great equalizer. Unlike in many other sports, and even in other aspects of golf, scoring doesn’t rely on power. In golf, you need to hit the ball straight and with the proper distance. Success means making good decisions and doing your homework.

With this in mind, you can see why golfers use the term approach shots — and not bang it over the hole shots. Think of an aircraft on approach to its final destination. To hit the runway and land safely, the plane has to travel at the right speed and at the proper angle of descent. It can’t be short, and it can’t be long. It has to, through a carefully made plan and proper execution, glide perfectly onto the runway and roll to a stop.

Your short-game swing options typically include a

Chip shot: A low running shot, measured in feet, that flies only a small percentage of its life before landing on the green or in front of the green and rolling toward the hole (see Chapter 4).

Pitch shot: A shot that remains the air for about 70 percent of its life before hitting the green and rolling to the hole. You often use a pitch shot when you have an obstacle to fly over, such as a bunker, creek, or hill (see Chapter 5).

Bunker shot: A shot needed to extract a ball from a bunker. You normally hit bunker shots with a sand wedge, which splashes through the bunker and sends the ball floating out on a pillow of sand. Bunker shots fly high and land softly near the hole (see Chapter 6).

Putt: Putting the ball into the hole may seem like a simple act, and the good news is: it can be! Finding a way to roll the ball into the hole after you land the green is a matter of feel and preference, but good putters seem to have a bit of magic with the flatstick (see Chapter 7).

Flop shot: A high-flying, soft shot that lands near the hole and stops instead of rolling to the hole (see Chapter 11).

Giving Yourself the Best Shot

The short game, and all its variables, offers golfers a multitude of options for ...

Table of contents

• Title
• Contents
• Introduction
• Part I : Walking the Short Game
• Chapter 1: Sharpening Your Approach
• Chapter 2: Discerning the Short Game Certainties
• Chapter 3: Gearing Up for the Short Game
• Part II : The Long and Short of It: Short Game Technique
• Chapter 4: Chipping Off the Ol’ Block
• Chapter 5: Pitch, Pitch, Pitch
• Chapter 6: Climbing Bunker Hill
• Chapter 7: Putting Your Best Foot Forward
• Part III : Short Game Strategies
• Chapter 8: Waging (and Wedging) a Ground Campaign
• Chapter 9: Selecting Putting Strategies and Remedies
• Chapter 10: Taking an Unconventional Approach
• Chapter 11: Flipping to Flop
• Chapter 12: Keeping Your Head in the Game
• Part IV : Short Cuts to the Short Game
• Chapter 13: Warming Up to the Short Game
• Chapter 14: The Games People Play
• Chapter 15: Tricks and Treats: Techniques and Tools to Improve Your Game
• Chapter 16: Learning from the Stars
• Part V : The Part of Tens
• Chapter 17: Ten Simple Secrets of Short-Shot Success
• Chapter 18: Ten Ways You Can Practice Off the Course
• Chapter 19: Ten of the Greatest Short Shots Ever
• Chapter 20: Ten Great Short Game Golf Courses