Why have I always been told to work most on my short game?

[Paradox]

the simple answer is..if you're struggling to reach the green or around the green in regulation, a short game isn't gonna do you much good...once you can hit around the green in regulation, then you need a better short game.

I'm of the belief that the game starts from the approach shot, then the short game, then the tee box.

[Leftygolfer]

If you can't get around the green in regulation, it doesn't matter what kind of short game you have you can't consistantly score.  If you can do that and give yourself reasonable up and ins, then you have to have a good short game to score.  You need both.  Scratch players only hit 9-11 greens a round so they must be doing something well the other 7-9 holes.  Also, some days you just don't have a long game.  It is impossible to be consistant enough to not need a short game day and day out.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Leftygolfer

If you can't get around the green in regulation, it doesn't matter what kind of short game you have you can't consistantly score.  If you can do that and give yourself reasonable up and ins, then you have to have a good short game to score.  You need both.  Scratch players only hit 9-11 greens a round so they must be doing something well the other 7-9 holes.  Also, some days you just don't have a long game.  It is impossible to be consistant enough to not need a short game day and day out.

I suggest that the better a player gets tee to green, the more they need to practice random short game shots, because they'll tend to see fewer of them during their regular rounds.

[zeg]

My feeling is that the actual importance of a stellar short game is generally over-emphasized compared to a competent driving/approach game.  However, I think there's a good reason for that.  Many, perhaps even most, people rarely practice chipping or pitching at all.  It doesn't take an enormous amount of time or skill to have a competent short game, but if you don't practice it, it's hard to just wing it on the course.  So IMO, going from never or rarely practicing to practicing a small amount regularly is one of the best things you can do to quickly improve your scores.  It's not going to get you from a 30 index to scratch, but it'll knock a few strokes off per round.

Really, though, you have to keep your whole game in balance.  To play well, you have to be good at everything, and to play really well you have to learn what you're great at and play to that strength.  Of course, that's not just golf, that's everything...

[Harmonious]

Even if you do not have a great long game, getting up and down is very important.  For example, a high handicapper who hits a bad drive, chunks his 2nd shot, then hits his 3rd shot 20 yards short of the green (assuming a par4) can still make bogie with an up-and-down.  But what happens so often is he skulls his pitch over the green, hits his next chip 20 feet part the cup and two putts for a smooth 7.

That's why I think the folks who downplay the short game (mostly the higher handicappers on this thread, anyway) are missing the big picture.  A stroke saved is one stroke less on your score.  Do that 10 times a round and you have gone from shooting 98 to shooting 88. Yes, improve your long game to eliminate the throw-away shots, but do not think that you don't need a short game until you are already shooting in the mid-80's.  You'll never get there.

[TourSpoon]

Originally Posted by Paradox

the simple answer is..if you're struggling to reach the green or around the green in regulation, a short game isn't gonna do you much good...once you can hit around the green in regulation, then you need a better short game.

I'm of the belief that the game starts from the approach shot, then the short game, then the tee box.

Well, it really doesn't matter to me if you are getting u/d for par, for bogey, or for double, the short game will save you strokes no matter if you take 2 or 3 to get near a green.

Originally Posted by Harmonious

Even if you do not have a great long game, getting up and down is very important.  For example, a high handicapper who hits a bad drive, chunks his 2nd shot, then hits his 3rd shot 20 yards short of the green (assuming a par4) can still make bogie with an up-and-down.  But what happens so often is he skulls his pitch over the green, hits his next chip 20 feet part the cup and two putts for a smooth 7.

That's why I think the folks who downplay the short game (mostly the higher handicappers on this thread, anyway) are missing the big picture.  A stroke saved is one stroke less on your score.  Do that 10 times a round and you have gone from shooting 98 to shooting 88. Yes, improve your long game to eliminate the throw-away shots, but do not think that you don't need a short game until you are already shooting in the mid-80's.  You'll never get there.

Wisdom...

[zeg]

Originally Posted by Harmonious

Even if you do not have a great long game, getting up and down is very important.  For example, a high handicapper who hits a bad drive, chunks his 2nd shot, then hits his 3rd shot 20 yards short of the green (assuming a par4) can still make bogie with an up-and-down.  But what happens so often is he skulls his pitch over the green, hits his next chip 20 feet part the cup and two putts for a smooth 7.

That's why I think the folks who downplay the short game (mostly the higher handicappers on this thread, anyway) are missing the big picture.  A stroke saved is one stroke less on your score.  Do that 10 times a round and you have gone from shooting 98 to shooting 88. Yes, improve your long game to eliminate the throw-away shots, but do not think that you don't need a short game until you are already shooting in the mid-80's.  You'll never get there.

I personally started out of the opinion that short game work was more important than I think it is now, based on those other discussions rather than my personal experience (which, obviously, doesn't include overcoming the problems that lead to a mid-20s handicap index yet).  The issue is that even if you have a pro level short game and putting, if the best you can do with an up and down is make bogey, you are going to have trouble getting down to even a 20 handicap.  There's only so much that a phenomenal short game can possibly do for you.

When your short game sucks, there's some low-hanging fruit that you can grab with a little practice.  In my experience, that's some of the lowest-hanging fruit in golf, so one should definitely practice enough to get those strokes back.  I see that as being good enough that you're almost always on the green from within a few tens of yards, and have a good shot at a one-putt after a short chip.  Once you get there, assuming you can reliably two-putt from moderate distances, then you can almost always get down in 3 from near the green.  For me, getting that good was not a major challenge, but going to reliably getting down in 2 is a much taller order.  At that point, I don't think you can point to the short game as being the weakness any more---if it took you three to get green side on a par 4 and three to get down, you're "balanced," and you'd benefit as much from losing the chunked full stroke as you would from a skulled chip.

So, I'm not really quite sure what you're saying as far as a prescription for practice, and that's really what it comes down to.  There's a limited amount of time to practice, so how do you divide it up? Sure, being able to get up and down better is always good, but you really have to ask yourself what practice is going to lead to the most improvement.  "Short game" is, in fact, usually a good answer simply because most people don't practice it at all... but like I said before, I think it's easy to overemphasize the actual amount of practice it needs.

[jshots]

Originally Posted by Harmonious

Even if you do not have a great long game, getting up and down is very important.  For example, a high handicapper who hits a bad drive, chunks his 2nd shot, then hits his 3rd shot 20 yards short of the green (assuming a par4) can still make bogie with an up-and-down.  But what happens so often is he skulls his pitch over the green, hits his next chip 20 feet part the cup and two putts for a smooth 7.

That's why I think the folks who downplay the short game (mostly the higher handicappers on this thread, anyway) are missing the big picture.  A stroke saved is one stroke less on your score.  Do that 10 times a round and you have gone from shooting 98 to shooting 88. Yes, improve your long game to eliminate the throw-away shots, but do not think that you don't need a short game until you are already shooting in the mid-80's.  You'll never get there.

Ok so that high handicapper has a choice. Practice chipping or practice getting his approach closer. Either way if he improves that area he can lower his score. The question is, is one of them worth more strokes than the other one? In the case you are a scratch player who scrambles around 18 holes for par, the day you hit a few extra greens will be your very good day, in the case that you are a player who hits more greens, you may get more bogeys the times you miss but you will likely get more birdies too, your good days will be the day you get the most up and downs.

The more I read this thread though the more I think that it completely depends on the individuals game.

[Harmonious]

Originally Posted by zeg

So, I'm not really quite sure what you're saying as far as a prescription for practice, and that's really what it comes down to.  There's a limited amount of time to practice, so how do you divide it up? Sure, being able to get up and down better is always good, but you really have to ask yourself what practice is going to lead to the most improvement.  "Short game" is, in fact, usually a good answer simply because most people don't practice it at all... but like I said before, I think it's easy to overemphasize the actual amount of practice it needs.

How long does it take to hit 50 full swings on the range? 30 minutes, I would guess.  If you were to take a shag bag to the chipping/pitching green, how many short game swings could you take in the same time? At least twice as much.  If time is really the issue, you would get twice the bang for your practice buck by working on your short game. In reality, if you don't have enough time to devote to practice, how can you ever expect to get any better?

[imtomtomim]

Well, it's not so much that the short game it really the most important part of your game to work on, but I think of it this way.  To make it a well played hole, from the approach, I need to get the ball in the hole in 3 shots.  2 of those shots are going to be closer.  Yes, that first one into the green will determine how difficult the 2nd and 3rd will be, but still be most likely 20 yards and in from the pin.  That ability lets me get by breaking 80 on those days where I just can't control the ball or my movements so it doesn't turn into a mind-blowingly frustrating wasted day.  Plus, only once in a while, will you hit every green, or close.  You gotta make sure you can handle those other days (the majority) when you don't.

[jamo]

How long does it take to hit 50 full swings on the range? 30 minutes, I would guess.  If you were to take a shag bag to the chipping/pitching green, how many short game swings could you take in the same time? At least twice as much.  If time is really the issue, you would get twice the bang for your practice buck by working on your short game. In reality, if you don't have enough time to devote to practice, how can you ever expect to get any better?

You might get more practice shots per minute, yeah, but you seem to be assuming that both the short game and the long game offer the same dropped shots off your handicap per practice shot (I hope that makes sense). The real question is which offers better improvement for the same amount of hit balls.

[wildcorndog]

I think it's always been said to spend more time practicing around the green because that is the hardest part of the game. Obviously if u don't get off the tee box or ur not able to get close to the green from a hundred yards it's not gonna do u much good.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Harmonious

How long does it take to hit 50 full swings on the range? 30 minutes, I would guess.

I'm not even sure the reverse is true. In an hour I might hit 20 golf balls if I'm working hard on something.

If I've already got a drill I might hit 30 balls in 50 minuets... never the opposite. Heck, if I'm playing by myself on an empty course, I'll hit more golf balls per hour playing golf than I do when practicing. I don't waste my practice time... I get a lot out of each ball.

Anyway, to answer the question:

- If you want a quick improvement in scoring, work on your short game. 30 minutes to an hour practicing a good technique should help substantially from 0 to 75 yards.

- Any and all long-term scoring improvements are, at their heart, primarily related to ball-striking... and more so the larger the sought-after scoring improvement.

[Shindig]

I suggest that the better a player gets tee to green, the more they need to practice random short game shots, because they'll tend to see fewer of them during their regular rounds.

Wait, more or less? Seems to me that if you're better tee to green, you'll end up with fewer odd-ball short game shots.

[Harmonious]

Originally Posted by iacas

- If you want a quick improvement in scoring, work on your short game. 30 minutes to an hour practicing a good technique should help substantially from 0 to 75 yards.

- Any and all long-term scoring improvements are, at their heart, primarily related to ball-striking... and more so the larger the sought-after scoring improvement.

Not sure what you mean by quick improvement versus long-term improvement in scoring.  Both are improvements, and neither should be ignored at the expense of the other, IMO.  I agree that the higher handicapper should first develop their ball-striking so that those ugly, wasted strokes disappear.  But they shouldn't totally ignore the short game and putting because, no matter how much they improve their long game, they will still need to get it up and down to save strokes and to sink those pesky putts.

[Harmonious]

Originally Posted by jamo

You might get more practice shots per minute, yeah, but you seem to be assuming that both the short game and the long game offer the same dropped shots off your handicap per practice shot (I hope that makes sense). The real question is which offers better improvement for the same amount of hit balls.

Ah, that's the question, isn't it?  Too bad there isn't a formula for "dropped shots per practice swing attempt". Of course, it would have to be broken down into putts, short game, intermediate and long irons, and woods. Sounds like a good subject to receive a grant from the USGA.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Shindig

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

I suggest that the better a player gets tee to green, the more they need to practice random short game shots, because they'll tend to see fewer of them during their regular rounds.

Wait, more or less? Seems to me that if you're better tee to green, you'll end up with fewer odd-ball short game shots.

How are you possibly confused since you've just said the same thing? You get fewer short gamne shots during your round, the more your tee to green game improves, therefore over time you'll probably need to include more short game practice into your routine in order to stay sharp.

[Edgk]

The approach game is the least important thing to be good at when you are trying to break 90. You need to get off the tee without penalties and you need to improve your short game. The short game is how you score at every level. I would try to get rid of the chunk and learn to make thin your miss. The ball gets advanced down the fairway, often surprisingly far, and it's closer to being a great shot because you are supposed to hit the ball first, you just barely missed. I get to practice twice a week for one hour. I hit a small bucket of balls working on one or two goals, then I chip and putt for the rest of my time. My improvement in this area helped me break 100,90,80,and hopefully, if just once, 70. I don't think I drive it that much better than when i shot 90's, just less OB, a huge thing. But with the approach, it didn't become that important until I wanted to be able to regularly have multiple birdies in a round. But i still hit, thin, ugly busted iron shots at times but I can shoot 76 doing it. Last week I played Caledonia in SC and the day before(5thHole) I had hit a perfect 5-iron draw at 178 yds and had 8 ft for birdie. This day the flag was up so only 125 and no bunker to avoid to get to the pin so I take an 9 Iron and I spank it 50 yds on the ground i front of two foursomes. I walk over to the ball and pitch the ball to 6 ft and make the putt 3. There aren't long shots that do that for you.