The Sand Trap

When you’re just off the green, do you chip or pitch? For too many people, the answer to that question is “pitch.” Pitching is great when you need to get over something – a bunker, water, a huge swale in a green – but when you’ve got green to work with, the chip is your shot.

A rolling ball is far more predictable than one flying through the air and landing hard on the green. Whether you use a sand wedge or a 7-iron, get the ball rolling quickly. To that, here are some simple guidelines for your short game:

1. Putt when possible. This rolls the ball the entire way, making it very easy to judge.
2. Chip and run as a second option, and even then choose the lowest lofted club to get the ball rolling quickly.
3. Pitch when there’s no other option left.

Step through those options every time you face a shot around the greens and you’ll get down in two – or less – more frequently.

Find a flat area and walk for one minute, counting the number of steps you take. Are you a fast walker or a slow walker? I took 115 steps in those 60 seconds and consider myself to be a fairly fast walker. I’m not one to dawdle.

My putting stroke is also fairly quick. I take the club back and through more quickly than some people. My tempo is consistent on long and short putts – just as a pendulum maintains the same period regardless of its arc length.

To find your putting tempo, find a metronome (like the one to the right or an electronic one) and do the walking drill. Set the metronome to your step rate – 25. Stand in place and move your putter through your stroke back and forward, ending each half of the stroke on a tick of the metronome. If the tempo feels too fast, slow it down. Too slow, speed it up. Continue to make small adjustments until you find your perfect putting tempo.

Now, just take it to the course! Keep the same tempo – back and through – on all of your putts. On short putts, you’ll swing more slowly but also have a shorter stroke. Your putter’s just a pendulum, folks, and the tempo remains the same.

Waggling – the movements you make with your club during your pre-shot routine – is more critical than most people assume. It’s under-utilized and important, because it often acts as a miniature (very miniature) version of your full swing.

Watch players with a very fast tempo: odds are they waggle the club in a fast tempo too. Other players look like they’re rocking the clubhead to sleep with their waggles. They’re likely to have a slower tempo.

Use this to your advantage: try waggling more slowly to slow your tempo down a notch. It’s rare that you’ll ever want to speed up your tempo, but should you, simply waggle faster.