Short Game Experiment

[ks8829]

Just wondering if you only practiced putting and chipping around the green for a month if your golf scores would go down? yes, thats right, no driver, fairways woods, longer iron, mid iron practice at the driving range but just putting and chipping off the green and playing 18 holes.

[right handed phil mickelson]

  ks8829 said:

Just wondering if you only practiced putting and chipping around the green for a month if your golf scores would go down? yes, thats right, no driver, fairways woods, longer iron, mid iron practice at the driving range but just putting and chipping off the green and playing 18 holes.

It really depends on your handicap. If you're a 30 handicap and do this then probably no your scores won't drop because they have a hard time getting onto/around the green to use their short game anyways. If it's a 6 or 7 handicap then yes of course the scores would drop some. Maybe 4-5 strokes or so. Possibly even down to scratch.

[DaSportsGuy]

I think it'd depend on how often you play 18. If you play at least three times a week, then I think it could work. Any less than three rounds of 18 a week and your consistency off the tee and longer iron shots may be affected and counter it.

[luckyluke699]

  DaSportsGuy said:

I think it'd depend on how often you play 18. If you play at least three times a week, then I think it could work. Any less than three rounds of 18 a week and your consistency off the tee and longer iron shots may be affected and counter it.

How do you get time to play 18 holes 3 times a week, unless you're retired of course?!

[DaSportsGuy]

  luckyluke699 said:

How do you get time to play 18 holes 3 times a week, unless you're retired of course?!

Or a student...

[Bo the Golfer]

  right handed phil mickelson said:

It really depends on your handicap. If you're a 30 handicap and do this then probably no your scores won't drop because they have a hard time getting onto/around the green to use their short game anyways. If it's a 6 or 7 handicap then yes of course the scores would drop some. Maybe 4-5 strokes or so. Possibly even down to scratch.

I actually think the opposite. I believe higher handicap players would benefit greatly doing this as this is the key to dropping strokes.

[right handed phil mickelson]

  Bo the Golfer said:

I actually think the opposite. I believe higher handicap players would benefit greatly doing this as this is the key to dropping strokes.

At a higher handicap the key to dropping strokes is to work on drives and irons. That's where they struggle the most because they always hit it out of bounds, or way left or way right. They need to get it around the green first. Then they can work on the short game.

[luckyluke699]

Although being quite new to the game, I disagree with this. I found early on, the biggest improvements came from driving distance, and simple mid iron ball striking consistency (i.e. not hitting "mulligan" shots that went 25 yards...).

Simply put at this level you're not good enough to actually hit GIRs, but the guy who can reach "near" the green still has a distinct advantage over the guy who needs the extra 18 shots per round to get to that same position.

[luckyluke699]

errr basically I agree with RHPM above who beat me to the post!

[Leftygolfer]

I've played with plenty of high handicap players. I have seen them play a hole ok until the green and then take 4 or 5 shots from 20 yards and walk off with a triple quad. Not saying they don't screw up plenty of holes with there driving or long game, but a high percentage is around the green.

IMO the way for a high handicap player to shave strokes of the quickest is around the green. Most have no clue how to hit a bunker shot, a good pitch, or even a chip.

I have never been one to work on my full swing much. I have always practiced short game more than anything. I would say the lack of practice this year (last year no golf now) in short game has really hurt me.

I think almost anyone would improve by practicing there short game exclusively and playing twice a week.

[sean_miller]

  ks8829 said:

Just wondering if you only practiced putting and chipping around the green for a month if your golf scores would go down? yes, thats right, no driver, fairways woods, longer iron, mid iron practice at the driving range but just putting and chipping off the green and playing 18 holes.

I'd say from experience this would lower your scores. The course I started on had no driving range. Just a putting green and the course. I improved - there were a lot of lost balls and penalty strokes along the way (a 9 hole course that had 8 tree lined fairways and a river crossed the course 4 times), but I learned to go for the green every time. There was no fear of getting chips and pitches on the dance floor or even in the cup. Every putt had a chance to go in the hole. I made more birdies in year two than I do now. 8 foot comebackers?!?! Whatever - get in the hole!

[luckyluke699]

That's one way to look at it, though I feel when I stoped hitting truely terrible shots (average around 4 per round) and could drive 100 yards further off the tee, that certainly helped!! :D

[cdriver]

Just from my personal experience, I think the short game is the major difference.

I was languishing around a 12 handicap when I joined a club that had a really great short game practice area. About 170 yards of fairway with a green and a couple of bunkers they maintained just like the course. I would take a couple buckets of balls out there 3 or 4 times a week and spend a couple hours working mostly from 100 yards and in. My handicap dropped over the next 6 months to 6.6. I was getting up and down from anywhere around the greens. My average putts per round went down to 27 average because I was chipping it so close I could tap a lot of them in.

I moved and lost my practice area. My handicap is now back up to 12 and I am hacking it up around the greens like usual.

[golfdad]

interesting thoughts,,,i would think it depends on quite a few conditions. to name a few:

assuming...

1. the long game is rather stable, that regardless the long game handicap, there is no big issues to work on.

2. during that one month (which is a pretty short period of time to be honest), there is good instruction, good feedback. so it is a focus on correct techs instead of reinforcing older bad habits. i think to read the green correctly and confidently takes time and much more practice.

etc.

[ks8829]

My thought is the following:

Putting
1) how often do you three putt during a round?
2) how often do you one putt during a round?

Chipping
1) how often do you get up and down from just off the green?
2) how often do you get up and down from within 20 yards off the green?

Pitching
1) how often do you get up and down form within 50 yards off the green?

The experiment would allow any golfer including 20+ handicap golfer to reduce the number of strokes it takes to get up and down from within 50 yards from the green and try to get up and down or even get up and down in three strokes. how much would that improve your golf score if you calculate that into your last round.

I dropped my score just by practicing putting and chipping from just off the green from within 50 yards from a short game practice area nearby. my scores have been consistently low because I am able to get up and down more than 60% of the time. This experiment would encourage more golfer to consider focusing on 90+ % of your limited time to spending on putting and chipping from just off the green for any level golfer.

Just interesting to see how this would work for a 20+ handicap golfer or even for someone new to the game.

[14ledo81]

A high handicappers thoughts here. I practice my short game a fair amount because I can in my backyard. I can hit up to 60 yard shots. While I think this helps a lot, I still think driving and approach shots could help me more. I need to be able to drive it 225 and in the fairway consistently. I also need to hit my 150 yard club at least 90% of that distance all the time. Right now I might hit my 7 iron so fat the ball might not travel 100 yards. This still leaves me a tough shot to hit the green. On average for 9 holes, I probably lose 5-10 strokes to errant tee shots or fat approach shots.

[iammpspeer]

  right handed phil mickelson said:

At a higher handicap the key to dropping strokes is to work on drives and irons. That's where they struggle the most because they always hit it out of bounds, or way left or way right. They need to get it around the green first. Then they can work on the short game.

I agree and disagree. I agree that a higher handicapper would need to focus on ball striking, specifically in the irons and woods.

But I disagree that a low handicapper can get to scratch by just practicing short game, that's just not how it works. Really low handicappers should be hitting GIR's pretty often. Low handicappers do not rely heavily on up and downs to keep their handicap low. Putting is key to getting lower scores, but practicing wedges around the greens will not contribute that heavily for a 3 handicapper going to scratch because he should already be getting those GIR's.

[ks8829]

I played on Christmas Eve and had two memorable holes.

1) the first hole, I push my drive into the woods, punched out of the trees with a 5 iron, hit a punch 7 iron just off the green and putted from off the green and made the putt to saved par.

2) 9th hole, par 5, hit two good shots to be within 30 yards from off the green chipped with my 56 degree wedge with the face slightly open aimed left, the ball checked right and when in the hole dead center for a chip in eagle.

As Gary Player once said " The more you practice the luckier you get"

I believe that if any golfer no matter what skill level spend most if not all their practice time practicing the short game, putting, chipping and pitching from within 50 yards from the green that they would improve their overall game and lower their handicap.

The pitch shot is focusing on the impact zone and a mini golf swing. once you achieve solid contact, distance and direction on your pitch shots, I believe that you could translate this swing into your iron play and even your driver swing focusing on the backswing and the way you take the club back properly.