Long Game vs Short Game

[nevets88]

This is based on my own anecdotal observations, but so many times, I've seen so many players who have good swings and are pretty good from tee to green and then when you see them 75 yards in, chipping, pitching and putting, there's a disparity.

In general, I'm guessing it just takes alot longer to develop a short game rather than the long game. How many players do you know that are the opposite?

[enis750]

myself...get inside 120 yds and this is where i shine
it does take time and practice though...a lot of it

and most people do not work on their short game...even at all except a few putts before the round

I spend 90% of my practice time on short game, and it shows on my scores

[Fairway_CY]

I suppose it depends on the definition of 'good'. I always felt like when I was inside 100 yards, I was fairly decent (with the exception of a few fluffed chips here and there). Now... I can say that when I find a greenside bunker... I'm kinda goofy in there. It's a crap-shoot, really. I'll either hit an awesome shot to within 5 feet... or I'll skull it over the green... or I'll leave it right in the bunker. THAT part of my short game sucks... but I don't typically FIND greenside bunkers because the MAJORITY of my approach shots are inside 100 yards.

That is a direct result of sucking BIG TIME with my irons. Once I get off the tee... I kind of HOPE for solid contact on my second shot. 18 degree hybrid, 21 degree hybrid and 5 iron down to 8 iron are all kind of 'how am I playing' type clubs. If I'm playing decently, I'll feel confident standing over the shot. I play a nice little fade with my irons... and a semi-pull with my hybrids. But if I'm off... it'll be a severe slice or severe pull, depending on the clubs. When that happens, it takes a LONG time for me to regain my confidence. At that point, I hit either a TON of fat shots or a TON of thin shots which will put me inside that 100 yard zone and then I'll get up and down, or up and then down in two. It's the iron game that kills me and puts a bunch of extra shots on my card.

Now... RECENTLY, I've come to realize that my definition of good from inside 100 yards may not ACTUALLY be good. I thought that a 2.00 putts per hole average was good... but I see a LOT of guys on here who have less than 30 putts per round... which I've NEVER done. It's something that I'll be working on over the next few weeks/months as I prepare for our club championship in July. If I can control my irons and drop my putts per round to around that 30 mark... I should be able to shoot a mid-to-high 80 score for both rounds. If I can improve that even a little more... I may be able to compete for the gross title as well (typically around 158-165 range).

We'll see.

CY

[Gebus]

What I suggest to alot of new players is to work from the green out. Before you hit the range go to the green with someone that really can putt well and learn from him, learn how to read it learn the stroke learn how to lag... Once your comfortable on the green start learning chipping, learn how to control your release learn how to get the ball to check up. Once your comfortable with that go to the range and get extremely comfortable with your 10,25,50,75 yard pitch shots until you can make them without thinking. Then get a pro show you how to swing your irons properly and then figure out the rest.
Thats how I learned to play and on my golf team I am by far the shortest hitter, I carry 220 with my driver but I almost never miss a fairway. My iron play is average for my skill level but give me a ball 120 yards and in and I will show you some magic. I am also very good (hell of alot better than last year) on the greens. So even if there are guys on my team that can hit a drive 320 I still beat them most of the time.

[putput]

My problem is my driver, I have improved ten fold this off season with my short game, especially my pitching from 50 yards and in but i still can not figure out how to drive the ball straight.

If i can ever figure out how to drive my handicap will go down at least 1-2 per hole. Time to go back to the range...

[Meddle]

This is based on my own anecdotal observations, but so many times, I've seen so many players who have good swings and are pretty good from tee to green and then when you see them 75 yards in, chipping, pitching and putting, there's a disparity.

That's the definition of me as a golfer. I think it's because when you start to golf, you really just want to hit the ball straight and solidly so you don't embarass yourself with 40 yard slice of the tee or a 50 yard runner on a 150 yard approach shot. I know that's what I worked on for the longest time, so I could just play golf with other people. Now, I'm learning how to putt and chip. I feel like tee to green I play like a 10 handicapper, and around the green i'm like a 30 handicapper.

[saevel25]

Eh, i don't have to pitch the ball, lets say 40 yards and in, i am pretty confident i can get it with in striking distance for the putter. But short range pitching and chipping, is not good. My best days are when i hit a ton of GIR. I get up and down maybe twice in 9 holes.

[BonoVox]

Most my big scores are a result of the tee shot. I feel if I can get more consistent there. Or at least make my two worst tee shots a round a bit better, I will shave some strokes.

So I am pretty much rebuilding my swing.

But do practice a lot on the short game!

[senorchipotle]

a short shot is a lot easier to hit vs a long shot. would you be more confident with a 3 iron shot from 230 yards out? or a 60 degree pitch from 50 yards? the long game takes longer to develop. it's just that a lot of guys want to hit their irons and driver well so they neglect their short game.

[clubchamp]

I've never been a long hitter and I work on my short game non stop. I think having a lot of shots that you are confident in around the green pays off more than anything. The other thing I've noticed around the practice green is a lot of people show up to work on flop shots and trying to spin everything. I think those shots are helpful but one of the most important shots is the chip and run. I use it on probably 90% of my chips it's easy to hit from fairway or rough and all you've get to do is getting rolling down your line.

[Cussin hacker]

My short game sucks from 20 yards in. Mainly my putting. I 3 putt about 8 to10 holes a round. I'm getting better, but have a long way to go. Funny thing is before I took mostly 15 years off from golf my putting was the strongest part of my game. I'll get there before long.

[Chilli Dipper]

The biggest element of the golf swing, which many players forget in relation to the short game, is tempo. Whatever tempo you keep during full-swing shots should be the tempo you keep for pitches, chips, and putts. To do that for short shots, though, every moving part in your swing has to slow down to meet that tempo for the length of the swing needed for any particular shot. Instructors commonly mention the importance of accelerating through impact, but they neglect the equal importance of keeping a short swing in tune to a player's natural tempo. For amateurs, then, it's easy to try to rush impact with the ball, and that leads to poor contact and "choppy" shots that are nearly impossible to control.

[WUTiger]

You need a decent short game to consistently play well.

Second most important thing: Get your tee shots in the fairway, in a good lie. A 210-yd. shot which leaves you 150 yds. out on a flat spot is better than a 240-yd. shot that leaves you sidehill in a valley, shooting 120 yds. uphill to a pin you can't see.

If you're flat in the fairway, you have less problems hitting an approach shot.

[Jay-Bird]

It can depend on the course, but generally the better short game player is going to win.

[chilly]

As has been stated, I think the disparity is due to newer golfers working on the "long game" as their priority. I personally agree with this aspect, as it's no fun skulling shots on your way to the green. However, I think by the time a guy hits 18hcp or so, he should start switching gears and dialing up the short game for sure. A normal 18hcp still isn't much of a ballstriker (I'm not talking badly about bogey golfers as I am one) but they're getting to be somewhat proficiient, if the short game comes around I don't think it's much of a jump to get to a solid 12-13hcp.

Some of the issue is it's easier to find a driving range then a short game practice facility (at least in my area).

[double_j]

A good short game can offset a multitude of weaknesses elsewhere.

Heck, I've always said that as long as you can consistently advance the ball straight 75 to 100 yards per swing, you should be no worse than a bogey golfer with a solid (it doesn't even have to be spectacular) short game.

[golfaddiction]

Some of the issue is it's easier to find a driving range then a short game practice facility (at least in my area).

Totally agree with this. I can find a range anywhere, but practice greens are few and far between. Maybe because you can't make money if people are hitting their own balls from short distance rather than buying a bucket of balls? Back in DC, there was a 3 hole practice course that you could use for 10 bucks an hour or so.

I suspect the best bet is finding a local course with good practice greens. One of the publics in my area has separate large chipping and putting greens. Hopefully they won't have a problem with me using the facilities without playing.

[B-Con]

I second the difficulty of finding mid-distance chipping practice. One of the local courses in the area I moved to actually has a 20-30ish yard chipping greeen, but I'm not sure you're allowed to retrieve your balls from there as I've never seen anyone do it. Another course nearby has the chipping green in a dead area at the intersection of a couple tees, so you can back up 10-20 yards from the green and chip to the other side of the green for some 20-30 yard short-range practice.

I suspect the best bet is finding a local course with good practice greens. One of the publics in my area has separate large chipping and putting greens. Hopefully they won't have a problem with me using the facilities without playing.

I think that most courses assume that people will use certain practice facilities without playing. As long as you buy balls on the range or play the occational round, I think the misc. practice facilities are an understood part of the bargin. If you never payed for anything, that might be an issue, but if you're a regular on the course and you're usually buying something from them, I can't see anyone complaining.