Short Game Practice

[ks8829]

Gary Player was on Playing with the Pros on Golf Channel and he said an amateur if spending an hour to practice should practice 10 minutes on the long game and 50 minutes on the short game from 100 yards and in. He says that you spend 70% of your shots from within 100 yards.

Spend 90% of your practice time on the short game from within 100 yards to lower your handicap.

[martytilma]

Gary Player was on Playing with the Pros on Golf Channel and he said an amateur if spending an hour to practice should practice 10 minutes on the long game and 50 minutes on the short game from 100 yards and in. He says that you spend 70% of your shots from within 100 yards.

Couldn't agree more!

[jetsknicks1]

No doubt. I played this weekend and shot a 96, which is pretty much my handicap. But I can't begin to count how many strokes I cost myself from 100 yards in. Just an example, par 5 sitting 30 yards out in two but it took me 4 to get in from there. 2 chunked chips & then a 2 putt. I was playing with 2 guys who shot a 76 & a 79 and they both said that if I were to strictly work on my short game and ignore the long game, I'd be able to break 90. I will not bring anything over a 9 iron to the range next time.

[Fatphil]

This is a chicken or the egg question that can go on forever. A tour superstar like Player has a different perspective than a 25 hdcper. A 25 has obvious swing flaws that need to be fixed so while a 6:1 ratio may work for a tour pro or even a low hndcper,,,the ratio for a 25 is different. What that is, is up to the individual and his teacher.

As to the jetsuckknicks1 don't beat yourself up too bad on chunking a 30 yd wedge...that's probably one of the more difficult and precise shots in golf. It involves technique, lag retention, muscle control, coordination and a huge amt of practice. Any schlep can hit a 460cc driver and usually get it airborn, but a 30 yd LW,, ya gotta know what you're doing.

[ghalfaire]

Gary Player was on Playing with the Pros on Golf Channel and he said an amateur if spending an hour to practice should practice 10 minutes on the long game and 50 minutes on the short game from 100 yards and in. He says that you spend 70% of your shots from within 100 yards.

I believe it was Gary Player that also said "if you want to improve your putting stats take a chipping lesson". I kept some stats on my game and can add fuel to the fire here. Most of my strokes are lost from poor performance within a 100 yards. But I also lost significant number from poor drives (in the woods or OB). So both the drive and short game are necessary to good performance. In my case I now use a 3 wood (metal?) off the tee the short par 4 and most par 5 holes and that helps. I have also changed my practice routine to spend 50% or more of my time on the chipping/pitching green. I'm getting better.

[NCSU_MSE]

I agree that there isn't a one-size-fits-all formula for how much time to spend on your short & long game.

What you really need to do is be honest with yourself and analyze your typical rounds critically. For instance, when I look at my scores I find that I hit more drives OB (3-4 per 9 holes) than duffed chips (~1 per 9) or 3-putts (1-2 per 9).

So for me, the biggest way to drop scores is to get more drives in play. As a result, I probably spend 90% of my time on full swing and 10% on pitching, chipping, & putting. Once I get the drives under control, I'll move on to the next biggest "uh-oh" in my game and focus my time there.

[James_Black]

I practice my 6i the most.

I think it's the best thing for me, if I'm accurate with my mid irons I'll hit more GIR.

[chilly]

I understand his point, but as others have stated, sort of depends on what is meant by "amateur". I'm a 13hcp and most guys I play with are in this ballpark now. I'd say our scores over par are comprised of equal parts bad shots off the tee causing penalties, and inability to get up and down...with a light sprinkling of three putts. I try to work on short and long game equally at this point, I found that too much short game work really didn't do much good with my scoring because I was digging the ball out of the trees.

[WUTiger]

For 20 HDCP players:

Give most to the short game, as long as you're hitting the fairway off the tee . One-putting for bogies three times a side means short game alone can't save you.

I would suggest that mainly short-game practice will help you break 90, but you need to work on other parts of your game to get better than that.

[Dave H]

I would have to respectfully disagree with Mr. Player here. Sure, we can all stand to practice our short games more than we do. But, when I played yesterday, the 4 holes which kept me from breaking 90 were the holes I hit OB or into the woods off the tee. If you ask me, a 23HDCP, it's much easier to get the ball into the hole when starting from the middle of the fairway. I would say that for me, at least 75% of the time, my blow-up holes are a result of a poor tee shot - regardless of club selection.

[golfaddiction]

I have read from other teachers that spending 70% of your practice time on the short game is the way to go.

As for the posters who say first you have to get all your shots in the fairway, ask yourself this: haven't you spend hours on the range, hitting hundreds of balls, and yet when you get to the course you still shank one or two out of bounds? I guarantee that if you spend an hour before the round on the short game, you'll see a huge improvement in your touch around the green on the course. I cannot offer the same guarantee that spending an hour hitting woods and irons on the range will lead to hitting every fairway...

[nuck81]

To each his own.....

I've found personally the fastest way to dropping my scores was busting my ass on the practice green. To me it's the part of the game with lowest risk, the part with lowest amount of "uknown factors" that can ruin your scores, and the easiest part to control.

As far as range practice goes, I hit almost 70% of my balls with the 8 iron. It's my "fundamental swing" club, and the one I feel the most comfortable. If I'm grooving my 8 I know I can groove every other clubs since it's the same basic swing with just a few adjustments. I never hit more than two or three balls with the Driver in a row without hitting a few 8 irons in there to keep my swing in check.

NOTHING will kill a swing faster than Blasting balls with the Driver for a whole bucket. That's a fact.

My personal practice strategy may not work for everyone, but I;ve gone from an absolute beginner to breaking 90 the first time last week in just four months. I shot an 89 last Thrusday and I am convinced my next 18 I'll shoot an 86.

And using the practice green is free.....

[NCSU_MSE]

As for the posters who say first you have to get all your shots in the fairway, ask yourself this: haven't you spend hours on the range, hitting hundreds of balls, and yet when you get to the course you still shank one or two out of bounds?

I absolutely have...when I

mindlessly hit balls at the range. When I hit a small bucket of balls while focusing on the proper keys (keys that were given to me by my instructor) - get your weight on your left side and feel a flatter shoulder turn - I hit 'em much better. So far that is translating to better drives. Now, I agree 100% that you should hit the practice green before teeing off...I hit a small bucket and pitch/putt for about 10 minutes before teeing off. My point was just that when looking at my game personally, I have a much harder time putting a ball in play from the tee than I do of pitching/chipping to 6 feet. Everyone should look at his or her game and make that same decision on how to divy up practice time.

[sean_miller]

I probably spend at least 70% of my practice time on the 145 and in shots. Once you're striped a few mid and long irons you're can move on. Having said that, I have spent entire range sessions just working on the 2-iron or driver - I'll maybe do that once or twice a season.

[Krullpes]

A good amount of short game practice is essential for effective scoring if you ask me, anyone can learn to hit a ball long and relatively accurate with some practice but how many can drop the ball on the right side of the green from within 150 yards with any degree of success? How often do you see people knocking the ball from one side of the green to another because they lack the finesse to control the shot properly. I know I did it when I started out and I'd say its a much more difficult aspect of the game to learn.

I personally spend 75% of my practice time on some of the local short par 3 courses with good quality greens which have holes rarely longer 150 yards. I get to play some proper golf (and not hit balls at the range which gets tedious even with the best of intentions) and I get to work on my accuracy because the greens on the par 3's I play tend to be a fair bit smaller than at a normal course so when you're hitting them you know you're doing well cause they're half the size or less. Best of all the green fees (at least here in London) don't tend to be much more than a couple of buckets of range bricks...sorry balls.

[Leftygolfer]

I have no idea what I am doing with the long game right now so I practice short game almost exclussively. I know I have something in my long game and if I had a video camera so I could see what I was doing, I'd be at the range. But I don't, and I am irratic as heck right now and going to the range doesn't change it. One day, I'll go out and play fine, hit my 8 greens, shot an 80 or so. Then the next I hit 2 greens and loss a bunch of balls and shot a 92. For me until I get direction on my long game I am trying to be the scrapist player I can be. I have a couple of drills I do on the putting green and work on getting up and in from all different kinds of lies.

[Gordon McTavish]

This is fine advice for anyone who's reasonably accurate from tee and fairway but sucks around the green. Not great for people who are the inverse.

I played a par 71 course a few months ago and shot 108 with 26 putts. Seems like a no brainer as to where I need to improve!

[golfaddiction]

Teaching professionals also will tell you that if you are pitching and chipping well, you'll hit better long iron shots because it's the same feel and motion, just a shorter swing.