Short Game, Your best and worst shots!

[GolfMaineiac26]

The one thing that I found to be true since my first round is that, the short game is where you either win a match or lose one, anyone can recover from a bad shot off the tee, even if you hit a hazard and lose a stroke, but having a bad short game is a whole other matter. My biggest strength luckily for me is my short game, while I don't have a ton of chip-in's to my resume, I am very proficent in getting it close from the rough and the fairway.

My best shot was made on a mid length par 3 at my "Casual Course" on the mid length par 3 #7th. I had bounced my first shot off the back of the green which was sharply elevated leading downhill into deep rough, making my second shot short and uphill (the pin was only about 25 feet from where my ball landed in the rough) I used my Pitching Wedge for my second shot as at the time it was the only wedge I had, and the way I was my ball laying down in the grass with about a 4 foot elevation to get it over knowing full well that I could easily overshoot the hole if I hit it too hard, my only play was to get the club face under the ball and flop the ball onto the green and hope for the best.

I went through with my shot, but instead of a flop the club hit the ground behind the ball as soon as it made contact with the ball, but to my surprise the ball took a good bounce and bounced up over the edge of the rough/fringe and rolled out onto the green and fed towards the cup to about 4 feet, and I was able to putt and make a par save, this was only my 4th round of golf that I had played so it was quite surprisng.

sorry if some of that didn't make sense I don't have the best grammar, and I'm not exactly up to par, hehe, on my golfing terms.

[iacas]

The one thing that I found to be true since my first round is that, the short game is where you either win a match or lose one, anyone can recover from a bad shot off the tee, even if you hit a hazard and lose a stroke, but having a bad short game is a whole other matter.

Countless examples, statistics, etc. exist to show that this is not true.

That said, the premise of this thread isn't to debate that, but I thought it warranted a brief note. And by doing so I'm bumping this thread, so maybe others will have something to add that's more on topic. :)

[DeadMan]

My worst short game shots are every single one that doesn't give me a putt on the next shot. Which I have way too many of to count. Maybe my favorite is when I went completely under the ball on a flop shot and didn't move the ball an inch.

My best one is still etched in my mind. It was more lucky than anything else, but still. I'm in a match play, second hole. Par 3. I miss the green in a bad spot - short sided, I have to chip the ball over a swale to get to the green, and the green slopes away from me. My opponent was in a spot where he would likely make par. Honestly, I was just trying to give myself ANY par putt. Well, I hit the pitch, it hits the flagstick, looks like it's about to drop, bounces out of the cup but somehow rolls back in for a birdie 2. It was surreal - I vividly remember it looking like it was in the cup, bouncing out, and still going in. Huge swing. I ended up winning the match, 3&2 I believe.

[Lihu]

I drove pin high but 40 yards off line on a short par 4 yesterday evening, and chipped from some wood chips over the green into more wood chips and chipped over the green once more. Chipped again and 2 putt for a double all from pin high. If this was not the worst, I have at least 3 more examples from the last two weeks. My memory of these shots is bulk erased weekly with a few Sangrias.

Chipped in for birdie with a bump and run from 20-25 yards a week or so ago. Maybe there were a few more good shots. . .I don't remember because those are also bulk erased as well to protect the rest of the golf cells in my brain from the bad shots.

[saevel25]

Worst shot, probably last night. I shanked a 15 yard pitch shot over the green into a bunker. Then I chunked the bunker and had it roll back into the bunker.

Best Shot. Blackmour Golf Course near Steubenville, ohio. Hole number 11 a par 5 with a green that sits on a side of a hill. I ended up above the green next to a tree on the crest of the hill. I couldn't stand normally so I turned my back to the green and stood sideways to the ball. I used my right hand only and did a small chip shot that flew halfway down the hill, bounced off the hill and ended up about 15 feet from the pin.

[mdl]

Only counts as short game if you call partial wedges short game and not just green side shots. But if you do, my best short game shot was on my only non-driveable par 4 eagle. Drive to 60 yards out, 2/3 60˚ to the middle of the green, rolled smooth and slow like a putt into the hole on the back 1/2 of the green. Too many "worsts" to list. And I tend not to remember those like the above! Worst ones have probably all been blades over the green into crap. The digs are frustrating, but they usually just cost you the one stroke you duffed. Bladed shots over the green into crap can cost 2, 3, 4, 5, ....

[Tgb02]

Countless examples of good and bad over the last few months but I'll give a good and a bad from my two day tournament on Sunday and yesterday. On a short elevated par 3 I scolded a 56 degree past the green and into trees behind and I found the ball and moved some branches around to hit the ball. I had to stand at a super awkward angle with branches poking me everywhere and I came straight up and down on the ball and swung as hard as I could. I put the ball about 5 feet from the pin and actually made a par putt. On the second day on the second hole I had left a second shot on a par 4 a few yards short of the hole and I went up and chipped the ball. I hit it up onto the top of the rough fringe on a hill but it rolled back down and I did it again. I then got mad and tried to putt it up and it hit a divot and came back down. I ended up getting an 8 on the hole and it ended up really hurting my score but ya.

[Cookieboy]

Best

My tee shot ended 20 feet from the hole on a 400+ yard  Par 4 which would have been stupendous except I was actually playing a neighbouring Par 3. I walked up to the fellas who were about to putt out on that hole apologising as I approached and I said I would chip it back to my fairway. One of them said, "Go for the hole, you have a clear shot" and they started laughing. The hole was certainly visible but to get to my green I had to chip it high enough to clear a fence, but low enough to go under a tree branch, then it had to clear part of a vacant lot then clear the other perimeter fence of that vacant lot (I had to cut the corner) Then it had to clear about twenty yards of fairway, including a bunker I took my shot it went under the tree but over the fences then hit the side of the green popped into the air where it stopped five feet from the hole. I said, "Gentlemen" and walked off to utter silence.

Worst

I had a very long birdie putt, it never looked like missing but it fell one or two rotations of the ball short. It was so close if I thumped my putter on the green it would have fallen in.Happy to walk away with a par I walked toward the hole and had a back handed swing at the ball with my putter and somehow the ball flew sideways about six inches. I looked at my partner who said simply, "Your next shot is for bogey" Not willing to make the same mistake twice I lined it up carefully and promptly missed.

[dave s]

I'm constantly working on getting the ball to, and past the hole on chips and pitches.  Still getting used to the ball spin combination of a couple of newer Vokey wedges and softer cover balls.  Hit, skip once or twice, and stop on a dime ... 20' short of hole.

When playing practice rounds with my wife, (was just in FL 2 weeks ago) I work on getting those chips to, and past the hole.

While playing 3 rounds in FL, I holed one on the fly--no bounce, just sucked right into the hole.  Another I hit the stick 1' above the hole and it dropped.  Last shot was a putt of about 50 feet.  20 or so feet off the green, only slightly uphill and 30' to the hole.  Drained that one as well.

Those were about the only three highlights in 54 holes of golf played in FL 2 weeks ago.  The rest was pretty much crap! I did hit a 6-iron into the wind from about 140 over a bunker to a shallow green to inside 10' and promptly missed the birdie putt!  Ouch.

dave

ps:  I'm gaining better control over the newer Vokey wedges using soft-cover balls.  Bit of 'hands forward' and 'delofting' the wedge, pinch it off a really tight lie and the ball hops once or twice and literally stops cold.  Almost no rollout.  The issue is believing the ball actually WILL stop and to carry the shot 75% of the distance to the hole.  As a rank amateur, I'm much more used to a lot more roll out.  Also, still working on using more clubs (PW, 9 and 8-irons) around the green, but where I play there aren't a lot of 'clear path' opportunities for the 'get it on the green rolling toward the hole' shots.  I'm usually chipping from short greenside lies or over bad stuff.

[brettfan]

Dave S:

I had the same issue as you... constantly leaving chips 20' short due to too much spin.  Then I thought... "why the hell am I playing balls that spin so much if this is a constant problem".  I switched from a Pro V1x to the Bridgestone E6... now I get more of a "dead fish" pitch shot that hits and releases a bit rather than the "check and stop".  My short game is so much better.  I really think spin is over-rated... once or twice a round I may need to stop one quickly with little green to work with but I face a lot more shots per round where some release is beneficial.  Also, lower spinning balls are a lot straighter (off the tee)... anything I can do to avoid hitting 3 off the tee goes a long way toward improving my score.

It certainly looks cool to spin one back but it just isn't too practical for me.

Just my two cents.

[Fairway_CY]

A few weeks ago, I was playing a tournament round.  I was on the 12th hole (which was the 15th of my round) and I hit a good drive to the right side of the fairway.  I had about 110 to go, so I used a wedge... but I pushed it right and it ended up in a greenside bunker.

All day, I wasn't able to get out of the traps on this course.  They were wet and I was really struggling.  On this hole, I decided I needed to hit closer to the ball... unfortunately, I did just that and I flew the shot almost 60 yards out of the trap and across the green.  I ended up beneath a tree, between 2 roots... but there was a little room to make a swing.  I clipped the ball perfectly, flopping it up over the trap between my ball and the hole.  It hit JUST on the green where I intended and the ball rolled down the slope to within 5 feet.  I made that putt to 'save' a bogey.

On the next hole, I put my approach into a water hazard, had to drop behind that and then played a decent pitch onto the green to within 12 feet.  I made that putt for a bogey as well.

Those 2 short game shots allowed me to finish my round par - par - bogey - bogey - par - par which earned me a 4th place finish.

I've had a lot of memorable short game shots over the years... but those are fresh in my mind.

The poor shots are too numerous to even begin to list.  I've sh*nked a ball almost 90 degrees to the right into a pond from 40 yards away from the pin.  Last Saturday, I sh*nked one that almost hit my playing partners who were standing NOWHERE NEAR my intended target.

It happens... and that's why my handicap is so high.

CY

[RH31]

Hard to pick a worst, there's been sooooo many. I guess it was probably a chip that I did not advance. 1st hole in a partners tournament, I hit a 5iron  to a gnarly lie on a par 3. I tried to chop it onto the green and hit so far behind my ball that my club bounced right over it without making contact. Swing and miss, made a double bogey.

2 of my best were in a match play tournament. I was playing one of the favorites and him 1 down playing a long par 3. I  hit my tee about 30-35 above the hole which was a tough spot to even 2 putt from. He knocks his tee shot 10 below the hole. I make the putt

and he misses so now I'm 2 up. At this point he's wondering how he's 2 down to me. Next hole is a good par 5 and he's on in 2

15-20 feet from the hole, sure birdie. I'm short of the green in 2 and have to pitch over a bunker to the hole. I hit a perfect pitch shot that trickles in for eagle. He never recovered and I won the match easily.

[bubble]

In my first league team match play in 100 km/h wind (about 60 MPH) I won playing 12 holes hitting only one green.

I bogeyd  two holes, opponents had worst on those (match play at three kinda strange but nice).

had up and downs all over. huge links course, 6500m long (about 7200 yards) (saint cyprien south of france), water all over. dry and stiff like concrete. shots were going all over, flag were falling.

I was 12 handicap or so the two others were 5 and 6. I hit really average shots just pushing the ball afraid of everything but around and on greens I was in my bubble.

[9wood]

The 8th hole was a 455 yd. par 5. I teed off using my #3 Adams fairway wood and hit a nice straight shot down the middle of the fairway for 250 yds. For this 66 year old golfer, that's one hell of a shot and not one I am always able to accomplish. I used the same club for my second shot and hit the ball another 180 yards just in front of the green. So now I'm thinking of the possibility of chipping the ball close enough to the pin for a birdie attempt. Instead the club face of my PW hits the dirt before striking the ball, and the ball goes maybe 15 ft. It took me another try to get on the green then a 2 putt for a bogey on a hole that I should have a least gotten a par. Bummer

[Tennessee]

In my humble experience, the game is won or lost by approach shots to the green, not necessarily the short game per se.  Jack Nicklaus once said that most pros reach the green in the same amount of strokes, hence the game comes down to mainly putting.

For me, nothing could be more from the truth with modern balls, clubs and longer courses.

It is now the approach section of the game in my mind that determines the win or loss and where the ball lands on the green due to the greatness of that approach shot, be it 60 yards or 160 yards.

One of my recent best shots was a screaming low hit from about 154 with my 7 iron.  It never got much more than ten feet off the ground, but rolled and rolled up to about 10 feet from the pin.  From there I missed my birdie putt by two inches, but got my par easily.  My playing partner was so shook up he bogeyed the hole when he missed his second on the fairway and flubbed it.

And you might think you have some great shots, then you run into that really old guy who hits a driver off the tee 175 yards, a three wood 175 yards, one 9 or PW onto the green, and one putts for his par, over and over and over until you are ground into the dirt like old corn husks.  Been there, suffered that!

[9wood]

It was only a 120 yd par 3 and I hit a nice high arching shot with my 8 iron which headed straight for the pin. The ball however hit just short of the pin on the green that slopes off to the rear and rolled 20 feet past the pin. So I was hoping for a birdie or at worst a par. But no! I did the impossible. I five putted the hole for a triple bogie. Still can't believe I messed that hole up that bad.