Putting and Chipping How much can practicing it increase your score?

[akammerer]

lets say i putt and chip for an hour to 2 hours every single day for 60 days straight, and lets also say that i am a relatively new golfer that started this summer and shoots around a 55, do you think doing this would increase my scores pretty drastically? and if so by how much like how much would it really help and be worth it? i understand that putting/chipping makes up for half or even more than half your strokes so it basically makes it the most important part of the game. So how much would doing this much practice really help and lower my scores?

[rkim291968]

If you practice the right techniques, I'd say you can save about 4 strokes from 56.   That's my guess. 

[Brakkus]

There's a very interesting thread on here about where to devote your practice time. If you have a glaring weakness then you may need to apportion extra time to that area. Perhaps it's  a generalisation that high handicappers are guilty of being suckered into the long game and neglect the short game when we start out.

I certainly went down this route. My scores stayed above 100 for 6 years. I soon developed a mental and technical issue with finesse wedges around the green. I would flub short chips and under hit pitches around the green. I tried different methods and changed it a few times and that made me lose confidence.

Just decided in the last 2 years to really focus on settling on something. After all the methods I tried of various famous names and all the practice I really found my own style and feel which maintained all the fundamentals of the short game. I'm  regularly in the 80's now and shot 81 recently. Chipping it closer and confidence bleeds into putting because you leave yourself with makeable putts.

Now only just balancing out my practice time more evenly but certainly heavily  based practice time geared around chipping and putting and pitching for new golfers at the start I think saves years of frustration. I wish I had done it different I'm sure my handicap would be lower now.

[mvmac]

lets say i putt and chip for an hour to 2 hours every single day for 60 days straight, and lets also say that i am a relatively new golfer that started this summer and shoots around a 55, do you think doing this would increase my scores pretty drastically? and if so by how much like how much would it really help and be worth it? i understand that putting/chipping makes up for half or even more than half your strokes so it basically makes it the most important part of the game. So how much would doing this much practice really help and lower my scores?

Don't forget that a lot of those putts are tap-ins, so that skews how "important" the short game is. Short game is definitely not the most important part of the game, long game is (full swing mechanics). Working on putting and chipping for an hour or two a day will no doubt help you but not to the extent that properly practicing your long game for that amount of time would.

Take a look at this thread.

Edited October 3, 2015 by mvmac

[Shindig]

Yes, devoting that large a fraction of your practice time to putting and chipping can increase your score, relative to the same amount of practice time applied properly.  See the 60/25/15 link in the above reply for more detail.

[JonMA1]

My scores have come down in the last month or so and I have been averaging in the 90's. Earlier in the season I was probably at double-bogey golf. I normally play tees at or less than 6000 yards.

 

One reason scores have dropped is because of improved full swing iron play. But that doesn't mean I think the short game is unimportant.

 

Today’s 93 was better than I normally shoot, even though my irons shot dispersion was off. I tried to keep track of a few stats. Took some quick notes while playing and depended on memory for the rest. I think it’s pretty accurate.

 

GIR - 3 (all 3 resulting in pars) 120, 110, 165.

nGIR - 11 (3 pars)

 

On the 4 holes that didn’t result in a GIR or nGIR: 

Penalties - 2 (both from driver)

Punches needed - 2 (1 from driver, 1 from iron off the tee)

 

Greens missed from <120 (not necessary in regulation) - 4. This seemed worse than normal.

 

Lucky Bounces off trees: 2

 

If I were to look at the GIR stat, I parred 100%. GIR are king… no argument on this one. But part of that was due to competent putting - no 3-putts on these. This is not usually the case. 

 

Getting up and down 3 times in a round is unusual for me. These were due to very close chips.

 

The 3 nGIR that resulted in dbl-bogey or higher ended with 3-putts, not poor chips. This included some very short missed putts.

 

 

What I got from this round:

Even though my iron game was not as good as it has been, it was good enough to give me a chance at bogey golf.

Poor driver, woods off the tee will really hurt my scores

A good short game can take pressure off a less-than-spectacular full-swing round

Bad putting costs strokes. Today was better than most, but still not very good.

The 4 greens missed from <120 seemed a bit worse than usual. I know I can do better.

 

I agree with the 60/25/15 practice ratio, but not because the full swing is twice as important as the short game. It’s because the short game is easier to learn and requires less maintenance.

 

Basically, I believe that regardless of what level of golf you play, it’s important to have a well-rounded game. Bad putting may not hurt your game as much as a bad full swing, but you still lose strokes. Missing putts inside 3 ft requires work or it’ll be hard to score low - regardless of how good your full swing is.

 

 

 

*Anyone new to the site should know to take what I post with a grain of salt. It's just an opinion from a crappy player.

[sirhacksalot]

Where i play golf the most, the putting / chipping green is mostly flat, while there are only a couple flat greens on the course.  I am a member there so i can walk for free. My short game improved the most by waliking and practicing the first and ninth hole (side by side).  I play the hole (try not to drop too many balls for divots reason) but once i get to the green I usually chip from a few different spots and putt those in.  If i am chipping well and leaving close i move the ball onto the green and putt the long putt.  

Obviously i only do this when there is nobody behind me and its usually later during the day.  But it helped me out greatly.

[ncarlsongolf]

Where practice can make the most change in score is relative to where you are in your golfing journey.  Someone that is just beginning, or is still a high handicapper is going to benefit a heck of a lot more from practicing their full swings.  If they can eliminate the 3rd shot coming from the tee box, or having to play from other fairways the overall score is going to come down dramatically.  A person with a single digit handicap or close to scratch is certainly going to benefit more from short game practice.  All of their shots are lost from not getting up and down, or missing the last few birdie putts that change a 76 to a 72.  So, make an assessment or track where you lose shots for a couple rounds and start there.  You will see some glaring weaknesses very quickly if you simply track it!

[dkolo]

lets say i putt and chip for an hour to 2 hours every single day for 60 days straight, and lets also say that i am a relatively new golfer that started this summer and shoots around a 55, do you think doing this would increase my scores pretty drastically? and if so by how much like how much would it really help and be worth it? i understand that putting/chipping makes up for half or even more than half your strokes so it basically makes it the most important part of the game. So how much would doing this much practice really help and lower my scores?

It partly depends on how bad you are. If you duff half your chips, sure, you need to fix that. If you take three shots to get out of bunkers before skulking one over the green, sure, fix that. But I suspect the amount if time you propose is way past the point of diminishing returns. That is, you're devoting more of your time for minimal, if any gains, and you're costing your overall game because of the opportunity cost of not working on things like full swing and longer pitches. I considered myself an atrocious putter going into this year. I taught myself to read putts with my feet using a level, and having it down after about two or three practice sessions, or roughly about three hours. Having done that, it's just a matter of maintaining the skill with practice. I don't miss read putts massively anymore, so it's not worth spending gobs of time putting since I'll only get so good at it and greens here are imperfect enough that random variance puts a limit on how good my putting will be. Same with chipping and pitching. Your goal should be to get good enough that your next shot after any chip or pitch is a putt. Beyond that, you'll probably save more strokes working on longer shots. 

[WUTiger]

Depends on what you mean by practicing your short game. The practice green is a good place to get down you basic stroke and mechanics.

After that, it's a matter of practicing on the real course. Find out when play will be show, and play up to some of the more interesting greens on the course. Spend 20 minutes hitting chips, pitches and sand shots into the green from different angles. Lots of middle HDCP golfers have four or five greens that just baffle them. Go out and crack the code.

Short game is definitely not the most important part of the game, long game is (full swing mechanics). Working on putting and chipping for an hour or two a day will no doubt help you but not to the extent that properly practicing your long game for that amount of time would.

I guess that's why I had 7 one-putt greens - but didn't score very well -  a couple of weeks ago in the club championship. I blew about half my drives.

[wickwickity]

Okay, so it has been a while, but if people come across this in the Future...

I am living proof of your method. I went to law school, and didn't play for a few years, so today... I suck. I'm just getting back into it. My story:

Context:

I started golf at 21. I was very athletic: I could easily 360 dunk a basketball (at 6'1) and run a 6 minute mile. So, very athletic. I played golf for one summer when I was 12 and loved it. I worked part time on the course picking range balls, and played all day until my mom got off work. I'd say I did that for 40-50 days that summer. I played every day and developed a natural swing. I moved and didn't play again for almost 10 years. 

Fast Forward:

In College, I got a summer job on a new course. Every day after work, I hit the range. Golf pro took interest in my natural swing. I had never really played, and could hit a ball 275 from day one if I really grabbed one. He asked me to go out and play a round with him. I shot mid-fifties, but sometimes hit one really pretty, and the whole time he was like "God you got a pretty swing." People in the pro shop said the same. The pro started giving me free lessons. He said he'd coach me as long as I did what he said. First thing, "For every 10 balls on the range, 100 goes to chipping and putting." Over 2 months of practice, I went to shooting in the fifties, to consistently shooting low 40s. I played after work, so rarely played 18. I posted one phenomenal round of 37 that summer. I started out 5 under after 4 holes and lost my mind, palms started sweating, and I had to change my underwear after the eagle on 4. I then proceeded to throw up a terd on every hole going in.

My Advice, take it or leave it: practice the long game, until you know without a doubt you can shape a draw or fade on command. Then you can always play the smart shot to keep a good look at the green. Once you're within 100, you're dialed into your zone, and you know you're getting up and down. When the fear is gone, flubs never (almost) happen. They still show up, but when they do, you're not mad. You just laugh it off. 

By the end of my first summer, I could hit the ball 300. Pro clocked one at 356 with the wind. I could draw and fade on command. But I always did wanky stuff out there, being so new to the game. My saving grace was that if I was within 100, I was confident I could get up and down. And--within 25 feet of the green, I knew I was getting up and down. 

That wasn't supposed to be so self indulgent, but what better way to inspire than with proof of a time it has worked.

Edited June 3, 2017 by wickwickity
unfinished, and deleted "sh*t" because it seemed tacky

[dennyjones]

Welcome to the site @wickwickity.   Great testimony and experiences on your golf journey.   Thanks for sharing.  

[RH31]

On ‎10‎/‎2‎/‎2015 at 9:47 PM, akammerer said:

lets say i putt and chip for an hour to 2 hours every single day for 60 days straight, and lets also say that i am a relatively new golfer that started this summer and shoots around a 55, do you think doing this would increase my scores pretty drastically? and if so by how much like how much would it really help and be worth it? i understand that putting/chipping makes up for half or even more than half your strokes so it basically makes it the most important part of the game. So how much would doing this much practice really help and lower my scores?

There's no way to quantify how much you'll improve. Some players benefit more from repetitive practice than others. You'll save a few shots as your short game improves, no doubt.

Improving the short game is the easiest way to save shots.

Improving the long game is very beneficial in that it keeps you from having to test(use) that short game so much. That said, the long game is hardest to get good at and takes the most time to maintain.

Good luck!

[Buckeyebowman]

On 10/7/2015 at 6:35 PM, ncarlsongolf said:

Where practice can make the most change in score is relative to where you are in your golfing journey.  Someone that is just beginning, or is still a high handicapper is going to benefit a heck of a lot more from practicing their full swings.  If they can eliminate the 3rd shot coming from the tee box, or having to play from other fairways the overall score is going to come down dramatically.  A person with a single digit handicap or close to scratch is certainly going to benefit more from short game practice.  All of their shots are lost from not getting up and down, or missing the last few birdie putts that change a 76 to a 72.  So, make an assessment or track where you lose shots for a couple rounds and start there.  You will see some glaring weaknesses very quickly if you simply track it!

This is a good point! In my early 20's I could put the ball wherever I wanted to! I lived at the range! I shot under par on a regular basis but never went really low. My best was 3 under from the tips. So, after a round I'd grab a coke and my card and go over the round in my mind. When I shot that 3 under I had 13 or 14 legitimately makeable birdie putts of 20 feet or less. I made 3! Obvious conclusion? I can't putt! So I began really working on my putting, but never really improved. I could read the line, but left everything 6-12" short!

Oddly enough, 40+ years later, I putt better now than I did back then! At least I get the ball to the hole now!

Edited June 4, 2017 by Buckeyebowman

[Aus10]

I'm also somewhere who needs to spend more time on the practice green. I can just never find the patience to actually practice so it'll translate to the real greens. If you know exactly what part of your stroke needs the most practice you could find some drills that'll help that specific part.

[wickwickity]

On 6/3/2017 at 6:24 AM, RH31 said:

There's no way to quantify how much you'll improve. Some players benefit more from repetitive practice than others. You'll save a few shots as your short game improves, no doubt.

Improving the short game is the easiest way to save shots.

Improving the long game is very beneficial in that it keeps you from having to test(use) that short game so much. That said, the long game is hardest to get good at and takes the most time to maintain.

Good luck!

I agree with Aus10 all the way. You can never say 2 hours per day = 9 strokes. Also, short game is the easiest to shave strokes. I don't know your natural tools (e.g., longball hitter, ex-baseball player, etc.).

I personally believe that just about anyone could cut 5-7 strokes from the mid-50's with that much short game practice (caveat, it must be focused and constant practice without breaks). If you have some natural tools working in your favor, I think that you could see a dramatic drop and see some scores in the low 40s if you're throwing in a small bucket every day or two with the short game practice. The thing about practicing chips and pitch shots is that the consistent contact feeds into your long game. Newbies don't realize that. When you see that club face contact over and over in a chip and pitch swing, it grooves your swing so when you come down on a full swing, you can hit that plane a little easier. At least, that is my thought on it. A billion minds may disagree. I think many would agree with at least some of it though.

Here's a line of inspiration for you. This is the basic idea that got me to lower scores: fall in love with the process. "Most people only want the idea of the end result. Very few people are willing to put in that sweat and pain. The key to getting there is falling in love with the process of becoming great, rather than the concept of greatness." Good luck to you

[Buckeyebowman]

4 hours ago, wickwickity said:

I agree with Aus10 all the way. You can never say 2 hours per day = 9 strokes. Also, short game is the easiest to shave strokes. I don't know your natural tools (e.g., longball hitter, ex-baseball player, etc.).

I personally believe that just about anyone could cut 5-7 strokes from the mid-50's with that much short game practice (caveat, it must be focused and constant practice without breaks). If you have some natural tools working in your favor, I think that you could see a dramatic drop and see some scores in the low 40s if you're throwing in a small bucket every day or two with the short game practice. The thing about practicing chips and pitch shots is that the consistent contact feeds into your long game. Newbies don't realize that. When you see that club face contact over and over in a chip and pitch swing, it grooves your swing so when you come down on a full swing, you can hit that plane a little easier. At least, that is my thought on it. A billion minds may disagree. I think many would agree with at least some of it though.

Here's a line of inspiration for you. This is the basic idea that got me to lower scores: fall in love with the process. "Most people only want the idea of the end result. Very few people are willing to put in that sweat and pain. The key to getting there is falling in love with the process of becoming great, rather than the concept of greatness." Good luck to you

This is a great point. Why do you think Tour pros spend so much time practicing short putts. It's not just because they're important. It's because it's good for the golfing brain to see putt after putt falling into the hole!