Can get there in one, two or three but can't score well

[cooke119]

I get close on par threes is one, two on fours, three on pars five but can't seem to score well. Either its a bad chip or three putt. What they hell can I do? I've taken chipping lessons, have nice clubs but can't score well, I'm tired of shooting in the high nineties all because of my short game. Any thoughts would be welcome.

[SavvySwede]

GIR is King. Work on your full swing and hit more greens.

[Dave325]

4 hours ago, cooke119 said:

I get close on par threes is one, two on fours, three on pars five but can't seem to score well. Either its a bad chip or three putt. What they hell can I do? I've taken chipping lessons, have nice clubs but can't score well, I'm tired of shooting in the high nineties all because of my short game. Any thoughts would be welcome.

Do you have one specific big miss that is costing you strokes (more than the others? Like... Leaving putts short, Missing chips, etc. Maybe start there and just work on that one thing. Just an idea.

[vangator]

If you shoot in the high 90's, it sounds like you can make greens in regulation, but don't do it very often.  Keep some stats and find out the real numbers.

If you're a poor chipper, you need to practice.  If your full swing can hit the ball properly, you should be able to get your chipping under control.

Don't ask me about putting.  I'm going to start putting with a broken rake.

[Abu3baid]

7 hours ago, cooke119 said:

I get close on par threes is one, two on fours, three on pars five but can't seem to score well. Either its a bad chip or three putt. What they hell can I do? I've taken chipping lessons, have nice clubs but can't score well, I'm tired of shooting in the high nineties all because of my short game. Any thoughts would be welcome.

Do you ever have any OBs or lost balls?

something doesn't add up..  

[David in FL]

7 hours ago, SavvySwede said:

GIR is King. Work on your full swing and hit more greens.

This.  ^^^^^

 

[iacas]

Getting a lot of what we call "nGIR" (near greens in regulation) is important, but I'd be curious - as the others were - about your actual stats.

Lots of easy ways to con yourself in this game, particularly as it relates to relative strengths and weaknesses.

Maybe your short game is lacking. Or maybe you're just not getting as many GIR or nGIR as you should.

Can you detail a full 18-hole round for us that seems somewhat typical? Don't make it up - detail an actual round. Tell us distances to the hole and so on.

[Lihu]

12 hours ago, cooke119 said:

I get close on par threes is one, two on fours, three on pars five but can't seem to score well. Either its a bad chip or three putt. What they hell can I do? I've taken chipping lessons, have nice clubs but can't score well, I'm tired of shooting in the high nineties all because of my short game. Any thoughts would be welcome.

15 handicap doesn't sound like you always hit high 90s.

It happens, but not every time. Sometimes the greens are not as receptive, especially in the winter, so it's possible to get rounds that are way out of whack. For instance, I just had a round with 40 putts just not getting the ball closer on my lag putts and chips. I also had rounds where putting and chipping just came together really nicely.

What does your typical scorecard look like? More importantly, do you have actual near greens in regulation data? I wasn't going to try to sell you on Game Golf, but. . .

[bigalun]

I don't want to be "that guy" but how is your putting. Im off 11 and tend not to get many GIRs but nGIRs are just as good to me because I enjoy chipping and can get it close enough to save. Also as the other guys have stated, hows your chipping, do you have a stock chipping technique you use for every chip or do you have different chip shots in the bag, i.e. the one hop check, the land and roll out, the flop shot. I quite often see higher handicappers (which I wouldn't class you as) trying to play spinny chips from thick rough or flop shots from tight lies. Make sure you have the best chip for the shot in your skillset. Start with one, id recommend the putter stroke style chip and run and practice hard with it then add more, at least that way you will always have a decent option greenside

[Club Rat]

14 hours ago, cooke119 said:

I get close but can't score well, all because of my short game.

There are many scenarios when all golfers would have difficulty saving par around greens. Courses are designed to challenge the skills of players in manners that if the shot misses on an aggressive line, they will usually have another challenge facing them.

Two things to consider. Play for the middle or largest area of a green and look at the green surroundings for areas that are the least difficult to manage the next play to attempt to save par.  These areas are considered "bail-out" areas which area typically the least difficult to chip/pitch/putt onto the green surface.Other thoughts, learn a "go to" method for chips and pitch shots. Maybe your attempting high degree of difficultly shots when a simple bump and run would be a better option?

[Lihu]

4 hours ago, bigalun said:

I don't want to be "that guy" but how is your putting. Im off 11 and tend not to get many GIRs but nGIRs are just as good to me because I enjoy chipping and can get it close enough to save. Also as the other guys have stated, hows your chipping, do you have a stock chipping technique you use for every chip or do you have different chip shots in the bag, i.e. the one hop check, the land and roll out, the flop shot. I quite often see higher handicappers (which I wouldn't class you as) trying to play spinny chips from thick rough or flop shots from tight lies. Make sure you have the best chip for the shot in your skillset. Start with one, id recommend the putter stroke style chip and run and practice hard with it then add more, at least that way you will always have a decent option greenside

It's actually possible that a 15 handicap could get close to the greens and run away with a high 90s score at least some of the time. Maybe those are the times he remembers? Definitely a temporary condition at the very minimum.

[Dave2512]

My guess is his "close" is not that close, in the 80-40 yd range on par 4/5's and 25-15 on par 3's. His 2nd and 3rd shots are likely mini approaches and not green side chitches.

[RH31]

19 hours ago, cooke119 said:

I get close on par threes is one, two on fours, three on pars five but can't seem to score well. Either its a bad chip or three putt. What they hell can I do? I've taken chipping lessons, have nice clubs but can't score well, I'm tired of shooting in the high nineties all because of my short game. Any thoughts would be welcome.

You need to learn how to get that ball within 10ft from off the green. I was awful around the greens until I recently learned to use the bounce of the club when hitting these short pitch shots around the green. I saw Paul Azinger's Golf channel academy special and it made sense to me. Since then I worked my way up from awful to average or better on shots around the green. you can probably find some Azinger stuff on youtube.

I took countless short game lessons from teaching pros over the years and not a single one explained to me how to use the bounce of my wedge around the greens

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, Dave2512 said:

My guess is his "close" is not that close, in the 80-40 yd range on par 4/5's and 25-15 on par 3's. His 2nd and 3rd shots are likely mini approaches and not green side chitches.

That's not even close***.

 

 

***First time I'm trying to be ambiguous.

[GolfLug]

I wish I had listened to this advice before: Purpose of a short shot is not to have another short shot. That's it.

If you are nGIR so often, and if your chipping is so poor, forget the pin when you chip and just go for the center of the green and give yourself plenty of margin even if you duff the chip in all directions to have a putt for the next shot. I am assuming even though your putting may not be that great, you would rather putt than chip.

Go from there until you get your chip stroke skill to match the rest of your game. BTW, it may not seem like on frustrating days but chipping easier to fix than full swing so you are already ahead of the game.    

 

[cooke119]

All good input guys I appreciate it. A couple of things:

1. I've been on this site for quite some time and my handicap is no longer a 15 since I had back surgery (my third), not sure what it is today. Plus I'm 64 now, (can't believe that).

2. I don't keep stats but will start now, good suggestion, then I'll be able to really see what needs work.

3. I do know, my chips are always short (I feel like I'm not committing to the shot); my putting needs work, (you can't score well with a lot of three putts), and my GIR has to increase.

Thinks about it, my whole damn game needs improvement! I have a lot of work to do.

[bm85]

I'd recommend trying a chipper out if you haven't. Not a popular (or necessary) choice for serious golfers I'm sure, but they actually work quite well. Never would have considered using these, but was gifted one, tried it, and found it pretty fun/effective to use.

Chipping wasn't really a problem for me, but why I decided to keep it is because there is next to no % chance for error with these things. That and I knew I wouldn't miss my 5 iron

[9wood]

On 3/4/2016 at 7:34 PM, cooke119 said:

 can't seem to score well. Either its a bad chip or three putt. What they hell can I do? I've taken chipping lessons, 

Ask your chipping instructor to return your money

Edited March 5, 2016 by 9wood