How to Score Low

[warbirdlover]

No, this is not about my game... I play with the best golfer in our company's leagues once in awhile. He doesn't hit the ball farther then I do (usually in the fairway). His irons aren't better. He shanks a shot once in awhile. He's a decent putter. Last night he took a 9 on the first par 5 (a couple shanks) and finished with a 39.

How does he do it?

He is the BEST at chipping I've ever seen from 50 yards in. EVERY chip is within 2' (usually less) of the cup. Every one!! He only uses his sand wedge and locks his wrists for a putting type stroke. I also do this but can't even begin to match him at it. When he practices he's got five balls within a foot of the cup from anywhere. Over and over and over.

So, moral of the story. Learn to chip as well as he does and you can have an average game and still go low. I'll be working on this...

[slickpitt]

Drive for show, chip for dough?

[gwlee7]

Chipping is under rated and often overlooked but it is the fastest way to knock about 3 shots off of your score that I know of. I am constantly amazed at how poorly some people chip.

[Eracer]

I am one of those people. 20 yards and in is simply a disaster. I could drop 10 strokes off my index if I could get even marginally good from that range.

[Fairway_CY]

I try to play between 7 and 10 times a season... so, obviously I don't get out often, but when I do... it is really, really embarassing to hit my drive 250 down the middle, hit a 7 iron just over the back of the green, and then take 3 chips to get within 15 feet because it goes like this:

Chip #1 - Moves about 16 inches. Major decel caused by fear of hitting the ball over the green. Fun!

Chip #2 - Over the green. Overcompensation from the prior chip sends the ball 20 feet beyond the pin on the fly and then runs off the front of the green.

Chip #3 - On the green, but nowhere on line with where I wanted/needed the ball to go.

Oh yeah, then I three-putt from there.

Growing up, my short game used to be the best part because I would spend 2 hours at the firehouse chipping old balls over the parking lot, attempting to get shots close to parking signs or whatnot.

Now - I don't have that time and I'm not going to dig up my yard practicing there, so... my game suffers.

I could easily drop my handicap by 10 strokes if I took the time to practice from 30 yards and in and on the putting green.

CY

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by Fairway_CY

I try to play between 7 and 10 times a season... so, obviously I don't get out often, but when I do... it is really, really embarassing to hit my drive 250 down the middle, hit a 7 iron just over the back of the green, and then take 3 chips to get within 15 feet because it goes like this:

Chip #1 - Moves about 16 inches. Major decel caused by fear of hitting the ball over the green. Fun!

Chip #2 - Over the green. Overcompensation from the prior chip sends the ball 20 feet beyond the pin on the fly and then runs off the front of the green.

Chip #3 - On the green, but nowhere on line with where I wanted/needed the ball to go.

God, that sounds so familiar.

Originally Posted by Fairway_CY

Oh yeah, then I three-putt from there.

Thank heaven I can putt halfway decently.

Originally Posted by Fairway_CY

Growing up, my short game used to be the best part because I would spend 2 hours at the firehouse chipping old balls over the parking lot, attempting to get shots close to parking signs or whatnot.

Now - I don't have that time and I'm not going to dig up my yard practicing there, so... my game suffers.

I could easily drop my handicap by 10 strokes if I took the time to practice from 30 yards and in and on the putting green.

CY

What kills me is that I do practice those shots, and I do really well on the practice green. Can't take it to the course. Drives me absolutely CRAZY!

[BrandonM7]

My practice net at home got too many holes knocked in it (I don't hit it all that hard, it's just a piece of crap) and I got tired of losing the practice balls. As such, my daily practice changed from wailing away at the net to chasing a few balls around the yard with my shortest wedge. I still suck at it, but it has improved dramatically. Everyone has always said the short game (including putting) is the most important part, but I really hadn't thought about just how important until fairly recently when I sliced my first drive so far that I was playing my second shot from hole 9 fairway instead of hole 1 - hit that second one back just left of the fairway on 1, leaving me about 60 yards to the green. Then I realized that's where I end up when I play this hole perfectly, leaving me with the same approach shot -- so why have I been practicing so hard on the stuff that gets me to this spot when no matter what I do I end up right here, with the same short shot every time? Why haven't I been practicing the short shot I know I'm going to end up with no matter what? I've found out how much nicer it is to have to repair pitch marks on nearly every hole - a good drive feels great, but it doesn't hold a candle to sitting a ball on the green from 50-100 yards instead of from 5-10 like I had been doing most of the time.

[gwlee7]

Eracer,

You need to practice scoring. If you are just mindlessly chipping a 1/2 dozen balls at a hole that is not accomplishing much. Chip no more than 3 at a time and then go putt them out. Then, you'll be practicing like you have to play.

[SilverUberXeno]

Great chipping will get you pars. It will almost never get you birdies.

Here's why:

The way to get birdies is by hitting G.I.R., then one-putting. That's pretty much it.

If you have a 50 or less yard chip, you probably missed the GIR, and now have to get up and down for par. Of course, good chipping makes putting very simple. Most people can nail a 12 inch putt.

I maintain that it's easier to 2 putt from 20 feet than it is to get up and down from 20 yards. I promise.

[CosmosMpower]

I agree, I think there are 2 major contributions that have helped me improve greatly so far this summer.

1. Hitting it in the fairway even if it's 50 yards less than I could with a longer club, safe shot every single time, no gambling.

2. Practicing chipping 75% of the time and 25% at the range hitting balls. Instead of dreading 75 yards in, now I love it.

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by gwlee7

Eracer,

You need to practice scoring. If you are just mindlessly chipping a 1/2 dozen balls at a hole that is not accomplishing much. Chip no more than 3 at a time and then go putt them out. Then, you'll be practicing like you have to play.

Good idea. My usual practice is to toss 9 balls out in 9 different spots - some close, some far, some on tight lies, some in rough - then chip them all up to the same hole. Maybe I'll do the same thing, but putt each one out after I hit it.

Originally Posted by SilverUberXeno

Great chipping will get you pars. It will almost never get you birdies.

Here's why:

The way to get birdies is by hitting G.I.R., then one-putting. That's pretty much it.

If you have a 50 or less yard chip, you probably missed the GIR, and now have to get up and down for par. Of course, good chipping makes putting very simple. Most people can nail a 12 inch putt.

I maintain that it's easier to 2 putt from 20 feet than it is to get up and down from 20 yards. I promise.

Agreed - but for me it's baby steps. I'll work on my approach shots and my GIR numbers, but first I need to learn how to get up and down. That's my biggest problem, and if I don't solve that, then working on GIR's will do me no good.

[clemsonhacker]

yea chipping is the worst part of my game... i could easy knock 10 shots off of my score if i could chip better. just know time to go practice much b/c of our 14 month old son at home.

[LyleG]

Short game, short game and more short game.
I am not a great player by any means, but I almost always score well. My driving is mediocre, my iron play aint bad, but I am an excellent chipper and putter, especially from 6 feet and in. This is where you score.

The thing about having a great short game is that it takes a tremendous amount of pressure of your long game. I am so confident in my short game that as long as I can get with 50 yards of the green in regulation I expect to make par. This helps me when I hit a bad shot and allows me to be aggressive when I have a good shot.
I really thinks its this simple. No short game = higher scores. Everything else is secondary.

[JEFF4i]

Like xeno said, chipping can get you 70s, not 60s.

Its true though, the ability to scramble a par is a great asset.

[gpo]

What to work on is different for all people. But I will say this if you want to be single digit then you must be good at almost everything.

I have said this before here, but golf is a game of circles. I will let you hit every shot 30 times. After you are done there is going to be a circle of golf balls where you aimed. The key in golf is to make those circles as small as possible.

Like in chipping if you have a relatively easy chip a goal for 30 shots is to have none outside 9 feet. You would make plenty of those.

I don't realy believe you have to putt balls out when you chip. I like to chip 30-40 balls at a time. This does two things for me. It gives me muscle memory and it allows me to obtain the touch I need by feeling shots that are too long and too short.

I believe you should work on what gives you most trouble and what you can get the most bang for your buck. Like if you play 18 and have 14 driving holes and you only have clear reachable shots to the green on 7 of those 14 holes then you should work on your tee shots. I am not saying you have to be in the fairway, but rather not behind trees, in the water or way short. Just giving yourself a chance at making a good approach shot.

I recently play two rounds. I had 27 holes that were not par 3s. I was in fine shape off the tee on 26 of those holes. Meaning I gave myself a solid opportunity to make an approach shot. As you can imagine I shot pretty well over those two rounds.