Short Game (Games/Drills)

[PhillyEagle]

Spent enough time working on the full swing over the winter break, and it's getting close to playable weather again (Only a couple more weeks hopefully).

I plan on investing the time to help fix my struggling short game that has kept me from getting in the 70s. One thing I struggle with while practicing is boredom to be honest. Unless there is a particular drill or game I'm playing, I can't seem to stay around the greens for longer than an hour, and my handicap hates me for it.

A couple games that I play when I practice when on the green alone...

• Putting - 3 footers in a row, try to get 30 in a row and if I miss one start over
• Putting - Start at 3 feet, sink 3 in a row and move back to 4 feet. Sink 3 in a row from 4 feet, move back. And so on.
• Chipping - Put something like a quarter on the green and chip off the fringe and try to get the ball the land on the quarter

Anything else you guys can think of? Any games or drills that could help with my boredom while practicing the short game?

[JEFF4i]

Great work ethic on the short game, really good for the whole game.

But don't forget to switch it up, make little games. Also, never forget, you'll never face the same shot twice out there, especially in short game.

[gregfletch]

I'm rare in that I enjoy practicing the short game even more than hitting drive after drive on the range. Here is a game that I find fun to play...

Up and down - You need to find a place where you can chip and putt (hopefully when there are not a lot of people around and you can pick a few different holes). I take five balls and first chip them at different holes. Leaving each ball where it winds up, I then try and make all the putts.

I like to do this with 10 balls and then see what my % is for getting up and down. Another option is to see how many in a row you can get up and down. The thing that I like about this game is that you can make up for a bad chip with a good putt, but watch out - you can blow a great chip with a poor putt! It is also more like playing a hole instead of practicing - especially if you chip than go up and try to putt it in right away. It is hard to be bored if you really vary the chip shots. Mix long ones with short ones etc. etc....

[ezra76]

I made up a game for the practice green I called 7's. I would have 3 balls, pick a hole and try to get all 3 up and down in 7 or less. I wouldn't leave till I had done it. At first it would take nearly an hour. I started getting pretty good at this game and got to the point I could do it 9 times out of 10. That's when I changed the name to 5's.

It's good for a little pressure putting too. When you are on your 8th hole and need to drop a 3 1/2 footer to go home, that's good for the mental game.

[JEFF4i]

Once again, I have to comment. You will rarely face the same chip twice. So unless you are working on a new shot, why hit 20 balls from the same spot to the same hole? Get your feal randomly, get to understand that each and every shot matters, and treat each practice shot like a real one.

I don't know if this helps too much, but when I help coach, one thing I love to do at the very end of practice is we have a competition. With around 10 kids(boys and girls), I make all of them chip from one spot to one hole. Usually pretty easy. The closest 4 move on. Then a bit more difficult shot. Top 2 move on. Then one last chip, usually decently difficult. The winner gets a candy bar and soda, on me, and the 2nd place gets a soda or candy bar, their pick.

P.S. Actually usually it's a gatorade and granola bar, but most of the time I let them pick.

[solarbear88]

Distance Control

Shortest Chip
Mid Chip
Long Chip
Small Pitch
Larger Pitch
Full Shot

Use 6 balls. Try and land each successive ball where the other finishes rolling. Of course, it will roll a bit further, so each shot will be longer. If you miss one hit it over. Goal is to get 5 good ones so you can practice a full shot. Keeps me from getting bored with short game stuff.

[DisKoDucK]

all of these sound fun =D
As much as I don't like to actually admit it, but I still haven't bought into this "practice your short game as much as your full swing". I hear it ALL THE TIME, but it's just so much easier to obsess about the full swing, why the ball goes this way, why I keep hitting fat shots, etc....
I think it is because at this point in my golf game, a bad drive feels 5 times worse than a bad putt. I guess it's just one of those things I have to just make myself do, practice the short game I mean, and see what happens =D