The Short Game...Lowering Your Score

Ah, the short game...what I'll call shots from 100 yards in. This is where you really can lower your score and see results fast. In an earlier post I was talking about practicing your chip shots and getting comfortable with your "finesse" clubs. If you will spend some time on this aspect of your game, it will pay dividends quickly, I promise you.

No matter how good your shot making abilities, you aren't going to hit every green in regulation. That's a simple fact of life, lol. So if you spend some time practicing your shots around the green, this will improve your chances of making those birdies and saving your pars to have a decent score.

This can also be a lot of fun, and it's something you can do in your back yard, on the range if they have facilities set up for chipping practice, and you will again develop the sense of "feel" and rhythm you need for a good short game. Rhythm is important, you need to have it in every swing, from the driver all the way to the putter. And feel, or touch, comes with lots of practice. You don't want to hold the club with a death grip, but lightly, with a relaxed feeling so you can have that sense needed to feel the shots you want to make. As you learn what each club does for you, practicing different types of shots from different lies, distances, etc. will give you confidence that you can make these shots on a regular basis. You can effectively use range time for this, by using the yardage markers to know where you hit each club, using a full swing, half swing, whatever it takes. This will get you in position to make those birdie putts and save your pars.

Putting practice: this is where the work comes in, a lot will find it boring, but if you are diligent with your putting practice, I guarantee you will see your scores lower very quickly. If you watch 100 golfers putt, you will likely see 100 different styles or ways to do it. The main thing is for you to find what makes you comfortable, and go with that. I'll go over some putting techniques in another post dedicated specifically to that aspect later. But for now, just remember to practice on this area of your game to see lower scores. You will be surprised at how fast you might see results.

The Swing...Make it Repeat!

One thing you want to do when you're developing your golf swing, is find a swing that you can rely on to repeat. What I mean is, become comfortable with your swing so that it does the same thing over and over, when under pressure on a difficult shot, or relaxed with a chip from the edge of the green, make sure you have a reliable swing that you are comfortable with.

Now, the one way to do this is through practice, and a lot of it. This is where range time comes in well. You can spend your time at the driving range developing a repeating swing, building it into your muscle memory until it becomes a part of you. I can't begin to tell you how many balls I have hit at the range, or how many swings I have made until now it's simply a part of me that I don't have to think about. But you don't have to limit yourself to the driving range for practice.

Many time I'm at home on my day off and don't have time for the range, so I do a lot of practice in the back yard. I have a flag stick on a small green area, a practice net, and a wonderful coach by the name of Tanner, my Golden Retriever, who loves to chase the golf balls. Fortunately I have quite a big yard, but you really don't have to have much room for this. You can set up a driving net anywhere, and hit full shots into it to develop your feel and swing, to make those muscles begin to memorize what you want them to do. You can also use a small practice net to hit chip shots into to develop your sense of touch and feel for the finesse shots, which I'll get into on another post. And a lot of times I'll use those plastic whiffle balls to hit full shots to the flag stick with different irons, just to train my muscles for the swing plane and ball striking. You will be surprised, these won't really go that far, but you will get the same sort of trajectory that you would from a real golf ball. I personally think it's a great way to work on your swing.

Whatever method you want to try, just make sure your practice is done in these types of surroundings. You don't want to go to the golf course and wait until you're in a game to try to learn new techniques, that's what the practice range is there for, Then you can take those shots to the course and amaze yourself at what you've learned. I think you'll be surprised.

Try these couple of tips to see if your swing improves, I bet you it will, and faster than you think!

My Views on Golf

There are two things I'll call my hobbies that bring me great pleasure....playing the banjo, and playing golf. For practical purposes, I'll say that the banjo is my winter-time hobby, and golf is my good weather pastime. Since this blog focuses on golf, I'm going to try and write articles that might be entertaining, informative, and hopefully along the way might even give some helpful tips to other golfers.

This is a sport that anyone can enjoy...young, older, men, women, children; and that's one of the things I like the most about it. You don't have to be a Tiger Woods or Bobby Jones to go out on the course and have a great time, but the more you play and get involved, the more you will find yourself wanting to get better and better at the game. It's only natural, especially when you make that perfect swing and hit the ball stiff 6 inches from the cup, you simply can't wait to do it again. That's where another part of this wonderful game comes into play...the frustration.

You see, golf is a game that can't be mastered in my opinion. You can practice for hours on end, you can play from dawn to dusk, and believe me, with a lot of practice, you will get very good. Oh, but you won't ever master the game. There will always be those errant shots, that bad bounce, gust of wind, whatever might happen to throw you off, but you will find that even with all the frustration that goes with it, you will want to get right back out there and do it again.

To me, golf is also relaxing, even with the above mentioned frustrations. When you reach that point that you make up your mind to do your best and enjoy whatever results you get, then it becomes fun. I mean, really fun. I enjoy being outdoors anyway, so that's a big plus to me, and the beauty of the golf courses with their rolling fairways, manicured greens, the trees, water, and simple beauty of nature, well, what more could I ask for on a beautiful summer day?

If I'm not on the golf course, you might find me any day of the week at the driving range. This is another day of fun, filled with work that doesn't seem like work at all, but practice that makes my abilities for those different shots possible. I'm lucky to have a range close by with yardage markers, good practice greens, sand bunkers for practice, a nice chipping area, so I can spend a whole day there just working on every aspect of my game. I plan to get into some practice routines in the next few posts that help me, and hopefully will help you also. Remember, the more you practice, the more comfortable you get with your swing, and the better you will enjoy the game when you're actually on the course.

I hope you will follow my blog, and get some insights on the game, and some of you who are already golfers out there please feel free to leave comments and tips of your own to share with the readers. Thank you for reading, and continue to come back often.