Short Game: Distance/Control or Target?

[Space Bandito]

The course at which I practice has a pretty decent short game area. Two chipping/pitching greens, a large pitting green and a deep bunker.

The chipping/pitching greens are quite undulating, making target practice tricky as you're forced to play shots to different directions to get the ball to stop near the hole.

This is how I tend to practice, as the hole makes for an ample target. But I wonder should I be ignoring the flag all together? Should I be aiming to stop the ball at a flat spot on the green to dial in the distance and build control?

I get that the off center shots to roll the ball in are good for on course scenarios, but getting my shots I'm tune doesn't seem to come from hitting a 20 yard shot to the left the letting it roll forward and down 20 feet.

What do you think?

How do you practice?


Posted by my thumbs.

 

[JohnSinVA]

The course at which I practice has a pretty decent short game area. Two chipping/pitching greens, a large pitting green and a deep bunker.

The chipping/pitching greens are quite undulating, making target practice tricky as you're forced to play shots to different directions to get the ball to stop near the hole.

This is how I tend to practice, as the hole makes for an ample target. But I wonder should I be ignoring the flag all together? Should I be aiming to stop the ball at a flat spot on the green to dial in the distance and build control?

I get that the off center shots to roll the ball in are good for on course scenarios, but getting my shots I'm tune doesn't seem to come from hitting a 20 yard shot to the left the letting it roll forward and down 20 feet.

What do you think?

How do you practice?


Posted by my thumbs.

What kind of shots do you predominantly play? Do you lean toward the spinny checker that flies most of the way there then hop-stops? Or do you typically play for some rollout?

 

[Et Tu Brute?]

I place long (3") white tees in the practice green at spots I want to aim at.

 

[Snickerdog]

You need to practice both shots IMO. Shots that you can hit close and get the ball to check up immediately and shots that you hit that you want to roll out a bit.

 

[Et Tu Brute?]

I've never dedicated myself to short game practice enough for this to matter but my teaching pro buddy told me years ago that your short game development target should be to have at least two reliable options, if not three, for those routine little 20-40 yard shots from just off the green. You should be able to choose a target and visualize, then execute, both a high shot that checks and a low shot that runs.

What's the old saying? A great golf swing is a sign of hard work and dedication. A great short game is a sign of a wasted childhood.

 

[WMac19]

The course at which I practice has a pretty decent short game area. Two chipping/pitching greens, a large pitting green and a deep bunker.

The chipping/pitching greens are quite undulating, making target practice tricky as you're forced to play shots to different directions to get the ball to stop near the hole.

This is how I tend to practice, as the hole makes for an ample target. But I wonder should I be ignoring the flag all together? Should I be aiming to stop the ball at a flat spot on the green to dial in the distance and build control?

I get that the off center shots to roll the ball in are good for on course scenarios, but getting my shots I'm tune doesn't seem to come from hitting a 20 yard shot to the left the letting it roll forward and down 20 feet.

What do you think?

How do you practice?


Posted by my thumbs.

For me, when there's dramatic undulations I'd absolutely concentrate upon distance control to a flatter area.

I want to groove the stroke, start the ball on my chosen line and hone in on distance control.

I will definitely test myself then in playing to a target on such a practice area by inviting creativity within the scope of my preferred technique. That stuff is interesting and fun but it wouldn't be the basis for my practice. I'd want to hit chips that may resemble what I'm apt to face on the course, certainly more challenging than flat but less than unreasonable.

I look at it similarly to practicing the full swing. Of course we know that we'll encounter various lies on the course, but I can't ever remember finding a side hill lie at a range and hammering balls.

Not a bad idea to do that, mind you. I just view my time on the range as one to groove my swing and that my practice + creativity + planning on the course will help me to navigate that shot when it arises.

I'm not good enough to groove multiple facets that a swing or chip may encounter. I groove my standard and use my imagination from there.

 

[Et Tu Brute?]

I'm not good enough to groove multiple facets that a swing or chip may encounter. I groove my standard and use my imagination from there.

For what it's worth, for the short-game goals I was mentioning earlier my teaching pro buddy advocated using different clubs rather than manipulating the swing. High and check might be a SW and low and running a 9-iron or something like that.

 

[millsan1]

I practice my short game a lot, because with my distance, I am most likely getting on the green in +1 over reg.

That being said, as Et Tu said, I have several go to shots. From 90 in to 20, I know which club, at which backswing will give me what I want out of it.

My coach taught me to practice from the same spot, with the same swing, with different wedges, to get an idea of roll out for each. I have practiced that a bunch, and know how much roll out to expect from each of my wedges. So if I do my job, I can have a reasonable idea where the ball will end up with each.

 

[InTheRough]

The whole idea is to learn where to play the lob shot and where to play the bump and run. I'm better at the high and check. Then there's the ground this time of year. Hardpan. Lob wedge, play it back and pop it because you don't want that bounce interacting.

 

[TheHeez]

For short game practice I am of the mind that you should be more focused on your landing spot than the result from a wonky undulating green. You should lock down different ball flights and roll outs and just practice, practice, practice! Make sure you practice different lies as well.

 

[Daddio]

For short game practice I am of the mind that you should be more focused on your landing spot than the result from a wonky undulating green. You should lock down different ball flights and roll outs and just practice, practice, practice! Make sure you practice different lies as well.

This is it for me too. Each shot on the course will be unique so practice to ingrain the feel and ability to land the ball on your 'spot' with different clubs, at different trajectories, and from different lies. Continue to build your experience on how you envision the ball rolling out, checking up, etc... with different shots to different spots. Where the ideal 'spot' is and what 'shot' to hit it with etc... For instance I'm always looking to land in a valley, if possible, on greens with big undulations. On those greens I find my 'spot' first and then figure out which club, shot, trajectory gives me the best chance. Flat boring greens, not so much. It's all practice, vision, and experience IMO. Weekend golfers can get 'as good as they want to get' in this part of their games but there are not really any short cuts.

 

[Space Bandito]

For short game practice I am of the mind that you should be more focused on your landing spot than the result from a wonky undulating green. You should lock down different ball flights and roll outs and just practice, practice, practice! Make sure you practice different lies as well.

This is what I do. Though my head wants me to play everything to the pin. It's instinct, I suppose, so I find myself aiming to where I know the ball will roll close to the hole.

 

[Et Tu Brute?]

I have recently "rediscovered" the simplest possible little tiny part of successful chipping and pitching around the greens. Back when I used to take lessons, he was always preaching about mentally picturing not only where the ball was going to land but how high or low it was going to fly and how it would bounce or check when it landed.

Before my last two rounds I've spent just 15 minutes at the practice green trying to do that (it's a skill that gets rusty if you quit doing it for a few years). And I actually was able to do it a few times during those rounds. It's such a great reinforcement when you look up and see the ball not just tracking to the hole but actually flying through the just like you pictured.

I think it really helps me not over-focused on trying to "hit" the ball. I make a more fluid swing when I'm thinking flight and target instead of contact and mechanics.

 

[Chisag]

... I think it depends on your level of play and how you play. As a + index and a feel player, I practice getting the ball as close to the pin as I can and that varies from shot to shot. I never hit to a spot, I just try and feel what kind of shot I want to hit. Now I have little doubt my subconscious picks out a spot, but it keeps that info to itself. I also use my 58* for all pitching and chip shots around the green. When I first started playing, I forced myself to master my LW for every shot before progressing to other clubs. The problem was I gained so much confidence playing my LW, when I finally decided to include bump and run with lower lofts, they were much less successful than using my LW. Of course I de-loft my LW and hit low running shots if the pin placement calls for that shot.

... All that said, if you are new to the game or struggle with your short game, gaining control over trajectory and distance is paramount. So hitting to a spot isn't a bad idea.

 

[Et Tu Brute?]

... I think it depends on your level of play and how you play. As a + index and a feel player, I practice getting the ball as close to the pin as I can and that varies from shot to shot. I never hit to a spot, I just try and feel what kind of shot I want to hit. Now I have little doubt my subconscious picks out a spot, but it keeps that info to itself. I also use my 58* for all pitching and chip shots around the green. When I first started playing, I forced myself to master my LW for every shot before progressing to other clubs. The problem was I gained so much confidence playing my LW, when I finally decided to include bump and run with lower lofts, they were much less successful than using my LW. Of course I de-loft my LW and hit low running shots if the pin placement calls for that shot.

... All that said, if you are new to the game or struggle with your short game, gaining control over trajectory and distance is paramount. So hitting to a spot isn't a bad idea.

I'm starting back up with practicing short game more than once in a blue moon. And where I'd like to get to (and I've more or less been in the distant past) is being able to look at a short-game shot and kind of visualize how I'd roll the ball up to the hole if I could toss it. Then choose a club and a ball position that lets me do something like a soft toss onto the green.

I know from past experience I simply don't have good enough touch and technique to fly it in low, almost to the hole, and check it quickly. So I don't even work on that option. But if I'm practicing regularly I can do sort of a "high toss" that lands kind of soft or a "low toss" that runs out more. Usually something like a 50-degree or 9-iron with ball near back foot for the low one and SW with ball in the middle of stance for the high one.

I think I can get back to that if I'll invest a little time around the practice green over the next year or so, along with a couple visits to my teaching pro.

 

[BluesManDan]

I practice to holes... high, mid, and low shots with SW or LW to various holes from all 4 sides of the practice green, from varying distances off the green, so that I have downhill, sidehill, and uphill shots of low, mid, and high trajectory. Creativity and vision are important in wedge work.

Then I chip with 8 iron to get my chipping and lag speed down. Then I practice putting. I would practice some sand shots but we don’t have a practice pit, and I rarely end up in a bunker anyway.


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[Space Bandito]

I rarely end up in a bunker anyway.

Famous last words

 

[rollin]

Funny this good topic cause I was considering this a bit the other day. Imo we need to do both because the scenarios are always different.

 

[BluesManDan]

Famous last words

My course only has 11 bunkers, all greenside.

There are 4 on the front, on 3 holes, and one of those is really not in play at all... it’s just too far from the green, distant front left...that’s on a par 3, and the other 3 bunkers are on the par 5’s, so they are easily avoided. If I’m in them it’s on my second shot, so if I get up and down it’s for birdie not par. Might as well be zero bunkers on the front.

There are 7 on the back, on 5 holes. Those are placed pretty well, so if you mishit your approach on those holes you can get in the sand. But all this means you only have 5 holes with sand really in play where you have to contend with it. On 2 of those holes (12 & 14) there’s just one front left bunker, which is the easiest kind of bunker to avoid (unless you’re a lefty). If you keep your drive to the right they don’t matter, but even if you don’t they still don’t matter much, since a shot misses left and long most of the time, not left and short. So that leaves just hole 11 with a front center bunker, and then 13 and 18 being guarded by double bunkers front left and front right.

So that’s really just 3 holes where the bunker placement matters! But 11 and 18 are both shortish par 4’s so you’re hitting a wedge to 9i in. Don’t usually mishit those.

Only 13, a mid length par 3 (150-170) with double front bunkers REALLY matters. When I’m in the sand it’s usually on 13.


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