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How Good is Your Short Game?

About nine years ago I had two back surgeries and couldn't do anything for a while except chip and putt. I had a lesson in how to chip, practiced a ton, and it became the strongest part of my game. I am very good at chipping. Pitching, I know the ball will get on the green. Sand, terrible. I can get out and that's it.
 
30 yards and in, my game is pretty good. But....I really depend on the 60 degree high loft/flop style shot as of late. I just can't seem to get any spin on the ball for the checking up chip. I know that high shot is not the high percentage play, but right now that is working very well and the low check and run is not.....it's just all run.
 
My chipping is ok, but my sand game isn't great. I definitely need some work in the whole area though.
 
I'd put myself in the mediocre range for short game. I've been working on it and as long as I can stop from short siding myself I seem to do better, but shortgame and putting are still a significant score impact for me. Sand game is a little streaky. Been practicing that lately and moved to a lower bounce wedge as our bunkers here locally have firmed up some over the last year.
 
Used to be very good. After a very slow year last year and not touching a club in almost 9 months, last weekend showed me I am bad now.
 
Inside 30 yds is the absolute worst for me..... I think it’s more mental than anything but I can’t get out of my own head.... if I can’t reach the green with an approach shot I’ll lay back 110-90ish is preferred but even 70.... green side to about 10-15yds is decent..... beyond that distance I’m just flat out inconsistent
 
Scrambling well keeps my game near bogey golf. Bunker play kills it. Maybe if they had sand in our bunkers it would be better.
 
Just did some calculations at one of the shorter, narrower courses we play regularly. With some driver woes, I hit long and mid-irons off the tee all-day and left myself with mid-irons in. (Normally I can go driver on a few more holes to give me a full or 3/4 wedge in, but still not many). I wound up in 5 greenside bunkers and some rounds I never find myself in a bunker.

Rarely is a green a perfect circle or oval, but close enough to give some idea. I used either the formula for a circle (π r2 ) or oval (πxRxR). Using Arccos which measures greens in yards, means multiple the total number for each green by 3. All of the greens at this course were under 6000 sq ft and the average according to my calculations was around 3520. The smallest clocked at 2543 sq ft. Imperfect I know, but that explains some things. I had two shots on par 3's that hit the fringe and bounced down...one into a bunker and one in a collection area. The one in the bunker was 9 yards from the center of the green. I'm not as worried about my mid-irons any more :rolleyes:
 
Hamfist said:
Hmmm...once again, I'm amazed at how low handicap guys don't feel their (insert aspect of golf game) is just aces. I know it's due to the overriding golf mentality of "I know I can be better at (insert aspect of golf game)" that plagues us all, but it still surprises me.

I'd figure a, say, 4-capper would be at least saying "Well, overall it's pretty good."

As an edit, this is in no way meant to flame anyone. Just an observation from the peanut gallery.

As a final addendum, oddly enough, I'm actually pretty good out of the sand. I used to dread them, but now, I'd say I'm out in one shot most of the time. where it lands on the green is a mystery, but, I'm out.

OK, one more: looking at jfrigo up there ^^, I have a question. He regards himself average with a positive trend. Now, is he (and all of you low cappers) saying he's average to others of the same cap, or to the entirety of the golfing world? Looking at his stats, I'd be dancing a happy jig if I could average 8 feet to the pin from 25 and in. Someone who is a 2 might say that is about where they'd expect to be.

Is this my big disconnect?
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I'm with you. I've mentioned before how many people here don't give themselves enough credit. Too quick to say they're crap, when they're anything but. We're all hard on ourselves and know we can do better, but without some accurate perspective how do you even realize you are, in fact, doing something pretty darn well?
 
OldandStiff said:
I'm with you. I've mentioned before how many people here don't give themselves enough credit. Too quick to say they're crap, when they're anything but. We're all hard on ourselves and know we can do better, but without some accurate perspective how do you even realize you are, in fact, doing something pretty darn well?
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Hmmm... maybe if there was a way to kind of keep track of that... a scoring system that told you how well you were doing against par, let's say...
 
I should post some actual stats:
0-25 yards I get within 5 yards 92% of the time.

prox.jpg
Strokes gained vs. scratch:
Putting looks bad but the past few rounds I have been leaving myself with 40-50 foot putts which has a high 3 putt percentage for me. My approach game needs work.
SG.jpg
 
When it's good, it's very good; when it's bad, it's still pretty good. EXCEPT for bunkers - I have some sort of mental block with bunkers that I could probably fix with 20 minutes of practice. Until then, I'm pretty sure I'll still struggle with bunker play.
 
My short game is like peanut butter. It comes in two kinds. Smooth and chunky.
 
Hamfist said:
Hmmm...once again, I'm amazed at how low handicap guys don't feel their (insert aspect of golf game) is just aces. I know it's due to the overriding golf mentality of "I know I can be better at (insert aspect of golf game)" that plagues us all, but it still surprises me.

I'd figure a, say, 4-capper would be at least saying "Well, overall it's pretty good."

As an edit, this is in no way meant to flame anyone. Just an observation from the peanut gallery.

As a final addendum, oddly enough, I'm actually pretty good out of the sand. I used to dread them, but now, I'd say I'm out in one shot most of the time. where it lands on the green is a mystery, but, I'm out.

OK, one more: looking at jfrigo up there ^^, I have a question. He regards himself average with a positive trend. Now, is he (and all of you low cappers) saying he's average to others of the same cap, or to the entirety of the golfing world? Looking at his stats, I'd be dancing a happy jig if I could average 8 feet to the pin from 25 and in. Someone who is a 2 might say that is about where they'd expect to be.

Is this my big disconnect?
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I think it's all relative. If I was a 25 handicap, I'd say my current short game was absolute nails. If I was a 2 handicap, I'd say my current short game was somewhere between sadly lacking and outright terrible. Where I currently sit, bouncing up and down between 12-14, it's decent. Not great, but decent. It is usually one of the stronger points of my game, for whatever that's worth.
 
Short game as of late has not been good around the green, keep thinning shots. I have been working on this around practice greens trying all sorts of lies bare, thick rough, rough with and against grass grain it is helping but improvement is still needed. Bunkers are my enemy rarely hit it well out of them. A lot of course I play have crappy sand or hard packed sand which makes it more difficult, luckily I haven't been in them often. I have been practicing these shots as well at the practice facility that I go to however the sand there is great which it a totally different shot. I have been trying to create the other sands I encounter but it is difficult.
 
JB said:
Taking putting out of the equation, let's talk about short game. To make it easier, let's say we are discussing 30 yards and closer, along with bunker games. How well do you think you handle it and what are you working on (if anything) to improve it.
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I would say its probably the weakest part of my game, mostly because I never practice it.
 
With bunker, I’m normally confident in getting it on the green and in two putt range. Sometimes I get up and down but not super often.
I am actually getting pretty confident chipping. I would say I get up and down chipping from inside 10 yards about 35% of the time.
 
dAS0 said:
Strokes gained vs. scratch:
Putting looks bad but the past few rounds I have been leaving myself with 40-50 foot putts which has a high 3 putt percentage for me. My approach game needs work.
View attachment 9012027
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If you switched the labels under "Short Game" and "Putting", then switched labels under "Off the Tee" and "Approach" that's pretty close to my game.

I can drive it straight and make my putts, everything in between is pretty bad.

That graph says struggle off the tee or and can't make a putt, everything in between in pretty good.
 
It's not.


I have been working on straightening out my irons and driver. I have that a bit more dialed and my summer goal is to focus on short stuff, including putting.
 
Very erratic by round. Some days I can’t miss and others I do nothing but miss.
 
djt311 said:
Short game as of late has not been good around the green, keep thinning shots. I have been working on this around practice greens trying all sorts of lies bare, thick rough, rough with and against grass grain it is helping but improvement is still needed. Bunkers are my enemy rarely hit it well out of them. A lot of course I play have crappy sand or hard packed sand which makes it more difficult, luckily I haven't been in them often. I have been practicing these shots as well at the practice facility that I go to however the sand there is great which it a totally different shot. I have been trying to create the other sands I encounter but it is difficult.
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Sounds like you need someone fat to jump up and down in the sand? I’d have volunteered a couple years ago. 🤣

Not really fat anymore. Couple near brushes with death, knocked most of the fat right off me.
 
To the thread. I consider myself about a 10HC. Closed out 2020 strong and it’s lower but that’s only because I don’t play often. I have yet to have a decent round this year. I had a damn 13. I will forever own that cone of shame.

My LOW scores have happened on days when both my GW and my putter have an agreement in place (wish they’d let me know) that I only have to swing them once each per hole.
 
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