For some people, putting and chipping naturally come easy. And by some people, I mean hardly anybody. For the rest of us, we’re forced to chop our way around the green and hope that our ball eventually falls into the cup. So if you’re one of those golfers whose game progressively gets worse as you get closer to the hole, use some of the tips below, they’ll help.
Use Less Lofted Clubs – Many golfers that struggle with their short game — chipping especially — tend to use high lofted clubs around the green. The sand wedges and lob wedges are great if you know how to properly strike the ball but if you don’t, they can produce some absolutely awful shots. So next time you have a fairly straightforward chip, take out something less lofted (a 7 or 8-iron) and take a bump-and-run approach. You won’t have to take as big of a swing and by getting the ball rolling early, you won’t have to be nearly as precise to put your ball close to the hole.
Use Your Putter WHENEVER You Can – Sometimes referred to as the “Texas Wedge”, electing to use your putter even when you’re not on the green is never a bad idea, especially if you struggle with chipping. By taking the wedge out of play, you don’t have to worry about chunking it or hitting one of those thin rockets that ends up on the other side of the green. You might not end up with a tap-in every time, but more times than not you’ll have a good shot at getting up and down. As the old saying goes — “A bad putt is always better than a bad chip.”
Focus on Speed, Not Aim – How much a putt breaks is a product of how fast your ball is rolling and if you find that it frequently takes you more than two putts to get you’re ball in the hole, your speed is off. So instead of focusing on getting your ball in the hole, focus on getting your ball to roll a foot or two past the hole. If you can even read the break with some degree of accuracy, you’ll find that a lot more of your putts will end up going in. And you won’t even have to putt the ones that don’t go in because your playing partners will be giving them to you.
Don’t Try to Make Everything – Sometimes you have to know when to be conservative. You’re not going to make every 20-foot putt you stand over. In fact, you won’t even come close to making half of them, so don’t try to. If you’ve got a big swinger, try to leave yourself a tap in. If you consistently roll the ball with good speed, you’ll make a lot of birdies. If you’re overly aggressive, you’ll bring those round-killing 3-putts into play.