Practice Drills for your Golf Short Game

Sixty percent or more of your golf score occurs within 100 yards of the hole. That is why PGA teaching pros emphasize the important of the golf short game. Approximately half or more of your practice time should be dedicated to golf short game fundamentals including putting, chipping, bunker shots and pitching.
Here are a few of our favorite golf short game practice drills to help you become a golf short game wizard around the greens!

Putting Distance Control 鈥?Feel Drill

BENEFITS: Improves putting distance control, touch, feel and accuracy. Helps eliminate 3-putts.

1.Perform drill on putting green with 15 balls.
2.Initiate drill with 30 foot putts, then shorter, longer, uphill and downhill putts.
3.Identify target line and set up for putting stroke.聽 Then, turn head and look at the target.
4.Execute putt while looking at target throughout stroke ensuring good putting form.
5.Conduct feel drill for each target. Transfer feel to normal putting stroke (eyes over ball).
6.Pre-round, conduct drill for 5 to 10 minutes to 鈥渟et the feel鈥?of a particular course鈥檚 putting greens.

Chipping Distance Control and Accuracy 鈥?Chipping Ladder Drill

BENEFITS: Promotes distance control for short game chip shots.

1.10 feet from fringe, place tees at 2 foot intervals up to cup.
2.From fringe, chip to first tee, then continue to subsequent tees varying clubs/distances.

Bunker Golf Shot Technique 鈥?Bunker Lines Drill

BENEFITS: Instills proper sand shot technique and feel.

1.Draw two lines approximately 10 inches apart in sand perpendicular to target.
2.Assume bunker shot address without ball. Make 3 to 5 practice swings, focusing on 鈥渟plashing鈥?sand out of bunker between the lines.
3.Place ball 2 to 3 inches from front line and execute bunker shot. Repeat drill 3 to 5 times.

Pitching Golf Shot Technique 鈥?Crisp Contact Drill

BENEFITS: Encourages descending blow for crisp short game golf pitch shots.

1.Place two tees 2 inches behind ball with top of tees visible.
2.Practice descending blow on ball making crisp contact while avoiding contact with tees.

Practice these golf short game drills regularly (even for just a few minutes per drill) and watch your scores drop!

Designed by top PGA instructors for on-course play and off-course preparation, Golf Genie鈩?provides easy-to-absorb golf lessons, golf tips, short game practice drills and golf instructions to accelerate your development and rapidly lower your score. Get quick golf lessons to fix your swing.