How To Practice Short Game

The PGA Tour had many terrific highlights, such as Davis Love III’s 64 shooting in the first round, Brian Harmon's shatter the course record and so on, and all the super large galleries that made the PGA Tour event look and feel like a major. However, the most fantastic gallery in my eyes should be the final dynamic in golf in the 2011 Honda Classic, which being able to control the intensity and distance of a short game stroke. The golf experts say that a Tour Pros career is defined by how many Major Golf Championships they win. Well in the case of Rory Mcllroy, I'd say winning this years' Honda Classic and ascending to the No one position of the world rankings, proves to be career defining as well.

The short game is defined differently by different teachers, usually based on distance from the hole. The most comprehensive definition is 'any shot within 100 yards of the hole, including putting'. Thus the short game includes a full swing with pitching or sand wedge. However, most short game shots are, in fact, less than full swings, and this makes them very difficult for most golfers.

Consider, a key statistic shows that Rory Mcllroy gets the golf ball up and down 20 out of 24 times in very stressful conditions. That's really incredible. From the TV, what we have noticed is that Rory was brilliant with his short-game distance control. Many of his scrambling saves were not of the standard variety. He played several long bunker shots 20-35 yards, and got it close for enough to one putt. He hit some pitch shots that require unreal feel and got those close enough for par saves. He wasn't at his ball striking best Sunday, but he more than made up for it with his surreal short game.

When we watching the good performance on the course, we would want to know how a golfer develops such feel and control.

First of all, you need to choose right golf equipments, wedges such as Pw, Sw and Lw would be perfect choice for your wedges. Rory played with a Pw 46 deg, Sw 54 deg., and Lw 60 degree, however, you can get cheap wedges on www.tmallgolf.com . Most time you would be spent with the sand wedge, so you need to keep it simple and learn the feel with one club first then add the other clubs later. Then you should work on your short game basics with a PGA Professional. There are some critical short games mechanics that you need to get so that the golf ball contact becomes predictable. The flat left wrist at impact is one. Learn the basic set up position. The chip and pitch set up it different then your full swing set up. The stance should be very narrow on a chip and open to the target line. The pitch is a bit wider and open to the target line. The legs should have more flex and your weight should favor your front foot.

Next, you need to get the ball "up and down" 20 out of 24 times this week was amazing. If you get a chance to watch Rory on those shots, I urge you to do it. I would suggest to all junior golfers out there copying the short game style of the top PGA Tour players. Try and imitate what you see the best players doing around the green. Check out their mannerisms. When I was working on my short game I would try and copy Raymond Floyd or the late Paine Stewart's style. Watching the best can be a great way to really get the feel.

Finally, you need to practice more on your short game. Whether is it the new golfer, the country club member or guest, talented junior player who's looking to play college golf or the Professional golfer looking to get to NO 1 in the world rankings. The goal is to score lower. Every shot in golf is different. The fastest way to get to the next level in golf is to improve your mechanics and feel around the greens. Pros like Rory send hours around the green developing the feel that allows them to focus on getting the ball in the cup and perform at the highest level. Practicing short game shots from a variety of distances is important. Going out the chipping green and placing golf balls in different lies and distances helps one gain feel for the speed and size of the stroke needed. Get the mechanics first then feel second. In my opinion there is no limit on how good you can be around or on the green.

There are profound implications for such a statistic. First, you cannot get better at golf without improving your short game. Second, the skills required to get better are altogether different than those needed off the tee. The short game cannot be learned on the driving range. Third, unlike the drive or the long fairway shot, the short game does not require strength or athleticism to really excel. You can learn to putt like the pros. You can also learn to play the rest of the short game as well as any low handicapper. We have seen a lot of super lag putting on the games. With the flagsticks tucked the pros often played away from the trouble and then were faced with long putts. You can develop your short game mechanics with the local PGA Pros, you can get a better feel for distance if you practice much enough.