One way to improve your chipping is to “putt” chips. This approach is especially effective on short shots around the green. Putting your chips not only takes the nerves out of short shots—the kind that can add two or three strokes to your score if mist-hit—but also provides better feel and control of the club [...]

Old sayings die hard. That’s because they often contain a kernel of truth within them. Take the old golf saying, You drive for show, but you putt for dough” This saying highlights how critical the short game is to winning matches and lowering golf handicaps. As golf sayings go, it’s a good one. The short [...]

Sooner or later, you’ll face a shot where you must go over an obstacle and land on the green to hole out with a par or better. It may be for bragging rights in your Tuesday morning foursome, the title to the club championship, or a friendly wager with the club pro. Or, it might [...]

Good putting demands good technique. And the utmost in limited and controlled movement during the putt. The slightest movement can throw your putting off. The same holds true for your eyes. Any deviation can affect both your aim and distance control, leading to a bad putt. Below are six keys to improved putting: *Keep grip [...]

Nothing’s more frustrating than putting a ball offline. Instead of sinking the putt, you leave yourself with a tap in, even though you had the right distance. If the green is sloped away from you, you drift several feet away from the hole, with a difficult putt coming back. Either way, you’re adding strokes to [...]

These steps will ensure that you have the right mechanics for getting out of bunkers. Once you’ve read these steps, practice them and get used to hitting out of bunkers, and they will become just as natural as a regular short game shot. These steps will give you the solid foundation that you need for [...]

The club of choice for a greenside chip is the wedge. But be careful. Using a wedge along the rim of the green can cost you strokes. The wedge can pop the ball up, create too much roll, or make the ball check. In a fluffy lie, it can slip completely under the ball, causing [...]

You hit a great approach shot, but it hits the green, trickles off, and rolls down an embankment. You’re in a grassy or fluffy lie at the bottom of the embankment, with the green about 5 feet to 20 feet above you. To save par, you must get up and down, so you need to [...]

Here’s a tip on what clubs to carry in your bag: Many teachers recommend carrying three wedges, a pitching wedge plus two utility wedges. That might be difficult under some circumstances. But if you substitute a hybrid club for two of your longer clubs, you gain a one-club advantage, allowing you to carry the extra [...]