Short Game Woes

[AlohaJim]

3 putt greens and stubbed chips - no touch

My putting and chipping has gone south.

I'm either unable to "up and down" from greenside, or "three putt" after hitting a green in regulation.

I stopped playing for about 6 years after two spine surgeries and started up again last year. Got my swing groove compact and smooth after a year of coaching. My short game used to be the best part of my game for decades. Now, it's the worse. I feel like I'm snapping and stabbing thru my chips and putts instead of smooth stroking them. I took a couple of short game tune up lessons from a local PGA pro but haven't seen much on course result yet.

I've been doing the regular putting and chipping drills and getting a little better at them. But on course it's different. I'm more nervous over a 3 foot chip than a drive over water.

What happened to my touch?

Suggestions?


mahalo,
AlohaJim

[Judge440]

First things first...you need to hold the club very lightly around the greens and especially with putting. Holding the club lightly will give you the 'smooth' you are looking for and will relieve you of tension.

Try chipping with a lower lofted club and work on tempo. Whether you are barely taking the club back or taking it back far...work on a smooth 1-back 2-contact tempo. 1....2.

Best of luck!

[sharkiesj]

Nothing happened to your touch. What's going on is that you didn't play for awhile and now you're getting back into the game so the first thing that comes back to you is your swing. Your short game will take the longest to come back because the short game is based on feel, touch, memory and confidence. If you've been away from the game, then nerves will also play a part of it too.

Just get out there and practice your short game. Alot. What used to come so naturally to you is now "work". Now, you're thinking about your short game whereas before you never thought about it. It's part confidence(or lack thereof), part fear (scared to look bad) and part lack of playing the little shots.

Lastly, I've always felt like you should practice success. Practice putting 2 footers. You'll make a high number of them and it'll give you confidence. If you think it's waste of time your wrong. Practicing success will slowly pour over into the other parts of your game. And just don't talk about it, get out there and do it. Put the time in. Earn it. Pay it. You get the idea now it's just a matter of actually doing it.

[checkswing]

First of all congratulations on coming through your surgeries and getting back to golf. The more you put yourself in the situation, the more comfortable you will feel. However, the faster you feel comfortable with the situation, the faster you will get back to how you were before. It will come, bumps and valleys.

First of all, are you playing games around the practice green with friends? Or yourself? This is key. If you can pitch, chip & putt without score involved and trying to get the ball in the hole it will come easier to you as natural. This is in tune to playing like you are a kid. Try this first. If there is still the "yips" and "stabs" then work on rhythm or tempo. Look to find the feel of the strike, don't worry where the ball is going, feel the strike on the sweet spot and work on acceleration.

After that, then it is distance. That will tune in your feel to find how hard to hit it. Again, feel the sweet spot and always accelerate through the shot. Now once you have a consistent strike, you will be better at getting your distance down. Now that you know how far the ball is going, you can fine tune the aim.

One drill that has always worked well for me is to place a club behind the ball, about 6", which forces you to hit down on the ball. You will see that you get the ball in the air and will work on keeping it close to the ground after the strike. Also, look at the front of the ball until you don't hit it thin.

As far as putting goes, the same drills & games work, except for the the club behind the ball. I really think it helps to practice without score in mind. This is where putting for cash helps.

If all else fails, fly me to HI and we can go through the drills until you get it. It will be great fun for both of us!

[forgedforever]

Ok, the first thing you are going to do is tell yourself that you WILL get your confidence and touch back. You must convince yourself it will happen. You've had it before. Believe in yourself and you will get it back again.

Let's start with chipping. Take a comfortable stance and make sure you can "see the hole" easily. By this I mean don't stand too far closed. Open your stance a bit if you need to. You want to select a club that will run the ball on a low trajectory, like a putt, if you are just off the green. There is no need to lob the ball high if you don't need to. Take a relaxed grip on the club. You don't need any more tension in your golf game. Checkswing's statement about always accelerating through the shot is key. Never decelerate on a chip shot.

Practice chips from different distances; from different lies. Have fun with it! When you hit your best shots, challenge yourself to get the next one closer. This is going to take some time since you were away from the game so long. If you are still really struggling with feel, take about 10 balls from your bag and select a spot from which to play. But leave your clubs in the bag. Simply practice tossing the balls underhanded toward a hole. Do it several times. This should help you develop your feel. Start feeling good about your successful practice sessions!

With putting, I like sharkiesj's idea of practicing 2 footers. You need to get used to seeing the ball go in the hole again. Time and time and time again. Then you can move to 3 footers etc. You are going to see improvements in your game because you will start believing again that you can do this! Also, never leave a practice session on a bad shot or series of shots. You want to leave the practice green with a positive feeling.

You can even practice mentally at home. Sit in your easy chair, relax, shut your eyes and "see yourself" hitting good chip shots and putts. Believe that you can get that ball up and down!

Because you can.

And you will.

Good luck!

[stryper]

Okay, if you're on this forum, you're old enough to set your ego aside. Don't know what's in your bag, but if you haven't already done so, you might want to seriously consider adding a Niblick into the mix. It's not a chipper, but it is stupid easy to chip with. The chicken/egg conundrum is that each issue feeds off the other. Your putting sucks because your chipping consistantly leaves you outside of easy 2-putt range. Your chipping sucks because your putting woes force you to try to be too precise while chipping.

So get a Niblick. The extra weight will give you a completely different feel than your current chipping club of choice. That alone will go a long way to eliminating your chip-yippiness. And if you go with the 56* you'll have enough loft that you won't have to worry about blasting one past the pin. That is, you'll be free to swing away with no fear of adverse consequences.

Finally, if your technique needs any tweaking, pick up Phil's DVD or short game book. He presents a very simple system that works well anywhere inside 100 yards.

Good luck

[AlohaJim]

THoughts on the new Phil Micklsn short game dvd??

mahalo,
alohajim

[Buddyjay]

Phil's DVD is very good.
Like you, I laid off of the game for many years. Just got back into it last year. My short game also was very bad (last year). But when I went to the range I practiced EVERYTHING but the short game. Then I decided to get Phil's DVD and practice my short game exclusively. What I discovered was that there are other instructional DVD's/Books out there that are ALL good. You have to decide which method you will be more comfortable with.

With Phil's method, you need to be careful to lock your wrists and don't get handsy, whereas Pelz's method is to use the face of the clock. Stan Utley has his method also. Whatever way you think you will be comfortable with watch/read their methods and COMMITT TO IT.

Phil's method has helped me a lot with my short game but, for me, the real aid that helped me finally break 80 (12HC) was reading on the Mental aspects of the game. That really helped me get over the bad shots around the green. I noticed that my short game practice was pretty good but then on the course I would screw-up. That was definately mental. I read ZEN golf and Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect.

As others have said... you MUST practice the short game A LOT. Descide who's method you would like to follow and committ to that method and read on the mental side of the game.

Good luck.

[AlohaJim]

Thanks everyone for the help.


(forgedforever and stryper hit it on the nose > thanks)



Three things helped.

1 A 49 degree Niblick for greenside chips and pitches. (this thing is great !! )

2 Simplify all greenside work inside of 20 yards to two clubs. The Niblick and a 58 degree wedge. No other clubs.

3 Mental approach. Stop analyzing. Remember "feel" and just "do it". Think "I used to have a great short game, I still do".


Result - Confidence.


Last round had 4 up and downs, 4 birdies. And a bunch of putts at 4 to 6 feet because my chips/pitches improved.


One interesting note: I used to be very creative with my short game clubs but changed some things after a couple of short game and putting lessons. I went back to the same pitch/chipping style that I've had for 40 years and "voila", my touch came back.


Thanks guys.

[forgedforever]

Yes, you've got your confidence back!

The mental side is so very important.

Now, keep it up

[stryper]

[quote name='AlohaJim' date='20 March 2010 - 10:37 AM' timestamp='1269103040' post='2329204']
Thanks everyone for the help.


(forgedforever and stryper hit it on the nose > thanks)



Three things helped.

1 A 49 degree Niblick for greenside chips and pitches. (this thing is great !! )

2 Simplify all greenside work inside of 20 yards to two clubs. The Niblick and a 58 degree wedge. No other clubs.

3 Mental approach. Stop analyzing. Remember "feel" and just "do it". Think "I used to have a great short game, I still do".


Result - Confidence.


Last round had 4 up and downs, 4 birdies. And a bunch of putts at 4 to 6 feet because my chips/pitches improved.


One interesting note: I used to be very creative with my short game clubs but changed some things after a couple of short game and putting lessons. I went back to the same pitch/chipping style that I've had for 40 years and "voila", my touch came back.


Thanks guys.
[/quote]
Great to hear.

[ngates]

Howdy Jim, I had 5 five vertebrae fused in my lower back last fall so I surely understand the difficulty of beginning again after 3 months of no-golf. In addition, I'm 76 years old.
During my convalesence, I faced up to the fact that there was not going to be a long game anymore. Still, I could have a good short game IF I really worked on it. Five months after surgery I'm playing in two senior scrambles every week and having a ball. Having focused on my short game I now have a better short game than before surgery. Practice and concentration! If you hit a bad ball, analyze the problem and determine the Why of hitting the bad ball. Once you have figured out the WHY of hitting bad balls, drop a second ball, concentrate, and hit another one. Play by yourself, it allows better concentration and better results. When practicing pitches and chips I've found that doing kind of slo-mo perfect swings can help your swing. Forget distance, just make perfect swings. As the swings get better, pick up the tempo to your normal speed, keeping the perfect swing in place. Putting, who knows. If I don't follow thru and hold it, I don't make the putt. Good luck!

Norm