Golf Tips

Shaving shots from around the green is the fastest way to lower your handicap. Here are some techniques you can use to get up and down, or better yet, up and in!

1- Chip the ball as low as possible. When close to the green, use a 7 or 8 iron, play the ball back in your stance and keep your hands in front of the ball. Essentially use a putting-like stroke with quiet hands. Just chip the ball over the fringe and get it rolling like a putt. That is the key! With some practice, you can gauge this shot more consistently because the ball will come off the club with the same amount of roll/overspin.

2- When faced with a longer shot, i.e. a "pitch", choose a more lofted club that will allow you to carry the trouble (fringe, rough, bunker, etc...) and get the ball to a specific landing spot so it can then roll to the cup. The key element here is choosing the proper club and visualizing the shot and your landing spot. Practice pitching balls to very specific points on a putting green to get a feel for this.

3- AVOID the following two common mistakes I see the most:

* Hitting chip shots with too much of a lofted club. Often a player tries a chip and run with a sand wedge and the ball will check up too quickly and stop short.

* Decelerating through the shot. Make sure the club accelerates into a finish position past the golf ball. Shorten the backswing to allow for an accelerating hit.

Good luck with these ideas. To make them work, get out to the practice green and experiment. Remember: "touch" and "feel" are learned skills.