If the short game is about distance.....

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LiftOff

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then why do most of my chips and putts come up short? Maybe it's not your game, but I'm much more often short than long. Especially chipping. Any ideas as to why the error is 'normally' short?

BTW, putting is my strong suit, but still if I miss it, it's because it's short.

Cliff
 
StewartBannatyne

StewartBannatyne

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I would think that it has to do a lot with the strike of the shot. For most good players, they know how "hard" or "soft" to hit a shot, but if there is a mishit, and the strike is not pure, it will never end up where it should be.

I do a drill a lot for my lag putting, where I hit putts to different tees at different lengths, and every time the putt leaves the face (without moving my head) I say to myself where I think the putt will end up in relation to the tee I am aiming it. Very rarely am I wrong in terms of "short" or "long", and often times I can usually call out, fairly accurately, how far or short ("18 inches", "2 feet", etc) the ball will end up.

Stew
 
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puttmad

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LiftOff said:
then why do most of my chips and putts come up short? Maybe it's not your game, but I'm much more often short than long. Especially chipping. Any ideas as to why the error is 'normally' short?

BTW, putting is my strong suit, but still if I miss it, it's because it's short.

Cliff
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Liff off,

Why not deliberately aim past the hole for a while, until you are consistently hitting too far?
Then adjust from there...
 
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puttmad said:
Liff off,

Why not deliberately aim past the hole for a while, until you are consistently hitting too far?
Then adjust from there...
Click to expand...

Putting that's no problem. As mentioned initially, I'm a pretty good putter so cranking it up some isn't difficult. Actually, I walk off all putts to gauge how hard to hit'em. (I regularly putt for money with a group and seldom lose.)

It's mostly the chipping that inevitably are shorter. Guess I don't have the 'feel' yet and need to practice more to fine tune the distance. Chipping 'a little more' is more difficult than 'putting a little more'.

Thanks
 
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puttmad

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Lift off, re chipping, I did an evaluation last year. I found (strangely) that when I looked at the hole, I had a tendency to come up short too...but when, instead, I looked at the spot I wanted the first bounce on the green, it was much more consistent...just a thought...
 
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glcoach said:
What clubs do you normally chip with?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the 'spot' tip. I'll try that this weekend. The club depends on the lie. Anywhere from an 8 to LW. Even used down to a 6 if it's a good lie and needs to run alot. (Like I'm on the wrong side of the green. ;>) Mostly, my SW. Practice with the SW the most.
 
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Jared Willerson

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That's a good array of clubs. A lot of people get into trouble by locking in to one club, which can cause some problems.

Mostly distance control on chips is about trusting what you do. Doubt leads to mistrust which leads to suuuffffering.

Practice and learn to trust it. That tense feeling you probably get going into the follow through is probably a lot of the problem.
 
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zarro

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glcoach said:
That's a good array of clubs. A lot of people get into trouble by locking in to one club, which can cause some problems.

Mostly distance control on chips is about trusting what you do. Doubt leads to mistrust which leads to suuuffffering.

Practice and learn to trust it. That tense feeling you probably get going into the follow through is probably a lot of the problem.
Click to expand...


I'd actually narrow it down even further to just your wedges, unless you are in a strange situation. But I mostly agree with this, it is fear that is causing you to end up short. Learn to release the fear and your short game will instantly improve.
 
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Leek

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For me concentrating on trajectory and where I plan to land the ball (coupled with a good visual of how the ball will roll out) makes my chipping distance control much more accurate. When I concentrate on the hole, my distance control is not as good.
 
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puttmad

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Lift off,

If you get a copy of Seve's book "Natural Golf" (nothing to do with the new "natural Golfers"), it has a superb section on chipping. And as you know, Seve is still one of the best around the green, even if he now has to walk further than most to get there.... :)
Amazon have it...
 
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LiftOff

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puttmad said:
Lift off,

If you get a copy of Seve's book "Natural Golf" (nothing to do with the new "natural Golfers"), it has a superb section on chipping. And as you know, Seve is still one of the best around the green, even if he now has to walk further than most to get there.... :)
Amazon have it...
Click to expand...

I'll order it this weekend.

Thanks
 
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