5 Ways to Improve Your Short Game Golf

When it comes to short game golf, practice is everything.

Sadly, most golfers rarely prioritize pitching, chipping, and putting during their workouts. Instead, most amateur focus their time on the range to bomb drivers and hit a few irons, then call it a day.

But developing a reliable short game really doesn’t take hours each day. Instead, developing a solid golf short game comes with efficiency and focus.

Here are five ways you can immediately start improving your short game shots on your next trip to the course.


How to Improve Your Short Game in Golf

1. Get Your Body Right When Chipping

Too many amateurs twist and contort their body forward during their chipping, feeling they need to get their hands far forward at address.

The problem is their body stays behind the ball, the hands are way forward, and it becomes impossible to find a rhythm when they hit the ball.

So first, before you start hitting balls, let’s get the body in a more neutral position when pitching and chipping the golf ball.

Holding the club loosely, stand balanced with your feet shoulder width apart.

Then, focus on your sternum. You want to shift your sternum slightly forward of center, even with the inside of the lead foot.

If you are right-handed, the sternum, right knee, and the inside of the right foot should make a relatively clean line.

With this position, with your hands slightly forward, slight weight emphasis on the left knee, and your left arm firm, your body is far more balanced, helping you hit crisper pitch shots toward the target.

2. Get Those Hands Softer

When you are around the green, you want the golf ball to stop relatively close to where it lands on the putting surface.

When you are chipping the golf ball, the grip should be relatively similar to when you putt.

If you are having trouble getting a good tempo on your chips around the green, take a softer grip with your hands, mimicking your putting grip to feel that same tempo and increase feel.

With softer hands, you’ll find you gain more distance control of the forward roll of the ball, helping you find the right landing spot for your chip.

That doesn’t mean you loosen the front wrist, as that should stay relatively firm to obtain regular success.

When you practice your pitch shots and chips, emphasize a softer grip with the club to experience.

3. Get Your Tempo Smooth

Another great tip when dialing in the distance and tempo is using “the clock” method when finding the right distance to hit the correct shot.

Many golfers use feel rather than a practical approach when finding the right swing for reliable short game shots.

If you want to start hitting shots next to the pin, take time during practice to find your distances based on where you stop the club on the backswing.

For example, let’s say with your sand wedge when you take it back to your waist, or 3 o’clock, you strike a 30-yard shot.

By finding the right tempo and length on the backswing, you’ll take advantage of the natural bounce of the ball on the green as the spin creates the stopping power to help you get close to the pin.

4. How to Conquer the Bunker

To excel at bunker shots, start by digging your feet into the sand to stabilize your stance and lower your swing arc.

For a standard greenside bunker shot, position the ball slightly forward in your stance, enabling consistent ball-first contact.

When facing a fried egg lie bunker shot or plugged bunker shot, adopt a steeper swing and open your clubface to lift the ball out.

For long bunker shots, use a lower lofted club to achieve a low trajectory high spinning wedge shot.

Accelerating through the shot is critical for a clean sand exit. Smooth, intentional acceleration ensures power and spin, avoiding deceleration that can trap your ball in the sand.

Mastering ball position, maintaining focus, and practicing techniques like hybrid putting and the bump & run shot will enhance your short game and prepare you for any bunker challenge.

5. Find the Right Putting Stroke

One of the biggest mistakes amateurs make when they putt is using the wrong stroke with the wrong putter.

A blade putter typically needs an arc stroke that brings the club back to the inside before returning the face to square. A mallet putter needs a path that moves along a straight line from the ball.

If you are having trouble finding consistency on the green, chances are you are using the wrong stroke with the wrong putter.

So take time during your practice sessions with the correct takeaway with the right putter to dial-in the proper speed control.


Short Game Golf FAQs

What is short game in golf?

The short game refers to shorter shorts around and on the green. If you hear someone say pitch shot, chip shot, or putt, they are referring to their short game.

Most amateur golfers do not realize that most of their shots per round come from the short game.

What is the difference between a long game and a short game in golf?

The long game focuses on distance shots, like drives and fairway shots, aiming to cover significant yardage.

The short game shots emphasize precision near the green, including chipping, pitching, bunker shots, and putting, requiring finesse to score effectively.

Both are crucial for overall performance, and knowing their huge difference can be a game changer.

What percentage of golf is the short game?

The short game comprises approximately 60-65% of a golfer’s total score. It includes shots within 100 yards of the hole, emphasizing putting and finesse around the green.

Mastery of the short game shots is essential for lowering scores and improving overall performance.

What yardage is considered a short game in golf?

Anything inside 50 yards is considered to need the skill set of your short game. Inside this distance, golfers will hit pitch shots, chip shots, flop shots, and put the ball into the cup to finish out the hole.

Other players consider anything close to the green to require the usage of your short game.

Golfers like Tiger Woods, for example, average around 29 putts per trip around the course.

How important is the short game in golf?

Short game shots are incredibly important to golfers as most strokes come within 50 yards of the hole.

As a result, players need to spend time working on their touch with their wedges and putters, learning how to increase their feel.

How much of golf is short game?

A solid mid handicapper will hit roughly 50-55 short shots per round, including their total number of putts.

The higher or lower your handicap, the more or less short game shots you can expect to hit with your wedge and putter during your days on the links.