Short Game: Pick a landing spot

• Posted on Grant
• in Drills, Golf Fundamentals, Practice, Short Game
• on November 13, 2013
• 2 Comments.

I don’t know of a better feeling on the course than chipping in from off the green. It’s so nice to go pick my ball out of the hole and then sit back and relax while my playing partners putt out.

I’m sure that most people think it’s mainly luck when someone holes out from off the green, but I’m here to tell you that it comes from many hours of short game practice. In my normal practice routine, I hit over 200 chips and pitches from around the green every day. I hole out about 3 shots out of every 25, so I get to see about 24 hole-outs per day in my practice sessions.

When I hole out these shots, I am not thinking about the hole. Instead, I am thinking about where I want to land the ball.

While planning each shot, I judge the lie of the golf ball. If it’s sitting down in the grass, I must hit a lower shot with more roll. If the golf ball is sitting up in the grass, I can hit any shot I like, either high or low.

Once I have picked the trajectory and the landing spot, I address the ball, take one last look at my landing spot and let it fly.

Do you think that picking a landing spot will help you hole more shots around the green? It has for me!

GB