Over the last several weeks we have posted a new short game drill to help improve your golf game. The following two drills are the last in this Short Game Drills Series.

COMPETITION DRILL:

Compete on the putting green with other golfers to simulate pressure. Keep score and remember, the best way to become a better putter is to spend time with good putters.

GREENSIDE BUNKER DRILL:

Practice greenside bunker shots with a pitching wedge and then a sand wedge. The pitching wedge from the sand allows the player to properly execute the motion with less loft, making it harder to stop the ball. It will then be much easier to stop the ball with the sand wedge.

Review other short game drills from this series by clicking the links below.

Short Game Drills – Post 5

Short Game Drills – Post 6

Short Game Drills – Post 7

We hope you have gained confidence and improved your short game while practicing these short game drills over the last several weeks. Please post any comments or questions to the blog or by emailing us and we will be happy to address them. Find other golf tips on my website or in my book, the “Pocket Pro” edition of “Golf Tips from the Tour.”

This week’s drill:

UNDERHANDED BALL TOSS DRILL:  Toss balls underhanded from different locations to learn the trajectory that is required to fly and land the ball to produce the correct amount of roll needed on each shot.

See previous posts in the Short Game Drill Series by clicking the links below.

Short Game Drills – Post 5

Short Game Drills – Post 6

Next week’s tips are a competition tip and green side bunker pitching drill.

I like to practice the following pitching drill to improve my short game.Try it out to see if it helps lower your scores!

3-IRON CHIPPING DRILL: Chip with a 3-iron to develop feel and the ability to control speed consistency.

There are three short game drills left in this series. Stay tuned for next week’s tip…Underhanded Pitching Drill!

View previous short game drills in this series by clicking the links below.

Short Game Drills – Post 5

If you have any questions please post them and we will answer them in the comments or in the next blog post.

Eating a high Protein breakfast before competition can lead to feeling sluggish and tired on the golf course.  Conversely, a high carbohydrate breakfast can give you an immediate burst of energy, but it won’t last long.  J.L. prefers a meal with a balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fat which provides plenty of sustained energy to prepare him for a round of golf. The following recipe is a new favorite of J.L. and Dawn’s.

Warm Gingery Oatmeal

Ingredients:

2 cups filtered water or non-dairy milk for creamier texture

1 cup gluten-free rolled oats or quinoa flakes

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup goji berries

2 teaspoons grated ginger

Pinch of salt

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon agave nectar

Directions:

1. Bring water to boil.

2. Add oats, raisins, goji berries, ginger and a pinch of salt.

3. Reduce heat to low.

4. Cook until water is absorbed and oats become creamy, about 7 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and add sunflower seeds and agave nectar.

Enjoy!

The importance of the short game in golf is severely underrated. During a normal round of golf there will be at least ten opportunities to get up and down from inside 100 yards. Golfers at the PGA TOUR level have an average conversion rate to get up and down (to hit the ball on the green and make a one-putt) of 60% for the top players in the world playing their best. For an amateur to reach their playing potential, they should look for the answer in the short game.

The best way to prepare the short game for the upcoming season and keep it sharp during the year is to follow a routine that I have found to produce lower scores. Since every golf hole ends up with a putt, devote 50% of the short game practice to the following putting, chipping, and pitching drills. This is such an important aspect of the game that the first quarter of 2012 will be devoted to sharing my favorite short game practice drills. Incorporating these drills into your routine can produce amazing results.

PUTTING DRILL

Practice putting 40, 50, and 60-foot putts until you have made twenty putts from these distances.

CHIPPING DRILL

Drop balls in different locations.  Chip with a 6-iron until three shots are holed out. Repeat this drill with an 8-iron and a pitching wedge. I call this the “Three with Three Chipping Drill”.

PITCHING DRILL

Practice with a sand wedge and play the ball forward in the stance, then in the middle of the stance, then in the back of the stance.  This develops trajectory control which is essential for being able to fly the ball the correct distance in the air on pitch shots.

These drills are time consuming and I recommend spending no more than 90 minutes per session, two to three times per week. You will be amazed how your scores immediately improve.  My book,  Golf Tips from the Tour: Pocket Pro, Tour Proven Secrets Revealed, has many more tips like the ones above and is a great guide to a consistent practice routine and golf score improvement.

Stay tuned for the next blog post with more short game drills!