While every amateur would love to relish a shot around the green like Phil Mickelson seems to, anyone who has played the game knows what it is like to completely mess up what appears to be a simple chip shot.
You may have only just missed the putting surface with your approach, and you may face a straightforward shot to set up a par putt. But that may be the exact moment that your wedge decides to show the power it possesses off the blade.
It can also be daunting to leave yourself the wrong side of the bunker, particularly if the pin is tucked behind the sand and leaving you with no room to work with.
Having confidence in your short game can be such a game-changer. Limiting the number of intrusive thoughts can be crucial to ensuring that you make decent contact with the ball and boost the chances of getting up and down and giving your round a big lift.
Colin Montgomerie shares the mistake amateurs often make over chip shots
Colin Montgomerie may not have won a major, but he is no stranger to stepping up in high pressure situations, having won eight Order of Merit titles on the European Tour as well as winning six Ryder Cups including one as captain.
And speaking on GOLF LIFE, the Scot explained some of the common mistakes amateurs make when they are facing a tricky shot around the green.
“I just walked up to the green to see the distance between the bunker and the pin, and there’s about eight yards which is okay, and it’s upslope, so I can be positive. As long as you commit, amateurs, they don’t tend to commit to the shot. You draw out a club, you’ve got to commit to it. That’s number one. Commit to the shot, and I don’t mind failing if I’ve committed to it. What I don’t like doing is failing and I haven’t even committed to the bloody thing because I’m not quite sure, I’ve got self-doubt. So there’s no self-doubt here, I’ve just got to make sure that I commit to the shot and be positive with it. That’s number one,” he said.
“Light hands at address, always light hands at address, and don’t rush it. And don’t look up too early as most amateurs do. They look up too early.”
What Colin Montgomerie was telling himself over the putt to win the 2004 Ryder Cup
One of the highlights of Montgomerie’s career came in 2004 when he holed the putt to win the Ryder Cup for Europe at Oakland Hills.
Montgomerie beat David Toms 1 up in the Sunday singles. And while Bernhard Langer’s men were well on their way to winning by a record margin, it is still hard to imagine the pressure that he would have felt stood over the putt which would once again secure his place in folklore.
And Montgomerie went on to explain what he was saying to himself over the putt to win the cup.
“So how did I do it? What I did was I went back to what I was doing before, talking myself into this. So what I said over the ball, I took my practice stroke. Missable, but holeable, so what I did, I was talking to myself and you can actually lipread me if you go back to 2004,” he said.
“2004 Ryder Cup, 18th hole, I’m playing David Toms, you can lipread, I’m going, ‘I’ve done this thousands and thousands of times before, I’ve done this thousands and thousands of times before’. That was it. Talking to yourself helps you breathe.”
Given Montgomerie’s record in the Ryder Cup across his career, his advice is definitely worth keeping in mind the next time you are facing a tricky chip or an important putt.
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