The best way for amateur golfers to get their handicaps down as quickly as possible is to improve their short games.
Chipping and putting can save you countless shots, and your wedges and flatstick can act as great equalizers when you have bad ball-striking days.
- Read also: Three things golfers must do before striking a ball to increase their chances of hitting a good shot
There are so many golf tips readily available online but it’s so important to separate the wheat from the chaff before embarking on a quest to lower your handicap.
How many wins do you think 2000’s Tiger Woods would have if playing in 2025?
And how would it impact Scottie Scheffler's incredible year?
I can promise you one thing – if you improve your short game, your scores will come down very quickly indeed.
*Golfing Gazette writer Antony Martin certainly knows what he’s talking about. He spent nearly four years out in America in the early 2000s competing on the mini-tour circuit. He turned pro in 2004 after getting down to a plus-four handicap as an amateur and went on to win three professional tournaments in central Florida on the Moonlight Tour.
Three drills to help amateur golfers improve their chipping
When I play with high handicap golfers, I regularly see them throw shots away around the greens.
This is partly due to poor technique but also a complete lack of understanding or commitment regarding what they’re actually trying to do.
Here are three great tips to help you not only improve your short game, but to develop a greater understanding of what is required as well…
Understand your landing zones
The key to chipping is being able to hit a variety of different shots using different clubs.
Obviously some chips require more loft while others need to be struck with a lower trajectory.
So the key to improving is learning where you need to land the ball in order for it to roll out to your intended target.
Choose three different styles of shot – one longer one (around 30 yards to the pin), one medium length shot (around 20 yards to the pin) and one short chip (around 10 yards to the pin).
You will need to use different clubs for each shot. Simply use an underarm throw to start off with in order to see how much the ball runs out once it lands on the green.
By doing this, you can judge where you need to land the ball. Once you’re happy with your landing area, you need to place a towel on the ground in the area where you want your chip shots to land.
Do this for all three of the targets.
You might have to alter your landing position once you start hitting your chips due to the spin that you may or may not impart on your ball.
The beauty of performing this drill on the practice area is that once you’re out on the golf course, you will have a much greater understanding of your required landing areas when you’re hitting chips and pitches.
One-handed drill
Many amateur golfers have been told throughout the years not to use too much wrist action in their chipping motion.
The problem with this is that they take the advice too literally and end up becoming far too wooden and stiff in their takeaway and follow-through.
This can lead to a lot of thins through the back of the green, because it’s hard to get the club under the ball and to correctly utilize the bounce.
To help with this, practice chipping by taking your lead hand off the golf club and hitting balls with your trail hand only.
This will help you with your release pattern and you’ll learn the feel required to slide the club under the ball and on into the follow-through.
As you improve, you can then move on to learning how to use the built-in bounce of the club to your advantage.
We can save that advice for another day, though.
Once you’ve hit 10 chip shots using one hand, slip your lead hand back onto the grip. Then hit 10 balls gripping the club with both hands.
Using very light grip pressure with your lead hand, you should now have the feeling of how to correctly release the clubhead through impact.
Repeat this process five times and you should start to notice a difference very quickly indeed.
Vary your lies and distances
This is arguably the best chipping drill as it simulates the reality of playing a round of golf.
Justin Thomas will never win a major again – change my mind
Take four balls and roll each one off four different sides of the green.
Go and find all four balls and play them as they lie.
As you continue with this drill, you will start to develop a better understanding for the type of club you need to hit certain shots from certain lies and the trajectory that is required.
This is arguably the most fun drill to use as well because you will have to use your creativity more than when you are simply working on your technique.
Practicing this drill will obviously be hard to begin with but you will soon get the hang of what is required.
And as you continue to get better during practice, you won’t fear the shots you face out on the golf course as much as you did before.
By taking all of these steps and practicing the drills suggested, there is every chance that your short game will improve immediately.
If you put the work in, better and more consistent golf lies ahead in your future!
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
