Some deeper discussion about the short game

It occurs to me that we have not spoken about the short game. We have talked about Junior Golf, putting, driving distance and a little bit of history, but not the short game. The neat thing about the short game is, if you follow a simple path to improvement and apply some math, this area of your game will see dramatic improvement.

Chipping is a simple shot. Your ball is greenside, flagstick is in the middle of the green and you must move the ball over the rough and land and roll the ball to the flag. The most important step is the setup. The simple setup process is labeled "triple left". For right-handed players, put the ball in the middle of your stance. Turn your feet to the left of the target line so they are not interfering with your effort. Put your weight -- all of it -- on your left foot. Move your hands or the handle of the golf club to the left of the golf ball. (This is all setup!)

The stroke is a rocking or moving of your shoulders, back and through the golf ball and the loft of the club -- the wedge, the 7-iron or the sand wedge -- will lift the ball out of the high grass and get it moving toward the target. There is no wrist break. There is no weight transfer. There is no hit. It is simply a back-and-through motion.

Now for the math. You want the ball to fly 1/3 of the way to target and roll 2/3 of the way to target. The stroke or the chipping motion will be the same regardless of club.

So here is the hard part: you must practice enough to know how far your 7-iron or your sand wedge flies so you can determine which club to use when faced with different length chips. In short, which club moves the ball the desired 1/3 length? Practice will tell you that.

Is learning triple left easy? Is improving your chipping easy? The answers are yes and yes.

Short game requires no power and no greater hand-eye coordination than you already have, just some practice and application of a few setup keys and some math skills, all of which you have.

So, take the triple left out for a practice session and watch your short game -- and your scores -- improve.