Golf Tips & Quips

In order to become a good golfer, you have to know how to hit a variety of shots. When I go to the driving range, I see a lot of my fellow amateur golfers hit a few wedges and then pull out the driver. They hit driver after driver just trying hit it as far as they can.

I have a friend like this. He is in love with his driver. He gives the ball a ride. When he gets a good one, he can put it out there over 300 yards. I average about 265 off the tee and he is always a good 20 yards ahead of me. But this is where the advantage ends because he only practices his driver, while the rest of his game suffers.

I like to practice unusual shots. For me, it makes practice more fun and challenging. Before a round, I hit ten wedges, ten seven irons, five hybrids, five with my 3-wood, and finally five with my driver. After that I head to the chipping and putting green. I now know that the majority of shots taken during a round happen from 100 yards and in so that is what I work on.

For me, chipping it in from just off the green is more exciting than booming out huge drives, although it does feel good when I get a good one. Distance will come for me, but I know that if I want to lower my handicap, I need to be more efficient around the greens.

During my last round, my friend and I hit similar approach shots into a sharply sloping green. We hit good shots but the green ran away from the hole and we both ended up nestled against the fringe.

We had about 30 feet uphill to the cup for birdie tries. My friend was away so he went first. He chose to use the putter. He took his stroke and the putter head got stuck behind the ball and the ball traveled about two feet. Not good.

I took out my 52 degree gap wedge. Before the round I was actually practicing this shot. I had seen it on an episode of Playing Lessons From The Pros on The Golf Channel. I forget which golfer was on, but he demonstrated this very shot, so it was one that I have practiced from time to time.

My buddy gave me a funny look when he saw me setting up over the ball with a wedge. I took my stroke and the club got through the grass cleanly and the ball ran out like a putt. I left myself with a two foot putt to save par. My friend took a double as he needed three putts to finish the hole.

So what's the lesson? Practice the shots that are going to save you strokes. Instead of taking fifty swings with your driver, work on your short game. Pros put themselves in awkward positions that they may face during a round. The more you practice these types of shots, the better prepared you will be when faced with similar situations.

Take a look a the following video. Joe Beck explains how to hit the wedge putt. Learning this shot will definitely lower your scores. Have a good one and always hit your target.



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