Golf's Short Game For Dummies

by Shiels, Michael Patrick; Kernicki, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780764569203
• ISBN10: 0764569201
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-03-04
• Publisher: For Dummies

Summary

Easy-to-grasp techniques for improving the short game About 70 percent of the shots in a round of golf are taken 75 yards from the pin or closer, making the short game the most significant factor in a golfer's score. This practical guide shows readers how to shave strokes off their game by improving their pitching, chipping, bunker play, and putting. Golfers will find expert tips on choosing the right wedges, putters, and balls, as well as illustrated step-by-step instructions on swings used in short-game shots. They'll also find information on how to beat bunkers and other hazards and how to play various lies-in deep rough, from the fairway, uphill, side-hill, and off bare ground. There's also a section on stretches, exercises, and drills to improve techniques, as well as tips on reading greens for accurate putting. Michael Patrick Sheils (Birmingham, MI) is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America. He has written four books, and his articles and columns have appeared in worldwide magazines and newspapers. Michael Kernicki (Miami Beach, FL) has been a PGA member for 27 years and is currently the Head Professional at the historic Indian Creek Country Club in Miami Beach.

Author Biography

Michael Patrick Shiels writes frequently for golf magazines and is the official golf writer of the PGA of America's Michigan section.

Michael Kernicki is currently the Head Professional at the Indian Creek Country Club in Miami Beach.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(1)
About This Book	1	(1)
Conventions Used in This Book	2	(1)
What You're Not to Read	3	(1)
Foolish Assumptions	3	(1)
How This Book Is Organized	3	(2)
Part I: Walking the Short Game	4	(1)
Part II: The Long and Short of It: Short Game Technique	4	(1)
Part III: Short Game Strategies	4	(1)
Part IV: Short Cuts to the Short Game	4	(1)
Part V: The Part of Tens	5	(1)
Icons Used in This Book	5	(1)
Where to Go from Here	6	(1)
Part I: Walking the Short Game	7	(44)
Sharpening Your Approach	9	(12)
Approaching the Short Game Statistically	10	(1)
Approaching the Short Game Athletically	11	(1)
Giving Yourself the Best Shot	12	(1)
Making Practice a Priority	13	(3)
Recognizing the importance of practice	13	(1)
Developing a practice plan	14	(1)
Keeping practice fun	15	(1)
Avoiding Common Misfires	16	(5)
Playing without purpose	16	(1)
Being under-prepared	16	(1)
Using the wrong club	17	(1)
Maintaining unreasonable expectations	17	(1)
Over-thinking	18	(1)
Aiming to displease	18	(1)
Ignoring textbook technique	18	(1)
Getting too far from your work	19	(1)
Experiencing death by deceleration	19	(2)
Discerning the Short Game Certainties	21	(12)
Recognizing the Peril and the Opportunity	22	(1)
Re-evaluating the easy	22	(1)
Dissecting the difficult	22	(1)
Viewing the Variables: Terrain and Conditions	23	(2)
Accounting for the obvious	23	(1)
Sensing the subtleties	24	(1)
Understanding Your Options	25	(1)
Weighing Your Goals and Expectations	26	(1)
Playing in the Subconscious	27	(1)
Zeroing In On the Target Line	28	(2)
Visualizing the target line	29	(1)
Standing close to the target line	29	(1)
Grasping the Importance of Feel	30	(1)
Obeying the Captain: Allowing Your Front Hand to Lead	30	(1)
Centering on Ball Position	31	(2)
Gearing Up for the Short Game	33	(18)
Going Short-Game Clubbing	34	(1)
Sorting Through the Short Sticks	35	(5)
Pumping irons	36	(1)
Weighing wedges	36	(3)
Deciding which clubs to use	39	(1)
Calling All Putters Great and Small	40	(6)
The traditional putter	41	(2)
The long putter	43	(2)
The belly putter	45	(1)
Finding the Putter That Fits You	46	(2)
Caring for Your Putter	48	(3)
Handle with care	49	(1)
Cover it up	49	(1)
Give it a home of its own	49	(1)
Keep it clean and dry	49	(1)
Get a grip	50	(1)
Part II: The Long and Short of It: Short Game Technique	51	(72)
Chipping Off the OI' Block	53	(14)
Discovering the Chip	54	(1)
Choosing the Chip over the Putt	54	(1)
Picking Your Chipping Tool	55	(1)
Chipping Goals and Expectations	56	(1)
Mapping Out a Chip-Shot Strategy	56	(1)
Hitting a Chip Shot	56	(6)
Taking aim	57	(2)
Setting up your stance	59	(2)
Making your move	61	(1)
Too Close for Comfort: Paul Runyan's Greenside Chip Trick	62	(5)
Pitch, Pitch, Pitch	67	(20)
Distinguishing the Pitch Shot	67	(1)
Covering Distance and Avoiding Hazards	68	(1)
Pitching Club Preference	69	(1)
Pitching Goals and Expectations	69	(1)
Planning Your Pitch-Shot Strategy	70	(1)
Hitting a Pitch Shot	71	(5)
Determining your flight plan and velocity	72	(1)
Setting up your stance	72	(2)
Taking a swing	74	(2)
Pitching a Fit over Additional Complications	76	(11)
Pitching over water hazards and bunkers	76	(1)
Pitching high and low	77	(1)
Pitching from a bare, tight lie	78	(1)
Pitching from deep grass	79	(3)
Pitching from uneven lies	82	(5)
Climbing Bunker Hill	87	(18)
Setting Your Bunker Goals and Expectations	87	(2)
Avoiding an Explosion	89	(1)
Hitting a Bunker Shot	89	(8)
Assessing the sand variables	89	(3)
Choosing your club	92	(1)
Raising clubface awareness	92	(1)
Taking your stance	92	(2)
Picking a target and taking aim	94	(1)
Taking a sand-sweeping swing	95	(2)
Executing Bunker Shots from Troubled Lies	97	(8)
Negotiating uphill and downhill lies	98	(2)
Cooking the fried egg	100	(2)
Facing steep situations	102	(3)
Putting Your Best Foot Forward	105	(18)
Tossing Your Putting Prejudice Aside	105	(1)
Recognizing the Importance of Putting Skills	106	(2)
Doing the math	106	(1)
Getting in your opponent's head	107	(1)
Putting Goals and Expectations	108	(4)
Setting goals: Holing putts in two	108	(1)
Meeting your expectations	109	(2)
Letting the misses go	111	(1)
Rolling with the Fundamentals	112	(8)
Taking a stance	112	(1)
Getting a grip	113	(2)
Targeting a line	115	(1)
Swinging the flatstick	116	(4)
Reading the Break of the Greens	120	(3)
Examining all angles	121	(1)
Closing your eyes	121	(1)
Spilling a bucket of water	121	(1)
Looking into the hole	121	(1)
Watching other players' putts	122	(1)
Part III: Short Game Strategies	123	(56)
Waging (and Wedging) a Ground Campaign	125	(12)
Gaining an Advantage by Keeping the Ball Low	125	(4)
Charting your course	126	(1)
Choking down for a knockout knock-down	127	(2)
Pitching and Running	129	(2)
Taking aim	129	(1)
Selecting your club	130	(1)
Getting in your stance	130	(1)
Taking your swing	130	(1)
Discovering the Famed Texas Wedge	131	(2)
Holding the Green	133	(1)
Pulling the Pin . . . or Leaving It In?	134	(3)
From off the green	134	(1)
From on the green	135	(2)
Selecting Putting Strategies and Remedies	137	(12)
Becoming a Great Putter	138	(1)
Settling on a Style	138	(4)
Make it or break it	139	(2)
Lag it or flag it	141	(1)
Watching Your Speed	142	(1)
Conquering Speedy Breaks	143	(1)
Defeating the Yips and Other Putting Maladies	144	(5)
Cataloguing the causes	145	(1)
Tacking some solutions	146	(3)
Taking an Unconventional Approach	149	(14)
Chipping with a 3-Wood	150	(2)
Putting from Bunkers	152	(1)
Putting without a Putter	153	(1)
Opening the rulebook	153	(1)
Making a decision	154	(1)
Playing from a Cart Path	154	(1)
Bellying the Wedge	155	(1)
Splishing After You Splash	156	(1)
Hitting Lefty (or Righty)	157	(4)
Taking a backhand swing	159	(1)
Flipping the blade	160	(1)
Looking away	160	(1)
Carrying an opposite-handed club in your bag	161	(1)
Rehearsing the Unconventional	161	(2)
Flipping to Flop	163	(6)
Focusing On the Flop Shot	163	(1)
Choosing to Hit a Flop Shot	164	(1)
Playing a Flop Shot	164	(1)
Deciding Against the Flop Shot	165	(4)
Knowing the flop shot's dark side	166	(1)
Considering your other options	166	(3)
Keeping Your Head in the Game	169	(10)
Regrouping When the Wheels Come Off	170	(2)
Regaining your tempo	170	(1)
Overcoming paralysis of analysis	171	(1)
Realizing that it ain't your fault	172	(1)
Weathering the Heat of the Moment	172	(2)
Accepting the fear	173	(1)
Ignoring the result	174	(1)
Practicing Visualization	174	(1)
Staying Positive with Self Talk	175	(1)
Dispelling the Clouds of Doubt	176	(1)
Pacing Your Swing with a Phrase	177	(2)
Part IV: Short Cuts to the Short Game	179	(46)
Warming Up to the Short Game	181	(14)
Limbering Up Before You Play or Practice	182	(6)
Loosening the legs	182	(1)
Working the upper arms and shoulders	182	(4)
Bending over backwards	186	(1)
Readying your wrists and forearms	187	(1)
Practicing Like You Play	188	(3)
Making the short game at home on the range	189	(2)
Spending time on the green	191	(1)
Preparing before a Round	191	(4)
Utilizing the perfect pre-round warm-up	192	(2)
Warming up under the gun	194	(1)
The Games People Play	195	(8)
Pitching for Dollars	195	(2)
``Horse-ing'' Around	197	(1)
Bingo, Bango, Bongo (Jingles)	197	(2)
Snake	199	(1)
Eight in a Row	200	(1)
First to Make Five	201	(2)
Tricks and Treats: Techniques and Tools to Improve Your Game	203	(14)
Riding the Range	204	(3)
Standing up for balance	204	(1)
Becoming a one-armed bandit	205	(1)
Tuning your swing with music	206	(1)
Practicing in the Sand and on the Green	207	(6)
Bunker board	207	(2)
Chalk talk	209	(1)
Trench warfare	210	(2)
Dowel drill	212	(1)
Improving at Home	213	(4)
Stretching your putting skill	213	(2)
Weighing in on weights	215	(1)
Asking your mirror, mirror	215	(2)
Learning from the Stars	217	(8)
Feeling like Seve Ballesteros	218	(1)
Escaping (Not Sleeping in) Bunkers like Gary Player	219	(1)
Living Hard and Playing Soft like John Daly	220	(1)
Scrambling like Lee Trevino	221	(1)
Putting like Ben Crenshaw	222	(1)
Finishing like Annika Sorenstam	222	(1)
Yipping like Johnny Miller	223	(2)
Part V: The Part of Tens	225	(32)
Ten Simple Secrets of Short-Shot Success	227	(4)
Play in the Subconscious	227	(1)
Be Aware of the Clubface	227	(1)
Swing Along the Target Line	228	(1)
Maintain Consistent Speed	228	(1)
Salute the Lead Hand as the Captain	228	(1)
Let the Ball Get in the Way	228	(1)
Follow Through	229	(1)
Keep Realistic Expectations	229	(1)
Roll the Ball on the Ground	230	(1)
Recognize that Every Putt is Straight	230	(1)
Ten Ways You Can Practice Off the Course	231	(8)
Putt on Your Carpet	231	(1)
Watch Golf on Television	232	(1)
Get Attached to Your Wedge	233	(1)
Chip into the Drapes	234	(1)
Bulk Up	234	(1)
Visualize Good Shots	235	(1)
Review Your Scorecard	235	(1)
Clean Up Your Act	236	(1)
Play Other Sports and Games	237	(1)
Read This Book When Necessary	237	(2)
Ten of the Greatest Short Shots Ever	239	(10)
Tway at the PGA	239	(1)
Mize at the Masters	240	(1)
Hail Hale!	241	(1)
Rocca Rocks the British Open	242	(1)
The Million-Dollar Ace	243	(1)
Watson Plunders Pebble	244	(1)
Leonard Lets Loose	245	(1)
Lanny Lands the Cup	246	(1)
One Small Shot for Mankind	247	(1)
Payne's Putts at Pinehurst	247	(2)
Ten Great Short Game Golf Courses	249	(8)
The Old Course at St. Andrews: Fife, Scotland	250	(1)
Pinehurst #2: Pinehurst, North Carolina	250	(1)
Stadium Course, TPC at Sawgrass: Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida	251	(1)
Ballybunion Old Course: County Kerry, Ireland	252	(1)
Threetops at Treetops Resort: Gaylord, Michigan	252	(1)
Strategic Fox, Fox Hills Golf Club: Plymouth, Michigan	253	(1)
Indian Creek Country Club: Miami Beach, Florida	254	(1)
The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort: Charleston, South Carolina	254	(1)
Augusta National Golf Club: Augusta, Georgia	255	(1)
Club de Golf Valderrama: San Roque, Cadiz, Spain	256	(1)
Index	257