The 6 Best Short Game Golfers Ever
The Top Short Game Golfers of All-Time
Renowned golf coach Dave Pelz once said: “65% of all golf shots occur inside 100 yards.”
A golfer’s short game can be the difference between a win and a loss - but who are the best short game golfers ever?
Tiger Woods, one of the greatest short game golfers ever
It follows that the only way to win a tournament is to perfect “getting up and down” from a short distance to the flag.
It’s one thing hitting the ball a country mile, it’s another thing to have the touch and feel around the greens.
These 6 golfers were pretty damn good at all of that!
Read about the best short game golfers of all-time.
1. Seve Ballesteros
When Seve Ballesteros won his fifth and final major at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 1984, he clinched it with a beautiful chip that shimmed to within a few feet of the hole.
Such shots were made to look ridiculously easy after a childhood spent hitting pebbles on the beach at Pedrena with the rusty head of a three-iron.
The man he beat that day was Zimbabwean Nick Price who paid a glowing tribute after the Spaniard died in 2011.
"I've always said most of us could shoot 65 in about 30 or 40 ways. (Seve) could do it about 10,000 different ways.
He could miss every fairway, chip in five times, hole two bunker shots. He was so creative around the greens.
It didn't matter if there was a tree or bunker, he'd figure out a way to get up and down.”
2. Phil Mickelson
The American may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but he is still competing at the age of 52.
A second-place finish at the 2023 Masters was built on a last-round 65 where he birdied five of the last seven holes.
The three-time Masters winner is famous for his flop shot.
The lofted wedge is hit with such an expert touch that it comes down as soft as a blancmange on the greens.
“My short game is critical,” Mickelson said. “Whether I drive the ball well and hit greens in regulation or not, I need to rely on my short game to take advantage of the par-5s and such.”
The great Phil Mickelson certainly did that at Augusta in 2010 when carding a final-round 63 to take his third green jacket.
In 2016, he was centimetres away from claiming the first 62 in a major championship at Royal Troon.
3. Tiger Woods
When Tiger Woods chipped into Augusta’s 16th hole on the way to a fourth Masters victory in 2005, few would have predicted it would be 14 years before he would put on his final green jacket.
Woods was the master of the putter earlier in his career too.
On the Strokes Gained performance tracker, Woods measured first, fifth, twenty-first, second and second between 2004 and 2009.
During the run-in to that incredible Masters comeback in 2019, Woods sank five putts outside of 20 feet, which was a good deal more than any of his challengers.
“You can talk about all the fancy Phil Mickelson flop shots," remarked 1976 Open winner Johnny Miller. "But Tiger has the best short game I have ever seen, especially under pressure .”
4. Gary Player
The South African legend boldly declared: “Don't tell me how long you drive the ball, practice your short game!”.
The Black Knight’s dedication to repetition was unrelenting.
Gary Player’s third Open Championship victory was even achieved by chipping the “wrong way round” after his ball came to rest near the clubhouse wall at Royal Lytham.
In the final straight at the 1972 US PGA at Oakland, the diminutive Player sliced his tee shot on the 16th following consecutive bogeys.
After standing up on a gallery member’s chair just to get a glimpse of the green, he whipped out a nine-iron, hitting his ball over the water and several trees.
It was stunning!
“It was 150 yards, and I hit that nine iron perfectly. It sailed over the willow tree and onto the green, finishing three feet from the hole.
It was the greatest shot I ever hit and definitely won the championship for me.”
Player found himself trailing Hubert Green by seven shots going into the final day of the 1978 Masters.
Seven birdies over the final 10 holes - including a clutch 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole - gave him a closing 64 and a third and final green jacket.
5. Tom Watson
The ever-smiling and amiable American was a five-time winner of the Open Championship, meaning he could placate difficult conditions and scramble brilliantly.
Watson’s swing rhythm was a thing of beauty, but his short game was that of a smiling assassin.
During the final round of the 1982 US Open at Pebble Beach, Watson faced a testing chip at the 17th hole as he tussled with the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus- one of the greatest golfers of all-time.
Caddie Bruce Edwards told his charge to get it close.
The response was: “Get it close? I’ll sink it.” That’s exactly what happened, and he did a little jig to celebrate.
The Missouri man never seemed to miss a knee-knocker until the latter days when, as a 59-year-old, he fell just short of a sixth Open to Stewart Cink at Turnberry in 2009.
6. Ben Crenshaw
A winner at Augusta in 1984, Gentle Ben headed to the Masters as a 43-year-old over a decade later without too much hope of repeating the trick.
Four days later, he was given the green jacket by Jose Maria-Olazabal after avoiding three-putts for 72 holes and finishing a shot ahead of Davis Love III.
Crenshaw’s first Master’s victory was also built around his putting, especially after holing a famous monster 60-foot putt at the downhill 10th.
The actual putter he used for his victories was bought by his father for a mere $20. Best money he ever spent.
The Texan said: “I always tried to reduce putting to two things: my eyes and my fingers. You have to imagine a good putt.
You have to be a good green-reader, but for me the pace is vital. I have never thought much about technique.”
