The Short Game in Golf: An Introduction

A Guide to the Golf Short Game: Tips, Suggestions and Advice

Golf is a fascinating sport to play for a variety of reasons.

One of those reasons is the challenge that it offers, with players needing to master different parts of the game in order to be truly great at it. This is especially true for the ‘Short-game’.

Setting up for a chip - legs close together and wrists in front of the ball

For instance, you can master hitting the ball off of the tee but if you do not master the iron game, it can be a frustrating experience overall.

Golf always presents something to work on and improve, and that is what makes people come back to it again and again.

One aspect of the game that is arguably the most important, and yet seemingly most misunderstood, is the short game.

The short game can be defined as approach shots into the green that are less than 100 yards in distance.

While this may seem like a basic and straightforward definition of the short game, the reality is that it can get very complicated!

In this article, find out about the short game of golf, including a full guide to the shots you need to master and how to achieve your best on the green.

What really comprises the short game of golf?

There are four basic shots within the short game that you should seek to master:

• Pitch

• Lob

• Bunker

• Bump and run

There are many other shots which are variations of these such as the flop or the splash, but for today we’ll focus on the basics.

The Pitch Shot

The pitch shot is a normal short game shot that is generally hit from a distance of 50-100 yards in distance.

It is the most fundamental short-game shot that golfers should seek to master first, before moving on to other short-game shots.

This is due to the fact that the pitch shot is the one that will be used most often around the course, especially for mid-to-high handicap players.

More often than not, they will find themselves trying to get out of trouble when they get near a green and will have to rely on a good pitch shot to keep their scores from getting out of hand.

Perfecting the pitch shot, therefore, is an important skill, as it is a great way to keep the momentum going during the course of a round.

The Bunker Shot

The second basic shot to master is the bunker shot.

The bunker shot can consist of both shots that are out of greenside bunkers, and ones that are out of fairway bunkers, somewhat close to the green.

The latter form of bunker shot is extremely difficult to master, and as such amateur golfers should instead focus on learning how to hit a basic greenside bunker shot first.

The simplest way to approach the greenside bunker shot is to aim an inch behind the golf ball.

Then, you need to open the clubface a bit and create a “splash” shot out of the sand where the golf ball pops out of the bunker and lands softly on the green to create an opportunity to get up and down.

The primary focus should not be hitting it like a normal shot, but using a shallower swing plane that drives the clubface through the sand and under the golf ball to get it up in the air.

It will take a bit of practice for mid-to-high handicap golfers to get it down consistently, but once mastered it can generate a lot of confidence out on the golf course.

It means that if you miss the green and hit it into a bunker, you know exactly what to do to keep your score low.

Pro Tip: Remember you are not allowed to touch the sand with your club at address! Keep the club head over or behind the ball until you begin your swing for real.

The Bump and Run Chip

After learning the pitch and bunker shots, the next short game shot to master is the bump and run chip around the green.

Amateur golfers will encounter a common situation where the golf ball was well struck into the green, but it somehow ended up rolling just off to the side or short of the intended target.

It can be frustrating not having the ability to putt.

However, to overcome this and still end up with a low score on the hole, it is important to be able to chip the ball close to the hole and move on.

The bump-and-run chip is very easy to learn. All you need to do is position the golf ball just inside your back foot and make a sweeping motion as you clip the ball off the fringe.

By clipping the ball off of the fringe, a golfer can create what is known as “check” on the ball (backspin), allowing it to stop momentarily on the green before rolling nearer to the golf hole.

The bump-and-run chip is a great option to control the distance on a chip.

The more a golfer understands how to control their golf ball around the green, the better they will perform at getting it closer to the hole, to get the ball up and in for a low score.

Pro Tip: The less ‘air’ you give the ball the easier it will be to control where it ends up. In theory, you are not a million miles from the hole here, and you don’t need to get over anything. Use the putting service and run the ball up to the hole!

The Lob Shot

Last but certainly not least, the fourth basic short-game shot to learn after the bump-and-run chip is the lob shot.

An example of this is where the ball ends up just short of a greenside bunker that requires a golfer to hit a shot that goes over said bunker, while not having much green to work with too.

Amateur golfers will find themselves facing this situation from time to time, and as such, it is important to learn the lob shot in order to prevent a bad hole from turning into a terrible one.

The last thing any golfer wants is to hit said shot right into the greenside bunker and face a difficult bunker shot, but by learning how to hit a lob shot this can easily be avoided.

The lob shot is a simple shot to hit in theory, in that all a golfer needs to do is open up their stance and clubface a bit and just take the shot as they normally would a pitch shot.

However, by opening up the clubface, the golf ball will travel higher but at a shorter distance, allowing golfers to get just over an obstruction, but the ball may also roll out and create another difficult situation to overcome.

What needs to be worked on in your short game?

As any good short game golfer knows, points and prizes are won on and around the green.

Next time you head off to practice your golf, give the driving range a miss and go and work around the practice chipping area on your short game.

Get the feel and weight of the club in your mind, make sure your hands and start position are the same each time and practice getting the ball within that ‘dustbin lid’ distance of the hole.

Let us know your top short-game tips. 👇