Texas wedging

You may have heard the adage “your worst putt is still better choice than your best chip.” Try testing this theory someday on the practice green. Take a half dozen of two different types of balls – be it brand, color or numbers. Choose three spots off the green – yet relatively close to the green – which mimic actual situations you might find yourself in during a round. Alternate between chips and putts from each of your various lies. The goal is to get close enough to get up and down. Then look at the results. If you aren't chipping better than you putted, you may want to seriously consider how much better you might score utilizing the Texas wedge (the putter) when you’re off the green.

Best chipping day ever

Have you ever broken down the best day you ever had driving the ball? Or putting it? Chipping it? Try it some time. Think about what factors were present those days to cause those to be the best chipping/putting/irons days you ever had. Identify them. You'll probably find similar thoughts were there during all of these ‘best’ days. You were relaxed that day. You tried to swing it with more rhythm that day. You concentrated on staying down and through your shots more that day. Once you realize what you need to think to hit your best shots, focus on thinking those thoughts during the next round you play. It’s not coincidence you had those good days, so find out what caused it and make it part of your routine. Every day could be your ‘best’ day.

Chipping over obstacles

Whenever possible, make your chipping practice into sessions that translate into something you can use on the golf course. Try plopping pitch shots over the practice bunker as a drill to get you used to concentrating on making good contact and helping to remove the fear of obstacles. If you have a pool at home – even a small, plastic one – try hitting over the water and landing shots just beyond the water's edge to get used to pressure shots over lakes. The goal is to get a stroke you can trust on the course when the going gets tough.

PITCHING AT TARGETS

Many golfers are selecting the wrong targets when they hit pitch shots. They either think "get it over the trap" (and anywhere on the green), or they simply lob it all the way to the pin on the fly, which often then sends it too long and sometimes even off the back of the green. Try selecting a target area that allows for the ball landing AND ROLLING so you can END UP next to the pin. Think THAT AREA, sometimes ten to thirty feet SHORT of the pin as where you want the pitch to land. You'll make adjustments as to how much roll you'll get on uphill, downhill, sidehill, soft, moist or firm greens, but narrowing your focus to "landing the pitch to the optimum area that will get you close" will help your golf score.