In my previous articles I have talked about the basic rules of golf, how the course is set up, what you should bring with you in your bag, and working on your long game. In my final article I am going to discuss your short game and putting. Both are incredibly important to putting up a good score, if you get on the green in 2 shots, but can't putt for your life and it takes you 4 putts to put it in the hole, you are killing your score. And being able to put the ball as close to the pin as possible with your short shots makes putting that much easier. Putting is difficult, when you are just starting out getting on the green is great, but as you get better you want to put your ball as close to the pin as you can.

Every new golfer wants to get out and drive the ball 350 yards straight down the fairway like Tiger, but if you can't get it onto the green from where you drive it because you never practiced a short game, the drive is worthless. Your short game consists of shots that put you on the green from within about a hundred feet, these shots can be from the fairway, the rough, a sand trap, anywhere on the course. The short shots is where you are going to make use of the higher numbered irons in your bag and also your pitching iron and sand wedge. Hopefully you won't need to use your sand wedge too often!

Many golf courses will have practice areas to work on your short pitches just like you would work on your long shots at the driving range. So you can actually work on placing the ball near a hole instead of just hitting it straight at the driving range. Practice with all of your short clubs, you may find that you are much better with one than another, different people excel with different clubs, so if you are really good with the 9 iron, don't use the pitching wedge for a shot just because it's the "right" club to use. Spending some time practicing in a sand trap is also important, because getting out of a trap in one shot and accurately will really help your score. Getting stuck in a trap is one way beginners kill their scores. When you are in the sand you want to face your front foot toward the hole, and drive into the sand behind the ball to get maximum lift out of your ball. Swing all the way through and take lots of sand with your shot, don't slow your swing down before your hit the sand or pull up right after striking, following through is important to getting off a nice shot. This tactic is for soft sand, if you are on a very hard surface you will want to avoid hitting the ground. Remember to practice, practice, practice, as that is the only way to continually improve your game.