How to Practice the Golf Short Game

Most golfers seeking lower scores correctly identify the short game as the fastest path to improvement, yet they practice it with aimless repetition. Hitting a pile of chips from the same perfect lie to the same pin does little to prepare you for the course. This guide skips the generic advice and gives you a structured, purpose-driven framework for practicing your chipping, pitching, putting, and bunker play so you can start saving strokes immediately.

The Four Foundations of Your Short game

Before you practice, you need to understand the tools at your disposal. Your short game is built on four distinct types of shots. Knowing which one to use and when is half the battle.

Chipping: Low Risk, High Reward

A chip is a shot that flies low and rolls out like a putt once it hits the green. Think of it as the safest, most reliable shot when you're just off the putting surface with no obstacles in your way. The goal is to get the ball onto the green and rolling as quickly as possible.

• When to Use It: From the fringe or just off the green (up to about 20-30 feet from the hole) when the path is clear.
• Simple Technique: Use a setup very similar to your putting stance - narrow feet, weight favoring your front foot (about 60/40), and the ball positioned back in your stance. Use less wrist action and more of a rocking motion with your shoulders, like a putting stroke. Your club selection (from a 7-iron to a sand wedge) will determine the flight and roll.

Pitching: Flying Over Trouble

A pitch shot is the high-flying cousin to the chip. It spends more time in the air and stops more quickly upon landing. This is your go-to shot when you need to fly the ball over a hazard like a bunker or rough, or when you have little green to work with.

• When to Use It: For shots from 20 to 50 yards, or anytime you need to carry an obstacle.
• Simple Technique: Your stance will be wider than a chip, about shoulder-width, with the ball in the middle. This is more of a miniature full swing where your body rotates and your wrists hinge naturally. The length of your backswing will control the distance.

Bunker Play: Use the Sand, Not Force

Getting out of a greenside bunker isn't about power, it's about technique. The secret is to use the bounce on the bottom of your sand wedge to splash a cushion of sand out onto the green, which carries the ball with it. You are not trying to hit the ball directly.

• When to Use It: Any time you find a greenside bunker.
• Simple Technique: Open your clubface and your stance, aiming your body left of the target (for right-handers). Dig your feet in for stability. The key is to swing and hit the sand about two inches behind the ball. Make a full follow-through to ensure you accelerate through the sand. Splashing the sand is your goal.

Putting: Where Scores Are Made

Putting is the simplest motion in golf yet the biggest source of frustration. Consistent putting is built on two things: starting the ball on your intended line and controlling your speed. All practice should be geared toward improving one of these two skills.

• When to Use It: When your ball is on the putting surface... or from the fringe if you feel more comfortable!
• Simple Technique: Develop a repeatable setup. Your eyes should be over the ball, your shoulders level, and your arms hanging comfortably. The stroke should be driven by the rocking of your shoulders, keeping your wrists quiet and your lower body still.

Principles for Smarter Short Game Practice

Adopting a smart approach to your practice sessions can make a huge difference. Don't just whack balls, work with intent.

1. One Ball is Enough: Don't dump a whole basket of balls and rake-and-hit. Practice with a single ball. This forces you to go through your pre-shot routine for every shot, just as you would on the course. It slows you down and makes every shot matter.

2. Contact First, Everything Else Second: The number one goal of any short game shot is to make solid contact. For chips and pitches, this means hitting the ball before you hit the turf. Without predictable contact, you can't have predictable distance control. Make center-face contact your primary focus.

3. Never Hit the Same Shot Twice in a Row: On the course, you never get the exact same shot back-to-back. So why practice that way? After a shot, move to a new spot. Change clubs. Hit to a different pin. This builds adaptability, forcing your brain to re-evaluate the lie, distance, and shot choice every time.

4. Turn Practice into a Game: Humans are hard-wired to respond to games and scoring. It's more fun and a better simulation of on-course pressure. Instead of just "practicing," give yourself a goal and keep score. We’ll cover specific games in the next section.

Actionable Drills to Master Your Short Game

Here are some simple, effective games and drills you can use to structure your practice and see real improvement. Focus on one area per session for the best results.

Chipping & Pitching Drills

The Landing Zone Game: Too many golfers focus only on the hole. A better approach is to focus on your landing spot. Place a towel, an extra headcover, or just a cluster of tees about halfway to the hole. Your only goal is to land your chip shot within that zone. This drill trains your feel for trajectory and helps your brain intuitively calculate roll-out.

Up-and-Down Challenge: Set up 10 balls around the green at various distances and lies (in the rough, on the fringe, from a tight lie). From each spot, hit your chip or pitch and then try to make the putt. Keep score. A score of 1 a miss (3 shots) and 0 for every successful up-and-down. Try to get your score under 5. This drill directly simulates scrambling on the course.

Putting Drills

The Clock Drill: This is a classic for a reason. Place three balls in a circle around the hole at 3 feet. Make all three. Then move them back to 6 feet and do the same. Then 9 feet. You can't move back until you've holed all three from a given C. This builds rock-solid-confidence on the must-make putts you face every round.

The Speed Ladder: Forget about the hole for a moment. Find a long, straight putt. Your goal is to hit the first putt just past the hole. The second putt should an inch short of the first. The third putt just stops short of the second but again past the hole. Keep building this ladder up to five balls. This drill is purely about speed control and works wonders for eliminating those costly three-putts from long range.

Bunker Drills

The Line Drill: The biggest fear in the sand is what to hit. The ball? The sand? This drill removes the confusion. Draw a line in the sand with your club. Set up to it as though it were your ball line. Now, practice your bunker swing with the goal of splashing the sand forward precisely where the line was. Repeat until you consistently erase that line with your swing. Then, place a ball right on the line and do the same. The ball will pop out effortlessly.

Bringing It All Together: The Par 18 Challenge

Here’s the ultimate Practice Green test of your overall short game. It combines everything into a high-pressure, realistic simulation.

1. Find 9 different locations around the chipping green. Choose a mix of lies: fairway cuts, light rough, heavy rough, a bunker shot, a long pitch, etc.
2. From each of the 9 locations, your goal is to get the ball in a designated hole in 2 shots or less (a chip/pitch/bunker shot and one putt).
3. Par for each "hole" is 2. The par for all 9 holes is 18.
4. Play the course and keep an honest score. Did you shoot 20? 25? Your goal for next time is simple: beat your previous score.

This game forces you to deal with outcomes, handle nerves, and seamlessly switch between different types of short game shots - just like you have to during a real round.

Final Thoughts

Truly effective short game practice focuses on building skills, not just mechanics. By using games and variable drills for your chipping, pitching, putting, and bunker play, you train yourself to adapt and perform under the kind of pressure you'll face on the course.

Of course, knowing what shot to hit in the first place is half the battle. When you’re on the course staring down a tricky lie or unsure how to approach a shot around the green, that moment of uncertainty can wreck your confidence. That's why we built Caddie AI. Our AI coach gives you an expert opinion right in your pocket. You can ask me anything from simple questions - like the difference between a chip and a pitch - to analyzing a photo of your specific lie to get instant, actionable advice on the smartest way to play the shot. It takes the guesswork out of the short game so you can commit to every swing and play with more confidence.