Golf: The Long Game of the Short Game?
by James Palmer
So, what’s more important in the fabulous game of golf? The long game or the short game? Judging from what I see when I go to the driving ranges, I’d have to say that the majority of people answer the long game. Or at least that’s what it seems like after seeing what people practice the most. However, if you ask anyone who knows anything about golf, they will tell you that you will have no chance of being a winner at golf no matter how hard you hit the ball unless you have a very refined and well-practiced short game. Let’s use an example to illustrate this. We’ll say that there are two golfers about to tee off on a par-4, 400 yard hole. One has a decent long game but needs practice around the hole, and the other doesn’t hit far, but is very consistent and is good up close. For our purposes, we could easily say that this is me five years ago and my 80-year-old grandpa. I tee off and hit a monster drive (for me), about 290 yards right down the middle of the fairway. I then use my pitching wedge and push it to the right of the green into the rough, or worse yet, the sand. I then chip poorly and barely get the ball onto the green, about 25 feet from the hole. My first putt rolls short, I miss the 10-foot putt, and put it in 6 shots. Meanwhile, my grandpa drives the ball all of 150 yards, then takes two more shots with a fairway wood to get on the green in three. He then handily two putts and beats me with five strokes. For many of us amateur golfers out there, this has happened to us before. The point is, you do not need to hit your driver 300 yards and your 9 iron 170 to be a good golfer. Imagine, instead of the two previous examples, you tee off on the same hole and this happens. You hit your driver with a simple, easy, repeatable swing 230 yards down the fairway. You then pull out your six iron and loft the ball right onto the green where you two putt and make a par (or if you’re lucky, you get close enough with your approach to make your first putt for the birdie!). Anyone who is serious enough to put in a little time and who is smart enough to make the small investment to improve their swing and their mechanics can make this last scenario a reality. There are a multitude of resources available to you, and even several very good resources available at the click of a button right here on the internet.
About the Author
James Palmer writes on golf and golf swing technique. His review of the top 5 golf swing systems is available at http://info-about-stuff.com/betterswing/golfreview.htm
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