If you've been playing golf regularly and still have not seen a drop in your scores, it's time to assess your scrambling skills. That is how you save par and prevent bogey from becoming double-bogey.
On Tour, Ian Poulter has the best percentage of making par or better after missing a green in regulation at 73.20 percent, followed by Steve Sricker (73.08 percent), Matt Kucher (69.73 percent), Tiger Woods (68.46 percent) and Brian Gay (87.80 percent). The average percentage on the Tour is 57.80 percent.
Woods is No. 2 on the money list with $3.4 million in earnings, Sricker is No. 5 with $3.19 million, Gay is No. 8 with $2.7 million, and Poulter ranks 16th with $1.96 million.
So you might say they have a huge incentive to work on their short games. But all competitors, amateurs and pros alike, learned the value of a good short game as junior golfers, and through the years they continue to hone their skills and build their repertoire of shots to enable them to save par.
A huge factor in improving your scrambling skills is the ability to observe the different conditions on the greens and adapt to them.
You need to notice the slope of the green, the speed, where you should land the ball and if it will release with the grain or against the grain.
You also need to pay the most attention to the lie itself. If the ball sits deep, it will dictate that you use a higher lofted club. Whether the grass is thick and the blade of your club has to move through a crosscut will have much to do with your hand pressure and how firm the left hand is through the shot.
Visualization is an absolute element in planning your shot.
Often, there are multiple ways to get the ball close to the hole. But, in some instances, for example, flying a ball 40 yards over a bunker to an elevated tier with a minimal landing zone provides you with only one good option to save par.
In this case, you must have the ability to get the ball high with a soft landing.
In order to have this shot in your bag, you must clearly understand which lofted club best suits this circumstance. It will be a sand wedge, not a pitching wedge. Beyond that, it depends on whether you carry a gap wedge, a 56-degree sand wedge or a 60-degree lob wedge.
For you to pull this shot off on the course means that you must have practiced with each of your sand wedges, knowing precisely how high you move the ball with the varying lofts.
The more wedges you carry, the more you need to practice with each one of them, knowing intimately well which angle is best suited for the shot at hand.
When golfers practice, they tend to hit ball after ball without noticing the release of the ball on the green. You need to observe both the airtime and the roll invoiced with each club.
After each practice shot, you must adjust to make that shot even better so that it lands closer to the hole.
One of the best things you can do for yourself is set some specific skill games for yourself at each practice session. Don't just use one club. Take a sand wedge and hit six shots, then take a lob wedge and hit six shots. Observe where you have to land the ball to get the same results with the two different wedges.
In chipping, take different clubs for the same distance from the hole.
Determine which loft is best suited for that distance. You'll know because that will be the one you are most comfortable with and which gets you the most consistent results.
To really assess how well you are performing, hit three shots and then putt the balls into the hole. If you cannot make it to the hole in one putt, then your wedge game is not as hot as it should be. This is where reality hits you. Either you are getting it within 3 or 6 feet, or you're not.
When I ask players how their short games are doing, they usually say they have a good short game.
Then I'll watch them on the course and they only have one shot in their bag, a cut sand wedge to the green that leaves them 15 to 20 feet away. It is hard to save par when you are 20 feet away.
The art of scrambling involves a strong emotional desire to save par and not lose a careless stroke. That, coupled with keen observation skills around the greens, helps you become a great strategic planner of your short shots.
A creative imagination helps you visualize different ways of accomplishing an objective. Finally, never be complacent about your short game. Make your practice sessions playful and yet significant by giving yourself skills tests at each session.
Ingrid Gallo is an LPGA teaching professional and is director of instruction at Begin Oaks Golf Course in Plymouth. Her e-mail is ingridgallogolf@aol.com.
