August 8, 2008 












Tip #28: Get Hungry Around the Green

Two words will do you more good than anything else I can tell you about the short game.

Get hungry.

There's no reason you shouldn't play your short shots with all the skill and confidence of a tour player.

Get hungry for the bottom of the cup. Because that hunger, that aggressiveness, is what makes the difference between a player who wastes strokes around the green and one who consistently turns three shots into two.

If that's not your attitude, change it. Change it because there's no reason you shouldn't play your short shots with all the skill -- and confidence -- of a PGA Tour player. You may never hit your drives as long as I do or make your irons stop on the green the way mine do. But with a basic short-game knowledge and the refinements I'm about to discuss, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to go chip shot for chip shot against me or any other pro in the game.

All you need is the right attitude -- the right focus. When I'm hitting a tee shot, my goal is a fairway 40 yards wide. When I'm playing an approach I'm hitting to an area the size of a swimming pool. But once I'm inside 100 yards, I have only one target in mind -- the bottom of that little round hole. Adopt this focus, and you'll take the first step to a sharp short game.

The second step goes back to the idea of teaching yourself touch. Once you have a good grasp of the basic short game shots -- the chip, pitch, and lob -- start experimenting a bit. Go out to a practice green with your pitching wedge and fiddle around with your setup. Not your swing -- your setup.

Experiment with different ball positions -- move it up in your stance, then back -- and note how those changes influence the flight and roll of your chips. Then vary the openness of your stance and see what that does. Play around with the clubface too -- open it as wide as you can get it and see how high you can pop the ball. Then close it down and hood it and watch what that does to your chips.

Then back off a few yards and see what happens when you introduce these variations in your pitch shots. Watch the way each shot flies, and how it rolls -- or stops -- after hitting the green. Open your clubface and stance as far as possible and see how high you can lob the ball. Then close them down and see how low you can punch it with the same club. Get to know how all these changes produce different results, and you will give yourself a postgraduate degree in the subtleties of the short game.

What that knowledge will give you is freedom -- freedom of choice. You'll be able to select your shots. One of the subtle things that separates people with touch from the rest of golfers is the fact that they always have two or three options. Players with only one or two greenside shots become victims of the golf course and have to stretch and force those shots to fit each challenge.

But players with several options can take charge. Since they know how to play different shots and they know exactly how those shots will behave when struck from various types of lies to various landing areas, they can look at a situation, evaluate the options and come up with the shotmaking choice that offers the best chance of success.

- Greg Norman


Golf Tip Archive
Tip #61Gamesmanship - Posted Dec. 31, 2003
Tip #60The Seven-Fingered Shot - Posted Dec. 24, 2003
Tip #59Slice An 8-iron On Long Bunker Shots - Posted Dec. 17, 2003
Tip #58Reading The Green - Posted Dec. 10, 2003
Tip #57Handling Heavy Grass - Posted Dec. 3, 2003
Tip #56The Pitch Shot - Posted Nov. 26, 2003
Tip #55Post Impact - Posted Nov. 19, 2003
Tip #54Three Trick Shots - Posted Nov. 12, 2003
Tip #53Getting Out Of The Trees - Posted Nov. 5, 2003
Tip #52Fades and Draws - Posted Oct. 29, 2003
Tip #51Sixth Sense In The Sand - Posted Oct. 22, 2003
Tip #50The Downswing - Posted Oct. 15, 2003
Tip #49Low Shots - Posted Oct. 8, 2003
Tip #48The Right Club On The Tee - Posted Oct. 1, 2003
Tip #47Reinforce On The Course - Posted Sept. 24, 2003
Tip #46The Lob - Posted Sept. 17, 2003
Tip #45Brave And Bold Putts - Posted Sept. 10, 2003
Tip #44Club Selection - Posted Sept. 3, 2003
Tip #43Meaningful Practice - Posted Aug. 27, 2003
Tip #42Tackling Trouble Shots - Posted Aug. 20, 2003
Tip #41Adapt To Different Sands - Posted Aug. 13, 2003
Tip #40Difficult Lies - Posted Aug. 6, 2003
Tip #39The Takeaway - Posted July 30, 2003
Tip #38The Chip Shot - Posted July 23, 2003
Tip #37The Punch - Posted July 16, 2003
Tip #36Shotmaking Strategies - Posted July 9, 2003
Tip #35Metal Readiness - Posted July 2, 2003
Tip #34Aptitude Starts with Attitude - Posted June 25, 2003
Tip #33Perfect Your Putting Position - Posted June 18, 2003
Tip #32Take the Right Position - Posted June 11, 2003
Tip #31Learn to Read the Green - Posted June 4, 2003
Tip #30Dig it out of the Rough - Posted May 28, 2003
Tip #29Get the Stiffest Shaft You Can Handle - Posted May 21, 2003
Tip #28Get Hungry around the Green - Posted May 14, 2003
Tip #27Blast it Out of the Water - Posted May 7, 2003
Tip #26Think Your Way Out of Trouble - Posted April 30, 2003
Tip #25Overhaul Your Game - Posted April 23, 2003
Tip #24Become a Sand Expert - Posted April 16, 2003
Tip #23Know When to Pick Your Shots - Posted April 9, 2003
Tip #22Learn to Work Your Shots - Posted April 2, 2003
Tip #21Countdown to Takeoff - Posted March 26, 2003
Tip #20Perfect Your Alignment - Posted March 19, 2003
Tip #19Learn the Basics of Sand Play - Posted March 12, 2003
Tip #18Playing in the Rain - Posted March 5, 2003
Tip #17Should You Swing the Same? - Posted Feb. 26, 2003
Tip #16Finish Your Swing Strong - Posted Feb. 19, 2003
Tip #15Hit it Through the Wind - Posted Feb. 12, 2003
Tip #14Put Horsepower in Your Swing - Posted Feb. 5, 2003
Tip #13Hit the Right Club - Posted Jan. 29, 2003
Tip #12You Can Spin the Ball Back - Posted Jan. 22, 2003
Tip #11Don't be a Sucker - Posted Jan. 15, 2003
Tip #10Make Your Practice Meaningful - Posted Jan. 8, 2003
Tip #9Hit it Deep - Posted Jan. 1, 2003
Tip #8Learn to Love The Sand - Posted Dec. 25, 2002
Tip #7Get Inside Their Head - Posted Dec. 18, 2002
Tip #6Get a Handle on Flyer Lies - Posted Dec. 11, 2002
Tip #5Hitting it High - Posted Dec. 5, 2002
Tip #4Swing a Knockout Punch - Posted Nov. 28, 2002
Tip #3Spin it Out of the Sand - Posted Nov. 21, 2002
Tip #2Hit off the Deck - Posted Nov. 14, 2002
Tip #1Attack Every Putt - Posted Nov. 7, 2002

Wine Vert

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