Around the Green: Evaluate, Select, Execute

Follow These Steps To Develop a Professional Level Short Game

All SMART Golf & Fitness Memberships begin with an Initial SMART Assessment. If it is determined during the player interview portion of the assessment that the player’s short game is limiting their ability to shoot lower scores, we will take the player through a short game evaluation. When evaluating a player’s short game we will present them with a number of different scenarios around the green to test their ability to evaluate the shot, make the proper shot selection, and execute the shot accordingly. 

We grade players according the following criteria: 

• Shot Evaluation
  • Is the player able to properly access all of the different variables of the shot?
• Shot Selection
  • Based up the evaluation does the player select the appropriate shot for the given scenario
• Shot Execution
  • Is the player able to execute the shot accordingly? 
  • If not, why? Poor contact? Inability to create proper trajectory? Poor distance control?

When evaluating the shot scenario the player needs to take into consideration the following:

• Lie (Rough – Sitting Down or Up, Fairway, Fringe – Tight Lie)
• Shot Distance (Short to Long)
• Amount of Green To Work With (Short to Long)
• Slope of the Landing Spot (Flat, Upslope, or Downslope)
• Speed of the Greens (Slow to Fast)

The player should use their findings from the evaluation to help guide their shot selection. When it comes to making the proper shot selection, it’s helpful to think about five different trajectory options: low, mid-low, mid, mid-high, or high. Depending upon the scenario, different trajectories will make the most sense and produce the best results. Let’s use an example to showcase the shot selection process.

Scenario: 

• Rough (Ball Sitting Down)
• 10 Yards from Hole 
• Short Sided (small amount of green to work with)
• Landing on a Downslope
• Fast Green

For this scenario the proper selection would be a high trajectory shot. Because we don’t have much green to work with, the green is fast, and we will be landing on a downslope, we need to do something to land this ball as softly as possible to limit the amount of roll. 

The final and most important element to developing a professional level short game will be the shot execution. High level players are able to execute all five trajectories and will pick the appropriate trajectory based upon the scenario. Amateur players often struggle to execute at least one if not more of the five trajectories. If the player is struggling with execution, it is important to determine why and build an improvement plan accordingly. 

Here are a few common errors that we see most often when it comes to shot execution: 

Setup does not appropriately match the selected shot trajectory. 

For example, the player has selected a mid-high shot but has positioned the ball back in their stance and a closed club face at address. This will require a handful of compensations throughout the swing in order to achieve the appropriate amount of dynamic loft at impact for the desired trajectory. These compensations can be challenging to manage given the shorter stroke length of a short game shot and lack of time available to make a correction during the swing. Oftentimes these attempts at compensating lead to poor contact at impact, which makes trajectory control and distance control near impossible. 

Takeaway positions the club head in a manner that will be difficult to manage the low point of the swing at impact. 

For example, if the club head moves drastically behind the players body in the takeaway they might have difficulty rerouting the club head to the proper position at impact. Given the shorter nature of the swing in the short game, it can be difficult to manage a club head that needs a significant amount of rearranging prior to impact. 

Kinematic sequence does not allow the player to properly manage the speed of the club head. 

Many agree that the optimal kinematic sequence for the full swing in golf is to move your hips first in transition, followed by your torso, followed by your arms, and followed by the hands. This sequence allows the majority of players to produce the most clubhead speed at impact which helps maximize distance. When it comes to short game, however, our objective is not to maximize distance but rather control distance. For this reason, the ideal kinematic sequence for a short game shot is actually the opposite of your full swing motion. The ideal short game kinematic sequence would be as follows: hands first in transition, followed by the arms, followed by the torso, and finally followed by the hips. Players who struggle with this sequence are often getting the lower body involved too early which can lead to either poor contact and or poor distance control. 

If you lack confidence in your short game, and believe it is holding you back from shooting lower scores, it’s important to have your short game properly evaluated with a SMART Assessment. From the assessment findings your SMARTGOLF team will develop a roadmap towards developing a professional level short game.