Around the green, tour professionals have ALL the shots in their bag. This gives them options to choose from in a given situation when determining shot-selection and trajectory; picking the right combination then becomes the greatest challenge.  

As a handicap-player looking to improve, you must have the ability to hit several different shots of varying height in any one situation so you don’t get “stuck” with only one option. If you have a limited-number of shots around the green, you limit your ability to get up-and-down from various locations. A dependable short game is about having OPTIONS.

In the scoring guide below, I will teach you how to play 14 different shots of varying trajectories with various clubs to help expand your arsenal of short game shots.

1. The Texas Wedge
2. The Putter Back in Stance
3. The Fairway Wood or Rescue Club
4. The Bellied Wedge
5. The “Y” Chipping Style
6. The Bump and Run
7. The Three Basic Pitch Shots
8. The Toe Down Pitch Shot
9. The Toe In Skipper
10. The Super High Flop Shot
11. The High Bunker Shot
12. The Stab in the Bunker
13. The Long Running Bunker Shot
14. The Severe Downhill Pitch Shot

The Texas Wedge

The Texas Wedge was made popular in the South during the summers when the ground would get hard and baked out, making chipping and pitching risky. This shot will help you nestle the ball close to the flag when you feel uneasy, and it eliminates the risk of a skull or chunk. If all else fails, use the putter!

• Position the ball as you normally would with your putter
• Set 60 percent of your weight forward to ensure a solid strike
• Allow the putter to move and accelerate through the ball
• Use no wrist action in this putt along with a “short-to-long” stroke to keep the putter head moving through the ball

The Putter Back in the Stance

As stated earlier, the putter is the best choice if all else fails. But what happens if you have a bad lie, hardpan, a longer distance to go, or even long grass in front of you? This is when you need a touch more speed to get the ball through the stuff in front of you, but not take off when it hits the green. For this shot, you can position the ball back in your stance and still get all the benefits of using the Texas Wedge.

• Position the ball just in front of your rear toe
• 60 percent of your weight is on your forward foot
• Lean the putter-shaft forward so that the butt of the club points at your front pocket
• Allow the putter head to move “upwards” slightly on the backswing
• Make your forward stroke as you normally would
• This no-wrist stroke will cause the ball to “pop” up in the air slightly and have more overspin than the regular Texas Wedge

The Fairway Wood or Rescue Club

As made popular by Tiger Woods, the fairway wood or rescue club from just off the green allows you an easier way to get up and down from good, bad, or tight lies with pins that are cut close to the edge of the green. As golf course architecture continues to evolve with “collection areas” around the green, you’ll continue to see this shot used more and more on Tour. 

• Set up to your fairway wood or rescue club as you normally would
• Choke all the way down to the end of the grip by the shaft
• Assume your normal putting grip
• Use your putting stroke with NO wrist action allowing for the extra mass and length of the wood or rescue club to propel the ball onto the green
• The lower-lofted fairway woods are most often used from farther off the green while the rescue clubs are used very close to the green
• Only use this shot to very tight pin placements next to the edge of the green
• This shot will also work on very steep hills and medium rough when you just need to get the ball moving 

The Bellied Wedge

The Bellied Wedge is a great shot for touchy situations from just off the green where a putter or a rescue club won’t work. It’s great from just about any lie, and can even be used from a bunker if the lip is low enough. By using the extra mass of the sand-wedge and the thick flange of the sole, you will find that the ball has a quick burst of overspin and then rolls true while on the green, with little chance of “getting away from you.”

• Position the ball in the middle of your stance just like you are using your putter
• Weight 50-50 between your right and left
• Assume your normal putting grip

Keep your wrists firm and stroke and impact the ball in the “belly” or equator of the ball. This will cause the ball to roll on the top of the grass and hit the green with a true roll.

The “Y” Chipping Style

The normal chipping procedure works wonders for all skill levels and it’s undoubtedly the most popular shot from just off the green. Sadly, this shot is too often used in the incorrect situations causing the ball to run too far past the pin. However, the mastery of this shot will allow you to save more strokes around the green for years to come.

• Place the ball just in front of your rear toe
• All the weight is positioned on your forward foot
• The shaft and hands are pushed forward so that the butt of the club points at your forward pocket
• Notice the lowercase “Y” formed between your arms, hands, and clubshaft
• Lock in your wrists and put weight forward, then make your putting stroke, NOT a hit
• At the finish, you should still see your weight forward and the “Y” intact
• Use the higher-lofted clubs (LW, SW, PW etc.) for close shots and the lower-lofted clubs (9, 8, 7, 6 irons etc.) for your longer shots
• Never change the length or tempo of this shot, just change your club

The Bump and Run

The close cousin of the “Y” Chipping Style is the Bump and Run where you have a closely mown area to hit over/through, yet it is too far for the putter, rescue, or a chip shot.  Becoming proficient at this shot will help you to better negotiate the longer shots when you’re in trouble, under the trees and need to “run” the ball onto the green.

• Place the ball back in your stance between your sternum and your rear toe depending on the length of the shot at hand
• All the weight will be positioned on your forward foot
• The clubshaft and hands will be pushed forward so that the butt of the club points almost to your forward pocket
• Notice the lowercase “Y” formed between your arms, hands, and clubshaft
• Lock in your wrists, put your weight forward and make your putting stroke, NOT a hit
• You can use any club for this shot, usually something around a nine to seven-iron is the most popular
• At the finish you should still see your weight forward and the “Y” intact

The Three Basic Pitch Shots

When you have to loft the ball over something, you should use some type of pitching motion. Pitch shots are smaller versions of your full swing.

• The spine is vertical, not tilted to the rear of center and the weight is 60 percent forward
• The butt of the club points at the belt loop, just forward of your belt buckle
• The stance can be square or slightly open depending on your preference
• The stroke is short to long with a slight body pivot
• The weight stays forward all the way to the finish with a flat forward wrist
• Go “down and through” the ball, “thumping” the grass on the way through

The Toe Down Pitch Shot

In this day and age of super-fast greens, it seems like every time you miss the green by only five or 10 feet, you’re faced with a near impossible shot. It’s here when the toe down pitch shot will come out super soft and stop like you have never seen before.

• Set the club down on its toe (the heel is off the ground slightly)
• The clubshaft is perpendicular to the ground
• Use your putting grip with the ball in the middle of your stance
• Make your normal putting motion, with no wrists, allowing the club to go down and through the ball during impact
• You can open the blade, close the blade, and use it in all lies for different results

The Toe-In Skipper

Sometimes you’re faced with an uphill shot, or over a closely mown area; if you hit the ball short it will roll back to your feet and if you go long then the ball will skip right by the hole. This is the shot you see at No. 14 at Augusta when the professionals leave it short of the green and want to make sure the ball does not run away from them past the hole.

• Take your sand wedge or lob wedge for this shot and place the ball back in your stance 
• Hood the club head so that the blade is de-lofted at address
• Make an exaggerated in-to-out swing feeling like you are trying to “hook” the ball into the green, landing the ball short like the basic bump and run shot
• This action will cause the ball to come off the face low, skip once or twice, check up and then gently roll out
• This action will cause the ball to have just enough pace to move up the hill or through the mown area, but not too much as to run away from you past the pin

The Super High Flop Shot

There are times when your back is against the wall and the only option you have is to hit the Super High Flop Shot next to the pin. Thankfully, this shot condition doesn’t happen too often, but when it does you’ll be prepared. The only things you need to pull off this shot will be some luck, a little skill, and an accelerated swing through the ball into the finish.

• Place the ball forward in your stance and open the club up, like you are going to balance a wine glass on the face
• Aim your body slightly open to your target
• The hands are even with the belt buckle, or slightly behind the ball at address and the weight is distributed 50-50
• Set the club up quickly with your wrist hinge and allow your swing shape to be more of a “V”
• Accelerate down and through the ball holding the club face open into a full finish; the harder you swing the higher the ball will go

Note: for an even higher shot allow your wrists to release “under” on the way through.  This is not advisable, but it will give you slightly more height.

The High Bunker Shot

Every bunker shot nowadays seems like it’s 10 feet deep with a high lip to negotiate, hitting to a green that runs away from you! In this situation, you need a high, soft shot that comes out of the bunker and has no chance of hitting the lip on the way out. This shot involves a few simple set up changes and you must have a good lie and a lob wedge in your bag for sure.

• Place the ball forward in your stance and open the club up, like you are going to balance a wine glass on the face
• Aim your body slightly open to your target
• The hands are even with the belt buckle, or slightly behind the ball at address and the weight is slightly rear of center
• Set the club up quickly with your wrist hinge and allow your swing shape to be more of a “V”
• Accelerate down and through the impact zone holding the club face open into a full finish; the harder you swing the higher the ball will go

Note: For an even higher shot allow your wrists to release “under” on  the way through.  This is not advisable, but it will give you slightly more height.

The Stab in the Bunker

Whenever you try to attack a tucked pin, the ball seems to plug in the bunker. This shot is not very hard when you have green to work with, but when the pin is cut close to the bunker face you need another, softer shot.

• Set up as you would for your normal bunker shot
• Face and body open, hands slightly ahead of the ball, with your weight forward, and the spine leaning slightly forward of center
• Set the club upwards with the wrists in the “V” type of swinging motion and “stab” down behind the ball with NO finish whatsoever
• This action will cause you to dig a huge hole where the ball sat originally
• With no follow-through there won’t be much heat on the ball when it comes out of the bunker
• By varying your follow-through you will find that you can actually begin to control the ball’s release once it hits the green, with some practice

The Long Running Bunker Shot

What do you do when you have a perfect lie in the bunker but a huge uphill slope to negotiate on the green? Do you carry it back to the pin or do you elect to try a long running bunker shot? Whatever you do when you choose the long running bunker shot, you better make sure you get the ball back to the pin, and here’s how to do it.

• Set up as you normally would for a bunker shot
• Face and body open, hands slightly ahead of the ball, with the weight forward slightly, and the spine leaning slightly forward of center
• The simple adjustment to be made here is to take the club back “low and away” making your swing’s shape look more like a “U” than a “V”
• Finally you will release fully through the shot allowing your club face to close through the ball, giving it more hook-spin
• This hooking action through the ball will cause it to hit the green and run like a rabbit

Note: You can also take a lower-lofted club and hit the type of shot described above for the super-long runners like you see in the Open Championship.

The Severe Downhill Pitch Shot

What do you do when you have a severe downhill pitch shot to a green that runs away from you? How do you keep it on the green? My goal here is to put the ball on the green anywhere within 20 feet and get to the next hole without making a big number. Sometimes you have to take your licks and this is definitely one of those times!

• Align your body facing the pin
• Place the ball in line with the outside of your ankles
• Lean down the slope slightly with your shoulders
• Set the club with your wrists and finish LOW
• This will allow the ball to come off the club solid and reduce the roll-out