Sometimes, like me, I am sure your work, family, budget, or the weather prevents you from taking a Thailand golf vacation or just playing golf as often as you like. We either play infrequently, or worse, need to take long breaks from getting out to the golf course. Scores are generally not very good with the short game suffering the most during these layoffs.
This is further compounded because the short game is also relatively more important during the first round after coming back from a layoff. More short shots are taken around the green because of lack of being sharp from tee to green. In other words, a lot of greens will be missed and getting up-and-down from off the putting surface to save par, or at least get bogey, becomes critical to insuring a decent score.
When practicing chips and pitch shots–after a long layoff–I get a feel for the club and a rhythm to my stroke. I will also reawaken a sense of how hard to hit my short shots once I am out on the course. A few minutes at practice green found at all Thailand golf courses will also be particularly beneficial on long approach putts. If I don’t stroke a few before you play, then I struggle to find the right feel on long putts.
This is the practice routine that I always use following lengthy inactivity. The method I use is simple. Go to the practice area and take five balls and hit five pitch shots, five chip shots, and hit five lag putts and five shorter putts. These 20 shots take less than ten minutes and are the single most effective game improvement actions I have found after a long time away from the links.
A brief workout on your short game before you play will have immediate benefits; it will help you enjoy your game more than you would if you have no feel whatsoever on the chips and putts, and I bet you will score better and have more enjoyment in the process!
Give it a try and let us know how it works for you. Feel free to post your warm up suggestions here or if you prefer drop me an email at my Thailand golf vacation company and I will take care of the posting duties.
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