Most of the players I interact with spend a lot of time thinking about ball striking and distance and very little time thinking about the short game and scoring. For the purpose of discussion I would consider the short game and scoring area to be various distances depending on a players ability. Scoring areas are where we want to get the ball on the green and in the hole in two shots on a consistent basis (better than 50% would be great). 

 

For a low handicap (8 or less) - I would encourage you think of the scoring area as 125 yards and under 

For a mid handicap (8-14) - I would encourage you to think of the scoring area as 100 yards and under 

For a high handicap (15+) - I would encourage you to think of the scoring area as 75 yards and under 

 

On the green I would consider the areas to be 

 

For a low handicap (8 or less) - 8 feet and in For a mid handicap (8-14) - 6 feet and in 

For a high handicap (15+) - 4 feet and in 

 

Spending extra time practicing from these distances will help lower your score much faster than any improvement in distance can. Most players can see a 25%-40% improvement by working on these areas. A great wedge or short iron shot and a made putt is a great equalizer for the score card. You're going to hit some bad drivers, you're going to miss some greens, saving the par or bogey can go a long ways towards improving your total score. Also for the low handicaps who drive the ball well, you need to take advantage of the scoring opportunities presented and convert wedge approaches into birdies, so work from 125 yards and work on the 8 foot putting area so you can capitalize on your scoring chances. Take a look at the number of wedges in your bag. Anything under 3 and we have a problem. I prefer to see PW, 52, 56, 60, an alternative is PW, 54, 58, but a minium of 3 wedges is necessary to help dial in the approach shots from inside 100 yards.

 

-Hurricane Dan