Introduction
I wanted to write this blog in order for the average golfer to improve their short game and hopefully lower your scores.
As you probably know most strokes are lost when you finally get near the green and you have to depend on your short game to get the ball in the hole.
I think most golfers feel they don’t need to improve or they just don.t want to put the time in to improve by getting some short game lessons.
Here I’m going to try to show you how to lower your scores without spending hours on end at the driving range.
In order to improve any aspect of your life you need to have realistic expectations in order to reach your goal, same goes with golf.
Golf should actually be fun not work so instead of working on your golf game lets go playing on your golf game.
My goal here is to have you make a chip shot and watch it roll into the hole. What a feeling that is. So here is hopefully to some better golf and scores.
Sand Shots Made Simple
Most golfers when they hit the ball into a sand trap their first reaction is oh crap how do I get out of here, there goes my round.
So what if you were to hit in the trap and then just stroll up to your ball take a nice easy swing and watch the ball float on up on to the green.
The most important element of hitting a sand shot is technique, the first 
rule being keeping your body very still, there should be little movement in your body.
One of the biggest mistake golfers make when trying to get out of a sand trap is they try to scoop the ball out instead of hitting down behind the ball with a full swing which will cause the ball to be actually pushed out by the sand. Your club should never even come in contact with the ball.
Did you ever think of why the club is called a sand wedge? because it is designed to do the work for you.
So get started by taking your stance in the sand shuffle your feet a little to get them set in the sand because of doing this you will want to choke down on the club a little to make up for your feet sinking a little, now open the club face a little and then take your grip, very important.
Be sure the ball is in the middle of you stance. Now be sure your weight is on your front foot, take a 3/4″ swing back and a 3/4″ threw the ball. You want to hit the sand about two inches behind the ball and it will pop out onto the green.
Practice this technique until you get it down pat and then you can experiment with different kinds of lies in the sand. Hope this helps your sand game.
Chipping Like the Pros
Chipping around the greens can sometimes can actually be more difficult than the sand shot. Around the greens can have all different lengths of grass making you have to be much more imaginative.
One of the main factors in chipping well is the back of your left-hand if you are a right-handed golfer. A lot of golfers I see chipping is the same thing they do in the sand trap,they try to flip the right hand under leading to sculled chips or the club just sliding under the ball.
The chipping technique is really quiet easy to learn, it’s the execution that is really difficult.
Practice does make perfect but you need to practice with the proper technique. There are many types of chips depending on high the grass is and whether you want to run it up to the hole or fly it in the almost to the hole. You can chip with any club from say a seven iron all the way down to your lob wedge.
No matter what chip you have you always want basically want the same setup, choke down a little on you club, ball back in your stance, your weight on your front foot and your hands slightly ahead of the ball.
The key now is to bring the club back with only your shoulders.No body or head movement and no wrist action. How far back you bring the club will depend on how far you want the ball to go and what club you are using.
This is where the left-hand comes in to play, always be sure the back of your left-hand is always facing the target at all times. You keep practicing this technique you will be chipping with more consistency and then you can learn to judge distances and cub loft.
The Flop Shot
One of the hardest golf short game lessons is the flop shot. It can also be one the most fun shots in golf. It is not very often in a round of golf where you actually need to use the flop shot but it is a great arsenal to have in your bag.
I’ll start with what is a flop shot? A flop shot is usually when you need to get the ball up high very quickly and have it lands softly hopefully near the hole.
The flop shot has its own rules so nothing previously holds true here. The flop shot requires a lot of practice and a full commitment. First thing is to evaluate you lie, your ball should be in the rough with the ball up a little, if you ball is settled down in the rough the flop will not work.
As opposed to chipping, the flop shot you want to keep your hands behind the ball and weight on your right foot, open the club face as far as possible and take a full swing without trying to help the ball.If done properly the ball will fly high and land soft hopefully near you target.
How to Make a Putt When You Have to
The best way for the average golfer to lower their scores is to improve their putting. So how do you become a better putter?
Stand comfortably over the ball using light grip pressure and your weight slighting on your front foot, your hands should be over the ball if not slightly forward of the ball.
Do not keep your hands behind the ball, this will lead to a lot of miss hits.
You want your hand, arms and shoulders to for kind of a triangle. Take the club back close to the ground with your shoulders keeping your arm and hands quiet and still. At the end of your backstroke again you want to use your shoulders keeping your putter still close to the ground, this should result in a well struck putt that should roll nicely towards the hole.
Conclusion
So there are two components to help improve your golf game, the first is to learn the techniques you’ve learnt and the second is to practice and never forget the first.
Go to your local driving range or golf course and practice your sand trap techniques, then go practice your chipping techniques and then on to your putting techniques, before you know it, it will become second nature to you.
Then when you take all this out to the golf course you will be surprised how much lower your score will drop.
I hope you have found these lessons helpful to you, if so please leave a comment below and I will also answer any questions you may have
good golf to you
Robert