The Complete Short Game Guide

Around 60% of your shots in a round happen from inside 100 yards. Chips, pitches, bunker shots, putts. That number barely changes whether you’re a 5-handicap or a 25-handicap. The short game is the majority of golf.

Yet most golfers spend the vast majority of their practice time hitting drivers and irons. Full swings feel productive. They’re satisfying. But they don’t move the needle the way 30 focused minutes around the putting green will.

This page is a central hub for everything I’ve written about the short game. Chipping technique. Putting drills. Practice plans you can actually follow. Scoring strategy that works on the course — not just in theory.

Pick the area where you’re losing the most shots and start there. Or work through it all. Either way, this is the guide.

Improve Your Overall Short Game

Start here if you want a broad improvement across your entire short game. These two guides cover the fundamentals — what actually moves the needle, and how to lower scores without rebuilding your swing from scratch.

How to Improve Your Golf Short Game → Why most short game practice doesn’t work, performance-based drills that do, and how to benchmark your current level. How to Improve Scores Without Changing Your Swing → Course management, shot selection, and short game tactics that cut strokes without a single swing change.

Chipping and Getting Up and Down

Your up-and-down percentage is one of the biggest separators between handicap levels. Getting the ball close from around the green — consistently, under pressure — is a skill you can build with the right practice.

How to Get Up and Down in Golf → The technique, shot selection, and mindset behind converting more up-and-downs per round. How to Practice Short Game: Full Guide → A structured approach to short game sessions — what to work on, how long to spend, and how to track whether it’s working.

Putting Mastery

Putting is roughly 40% of your total strokes. Eliminate three-putts, sharpen your distance control, and learn to read greens properly — the combined effect on your scorecard is enormous.

How to Stop Three Putting → Seven drills that target lag putting and short putts — the two areas where three-putts actually come from. How to Improve Putting Distance Control → Ladder drills, tempo work, and the practice method that builds feel from any distance. How to Read Greens → A practical system for reading break, slope, and grain — without overcomplicating it. Complete Putting Guide → The full putting hub — every putting article, drill, and practice plan in one place.

Build a Practice Routine

Knowing what to work on is only half the job. You need a repeatable routine that fits your schedule and keeps you engaged. These guides give you ready-made plans and practical tips to make every session count.

Golf Practice Routine: 30 & 60-Min Plans → Pre-built routines for short and long sessions — warm-up, drills, pressure games, and cooldown. Golf Practice Tips for Beginners → Where to start if you’re new to structured practice — priorities, common mistakes, and realistic expectations. How to Make Golf Practice Fun → Games, challenges, and scoring systems that keep you coming back to the practice green.

Score Lower

All of this work points in one direction — lower numbers on the card. If you’ve got a specific target in mind, this is where the short game meets course strategy.

How to Break 90 in Golf → The short game benchmarks, course management habits, and practice priorities that get you under 90.