There was a time when I was confused about the relationship of the short game to the long game (the swing), and I posted a tip saying that the short game is the way to go. You can read that tip here.

Earlier this year (2010) I went to Pittsburgh to watch the U.S. Women's Open, and it all made sense. Their swing works every time. Every time they put that club on the ball, it's going straight, and it's going where they want it to go. Every time.

By hitting the ball straight so often, they give themselves a chance for birdie much more often than we give ourselves. They give themselves a chance for par much more often than we give ourselves. We sometimes look at a bogey as a good score; they see it as a train wreck.

Let's look at some numbers. A tournament professional shooting a 72 will have hit 12 greens in regulation. They'll have hit 30 putts, 6 short shots, and 36 long shots. Half of their score will be made around the green, half from the tee and fairway.

Let's look at you, shooting 90, and hitting 5 greens in regulation. You might have 32 putts, 15 short shots, and 43 shots off the tee and fairway. Do you see the difference? Two more putts, but nine more short shots and eleven more swings.

By cutting down on the number of extra strokes it takes you get to the green, you also cut down the number of short shots you hit. It's a two-for-one deal. Now there might not be a strict sequential correspondance, but the implication is there. In our example you took just two more putts, but it took you 16 more shots to get the ball on the green, all due to the state of your golf swing.

I'm not saying stop practicing your short game or putting. Far from it. When I go to the range and spend a hour around the green, I might see three other people on it, for about ten minutes each. I know they aren't good players.

What I am saying is this. Pair yourself up with your club champion, and play one ball. Would you rather the champ hit the tee shots and approaches and you hit the short shots and putts, or have it the other way around? Which combo would win -- his swing and your greens game, or your swing and his greens game? I thought so.

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