No K.I.S.S. as an acronym for Keep It Simple Stupid something which I need drumming into me on a regular basis. I have been accused in the past of over complicating things but I really do think that this latest 'eureka' moment will massively help my short game.
I am still persevering with my distance wedges and becoming increasingly successful with distance control. Though my accuracy is still a bone of contention, I am nearly always pin high or thereabouts. I am also gaining a better understanding of my distances for my irons, thanks in no small part to lots of playing time and a GPS.
Where I have had trouble is from 50 yards and in. When I'm on the fringes of the green or wanting to play a bump and run. I have no frame of reference and consequently waste a lot of shots by over or under hitting. I've hit a fair few duffs as well because I've not been committed to the shot.
My solution is simple. I spent some time on Saturday grooving a fringe chipping stroke with a consistent tempo and back lift. I then started hitting chips with everything from my hybrid down to my sand wedge to get a feel for distance and after a bit of practice I got quite consistent. I then hit two fringe chips to a couple of feet on Sunday using a 7 iron and 5 iron, when normally I would have just used my 8 iron and tried to vary back lift. I have found that using a range of clubs and a consistent stroke is much more accurate.
On the back of the early success of that experiment I have now started working on a similar approach for bump and runs. Hopefully, this will help me improve my creativity and consistency around the greens. Most importantly, it should help me commit confidently to those really short approach shots, rely less on my lofted wedges and play the percentages. Once again time will tell...
