I Can’t Play This Basic Golf Shot And It’s Holding Back My Game

I’m slightly dumbfounded with golf at the minute as I am hitting the ball as well as, or even better than, ever, yet my scores are in no way showing that.

Granted, I feel like I’m playing less and less golf so it’s difficult to expect anything special, but I’ve gone from a 1.7 to 6.0 handicap index over the last four years and I still can’t even play to my current number.

So why is that?

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Rust is certainly an aspect. I believe I could shoot lower scores if I regularly played two or three times per week and started practising a little more.

I also pretty much had the full-on putting yips a couple of years ago and I have never truly recovered. It bled into my short game and likely the rest of my game, too, knowing that I would struggle to hole any putts from outside of literal gimme range.

But one thing I’ve really noticed recently is my complete lack of ability to get the ball up-and-down from areas I used to, and I think it is the basic chip-and-run shot I am missing.

I bought a 5-wood and started practising putting with it from the fringe and just off the green, and it was remarkable how consistent it was. I managed to putt one up to gimme range on the 1st hole recently after about ten minutes of practice prior to my round.

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Is keeping the ball lower to the ground around the greens the answer to lower scores?

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This sounds very basic, but keeping the ball low around the greens, and without spin, is a shot I need to start making use of more. Especially during the winter when the greens are softer and slower.

The fairway wood should now be my go-to when a yard-or-so off the green, but from slightly further away it doesn’t work quite as well.

I recently played in a competition with a 3-handicap and we were both in a similar position on a par 4 after two strokes. I only brought my 58 degree wedge and putter with me and hit an average shot to around 12ft, turning what really should have been a par into a bogey.

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He hit a chip-and-run with an 8-iron to tap-in range and walked off with the easiest of pars. It struck me.

I am usually a hands-forward, high-lofted kind of chipper, where I like to de-loft it, hit the ball hard with a divot and allow for spin.

This clearly doesn’t work, though, if you look at my scores. I used to be a regular sub-80 shooter, but have been in the mid-80s most of the time lately.

The amount of times I fail to get the ball up-and-down from basic areas is quite staggering, and with the little golf I now play (once a week at best) it seems silly to constantly try and execute such a high tariff shot.

Sure, it comes off from time to time but I often hit the shot far too hard or it checks up well short of the pin.

I am going to try and use less loft around the greens

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It is so much easier to hit an 8-iron chip-and-run consistently than a spinny, de-lofted lob wedge fizzer, so I plan to go back to basics and master the chip-and-run… for the first time ever in my life.

My golfing New Year’s Resolution is going to be banning myself from using any club that doesn’t have a 5-PW stamped on it around the greens, unless I genuinely have to get the ball airborne over a bunker or thick rough.

It might not be as fun or produce as many shots that get me excited but I’d sign up for boring golf and lower scores.

I’ve played the game for 20 years and have never really hit anything but a lob wedge around the greens, but that will be changing in 2026. Mark my words!