Want to reduce your golf handicap dramatically?

Learn to chip accurately—especially from just off the green. Chipping accurately helps you score low by turning three shots into two. It also increases your ability to get up and down from difficult lies and to make birdies and pars. To increase accuracy, rehearse the shot. Rehearsing provides key information that lets you knock it close.
Here's a five-step routine to use before chipping:

* Inspect the lie carefully
* Take two practice sweeps
* Adjust your grip
* Step up and take your stance
* Visualize the shot and hit

The most important part of the short chip shot is to make sure you lead with the hips. This will help you avoid the embarrassing "chilli dip" " duff where the ball travels about 12 inutes and you have to hit the SAME shot again.

You must determine three things when chipping from just off the grass: How far to hit the ball. How high to hit it. And how much roll you want. Rehearsing helps you decide these things by letting you accurately assess the situation. First, look at your lie. Is the ball is above or below the grass? The higher the ball sits on the grass, the higher it launches and the more backspin it has. The lower the ball sits on the grass, the lower it launches and the more forward spin it has. Now, take your stance. After settling in, make two downward sweeping practice swings. Do this as close to the ball as possible. The swings tell you how the grass will react to a downward sweeping motion through the ball. Note how the clubhead slides through the grass. If it grabs the clubface, tighten your grip. If it lets the clubface slide through easily, maintain a "soft grip." The two sweeps also tell you if you're chipping from an uphill, a downhill, or a sidehill lie. You can't always tell by looking. And don' try scooping the ball. That almost never works. Instead, visualize the shot and trust your stroke. The club's loft will launch the ball.Chipping accurately from just off the green turns three strokes into two. It can help cut your scores and golf handicap dramatically.

*** AGAIN *** The most important part of the short chip shot is to make sure you lead with the hips. This will help you avoid the embarrassing "chilli dip" " duff where the ball travels about 12 inutes and you have to hit the SAME shot again

Three Easy Keys to Sinking Short Putts

It's easy to miss short putts. Sometimes, you take the shot for granted. Other times, you just don't focus on enough. Regardless of why it happens, what matters is that you missed the putt and it cost you a stroke. If you're playing a match, it can cost you the hole or maybe even the match itself.
Missing a short putt is also embarrassing—especially if it's in a club championship or a tournament. So there some added pressure to make these putts. Below are three keys to making short putts:

1. Make contact with center of putterface
2. Make contact with a square putterface
3. Accelerate the putter head through impact

Mastering these three keys improves not only your short but also your long putting. To master centerface contact, stick two tees in the ground on either side of the putterhead. Put one at the toe and one at the head. Practice stroking putts without contacting the tees. Continue until you strike the ball cleanly every time.To master a square putterface, place a shaft on the ground outside the tee at the putterhead's toe. Make sure the shaft is parallel with the target line. Use the shaft for alignment and keep stroking putts. Avoid the two tees stuck in the ground as you putt. To master acceleration, take a third tee and stick in the ground behind the ball at address. Place it relatively even with the toe of your back foot. Now stroke some putts. Avoid hitting all three tees. The third tee stops you from taking the putterhead too far back. It also forces you to accelerate through the putt. Practicing these drills regularly sharpens your stroke and boosts confidence, improving your short putting. It also helps you sink more 12- and 15-foot putts for birdie or par.