DIAL IN YOUR SHORT CLUBS

While it’s always a good idea to get

your clubs fitted, the most important

thing for scoring is to get your

wedges and short irons dialed in.

First you need to be sure your distance

gaps are correct. In many modern iron sets

the lofts are jacked very strong to encourage

more distance. Unfortunately, this can

wreak havoc on your distance gaps and

short-game scoring shots.

Basically, you want 4-degree gaps between

each of your scoring clubs; I recommend

having the lofts checked. Then,

make sure you have the right collection of

wedges to complement your short irons.

For example, if you have a 37-degree

8-iron and a 41-degree 9-iron (common

in game-improvement iron sets), you need

to make sure you have 50-, 54-, and 58- or

60-degree wedges to round out your arsenal.

If you don’t, you should invest in new

ones, or have your existing wedges bent (be

aware that if you strengthen your wedge

lofts, you’ll take away bounce, which isn’t

always a good thing).

WEEK 1 DRILL: WEDGE ASSESSMENT

Once you have your wedges

and scoring irons set up

properly, you need to get out

to the practice range and dial

in your distances. To do so,

take your 8-iron through

LW and hit 10 practice balls

with each (if possible, the

balls you normally play, not

range balls). Hit these shots

from a good flat spot on the

range. It’s important to do

this on a quiet day with little

wind. It’s also important

to know your yardages

as accurately as possible,

so I recommend using a

rangefinder for this exercise.

Mark the average yardage

you hit with each club. You

should notice a 10- to 15-yard

gap between the distance

you hit successive clubs

(for example: 60-yard LW,

75-yard SW, 90-yard GW,

etc.). It may not be exact,

but you should be close

to this gap structure.

Now, the real test: Hit 10

solid shots with each club,

paying close attention to your

landing spot. Your goal here

is to see how consistently

you can hit each club based

on the yardage you charted

in Step 1. At the end of six

weeks you should be able to

consistently land about 70

percent of your shots with

each of these clubs in a 10-

yard radius. The other thing to

figure out during this session

is which scoring club is your

favorite, or the most reliable.

If you’re going to cut those

last few strokes and break 80,

you’ll need to have a go-to

lay-up distance.

WEEK 1 ACTION PLAN (3 HOURS)

1. Gear Check

(60 minutes):

Have your scoring clubs

(8-iron through LW)

checked by a clubmaker.

You want 4- or 5-degree

increments between

each club. Be certain

your lofts are correct

and that the gaps are

appropriate. If need

be, you should consider

purchasing a new

wedge or two to fill

out your set.

2. Distance Check

(60 minutes):

Hit 10 balls with each

club until you can

confidently say how far

you hit each club when

you make solid contact.

3. Distance Practice

(60 minutes):

Mark off the yardage

for each club from

8-iron to your shortest

wedge and hit 10 balls

with each club to each

corresponding target.

By the end of six weeks

you should be able

to hit 70 percent of your

shots within a 10-yard

radius of the target.

BREAK 80 PLANNING WORKSHEETS (PDF)

WEEK 1: DIAL IN YOUR SHORT CLUBS

WEEK 2: DEVELOP A GO-TO DRIVE

WEEK 3: CHIP AND PITCH IT CLOSER

WEEK 4: MAKE MORE PUTTS

WEEK 5: DEVISE A GAME PLAN

WEEK 6: GET OUT IN ONE SWING