Is Technical Mastery of the Short Game a Prerequisite?

In the second of an eight-part series, excerpted from 'The Lost Art of the Short Game' written by Gary Nicol and Karl Morris, task and technique are differentiated.

Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from "The Lost Art of the Short Game," written by instructors Gary Nicol and Karl Morris. For more, visit thelostartofgolf.com.

When you are faced with a shot around the green, whether that be a shot that requires less than a full swing, a pitch over a bunker or water, a chip and run or a bunker shot from a plugged lie, do you start thinking about what the ball needs to do or what you need to do? In other words, are you thinking about the task or the technique? The shot or the swing?

We would imagine that, initially, like most golfers, you are probably thinking about what your ball needs to do to get close to the flag. Great: you are focused on the task. However, once you are over the ball, there is a strong possibility your thoughts will quickly turn to what you need to do. Those thoughts might be about how you need to move your arms, hands, hips and/or shoulders.

RELATED
Part 1: What is the Lost Art of the Short Game?
Part 3: How Can You Transform Your Bunker Play?
Part 4: Is Your Short Game Ruining Your Score?
Part 5: How Should You Approach Your Next Short-Game Shot?
Part 6: How Do You Know Which Shot to Play — And When?
Part 7: Who Are You Scoring For?
Part 8: What Is the True Potential of Your Short Game?

You have probably figured out how you would like your ball to fly, where you would like it to land and how it will react when it lands on the green. Visualisation is extremely powerful and something we strongly recommend you work on.

You have created a nice clear image of the shot in your mind’s eye. You’re almost ready to go but then — out of nowhere — you suddenly think about the last time you played a similar shot that resulted in a double bogey because you duffed it 3 feet in front of you. You remember that one of your playing partners told you that you had bent your left arm in your backswing and lifted your head at impact. Now your thoughts are entirely on your technique. You have completely forgotten about the shot you face and suddenly you feel fear and tension engulf your entire body. You can feel your hands tighten around the grip in a desperate attempt not to make a mess of yet another pitch.

Only seconds ago, you were totally engaged and absorbed in the shot and now you are entirely detached from what, in reality, is a pretty straightforward shot and a fairly simple task. All thoughts and visions of playing a great shot have been replaced with numerous internal technical instructions, all vying for your attention. Your initial clarity has now been replaced with a maelstrom of mental clutter.

All you have ever learned about staying in the present moment has gone out the window as your mind goes on a journey of time travel. First, revisiting previous bad shots and then, just as quickly, jumping ahead into the future, predicting and worrying about the result or outcome of the shot.

You are not alone. This happens all the time to players at all levels. This is what can and does happen when thoughts and focus jump from task to technique. That being the case, what can you do to prevent this from happening time and time again? It is pretty simple. In a world where we are led to believe that complexity is the key, quite the opposite is true.