Regardless of your handicap, the fastest way to improve your scores is to get better around the greens. Even low single-digit players average no more than 8-10 GIRs per round, so that means their up-and-down percentage is pretty darn good.
Regardless of your current short game skills, they can always be better.

There are two very distinct schools of thought when it comes to hitting the variety of up-and-down shots around the greens. Stan Utley, who I greatly respect, is an advocate of using your sand wedge all the time, and learning how to do a variety of things with it. He’s got lots of good company in the teaching community who share that viewpoint. The other side of the “argument,” as coached by Dave Pelz, is that you should know multiple shots with each of your wedges to bring the ultimate precision to your short game, and his approach has earned a loyal following as well.

There is no question that both methods can be practiced and refined to a higher level, but I believe recreational golfers should do everything they can to make this game easier. Realizing the typical recreational golfer has limited time or interest to devote to practicing his or her short game, I’m a proponent of using all your scoring tools and learning one or two basic pitch/chip techniques. Then you can rely on the simple swing or two that you know and trust and choose the club that will give you the results you are after with that one swing.

To my way of thinking, that makes this game so much easier. If you learn to execute the basic pitch and chip strokes, you can apply that to any club, and then you have a full arsenal of scoring shots:

1. If you have short-sided the green, you can use your highest lofted wedge and a simple swing to get the ball up quickly and with more spin to limit its roll.
2. When you have lots of green to work with, or the pin is on top of a second tier, the basic pitch or chip executed with a pitching wedge or even 9-iron will allow the ball to roll out and is much more reliable.
3. For a mid-range pitch into the wind, dropping back to a gap or pitching wedge will limit height and spin and prevent an “up-shooter” that comes up way short.
4. For a ball sitting up in the rough, the gap or pitching wedge will be less likely to get too far under the ball and come up short.
5. For greens that are firmer, the sand and lob wedges will allow you to have more spin control.

The list of applications can go on and on, but I suggest it is much more reliable for the average golfer to learn 2-3 basic swing techniques in the short game and then choose the club that will produce the results they are after. In one or two sessions around the practice green, you can learn what each club will deliver with each of your swing methods.

And for those of you who are the “one club” advocates and/or have an advanced level of short game skills, have some fun and try executing those same shots with a different wedge. Use your 50-52 instead of your 56-58, or your 54-56 instead of your 58-60. I think you will find a whole new arsenal of shots – more arrows in your quiver, so to speak.

And that will cut strokes off your score very quickly.