There are countless ways to save strokes on the golf course. Stop making dumb mental mistakes. Stop losing balls off the tee because you can’t keep your driver in play. Stop three-putting. The list goes on and on. But, most pros would tell you, one key to saving strokes is honing in your short game, specifically around the greens.
Even better, what’s great about working on your chipping and pitching is that you can do it in your backyard. You can chip shots to any tree or some sort of marker you put down in the grass, but there are also several affordable training aids you can use.
There are simple ones where you just pitch into a net as one big target, but some of the best ones will ask you to hit all of the shots. Because how often are you hitting the same chip around every green? Rarely. Sometimes you have little green to work with. Sometimes you need to bump and run it or loft it high into the air. All of those shots might call for different ball positions, club lofts and swings, but luckily some chipping nets will make you practice just that. You can even make a game or challenge out of it.
Check out three of our top picks below, and start working on your short game tomorrow. You can check out more from GOLF’s Pro Shop here.
As GOLF.com’s managing editor, Berhow handles the day-to-day and long-term planning of one of the sport’s most-read news and service websites. He spends most of his days writing, editing, planning and wondering if he’ll ever break 80. Before joining GOLF.com in 2015, he worked at newspapers in Minnesota and Iowa. A graduate of Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn., he resides in the Twin Cities with his wife and two kids. You can reach him at joshua_berhow@golf.com.