Short shots, those delicate chips around the green, have a certain delicacy and precision to them. The tolerance for error with our full swing is measured in yards, but the tolerance for these shorties is in feet and inches. Sometimes that makes us try to get too delicate and too precise, and the shot fails. You don’t want to hit it ten feet past the hole, so you ease off and hit it ten feet short.

Short shots must also be affirmative. That is, you have to be positive and bold at the same time you are being delicate and precise. Little does not mean lacking.

To hit short shots the way they should be hit, and this is about mental technique, not golfing technique, be confident about the shot you’re about to hit. If a little voice says, “I’m not sure about this one,” you will hit a tentative shot. Step away and try something else. Your habit must be to hit a shot you know will work, not one you hope will work.

Second, having selected your shot, hit it with a calm mind. A calm mind will be reflected in a calm body. Check your hands and forearms. Are they tense? Check your torso. Is it tight? These are signs that you don’t have faith in what you’re about to do and that you’re worried about the result.

Relax. The ball will end up on the green closer to the hole than where it is now and you can start putting. Relax your mind, and your body will relax, too. Then with a relaxed body, go ahead and hit the shot. It will be your best.

Finally, and this is critical, maintain that calm mind throughout the stroke. Even though you start the club back with a calm mind, there is still time to flinch. I sincerely believe that given the ability to perform basic short game shots, the success of the shot is bound up mainly in the state of your mind as you bring the club into the ball.

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