I’ve made this mistake enough to be able to competently write about it. In fact, I still make this mistake. First of all, some definitions - to short side yourself is to miss the green to the side that the pin is placed so that you have less green to work with between you and the pin. So if the pin is on the right side and you miss the green to the right, you’re going to have less green to work with between you and the flag then if you had missed the green to the left.

If you miss the green to the short side, my advice is to just chip the ball on the green and try to save par but be willing to take bogey and get out of there. GET THE BALL ON THE GREEN - that is the key. You’ll probably end up farther from the flag then you were on your chip shot but just get the ball on the green. You want to be putting and not chipping again.


DO NOT TRY A CUTESY SHOT IN AN ATTEMPT TO GET CLOSE TO THE PIN. Nine times out of ten, you will walk off that green with double bogey. You’ll also probably kick yourself for several holes afterwards. Take the bogey! If you happen to one putt from 25 feet away, take that par and run like a thief.

Now if you do a search on the internet, you’ll find plenty of sites explaining how to hit that cutesy shot to get it close and save par. If you’re trying to break par, dig in and learn all you can. If you’re trying to break 80, take the bogey instead of the double bogey.

Looking for more tips on how to break 80 - see my publication, 79 tips to break 80 in golf.

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