One of the things that I emphasise in my junior training project with the Thailand Ladies Golf Association is the importance of the scoring clubs which include the putter, wedges and short irons of 120 yards and inside.

Thai junior players take part in a practice session in Kuala Lumpur.

At this point in their development, I know that it is a lot more fun to learn to have a swing that hits the ball a long way than to spend time working on the shorter, more controlled shots.

Certainly it can be an advantage to have a long game that you can rely on, but the truth is that almost two-thirds of the strokes in a round of golf are played from within this “scoring zone”.

So it is just as important to learn how to follow that nice long drive with the fewest strokes possible.

Unfortunately, I find so many junior and amateur players follow their lengthy drives with sometimes a duffed pitch or often a poorly executed wedge shot that leaves them too far from the flag for a decent birdie try.

To me, this is a waste of opportunity.

So I have been telling the junior players in my programme that any time she has a 9-iron or less in her hand, she should think that she will try to get this ball up and down in two strokes.

I believe that players of all skill levels can improve their scores by at least 3-4 strokes per round by simply working on their scoring clubs.

When I talk about a great wedge game, I don’t mean just being able to hit to accurate distances. I also mean an ability to control the trajectory and spin of the ball.

Sometimes you need to keep it low and skipping. other times you’ll need to pitch it high and stop. this makes for many variations of shots to be practised.

Most pros work tirelessly on this part of their game because they understand that it is much easier to save shots from within this scoring zone than to try to perfect the long game.

Logically, wouldn’t it be easier to work on the shorter shots that require shorter, simpler strokes than those longer, more complicated swings?

Yet not a lot of people seem to get this idea and continue to choose to go to the range to get the satisfaction of launching their drives to the end of the range.

Reluctance to spend time on the short but essential part of the game is one barrier and proper practice facilities to improve Thai golfers’ skills is another challenge, I find.

The driving ranges here hardly come with decent greens for chip and putt.

If there is a putting green, the grass is often so long it’d ruin your stroke. Practice bunkers are even harder to find.

So the past week at the Malaysian Ladies Amateur Open at the Mines Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur, after my four junior players finished their last rounds, I asked them to bring out their wedges and go take advantage of the nice short game facility while we still had it.

Sandy Wongwaiwate, 15, and Pornvipa Sakdi, 16, finished fifth (76-70-73) and sixth (70-77-73) respectively in the individual competition, while they were tied third in the team division.

They drove the ball beautifully, but a sharper wedge game and putting would have put them in contention on this short but tight 5,700-yard layout.

Now they know what they need to work on.

If all amateur players would just take the time to practise their scoring clubs, they would too enjoy better scores and have a lot more fun playing golf.

The writer is a former LPGA player

About the author Writer: Virada Nirapathpongporn Latest stories in this category:

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