Most amateur players only hit six or seven fairways per round, which means they miss 12 to 13 greens. Where do your mistakes usually end up – left, right, short or long? For most players, most mistakes are short (and fair). If you’ve ever wondered, “Why do my approach shots keep coming up short?” here are some possible reasons.
The club is open to the stroke
An open face at impact can cause a golf shot to come up short. You’ll add some loft and increase spin with an open clubface. The combination of extra loft and spin creates a weaker ball flight.
Learn to square the clubface through impact and you should get a few more yards of distance.
Your club can be opened directly into the feed, but some players do not have the club square set. Here’s a great drill and practice routine to get the club set right from the start.
You are looking at the total distance instead of the carrying distance
When you say you hit your 7-iron 155 yards, do you know if that’s how far you hit the 7-iron or how far your total distance with your 7-iron is? One of the most important benefits of owning a launch monitor is to check your shipping distances.
Knowing how far your golf ball flies is far more important than total carry. Focusing on carry distance and planning for a little spin will help you clear more hazards and get the ball closer to the hole.
You have the wrong golf ball in play
Now you should know that the golf ball you have in play matters. Maybe you’re playing with something that’s too soft or has too much spin and it’s causing you to miss your approach shot.
Golf balls perform differently off the tee, on the approach and around the green. Take a look some of the golf balls we tested that are strong in the iron distance category and see if they help you hit approach shots better.
Wrong ball position
Placing the ball too far back or forward in your stance can affect your angle of attack. If it’s not accurate, your shot may be short. For most approach shots, the ball will be in the middle of your stance or slightly forward.
You can play with the position of the ball to get the perfect kind of ball flight and strike, but just know that if it’s a little off, it can take a few yards off your approach shot.
Trying to force the shot
Swinging with a little extra speed isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, trying to hit hard is a problem. When you harden a shot, you usually have increased tension and poor rhythm.
Stop forcing your approaches, get an extra club and stay more in control should get you on the green. Does it matter if you hit the 8-iron or the 7-iron if you’re betting on birdie?
Not in my book.
Poor body rotation and weight distribution
Where is your weight when you hit the golf ball? If you want to maximize your distance potential and hit more greens, weight should be on the foot of the ball at impact. So many players get the weight stuck in their trail leg and lose weight because of it.
Focus on a full body rotation, get the weight on the lead foot at the kick. For shorter iron shots and wedges, you may even feel like putting some weight on your lead foot in the setup.
In this video, Chris Ryan shows a drill in which you can learn to keep your lead side a little lower through the stroke and force the weight shift to move in the right direction.
Unstable swing path
Inconsistency in your golf game is a killer. If your golf club is not traveling on a straight path or an easy path inside square to the swing, you will hit a series of shots, some of which will be short.
The best tip here is to practice driving distance with one tip on the outside of your golf ball and one tip on the inside of your golf ball. This will create a track for the club to travel straight to the ball, and then you can transfer that look to the course.
Excessive tension in hands and arms
One of the things that causes the most tension in your golf swing is hitting bad shots. You hit a snag, which frustrates you, so you tense up. Another evil struck; add a little more tension. You get the point.
This tension causes you to lose any fluid movement in your swing, and because of the stiffness, you may also lose some flexibility and rotation. Adding some deep breathing to your pre-kick routine can help release some of that tension and give you a few extra yards to get down the field.
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