Around the green, golfers are overwhelmed with options. Hit it with a 9-iron. Open the face and float a lob wedge. Keep your wrists still. Use more hinges. Play it low key. Play it up.
Depending on who you listen to, there’s always another pose to learn.
The result for many players is not creativity. It’s confusion. Too many choices can lead to hesitation. That’s exactly the problem Patrick Cantlay ran into with his short game.
How Cantlay simplified his short game
In one video from GolfPassCantlay explains that he was constantly changing clubs around the green. A shot would require a higher pitched wedge. Another would be played further down with another club. He was able to hit them all, but the constant switching made him indecisive.
He found himself caught between choices.
To simplify the process, he started thinking about his 61-degree wedge first on almost every chip. If there was a shot available to him, this was the shot he hit. Only when the 61-degree wedge couldn’t clearly produce the shot would he switch to another option.
What this strategy is really about
This strategy is not about saying that your highest wedge is the best option you have; it’s about reducing mental clutter.
By starting with a default club, Cantlay removed an entire layer of decision-making. Instead of choosing a club and then choosing a shot, he focused on choosing a landing spot.
It describes working backwards from the green. First, it looks for the largest and most predictable landing area, such as a slight slope or a green that produces similar results even when the putt or carry is not perfect.
Once the landing zone is selected, the swing becomes simpler and more committed because he knows it’s a 61-degree wedge.
Both lie and grain shape the stroke
Cantlay also explains how lies and wheat affect expectations. In Bermuda grass on the grain, he knows the ball will come up lower.
Instead of trying to force a high-spin shot, he plans to release and bounce with the 61-degree wedge. Its control comes from choosing the right landing, not trying to produce spin or spin on a shot it wasn’t designed for.
Amateur players often try to hit shots that the course conditions do not call for. Committing to a wedge helps you better understand how the lie and grain affect the ball around the green.
My idea to make this work for regular players
I’m all for finding what works for you around green, within reason.
There are times when my pitching wedge chip is my most consistent option. Movement is simple. The show is predictable. But there are also situations where it’s clearly not the smartest play.
Cantlay is not ignoring those situations.
The takeaway from this advice is to reduce indecision. Get really good with an option. Use it often. Change only when the situation really calls for it. The challenge I believe amateur players face is learning to identify when the situation has changed and another shot is necessary. This takes time and practice.
Right there a professional like Patrick Cantlay separate yourself. Even with fewer choices, there is still a decision-making process for each shot on the green.
What about you? How do you approach your shots on the green?
