Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz: How to Save Strokes Around the Green

When players think of good course management, they often think of decisions made on the tee box and in the fairway, but the choices you make around the green are just as vital. In this episode of the Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz, host Blair O’Neal partners with PGA professional Matt Veltman at Legends Resort to demonstrate a chipping tip with will save you strokes. Chipping from a tight lie is a nervy shot for the best of players, but watch as O’Neal demonstrates a tip that minimizes risk and increases your chances of getting up-and-down successfully.

Blair: Hi, my name is Blair O’Neal, host of the Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz, presented by Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. Today, I’m here with Matt Veltman, PGA professional at Legends Resort and Golf.

Matt: Today what I’d like to talk about with chipping is a flaw I see too commonly. We’ve got a simple shot here with a lot of room to roll the golf ball out to the hole. A lot of times, what you see golfers try and do is they try and force the ball and carry it to the hole too much, versus hitting a simpler shot that’s lower to the ground and a lot better percentages.

So what I’m going to show you today is how you can have your primary target, and how we’re going to pick a secondary target and just go ahead and hit some simple little pitch and run shots that should save you a lot of strokes.

So Blair, I know over your years of playing you’ve seen a lot of people try and make this shot a lot more complicated than it needs to be.

Blair: Very true.

Matt: What I like to see more players do is try and hit a lower shot that releases to the hole versus a low percentage shot that carries to the hole. So if you could for me, first off, go ahead and just hit the high one, and let’s see what happens there.

Blair: Okay.

Matt: So what we’re going to do here, just go ahead and hit the low shot that rolls out like a putt. We’re going to pick our secondary target. Go ahead and let it roll out to the hole.

Blair: Okay.

Matt: Type of shot you could use in any type of tournament when you don’t have stuff in front of you that you need to carry. Very well hit, and the viewers can see there how the ball landed about one-third of the way to the hole. Release like a putt. You’ve got a little tap in for par.

Blair: Yeah, I think sometimes it’s a little bit easier to get the ball on the green a little bit sooner and just let the grass take the ball to the hole.

Matt: Yeah, we’ve all been there. In the heat of competition, sometimes the nerves get a little bit on the higher shot, and just go ahead and simplify this game and roll it out there.

Blair:  Very true. I definitely agree with that.

Matt: Most definitely.

Blair: Thanks, Matt, for the tip.

Matt:  Not a problem.

Blair: This is Blair O’Neal with Myrtle Beach Golf Buzz.