Hi Everyone

Right, it's the end of the season and you're thinking of putting your clubs away for the winter, but I have a better idea. Why not spend a little time this winter working on these short game tips. I can promise you that a little bit of work done in the off season will produce a handicap reduction during next season.

Here we go then;

Tip 1) An obvious one to start with, but if you could become a good solid putter from inside 6 feet it would take lots of pressure off your long game and your short game.

A good exercise to improve your putting is the 'clock game'. Get 4 balls and place them in 4 different locations around a hole 2 feet away. Try and hole each ball in sequence, if you hole them replace them 3 feet from the hole and try to hole them again. Keep putting until you miss and if you keep holing keep extending the length of the putts. This game helps your routine, focus, and helps put you under a bit of pressure. It can be tricky if you're practising on a poorly conditioned winter green, but I would still put the work in as you will reap the rewards.

Tip 2) A lot of amateurs are petrified of a short shot over a bunker, imagine having the confidence to play lofted shots with regularity?

Ideally you would have a Core impact trainer, if you struggled with this shot. It would help your understanding of your job and the clubs job and would help explain why you shouldn't try and 'loft' the ball into the air. Learning to judge distances along the ground first and seeing how easy it is to transfer that swing to a lofted club would be the quickest way to improve your lofted shot, guaranteed.

Tip 3) Learn how to get out of bunkers first time.

Go to the practise bunker at your club and draw a rectangle shape in the sand. Draw it 3 inches wide and 6 inches long in the direction of your target. Then make some swings to see if you can 'move' the sand in the rectangle. Good bunker play needs precision of contact with the sand, if you can't hit the rectangle on a consistent basis you'll never be a good bunker player.

If you start to really focus on hitting the rectangle and hit the sand consistently put a ball half way into the rectangle and try and repeat the swing. Move the sand and the ball will come out, miss the rectangle and you should see how far or near you where from getting the ball out. Improvement in your bunker play will come from having this visual help in the bunker and practising.

Please let me know how you get on.

Good golfing

Paul