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Well to start off with my short game sucks.
Im excellent at getting close to the green (right outside the fringe in most cases) but i just suck at chipping it up on there.

Nearly every time i try to plop it up there i end up hitting it clear across the green and have to double or tripple putt.

Any suggestions on what I could do?
Am I using the wrong club for the job?

Its the biggest part of the game that relys on feel,its easy to hit a ball hard. The only way you will get better is to spend the time practicing,no short cuts or magic cures.

im wondering why your ''trying to plop it up there'' from the fringe?

Good question. He should be chipping just to the putting surface, then letting the ball roll out.

To answer your question better krek, we need more information. What level do you play at? What club (or clubs) do you normally use, and in what situations do you use them? Have you had any lessons? We are mostly just shooting in the dark here now.

If you're hitting it across the green, I would assume you're skulling the shots... Lean onto your left side and hit down on the ball. Skulls and chili-dips will go away.

A professional at a Golf show that I attended a two years ago gave a seminar about strategy of the short game, and about the higher you put the ball in the air, the more you lose control of the outcome. He condensed hundreds of dollars in lessons into a 40 minute Seminar. (I took notes).

My short game then was just so-so. If I missed a green, I probably was making bogey.

The first two rules of the short game involve your options and choices.

1) "Putt if you can......Chip if you must.....and Pitch only if you have to. Picture the shot and choose an option".

2) "The Flop Shot is to be used only when you can't play the other three."

3) "Do not move your head under any circumstances while executing the shot. Your looking and thinking about how,where, and why, should be over by now."

4) "When Chipping or Pitching place more of your weight on your front foot, and open your stance".

5) "Chip with a 6,7, or 8 iron....ball flight should only be a couple of inches off the ground".

6) "Pitch with a PW...on a flat lie. Downhill lie use a GW, Uphill lie use a 9 iron. Pick a club and get to know it."

7) "When Pitching or Chipping remember that the ball will run more placed further back in your stance, and will run less played further forward in you stance."

8) "Practice at known distances on a relatively flat green from a couple of repeatable fixed positions in your stance....one more forward and one further back. Later you can add one in between them."

9) "Know your distance to the pin and what proportion is green and what proportion is not,. You will learn to make good choices if you consider that the ball should land on the green. If you cannot land a chip on the green from the rough, play a pitch."

10) "Observe the breaks on the way to the hole and play a landing area that you have to before it transitions into a roll."

Finally.......PRACTICE UNTIL YOUR HANDS BLEED or YOU CAN"T HIT ANOTHER SHOT". (And observe everything you see and experience....spend the time.....Dude...you will get good!!!)

A killer short game will take more strokes off your game than anything else. If I miss a green now my chances of getting up and down are very,very good!

Cheers! (I hope it helps!)

I like harmonycat's advice.

One thing I would add, and maybe not all would agree...

I like using two clubs. It makes things easy and eliminates alot of guess work. I hit all my shots from 50 yards and in with one of two clubs, 98% of the time. If I have to fly the ball and land it soft, I hit my 58* sand wedge. If I have to run the ball, I chip with a 9-iron in the extreme rear of my stance (ball position) for a low, running shot. I may hit little variations of those two shots, but I keep it simple and my shot game has become the most consistent part of my game... maybe I should apply that to my long game now, LOL!

Thank you for your contribution Martini.

You will be more consistent if you do this with basically one club for each purpose. (And my preference also is for the back in the open stance, low flying, long running, chip.)

I meant pick one of those three clubs to chip with. I always use an 8 iron.

For pitches my choice is the PW. Some guys prefer a more lofted club.

But on those hills that surround greens I use a more lofted pitching club from Stadium Green down hill lies due to the the delofting of the club by those lies.

In uphill lies, the hill adds loft to your club and I use a less lofted club in those situations.

The idea is that you want the ball to fly and run llike the club you know, which in my case is the PW. An uphill lie played properly with your shoulders at the same angle as the slope, will cause your PW to fly and run like a GW. Going to a 9 iron brings your pitching flight and run back to PW flight and run characteristics.

And I also agree that a much more lofted club is required when you don't have a lot of green to work with and have to fly a greenside Trap or are forced by the terrain to play the ball to land softly. I use a 56* SW.

And like Martini ,my short game went from mediocre to one of the best parts of my game!

Harmonycat's all over it Krek. Pelz's book illustrates many of the things he discusses so if you need a visual, like me, go by the bookstore and thumb the shortgame bible. The rewards are everything he says they are.

IT's not your short game that sucks, it's. .........

Are you doing a pre-shot routine consistanly and making an honest effort to do it well?

Are you picking a spot to send the ball to or are you just aiming somewhere towards the hole or at the hole? (that is bad)

Are you trying TOO HARD (probably with no mental attitude forwards relaxation, breathing, smooth backswing, follow through) and worst of all, probably forgetting what you're aiming for.

Maybe this will help. I spoke to my psychic friend and that was what I was told.