Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.

No matter how solid your ball striking, you will inevitably miss greens in regulation. From there, the difference between par and bogey (or worse) is a tidy short game.

If you watch the pros each weekend, you’ll notice they make these up-and-downs look routine. On the PGA Tour last season, players saved par after a missed green at a 58.5 percent clip on average. They may not be quite automatic, but getting up-and-down six out of 10 tries is till pretty nifty.

You may also notice that the shots they use to escape trouble are rarely flashy. High flops and wicked spinners are used only when absolutely necessary. Most of the time, they oft for the safe, boring stock chip shot.

Recreational golfers would be wise to take a page out of their book and master this rudimentary shot. Unfortunately, when most of them try this shot, they are wildly inconsistent.

1 move to fix your chipping

Your stock chip shot should not be flashy. It should be fundamentally sound and reliable. That means eliminating any unnecessary moving parts.

“I’m trying to keep my wrists level,” says GOLF Top 100 Teacher Mike Dickson. “I don’t want to have any wristiness in the backswing.”

Where recreational players tend to err is that when they get a wedge in their hands, they like to cock their wrists in the backswing and un-cock during the downswing. This is a great way to create speed on full shots, but when hitting a short chip, it typically spells trouble.

Instead of using the wrists to create speed, try instead to engage your big muscles. Turn back and through with your core and try to keep your wrists quiet throughout the motion.

“I tend to like my hips to be the controlling factor in this,” Dickson says. “I’m not really using my hands to move the club. It’s more my pelvis.”

When you start using your core to drive your club on these chip shots, you’ll find that it’s much easier to control your distance, low point and consistency. Give it a try and you’ll be getting up-and-down more often in no time.

Short Game Gains Ghost Holes

They sound scarier than they are- trust us. The SGG Ghost Holes can be used to improve your performance both on and off the greens. Each of the ghost holes (sold in packs of 3) are the exact dimensions of an actual regulation golf hole.   There is one thing that differentiates these ghost holes from other practice cups. Made from sturdy, yet flexible PVC, they are thin enough for a golf ball to roll across seamlessly, but they won’t blow away. The edges are flat, allowing you to aim for them without affecting the roll of the ball. This makes them perfect options for distance control drills with the putter and as landing spot targets for shots around the greens.   A lot of players also like to use them during practice rounds and place them where they believe the holes will be placed during the event to allow them to practice the putts they will be faced with.

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