AT THE end of 2016 I identified the short game as the quickest way I could pick up shots.

In the past six months Ive been working really hard around the greens with Matt Ballard [below], who teaches at Sanctuary Cove – my home course on the Gold Coast.

In order to be more consistent with wedges in hand on US PGA Tour courses, its all about controlling the flight on chip and pitch shots. If youre not world-class at choosing the right trajectory, you can get eaten alive out here.

Adam Scott

Its particularly important to be able to move the flight around without moving the ball position too much. This simplicity will produce consistency. Heres what Ive been working on to get up and down more often. Im sure it can help you, too.

Adam ScottThe Ground Is Your Friend

Using the bounce on your wedges and finding the ground are two of the most important aspects of chipping and pitching. The biggest mistake I see amateurs make is helping the ball in the air. Everyone wants to loft it up in the air nice and pretty, but to do that you have to get down on it. Finding the ground, for any level golfer, is how youre going to produce a repeatable pitch shot.

A better player will quickly understand that if they hit a fat shot, the best response is not to try to pick the next one clean off the turf. Rather, be aware of the bounce on the wedge youve chosen and use the ground on the next shot to get the result you want. We can get so reactive, but really the ground is your friend for chipping. If you want the ball to land soft and spin, youve got to have that compression between the ball, ground and club.

What’s Your Miss?

My tendency on pitch shots is to get a bit shut going back. In the backswing, my left shoulder can dip down too much and, consequently, the clubface gets shut. When I do that, its very hard to predict what trajectory the ball is going to come out on time and time again. Ive been practising turning more around the ball with an open face and with a very shallow attack, using the bounce of the club to produce consistency.

The ToolsAdam Scott

One way you can get a step closer to a repeatable short game is to work out a wedge set-up thats best for you. I now use four wedges in the bag, so my gapping is better. It also gives me more options to chip with one action, whether thats my 48-degree wedge, 52, 56 or 60. Ive also been working at trying to stay away from the 60 unless the shot calls for it, especially when Ive got an upslope because its hard to get the loft you want chipping the ball uphill.

Adam ScottThe Drills

This may sound really simple, especially for a tour player, but putting an alignment rod or stick on the practice green between you and the hole will train you to flight your chips and pitches better. With the one distance and target, carry some shots over the rod to get to the hole and bounce some over. This will help you understand the relationship trajectory has with getting the ball close and will teach you feel around the greens.

Checkpoint Charlie

This one is for the practice chipping green. From players on tour to the weekend golfer, everyone should continuously monitor fundamentals in the short game. I have some little checkpoints Im always going over for chip shots.

Ball position: Make sure its not too far back or forward in the stance.

Feet: Get my feet less open and shut more, with the line pointing towards the hole instead of to the left of it.

Chest: Keeping the chest speed up is important because if it gets too slow, bad things happen. Find your natural rhythm and work on it. Get a short-game lesson with your local PGA pro and work out the list of things you need to monitor.

Top Gear

For different flights on pitch shots, my ball position stays the same. And a neutral shaft angle (the most vertical it can be relative to your ball position) is the easiest way to hit that the stock flight. But if you want to bring the loft down, I have ‘gear one – where the hands go forward with the same chipping action. If I really want it low, I go to ‘gear two’ and lean that shaft further in front.

– written with Evin Priest