2022 PLAYERS champion Cameron Smith and his Queensland-based coach Grant Field share short-game secrets that have helped the 23-year-old firmly establish himself on the US PGA Tour.
I’VE always seemed to play well in tough situations, on testing golf courses. I really think it’s an Australian thing – the way we’re brought up playing golf on hard, fast tracks with brutal winds or in sizzling-hot temperatures prepares us for any style. It definitely helps me focus harder on the shot at hand.
I love stressful golf; rounds where I’m scrambling for pars and taking opportunities.
There’s no better example than the two pitch shots I had to hit under pressure to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April, with my teammate, Jonas Blixt.
A flop shot out of the rough to tap-in birdie range on the 72nd hole got us into a playoff and a 53-metre lob wedge to three feet on the fourth hole of sudden death helped Jonas and I win what was my first US PGA Tour title. It was a huge thrill to hit clutch shots when I needed to.
Although I believed and trusted in my game under the gun, it’s taken more than a decade of hard work and practice with my coach, Grant Field. Grant instilled the fundamentals in my short game to be able to get it done, and you can certainly improve your scores by reading his world-class tips [below], too.
“Golf is such an inconsistent game – even at the highest level,” says Field. “But the more you can narrow those levels of variance, the better scores you’re going to shoot on a regular basis. When Cam’s on, he’s as good as any golfer in the world – especially from 100 metres and around the greens. You should see the guy on the practice fairway when we’re working through wedge drills. He’s never more than half to one metre off the exact distance he’s trying to land and stop it on. To help you get the most out of your short game, these three tips should act as a great platform.”
– with Evin Priest
1. Set up
It is virtually impossible to hit consistently good pitch shots without setting up to the ball the correct way. Depending on the type of shot you want to hit, you need to assess the ball position, weight distribution, shoulder plane and clubface angle at address. Work with your local PGA pro at establishing the basics so you can first practise those, and then be able to adjust them for a lower or higher lofted shot.
2. Keep Moving
The most important aspect I teach amateurs is to keep that body pivoting through the ball. Most amateurs stop at impact, which produces varying degrees of loft and force. If you watch good pitchers of the golf ball, they keep the body turning through impact. The action Cam uses contains a lot more body than hand or arm action and that enables him to produce a repetitive swing, especially under pressure.
3. Drop The Loft
A lot of amateur golfers take too much loft with their pitching. Don’t be scared of taking a slightly shorter swing with a less-lofted club. Instead of trying to hit a hard lob wedge, hit a three-quarter sand wedge swing with a nice, smooth rhythm. From the 60m, 70m and 80m range, I see too many amateurs going for a stock, maximum swing. But if you get that wrong, that’s where it can fall apart. Practise this on the range to measured targets and you’ll soon see your scores drop.
ON THE NUMBER
Cam and I are big on dialling in his numbers with the help of Track Man.
Particularly random numbers.
I’ll call a number off the top of my head (say, 73m) I want him to hit, and he’ll tell me how far he thinks his shot has flown and I’ll give him the data feedback as to how accurate he was – almost like a pop quiz for muscle memory.
He’s very rarely more than half or one metre off and the amount of times he picks the number exactly is incredible.
Once you’ve established some sound technique from the above tips, pick several targets of varying distance on the range and hit wedges to them – but never the same yardage consecutively. Over time, it will educate your body about the feel of different distances. The aim is for distance control to eventually become second nature.
