Green Valley Golf Tips: Keys to the short-game swing

“The foundation of the golf swing is the short-game swing,” Marvol Barnard says as she explains to the big-hitting client how important it is to begin each practice session with shots within 30 yards or less of the green.

“Always start with short game fundamentals,” continues the teaching pro as she tries to position the student above the ball with wedge in hand.

“It translates to all the other golf shots. Gradually make the swing longer but not harder.”

Keeping the big hitter under control is only one of the goals in emphasizing the importance of the short game, Barnard pointed out.

“A lot of players lose sight of the fact that 48 percent of the game is putting, and chipping is about 28 percent, yet you see people out here on the range with their drivers all the time.”

Positioning feet to get ready, Barnard spends the majority of her instruction with this player trying to get him to stay forward.

A right-hander, the former baseball player understands the importance of keeping the head still and not beginning the swing until he’s comfortable, but Barnard tries to “keep it simple” by coaxing him to put his weight on his left side, straightening the spine to the left as well, while slowing the tempo to create a downward motion that lets the angle of the club glide through the ball smoothly.

People often lean back to their right as they bring the swing through, she explains, thinking that they are creating loft, when actually that only brings the leading edge of the club into the contact with the ball, thus resulting in a “skulled” shot, or some serious turf digging (“chunking”).

How many times, she continued, do you skull the shot right into the bunker in front of you when you are trying to get that extra loft over it and up onto the green?

That same fundamental “not so much slow, but smooth” swing holds true, she says, on what most golfers refer to as “the pitch and run,” when the flag is on the back side, for example, and you have to chip and run it close.

“Treat it exactly like a putt,” Barnard explains. “I call it a putt with a flying start.”

Again, it’s important to check to make sure weight is forward on the front foot and keep it there throughout the swing.

She often has a student toss a ball toward the target first to get them to understand how to read distances and how that translates into a swing that drops the ball on a predetermined spot on the green prior to the roll.

The short backswing, just like a putting stroke, will manage the shot for you if you choose the right club, often a mid-to-short iron for this one.

“Swing the whole club, not the club head,” Barnard demonstrates, thus avoiding the “wristy” look that contributes to that “skulled” or uneven shot.

“So, staying forward on the left foot is critical. If you always choose the right club with the right loft, keep a consistent tempo, only increasing the backswing bit by bit when you need more distance, you can hit every shot better with the short game swing.”

Using visual images and her ability to adapt to the level and background of each player makes Marvol Barnard a “keep it simple” instructor who feels the short game swing is one of the keys to finding consistency.

Isn’t that what everybody out there wants to find?

Mike Touzeau is a freelance writer for the Green Valley News.

Get to know your pro

Marvol Barnard is one of only 180 women in America with both LPGA and PGA certifications. She keeps it simple, adapting her lessons to the unique history of each individual at all levels of play, feeling that instruction has been made just too complicated for most students.

She and her husband lived on a boat in Alaska for 20 years, visiting winters, though they’re full-time here now. She has been an independent contractor teaching at Haven Golf Club for the past 8 years. In October she will continue her popular 3-hour school for $90 including lunch that takes six students maximum per session from putter to driver.

Barnard can be reached at 520-591-1475 for lessons.