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Shane Lowry undoubtedly possesses one of the best short games in the world.
Sure, Lowry’s technique is more natural than most, and his hands and wrists are far more active when he’s chipping than most players at the highest level of the game.
However, there aren’t many better players at getting the ball up and down around the greens than the Irishman.
What makes Shane Lowry so good is the simplicity with which he chips and pitches the ball.
How did you end up falling in love with the game?
Amateur golfers could learn so much from the way the 2019 Open champion goes about things around the greens.
Lowry took part in a short game instructional video for Golf Digest and revealed how he wants to limit his options around the greens as much as possible.
“I only chip with two clubs really. I use my lob wedge the majority of the time, and then the odd time, I’ll chip and run, but only with a pitching wedge,“ the Irishman said.
“I don’t want to do anything else. I find the big thing for me is, when I’m chipping, I find that if I have too many options, I get, like, in between shots. Like, I used to carry four wedges. So, I’d have a 52, 56 and a 60 and a wedge.
“Then, on the odd time, I’d chip with my 56, but then I’d have too many options, and I get, like, in between shots.
Shane Lowry on how less is more around the greens. https://t.co/ijMKNYXjCg
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) October 26, 2026
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“Then I wouldn’t hit any of them how I wanted to, so I’d end up being a bit sloppy. Whereas now, like, I practice with my pitching wedge, and I practice with my lob wedge.
“I don’t use anything else. I just find that gives me more clarity of what I want to do in my head.“
Amateur golfers really should take a leaf out of Shane Lowry’s book. Any amateur looking to improve their short game should focus on mastering one specific chip shot around the greens.
Obviously there will be times when the shot you face requires a completely different approach. For example, if there is a bunker between your ball and the hole, you will obviously need to keep the ball up in the air for the majority of its journey.
However, you should only require one club to chip and pitch the ball with for the vast majority of the time. This takes away any kind of indecision and if you focus your practice solely on chipping with one specific club, you should naturally improve as a chipper anyway.
If that method is good enough for Shane Lowry, it really should be good enough for us.