My main thought is I wish I were good at pitching and chipping!
From the point of view of scoring, focus on pitching and chipping (and sand play) ought to start pretty early in the education of recreational golfers, who will miss many more greens than better players.
Probably along the learning curve from average scores of 100+ down to about 85, the keys to scoring well seem to be to a) cover distance consistently, b) stay in play, and c) chip and pitch so the ball ends within about 10 feet of the pin. In this early area of the learning curve, the goal seems to be to eliminate gross errors like double and triple bogey and eventually to eliminate bogeys as much as possible. Pitching and chipping is mostly for the purpose of staying in the ballpark of decent bogey golf.
From 85 downward to about 75, the approach game from the fairway starts to matter a lot, in terms of number of greens hit in regulation and how closely the approach shots get to the pin. This part of the learning curve is more about playing for par and keeping bogeys off the card. Pitching and chipping is about par saves to avoid bogey. In this part of the learning curve, good putting can make a big difference, but it is mostly long putting (outside 10-15 feet).
Taking the average score below 75 is mostly about a) avoid bogey, and b) give yourself birdie opportunities and take advantaghe of them. Pitching and chipping is still mostly about avoiding bogey, as the lower scores come from consistency off the tee and close approach shots to a high number of greens. The pressure lessens on the short game while your short game skill increases substantially sort of as a bonus.
In terms of technique, pitches, chips, and sand play present a very wide array of different situations and types of shots. Hardpan chips, flop shots, punch pitches with check, fairway bunker shots, buried sand lies, chips off pine needles, downhill chips onto a slick green, etc. I can only suggest that you find someone you believe in for these aspects of the game and try to learn one shot at a time. I have posted a whole bunch of "short game" resources on this Forum
http://www.network54.com/Forum/thread?forumid=52812&messageid=1062439063&lp=1062439534
that you might want to look over.
In terms of targeting, tempo, and body control, I believe the same principles that my putting seeks to incorporate would apply. That is, targeting is body motion of head, neck, torso, and eyes to teach the body the relation between body position, posture, and forthcoming stroke motion to the visualized trajectory, path and distance to the target. Tempo is the consistently same timing from top of backstroke to top of thru-stroke that works with gravity and physics and the inherent timing of perceptual and movement processes. Body control is the seamless integration of targeting perceptual processes into movement planning and execution by focused targeting, consistent movement patterns, and body awareness of parts and joints in motion. I believe that whatever system of pitching and chipping and sand play is chosen, it will not be optimal for your game without abiding by these key principles and incorporating them into your technique.
Ultimately, "smart" choices of shots and techniques to carry off the shots in pitching, chipping, and sand play will depend upon knowledge of the various possibilities or weapons in your arsenal, plus lots of practice-play familiarity with the targeting and tempo and body control that makes these shots come off correctly. Beyond this, there's not much I should say.
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Theorist and Instructor
The PuttingZone.com
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