I have a small confession to make… I don’t watch that much golf on television. That being said I do watch The Masters, and hopefully you were able to as well.

It’s not hard to gush over the incredible beauty and ambiance that Augusta National provides golf fans once a year. Nor is it hard to excitedly talk about the numerous story lines that emerge from the players in the field each year.

This year was no different. Tiger Woods made a triumphant return to competitive golf, the usual suspects were lurking around the leaderboard all week, and one of the hottest hands in golf kept it rolling with a convincing victory.

But as a golf instructor, I enjoy watching professional events, especially majors, to find little nuggets to share with my students to help them learn to play the game better. Below are a couple of those little nuggets:

Lesson Nuggets from Augusta

There’s no such thing as perfect golf, especially in a 72 hole event. Scottie Scheffler was dominant in his victory. After round 2 he had all but completely separated himself to close the day with a 5 shot lead. As difficult as the course was playing for every one else, this was a major accomplishment.
However, on the par five 13th hole, he shanked his second shot (yes I used the “s” word) nearly taking out a group of photographers. He then proceed to hit his next shot a few feet from the hole where he would make birdie, beginning the propulsion to his 5 shot lead.
Too many times I’ve seen players hit the panic button when they shank a shot. One bad shot turns into several because they simply can’t get over it. When playing golf it is sometimes helpful to have the mind of a quarterback that just threw an interception. You have to forget about it! For someone like Scheffler the was easy. After all he has an unlimited supply of confidence to know that that last shot didn't matter. It’s the next one that matters most.
Take it from Tiger, master your short game! One thing that stood out to me on Thursday and Friday was how Tiger Woods’ short game seemed a little off. The surprising part to me was that I figured he would have been able to practice that aspect of his game much longer than the rest given the nature of his injury and his recovery.
Of course that is speculation, but I believe it exposed another aspect of short game practice that goes unnoticed by many. It’s one thing to spend hours and hours working on every aspect you can from short game, and that is necessary in order to improve. But the thing you have to remember is that as important as mastering your technique is, you must also practice executing short game shots in a competitive environment.
I’m not going to condone gambling, but one way to do this is to be constantly challenging your friends to chipping and pitching contests and try putting something on the line. This will help you tap into a different part of your golf brain that allows you to perform better under pressure. Short game mastery requires a lot of hours and even more competitive hours on the course or challenging your golf buddies.
Coming back to Tiger, I don’t believe he was unprepared as it relates to his short game. Augusta National demands precision around the green and the more greens you miss, the more opportunities you are going to have to be less than precise.

If you find yourself changing the channel away from live golf coverage, especially during the majors, do yourself a favor and watch just a little longer. I’m constantly reminding my students that the best players in the world don’t hit it as great as you might think. They do hit it way better than anyone else, but my point is that they still miss fairways and greens. If nothing else, watching golf can add a little perspective to your own game.

Do yourself a favor and get out in the yard with a chipping net like the one below: