Practising the short game is what many of us know we should be doing but the thrill of smacking many drives in a row in the hope of a few good ones is an obsession that most golfers have and alas -- only causes fatigue and bad habits.
The immense importance of the short game and subsequently turning 3-shots into 2 is the main ingredient in the recipe of moving into the rare classification of a 'good golfer'.
So, if you want to knock five shots off your game in a hurry, leave the long clubs in your bag and head to the practice green. It's up to you to work things out and develop a wonderful short game. You can be any size and don't have to be built like an American football player to play this game exceptionally well.
Standing in sand for hours on a hot day hitting shot after shot requires staying power, and a clear brain of understanding what you're trying to learn.
Again, chipping and putting for agonising periods of time requires a certain mindset, yet the day you desperately need to get up and down from a bunker in a tournament, and do it successfully, is the time you realise that all the hard work is worth it.
Out of Bounds: Thinking correctly is the hardest work in the world, that's why so few can do it.