Stupid Golf Problems: This reader’s short-game area pet peeve might strike a nerve

July 8, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

When I was younger and had far more time to practice, the short-game area was my preferred choice. I’m sure many reading this feel the same way. Even now, with a much tighter schedule, it remains the go-to. The body can only handled so many full-swing lashes at the range, and short-game/chipping areas are far more inducive to “gamifying” your practice sessions. While the range seemingly asks the same question over and over, the short-game area asks a variety of them, like “How many can I get within a five foot circle?” or “should I practice some flops despite how low percentage they are?” or “if no one’s here, can I turn this into a mini par 3 course?”

Of course, depending on the venue, someone else is likely going to be there. Even at the most private of clubs, everybody wants to hone in around the green. As for the public courses that do have a chipping area, those are almost always going to be busy. That’s when short-game area etiquette is very important.

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As one reader pointed out to me in an email, though, not everyone understands proper S-G A E:

Hi Chris,

I’m not a big whiner (says all whiners) but I do have a pet peeve. And that is when someone shows up at the chipping green with a bucket of practice range balls and dominates the green by spraying all thirty of them around. And then leaving them there to boot. No biggie if the area is unoccupied or maybe just another golfer is there but when the green has three or four guys trying to sharpen a skill set and someone takes over the green, it’s really selfish.

If people could be advised to just take out a handful of balls (ones they actually play would be smart) when the green is crowded, it would benefit all of us.

Cheers! Rick

As always, I thank Rick for the SGP email submission, which is probably one of the more common problems we all run into at short-game areas we frequent. At the course I joined last year, the short-game area is actually just off the right of the range, and there is no net. Simply making it out of there alive is about all you can ask for.

To Rick’s point, though, the ideal short-game area is away from everything else and should serve as a stress-free oasis for everyone who uses it, even if you’re all using it at the same time. But, as Rick whines (his words, not mine), not everyone respects the short-game area and everyone else who will use it after them, and that’s a problem.

If you are alone, spray away. Use every flag. Hit bunker shots, flops, chunk-and-runs. Hell, I used to bring my putter and try and get up-and-down from 40 yards out. When I knew I’d be completely solo back there for an extended period of time, I’d pick three spots and use all three flags and play each as a par 2 and see if I could do it in six or seven strokes. As long as you leave the place how you found it, you do have free reign when you’re alone.

But when there is even one other person there, or multiple, you should A. pick a spot, B. place your set amount of balls down at that spot, and C. hit to a designated spot that does not put anyone else at risk of a bladed/thinned one. Don’t put yourself at risk, either. If you see someone across the way, don’t hit your chips directly in the line of fire. Once you’re done with one designated spot, clean up your balls-whether they are yours or practice balls at the course-and move onto another out-of-danger area. It’s really just as simple as having regard for others, which I understand is not everyone’s strong suit these days.

The cleanup, above all, is key. Now, if there’s a larger group of people and it’s a war zone of flying balls, you can be excused from cleaning up, provided you didn’t pelt the green with 50 of them. Everyone will understand and respect the fact that you didn’t stop everyone's practice session to suction up each ball one by one. If you’re up against it with your tee time and you only hit a few just to get some feels, you can get away with not cleaning up, too.

But if you’re strictly there to practice, you’ve brought your own bucket or tube-suction thing, and you’re not in the line of fire, you should always, at minimum, get all the balls off the green when you’re done. Getting them off the green and clearing it for others trying to bump-and-run a few close is the least you can do.

Do you have a "stupid" golf problem? A question you're too ashamed to ask your close friends? A conundrum that needs to be talked out in a public forum? We're here to help. If you have etiquette-related inquiries or just want to know how to handle some of the unique on- or off-course situations we all find ourselves in, please let us know. You can email me ([email protected]) or send me a DM on Twitter/X (@Cpowers14) or on Instagram (@cpthreeve).

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