Read It Before You Hit It

Most short-game mistakes are made before you swing.

You can hit a decent chip. But from a ball sitting down in rough, a tight lie, a slope, or a firm green, will it fly out or get stuffed? Will it check, or run? Get that wrong, and a good strike still finishes nowhere near the hole.

Read It Before You Hit It teaches you to read the lie first. Its four-step method tells you which shot to play from any lie inside 100 yards. It isn't a swing manual. It builds on whatever technique you already have and shows you how to choose a shot the lie will let you play.

The V.E.R.T. Method: four steps before every short shot

1. Read the lie. Know how the ball will come out: launch, speed and spin.
2. Rate the shot. What does it need? Height and carry (V), landing (E), release (R) and the cost of a miss (T).
3. Compare. Can the lie deliver what the shot needs? If it can, commit to it.
4. If not, choose the leave. Pick the option that leaves you no worse than a two-putt, with a real chance of a one-putt.

Inside the book

• A Lie Difficulty Scale from L1 to L10 and V.E.R.T. ratings that let you compare options in seconds.
• A 156-entry reference to lies and conditions. It covers tight turf, wet and into-grain rough, plugged bunker lies, slopes, firm and soft greens, and wind. Each entry has a flight diagram showing how the ball comes out compared with your stock shot.
• The miss each lie invites, the pressure response behind it, and a simple cue to hold your decision together when the score matters.
• Choose the Leave, built on published putting statistics. It shows why distance matters more than being below the hole, where three-putts really come from, and how to pick the leave that suits your own putting.
• Twenty worked scenarios, from simple chips to 90-yard pitches, each with plan and side views of every option.
• A practice plan that turns your predictions into stock shots you can trust, plus a simple way to track your own putting.

Who it's for

Club golfers who can make reasonable contact but don't always know which shot to play. Players whose short game falls apart under pressure. Coaches who want a shared language for short-game decisions.

Learn the method once in Part One, then use the book like a field guide: look up the lies you meet and check your judgement against the worked scenarios.