A solid short game is essential to shoot a good round of golf. Not even the pros hit every green when they play. The reason why they are so good is that when they miss greens, they can get the ball up and down more than not. Of you want to have a good short game, you must have a good sense of feel. A player with good feel and bad mechanics is always going to score better than the player with good mechanics but bad feel, especially when it comes to short delicate shots around the green.
When your ball comes to rest just off the green, in the fairway or rough, you want to chip the ball back onto the green. To chip the ball, choose a club that is appropriate for the amount of green you have to work with. A simple rule is to keep the ball rolling on the green whenever possible. This means that if you have a lot of green to work with and not much rough in your way, you might want to choose a 6 or 7 iron. However, if you do not have much green to work with, or you have a great deal of rough to carry, you will want to select a pitching, sand, or even a lob wedge. Put the ball back in your stance, and take a narrower stance than you normally would with a full shot. Make sure that you keep your hands ahead of the ball. This will take some loft off of the club, and it make help you hit the ball first. When you swing, accelerate through the ball, and strike it with in a downward motion. The ball will pop out, and roll to the hole. Like all shots, this must be practiced to be perfected.
The flop shot is hit when there is very little green to work with, and there is usually an obstruction between your ball and the hole, such as a sand trap or a tree. The shot is designed to hit the ball very high, and to land the ball softly, with little or no roll. Here is how it is played. Choose a 59 or 60 degree lob wedge. Open up the clubface so that there is about 70 degrees loft on your club. Open up your stance, shoulders and hips as if you were playing a bunker shot, while keeping your club pointed at the target. Ground your club 2 inches behind the ball. This wil help you read the grass properly. If your ball is sitting up in the grass, you are going to have to make a harder swing, as you will tend to cut under the ball, which shoots it up high an short. On the other hand, if the ball is sitting down, the ball will come out hot. It is much more difficult to hit a flop shot when the ball is sitting down. In this case, hit the ball lighter than you would normally. For both scenarios, your swing path should follow yor feet, and your swinf should be long and smooth. Make sure you have a sound tempo, and do not be afraid of hitting behind the ball. Make a full, high finish, and your ball will loft over the trouble, and onto the green.