Work on your short game: detour on the way to the driving range.

• Position: INDIANA GOLF

DUSTING OFF THE CLUBS after a long winter's respite? Don't head for the driving range just yet. You're better off tuning up your short game first.

That's the word from Jon Stutz, head golf pro at the Purgatory Golf Club near Noblesville. "Concentrate on your short game initially, and work your way up to a full swing," he says. For one thing, it's good from a health perspective, as amateur athletes are especially susceptible to injury when they blast back into action too quickly. But it's also good for your game, Stutz says. "There's no more important place to focus on than your short game, to improve your score."

Here are some short-game tips from Indiana pros:

Start with a plan--Whether you're just off the fringe or 50 yards out, "the same things that make good putters make good scramblers," says Kent Lockwood, PGA pro at Cricket Ridge Golf Course in Batesville. Plan carefully, he says. "Visualize the shot, the trajectory, the landing spot, the roll and the finish. Think ahead in planning, like a good pool player. Unless you chip in, you need to follow a good chip with a good putt--make it a high-percentage putt, inside three to six feet."

Swing with your body--When making those shorter shots, "people try to swing with their arms too much and not rotate their body enough," Stutz says. That can cause them to scoop the ball. Instead, he recommends, they should "make sure they keep their weight pretty solid on...