I think it's mostly natural.  People that have good "feel" or "touch" can certainly improve it through practice, but those that are naturally blessed with it will always struggle with trying to obtain it.

I believe its "mostly" natural. You can teach it and hopefully unlock the natural ability but for some, this just may not happen.

Look at the golfers with natural ability...they usually have great touch with the putter and short game....i.e. Major Champions

Now look at great ball strikers who can hit it long and straight, Jamie S., Moe Norman (not long), how did those two do in their professional golf careers? "Feel" for direction and "touch" around the greens, which is a major part of the GAME of golf is critical to scoring well. Hitting it down the middle every time or 340 yards every time doesn't equal competitive golfer....Just my opinion and by no means am I disregarding the talent of Moe and Jamie.

Basically, I think feel is ingrained, you either have it or you don't. Last example...Some new golfers will advance quickly and be par shooters within 1-3 years of picking up a club. Others will play for 40-60 years and never sniff breaking 80. Knowing and seeing that, I think feel is natural!

Hi William, I understand the gist of your statement, but to be fair to Moe Norman, he won a tremendous amount of tournaments as a professional.  Unfortunately, his wins were on the Canadian tour and not the PGA.  Also, to be fair, Moe was able to shoot very, very low scores (low 60's) on many occasions.  I think the real challenge with Moe was that he struggled with the "social" aspects of professional golf and was often looked at as being too strange to fit in, etc. which led him to withdraw more from the limelight.

Lots of practice and don't allow your nerves to take you into fear territory.Observe your shot and remember how you practiced the shot over and over on the practice green.No reason to stand over it too long,because you will choke.Rich

No..  You can always watch someone and pick up a few things but you'll never be able to witness that "feel" they're getting...

I think it's something that has to be self taught...   I agree with Trevino..      

I'd say it's mostly natural. There are some things about "feel" that can be taught, but what it really boils down to (in my mind) is a combination of advanced motor skills and the ability to properly perceive distance.

I believe anything can be taught, but only to a certain extent. Poor example warning, I could learn how to play png pong, but if I do not have a natural ability to understand, comprehend and effort at improving then it will not get me anywhere better than average at best. 

Vague answer, yes, but the time and diligence it takes to become excellent at something is a combination of factors. Much like everything else in golf. 

Thanks for all the responses.

My personnel opinion is that great short game players are born with a natural ability of touch or soft hands and refine it over thousands of hours of practice.

Vijay strikes me as an example of a guy who is a supreme ball striker and someone who has "struggled " to learn the feel and touch especially with his chipping and putting.

The guy is a hall of famer with 36 career wins and a couple majors, but he has always struggled with the flat stick constantly changing styles of putting and types of putters. He has said would have the double the major titles he has with a more consistent short game.

He is now chipping cross handed after admittedly going thru the chipping yips for two years.

We saw this past weekend on the 72nd hole a great up and down by Jordan, hitting a 20 yard pitch shot setting up a crucial par putt. He said afterwards that was a feel shot, basically guessing how hard to swing to execute the pitch to give himself a chance.

That is an example of  natural feel being aided by hours of practice.

I think it was also Trevino who said that if you want to play good golf, hit 300 balls a day.

I'm thinking that feel is mostly a natural thing that you have some days and some days you don't.  Doesn't make any sense but some days you just seem to be able to get the ball close-in in your short game, and then the next day it's what's happened, where did my touch go?  Some days you naturally feel how to hit those short ones and some days its mysteriously missing.

This game will drive ya' nuts.  We need more golf shrinks ...

I think it's a combination of both.  Some of it is natural athletic ability that lends itself to touch, but without practice, it can't be consistent.  My instructor was always impressed with my putting touch, for how much a shambles the rest of my game was when we met.  My theory was that when I was a kid, I played piano and felt things more in my hands and helped make me an above average putter.  But without repetition and practice, my putting and other skills (a term I use loosely) go south.

 Can feel be taught ?

Absolutely,You teach yourself !

Hit 300 balls a day "Badly" and you teach yourself how it feels to hit bad shots. 

Hit 300 balls a day the "right way" and you teach yourself what it feels like to hit the ball correctly .

Did the picture in your head before you hit the ball match the picture after you hit the ball ?

I play with MB ,if I hit a bad shot I feel it through my hands and the picture doesn't match !  

If I hit a good shot it feels like i just hit a marshmallow 300 mts and the picture matched .

Don't expect to" feel "anything hitting range balls as the feeling will be false .

Practice Feel on the course with real Balls (no pun intended).

I'v alway believed that some things will come naturally and other take time and effort, golf or other.  but feel can be learned. if you didn't have feel at all then you wouldn't be able to control hitting a chip instead of a full shot.  that is feel on some level.  developing all of the different shots required to play this game takes time and practice.  the amount may vary with talent or coordination but its always learned.  as far as teaching, I believe that the best teachers are the ones who can explain one idea in many different ways.  not everyone thinks the same way, and the " feel " of a swing can be very different from the actual biomechanics. you can learn  technique from words and then have to also learn how that that motion "feels" when done properly.

I believe feel and touch come from good practice methods.   From this one builds a consistency and confidence for better results!!

I go with the thought that feel can not be taught. Acquired through play and practice perhaps, to a degree. But, like most blessed talents you have it or you do not.