Improve Your Golf Pitching
Develop touch and feel around the greens when pitching

Have you ever played a round with a golf pro? If you have, you know what separates their game from yours - and no, it isn't that they are two clubs better than you are, or they can hit the driver over 300 yards, or even that their putting style is just more polished and smooth.

You know the real difference already - what makes a pro a better player than you is their short game. A perfect example of this is Tiger Woods - sometimes very erratic from the tee and sometime plays a few wayward shots to the green, but my God, what a short game he possesses!  Like me, I'm sure you've lost count of the times he has chipped or pitched in to save par or gain a birdie from a difficult lie or position.

Put yourself in the same situation as Tiger at those times and at best, you may be looking at a bogey because more often than not, you just aren’t going to get the ball as close as you would like to make the putt or in the hole like the pro golfer can. You need to remember that any golfer can still be "long" from the tee and yet still have "touch" or “feel” around the green too.

This is probably nothing new to you, but actually how much time do you spend practising your pitching?  Probably not half as much as you should. I will provide you with some really handy tips below on how to improve your short game - but there's a catch. You're going to have to practice these kinds of shots far more often than you probably do now to develop what I mentioned earlier - "touch" and "feel" around the greens.  I guarantee that any serious amount of time spent practicing your pitching will more than pay off in the long run - Gary Player used to say "the more I play, the more I get lucky!". So why not get lucky?

THE STANDARD PITCH SHOT

A crucial shot for obvious reasons, but for most high-to-medium handicappers, the standard pitching shot is particularly important because most will miss around 50-60% of greens in regulation during a typical round. It is likely they will also have difficulty reaching the green in two on long par fours and certainly most par fives. In this situation, the amateur is faced with a third shot which the pro never has to face, which alone accounts for the 18 or so strokes difference between a pro and this kind of player.

But here’s where you can cut that margin down considerably and begin winning some tournaments or at least move up in the rankings! With a solid pitching stroke, you can start turning bogeys into pars and pars into birdies in no time!  The pitch shot is really just a miniature version of a full swing and depending on the club used (usually a PW, SW or 9-iron, or even a lob wedge) will mean the ball travels further in the air than along the ground. However, despite the shorter distance, you still need to hit the ball firmly - this is vital and I reiterate the importance to practice this shot as much as you can. Although you aren’t swinging back as far as you would do for a normal shot, you MUST still accelerate at the bottom of the swing, just as you would for a normal shot. Without an authoritative swing, things will go wrong and you will end up with a shot skulled over the green or one that skips along the grass searching for the nearest hazard. It is these aspects which explain why many golfers fear the pitch shot as much as any other, but there’s no reason to fear it if you understand how to execute the pitch.

SET UP WELL

• Open your stance (pull your lead foot back a few inches from the parallel line to your target)
• Keep your hips, shoulders back foot and chest parallel to your target line (remaining “square” to the target)
• An average pitch shot setup should leave you with your feet at shoulder width approximately
• Position your hands on the club ahead of the ball and choke down an inch or two on the club’s grip to leave a couple of inches protruding from the top of your linked hands
• The shorter your pitch shot, the more weight on your left foot when taking your shot (a tip I picked up is to put rest your right foot on your tip toes to give you less weight naturally on the right side)
• The shorter the club, the more you need to push out your rear to keep you steady and balanced throughout the swing
• Position your ball in the middle of your stance or further back if desired
• Emphasis is on accuracy here, not serious power and drastic weight shifting
• Left hand is key to the through-swing - it MUST stay ahead of the clubface and remain ahead of the right hand for as long as possible
• At impact, keep your left wrist FIRM but not rigid
• Focus on striking the back of the ball
• Remember - it’s important not to chop at the ball or scoop it as you move forward into a nice balanced finish

This is now where “feel” comes into play and this cannot be taught - practice is the key here for you. Try hitting pitch shots of varying lengths when you go to the range picking out targets at 35, 50 and then 75 yards and so on, until you can comfortably land the ball to within “makeable” putting distance. A trick I have used (and see often) is put an umbrella in the ground facing upward like a big bowl and practice chipping into it from a variety of yardages. You could do this comfortably even in a small back garden if you want to. For shorter pitch shots, it is advisable to narrow your stance as this will reduce your natural tendency to turn, while keeping most of your weight on your left side to help produce the desired shot.

TEMPO IS KEY

Good tempo is key to mastering the pitch shot - your first movement needs to low and slow and placing your hands further down the club’s grip is a great way to control the distance of your pitch shot. Even with the shortest pitch shots, you must be positive or you will commit a multitude of errors, so maintaining a smooth, even tempo is vital. Despite the shorter, more compact swing, a steady pace is needed to ensure proper, firm clubhead contact whilst going through the ball. One final element is a mental aspect - be positive. Imagine seeing your pitch shot floating up to the green and landing softly before it rolls up to the flag. Visualise your shot before playing it and together with the information I have provided above, you should see your scores coming down in no time - but you MUST practice these shots for this to happen!! Good luck everyone!

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