Pitching
Pitching
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Pitch shots are a very important short game shot. The setup and swing mechanics for a pitch shot are very different than a chip shot. The pitch shot has at least 50% air time. Some variations of the pitch shot will have 50% roll after landing, however, most pitch shots have less than 20% roll. Pitch shots are played from distances of 10 yards up to 100 yards. Because the distances of this shot can vary so much we need a way to regulate how far the ball will fly with very consistent results. Good golfers use a technique of using three different lengths of back swing with three different clubs. Imagine a clock face with the ball resting on 6:00 and 12:00 directly behind the players head. We want to develop a feel for three lengths of back swing; 7:30, 9:00, and 10:30. |
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| 7:30 | 9:00 | 10:30 | ||||||||||||||||
| When a player practices and can repeat three lengths of back swing coupled with three wedges he will have 9 different yardages to pick from for each shot. The three wedges are normally a lofted wedge, sand wedge, and pitching wedge. Below is an example of what a players yardages might look like using this technique. | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Pitch Shot Fundamentals |
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Set Up Fundamentals
Pitch Shot Mechanics
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| Pitch Shot Movie | ||||||||||||||||||
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| The movie shows an excellent example of the 7:30 pitch shot. Notice how the arms and shoulders blend into a very smooth swinging action of the club. There is no effort to lift the ball off the ground. The club does all of the work. Any effort to help the ball into the air will result in "flipping" the club. Flipping the club will result in fat and thin shots with very poor distance control. The club head actually follows the hands all of the way thru this shot. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Pitch Shot Practice | ||||||||||||||||||
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Pitch shot practice focuses on four major areas:
We discuss these in much greater detail in the Making Practice Payoff Ebook. Distance Control Distance control is critical to your success in short game pitch shots. Focus on carrying the ball to very specific targets. Learn the three back swing shots. Trajectory Control Different shots and pins will require different types of pitch shots. Learn how to regulate the trajectory of your pitch shots for short pins and distance pins to tight corners. Reading The Lie The golf ball reacts differently to strikes out of deep grass, no grass, or tufted grass conditions. Learn to play pitch shots from bad lies. Conversion Success Short game success is all about converting more shots and shaving shots off your score. Make your practice sessions conversion focused. |
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