How can I get better at pitch shots?

I always seem to blade the ball. If I even get it up in the air, it releases big time and doesn't check at all.

While you can find a lot more technical or feel explination in Pelz's Short Game Bible or Utley's Art of the Short game, here is a quick and dirty set up and thought for pitch shots.

Address:

Narrow stance, weight predominately on left foot, hands ahead of ball at inside of left thigh, ball in center of stance.

Rotate body on left (front) leg like it is a post, stop backswing when arms get to 9 o'clock position. Once you go to 9 o'clock a few times, shorten up your swing some, chances are you have gone too far without noticing.

Rotate your body back through the ball, careful to keep your arms passive.

Don't try to hit the ball with your arms and hands, just a little simple rotation through the ball will put plenty of distance on it. If you feel at all like you have swung with your arms instead of rotating you will constantly be inconsistant.

FWIW,

-E

If you aren't generaing spin and are occasionally hitting them thin, it sounds like you aren't accelerating through the ball. When people have to hit non-full swings or "touch" shots, they tend to think that you don't swing as hard and end up not accelerating through. You go from striking the ball to trying to steer the ball.

One of the best lessons I ever received on this was that once I start my downswing, I pretend like I'm "jumping out of an airplane". This means that I give the club a good push and let the club do the rest of the work (ie. push myself out of the plane and let gravity do the rest of the work). It keeps you from trying to steer/baby the clubhead into the ball, something that will either cause you to hit it thin or not generate any backspin.

One thing I work on is holding the face open the entire time. It is pointing skyward at the finish. Also make sure to use a very lofted wedge. I only pitch with my 60 and can't control anything else. I will use the 64 in really awkward spots. I can hit very soft pitches with my 60. I used to let my hands release so I would not hit it as softly but the tip above has helped me tremendously. Really focus on holding that face open and make sure you are a little opena and the club face is a little open as well. I consider this shot to be something I am very good at.

IME, when I blade a pitch it's often because I'm trying to help the ball up and I get hands-y through impact. What works for me is to keep my upper arms connected by keeping my elbows tucked in a bit and using body rotation to generate acceleration.

What ball are you using and what is your sand wedge. Those two things play huge factors in this.

Box grooves on a brand new sand wedge are going to generate by far the most backspin. A three-piece ball like a Pro-V1 for example is going to spin like crazy. Combined with a fundamentally sound swing, putting backspin on the ball is quite achievable!

So what's your equipment like?

Spend the money and get Phils short game dvd. I have never been as good as i am no around the greens after practicing his technique 3-4 times. It has also iomproved my full swing, really helps pure contact with irons....

Are you left handed? If not, does he teach everything left handed or does he do something to help righties as well?

Are you left handed? If not, does he teach everything left handed or does he do something to help righties as well?

Is this for real???

It is no problem seeing someone do it from the left side, at least it was fine for me. I never once found myself struggling with it in that regard. It didn't even cross my mind as i was watching it. Honestly it is a great DVD. The putting section was just OK but the chipping/pitching was amazing.

I have a TaylorMade TP 56*

I'm just using random balls, but they're usually relatively nice. I'm not expecting it to stop on a dime, I just wanna see it check up

Try chipping with a pro v1. Spins better than anything around the greens. You will notice a big difference. Chip your normal ball and then chip a pro v, you'll be impressed.

Yea, the more expensive soft-covered balls stop/check noticably better then the cheaper balls. Pro V1's for sure. You still need good, crisp contact but they'll stop much better.

Very helpful post right here. Let me add one thing. FOLLOW THROUGH! The biggest reason people blade their chips and pitches is because they're afraid to follow through, which causes them to decelerate. In my case, I had this irrational fear of hitting it too far. Like flying the green was the end of the world. The only way I was able to overcome that was by telling myself I didn't care if I hit it too far. Pretty soon I realized that a half swing with a sand wedge is not going to go very far regardless. It's going to fly real high and land real soft as long as I remember to follow through.