What exactly is a pitch?

FWIW I've never been a fan of that definition because I've hit chips into soft greens slanted towards me that didn't roll half as far as they flew and vice versa: pitches that run out 2x as long as the ball stayed in the air.

I prefer this definition if you must keep it short: pitches are played with the bounce, chips are played with the leading edge.

It better be Like Erik said you're using the bounce, so the technique has to change, softer arms, keeping the knees flexed.  Weight is still forward.  Here's a video I did, shots 3-4 are what most would consider a "standard" pitch.

Thanks, I get what you're saying.  That is what I'm doing, changing loft and shaft lean to hit 5 different shots with the same club,  and describing how the stroke's characteristics change.  Just like on the course there are so many different hole locations, surfaces, lies you have to adjust to, you rarely get a "standard" pitch or chip.  So it's easier to understand how to have consistent contact by using the bounce, which is effective off tight lies, deep rough, bunkers, etc.  Just providing detail to those that want it because it's coming from the best short game instructors.

I did put this video into a Thread with this specific note: "Important to note that you don't have to follow the bullet point below exactly to hit these shots.  Lots of detail, just going over all the changes I'm making to hit the desired shots.  Priority would be how the arms are changing, from straightish to soft in order to engage the bounce."

No thanks. :)

S&T; isn't pitching. Weight stays forward, head pretty stable, but that's about it. And truthfully my head will rotate through before impact on a lot of pitch shots. So maybe not even that part holds.

Frankly, a pitch is the simplest shot out there outside of a tap-in.

1. Hinge.

2. Pivot.

See? The rest of the things you can do are permutations that allow you to vary the shot characteristics. You'll learn them all on your own, and you won't have to think about them on the course. The basic technique applies, and you vary things like how low your hands are, how wide your feet are, where the handle is positioned, how much you hinge and pivot, etc.

Presetting something isn't the same as getting there dynamically. The wrist hinge is necessary because you still need to generate speed. In a pitch the clubhead glances the ball, and a lot of the glancing blow's energy is vertical. It's almost the exact opposite of, say, a putt.

I've found pitching using this method is incredibly consistent, and I dare say our students have as well. We throw it in at the end of some of our full-swing schools and have had students tell us they'd have paid the full-day school price for just the pitching section it's so great.

I'm not sure you're really understanding what we're saying in the videos (I think Mike and I have videos in this thread, right?).

To be sure, there are times when a "chip" is the smart play. But I find myself using "pitching" (using the bounce) around golf courses FAR more often than using chipping, and a big part of the reason why is because it's "dummy-proof" and so consistent.

It works off of all sorts of lies. And why not change clubs? Because you can only carry 14, sometimes you can't let the ball run out, and because it's an easier shot than using the leading edge. I can hit pitch shots with all of my short irons and wedges.

At this point I'm not even sure we're talking about the same thing.

No, again, I have no distance control issues, and the right foot doesn't come off the ground much at all, and often stays on the ground for shorter pitches. Mike's foot stays flatter than mine, Dave's stays a bit flatter than mine, largely because I have a bit more knee flex in setup. There are precisely the same number of moving parts as in every other sort of pitch.

If you can't be more specific, then I don't know how much more we can help you to understand what the videos are about. I think they do a decent job of explaining things pretty well. Pick up Stan Utley's book. It's similar to how we teach pitching.

I'm not sure if he's talking about how I'm adjusting my stance for each shot in my video when he says "moving parts".  But like I said I'm going into pretty detailed explanation of how I'm going about hitting the shots.  I don't see the right foot coming off rapidly.

Do these pitching motions have any less moving parts than mine or Erik's?