how to hit that 40 yard low pitch??

[tsajjad]

The course i play has a lot of trees and i am often faced with this shot from 30 to 50 yards frm the green where i have to hit the ball low but carry it onto the green over the bunker and stop it .
u know the kind where it takes two low skidding bounces and just stops dead. it would really improve my score if i could learn to hit this shot

[CG031]

Ball position: Back foot.
Hands: In front of the club, don't get "flippy" with your wrists at impact, you want to defloft the club.
Also: A nice simple hinge going back. And a low finish.

Hope this helps a bit.

[tsajjad]

wat do mean by hinge? and which club should i play this shot with, should come down on the ball?

[Jay-Bird]

That is 'my shot'. I love that shot. I hit it exactly like CG031.

I do it with 60, 56, 52, pw, 9i - depending on the circumstance.

[Kingfisher]

The course i play has a lot of trees and i am often faced with this shot from 30 to 50 yards frm the green where i have to hit the ball low but carry it onto the green over the bunker and stop it .

Like the other guys have said, you need to play the ball more off your back foot.

Another thing I will normally do is to go down the grip a little, effectively to shorten the club a little. Short backswing, say no more than 8'o'clock (hands at address = 6 o'clock) and a committed downward strike on the ball - this is the only way you're going to get the ball to stop sharpish. I find a short backswing forces me to accelerate through the ball - overswing and you will end up decelerating and making a mess of the shot. As for what club to use, depends what you need to do, but I'd say use as much loft as you can, which will increase your chances of stopping the ball - of course, in your case you need to balance this with a loft which will get you under the trees?

[tsajjad]

thnx fr the tips guys .. will try it out at the range today and make a video to sow if im doing it right or wrong..

[normdamarine]

If you need to carry it play a 56* wedge, more the ball back toward your back foot (whatever you feel comfortable at) and this is the key!!!! SHORT BACKSWING with a 3/4 FOLLOW THRU... Make sure you do not stick your club in the ground trying to hit down on it rather keep the hands moving toward the target. It will be low with a lot of spin... 1 or 2 maybe 3 hopes then it will stop dead...

[Dub]

Great shot and great advice on this thread.

This is a highly useful shot.

I had this very shot yesterday....had a little under 50yds....start out below some branches......carry a bunker.

I couldn't realistically go directly after the pin...felt more comfortable with more green. My main thought was to keep my hands ahead of the clubhead throughout the shot.

I worked out pretty good.

It's much easier to do with high spin balls.

[iacas]

I almost never move the ball back behind center.

Believe it or not I play a low shot like this by opening my stance, moving the ball up a bit, laying the blade of the sand wedge pretty open (square to the target), and swinging aggressively down into the ball along my foot line. Ball will come out low with a LOT of spin. Use the bounce of the club.

I can hit this shot from 110 yards with an 8I if I need to.

Playing the ball back I doubt you guys can get the spin I can get. You might have a lower ball flight, but mine's pretty low - certainly low enough to get out from under some trees.

If I need a low shot with a little less spin I simply set up square, lead with the hands, and hit more of a "hooky" type wedge.

[deafheaven]

Cannot recommend Phil Mickelsons dvd "Secrets of the Short Game" highly enough. It's been a revelation to me. My putting has always been good but the rest of my short game has dramatically improved having followed Phil's technique this season.

[Bo the Golfer]

I almost never move the ball back behind center.

Spoken like a true Stan Utley follower! I would do much the same as you described. Can't say enough how much Utley's short game tactis have helped me out this year.

[mgresh]

Spoken like a true Stan Utley follower! I would do much the same as you described. Can't say enough how much Utley's short game tactis have helped me out this year.

I'm with that thought totally. I'd never been too good at these shots until I started employing some of the Utley technique. Now, I can achieve this shot with my 58 relatively easily...just have to make sure that left wrist is bowed at impact and the ball isn't too far back.

[Chilli Dipper]

I almost never move the ball back behind center.

(Channels Kasey Kasem voice)

And that was #52 in GOLF Magazine's "How to Hit Every Shot" countdown, from a periodical I picked up at Target about a month ago. I've been practicing it since the day I saw it, and I still can't figure it out.

[tsajjad]

Well i didnt get to make a video. but the i tried ot both the methods .. as for the frst one it gave me the low ball flight i was looking for but not so much the spin, but that has probably got to do with the shitty range balls we have. as for the sam utley method well i succeded a few times even managing to get spin on the range balls. but i think wwhat u said about using the bounce of the club is difficult to apply in my case as the ground here is harder than u expect and as a result i ended up thinning or toppig the ball more than i like. will give the phil mickelson dvd a go though, hopefully it will be available i the local dvd store.
Cheers

[Pyranha]

I play this the exact same way Eric does. Often when I see people play this shot off the back foot they tend to not get their weight forward enough and they struggle to make the solid contact you need to really get the ball to bite. Seriously.....try playing the ball center or even a little forward, open the stance a bit, get your weight forward, and make a good descending blow. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how low the ball stays and much spin you generate.

-C

I almost never move the ball back behind center.......

[Happy Dragon]

The course i play has a lot of trees and i am often faced with this shot from 30 to 50 yards frm the green where i have to hit the ball low but carry it onto the green over the bunker and stop it .

What's the reason for trying to keep it low? You're going over a hazard. With a back or front pin, a nice high, soft pitch is in order. You need a 60 deg with little bounce. Trying to carry a hazard, while keeping it low, and having the ball one hop and stop is too much to ask. Tour players don't do that, why should you?

[Greg]

One hole i play at a local course is like that, a short par 4 with lots of trees and it takes a great tee shot to not be under one of them, also has water right in front of green so cant run the ball up there, have to fly it to the green. i have had less than 100 yards to go and have laid up because of the difficulty of trying to hit a punch shot from under a tree and get it to land on the green. I just punch it to the open area, pitch it on green and hope its close enough to make the putt, havent yet but usually get bogey doing this. I think the next time i play there if there isnt anyone right behind me, i might intentionally slice it in the fairway of the previous hole to get a clean shot at the green as its not ob and the course is seldom crowded, just to try a different approach.

[Happy Dragon]

One hole i play at a local course is like that, a short par 4 with lots of trees and it takes a great tee shot to not be under one of them, also has water right in front of green so cant run the ball up there, have to fly it to the green. i have had less than 100 yards to go and have laid up because of the difficulty of trying to hit a punch shot from under a tree and get it to land on the green. I just punch it to the open area, pitch it on green and hope its close enough to make the putt, havent yet but usually get bogey doing this. I think the next time i play there if there isnt anyone right behind me, i might intentionally slice it in the fairway of the previous hole to get a clean shot at the green as its not ob and the course is seldom crowded, just to try a different approach.

You have room to potentially hit this shot at 80-100 yards out, but 4o yards out is really too much to ask.