Quickie Pitching Video - Golf Pitch Shot Technique

[rightdraw]

That's the problem the contact was perfect!  I took no divot just ruffled the turf with the bounce.  The ball is going WAY up in the air like it should, and then landing about 5 feet before the hole.  After that it just keeps rolling forward I'd say like 15-20 feet.

Am I doing something wrong?  Also I have the ball in the front of my stance and the handle back so the front edge is sort of off the turf a tad.  When I come down to the ball I feel the bounce hit then the ball goes way up.  I thought that was what I was supposed to do?  I would think with the brand new club and pro v1's it shouldn't roll much.

What is meant by having the handle lower too?  I would have to address the ball from pretty far away to have that.

With elevated greens the ball is more than likely going to run out a little bit more depending on the slope of the green. With the shots that were rolling 15-20 feet forward how elevated was the green and was the green sloping towards you or away?

[MattM]

The slope was definately neutral. The greens (if I were standing in the fairway) would probably come up to my waste... Can someone explain the lower handle advice?

[Jakester23]

Lowering the handle closer to the ground adds loft which hit the ball higher. To lower the handle just stand a little further away from the ball bend your knees more and drop the handle towards your knees instead of at your waist. Also open your stance a little. At least that makes it easier to get the handle closer to the ground. The ball goes up like a flop shot.

[boogielicious]

@MattM ,

Where is your ball position on these pitches?  You can vary height if you move it with relation to your left heel.  It should roll out less with higher launch.

[MattM]

I always out the ball in the front of my stance... like I said it goes up. But doesn't. Stop.

[Jakester23]

This shot isn't supposed to stop. Its not a shot that creates a lot of spin. It stops because of how soft it lands. If you want to create spin you have to hit pitches with a different technique.

[MattM]

OK, let's back up.  I think I am asking the wrong questions here.

The real question is how do I get the shot to land softer?

[iacas]

This shot isn't supposed to stop. Its not a shot that creates a lot of spin. It stops because of how soft it lands. If you want to create spin you have to hit pitches with a different technique.

Yup.

The real question is how do I get the shot to land softer?

By increasing the landing angle, which is typically done by hitting the ball higher.

[MattM]

Ok, so suppose I'm 35 yards out and I want to make it land soft.  When I did it I put the ball toward my front foot and leaned the handle back.  I then lifted the club whilst turning my left forearm to open the face and then I just dropped the club which put the ball up in the air.  The ball travelled about 30 feet hitting the green and bouncing some then rolled forward.

I would say the ball got up about 15 feet up in the air.

In this case did I need to hit it even higher?

[Jakester23]

If the ball got only 15 feet in the air you hit it thin. If I try to hit the ball high I'd say I hit it about 40ft high to go about 20-30 yards.

[MattM]

Hmm.... So is it possible that I'm not actually hitting the ground first what I use this technique?  If you are hitting it 40 ft in the air to 30 ft how far back are you taking out the club?

[Jakester23]

To hit it high (more or less like a flop shot) I take a pretty big swing.  Id say a 3/4 swing.  I don't really like playing that shot unless I have to its a more difficult shot than just a standard shot.  Id rather play the roll out then try to excutue a harder shot.  If you get good at judging the standard pitch shot you can easily get a good gauge of how much it will roll out and just account for the roll out.  One of the best lessons Ive learned reading posts on this site is there just some times when you have to play the smart shot and take a bogey(or whatever score it might be).  Theres way to many times when people like me try for the hero shot when we are in no position to pull it off.

[iacas]

Matt, none of us can really help you any further until you film a video and put it in your My Swing thread or something.

Watch this and note the trajectory on a few:

Look at the launch angle on even this shot:

It's over 45°.

Plus, what @Jakester23 said.

[MattM]

Great videos! very informational! Thanks for posting!

I'll try to get a vid up soon.

[billchao]

I don't remember if it ever came up, but what's the ideal swing path to this technique?

[iacas]

I don't remember if it ever came up, but what's the ideal swing path to this technique?

Inside to inside feeling. In reality it's pretty close to on plane.

[billchao]

Inside to inside feeling. In reality it's pretty close to on plane.

But you still hit the ball with a rightward path, right? I ask because my tendency is to pull everything across my body to the left and have consistency issues. I made the conscious effort to swing to the right yesterday and the results were pretty good: better distance control and more room for error. Actually, now that I think about it, maybe swinging to the right, for me, makes my swing more on plane.

[iacas]

Actually, now that I think about it, maybe swinging to the right, for me, makes my swing more on plane.

I think that's more relevant. My path can actually be a bit left sometimes, depending on ball position, handle location, etc. It really depends on the shot you're playing. It can be right too.