Quickie Pitching Video - Golf Pitch Shot Technique

[MattM]

I was at work and trying to be quick with what I was saying.  I didn't mean top spin necessarily just talking about what I noticed the ball would do when I let me right hand turn over in the swing as opposed to keeping my right hand flat.

The ball would get up to the same height on both shots but when I kept my hand flat it would stop a LOT quicker when it hit.  When I would let my right hand turn over the ball would hit the green and jump forward no matter how high I hit it.

[mvmac]

[14ledo81]

He shoulda read this thread..................

[mvmac]

He shoulda read this thread..................

lol yeah I think he knows what happened. He got his next pitch to a few inches, used the bounce and didn't take any turf.

[14ledo81]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 14ledo81

He shoulda read this thread..................

lol yeah I think he knows what happened. He got his next pitch to a few inches, used the bounce and didn't take any turf.

Why do you suppose he did not try that on his first shot?  Did he think a leading edge pitch (I assume lower traj, more spin) would get him closer?

[jamo]

Ban him from Augusta!

[billchao]

OT, but it bothers me that kids growing up watching the pros play are going to think it's ok to throw their clubs.

[mvmac]

Why do you suppose he did not try that on his first shot?  Did he think a leading edge pitch (I assume lower traj, more spin) would get him closer?

I think he was but maybe just mis-judged how much he needed to utilize the bounce, might have been trying to play pitch/chip where he should have gone full pitch. Also, for whatever reason(club selection, lie, distracted) sometimes it just happens, leading edge sticks in the ground and you look like an idiot.

[mmoan2]

2 hours at the range yesterday practicing this. Brilliant!!!! I pitched about 20 yards to a downhill green from a tight lie and really got to feel the bounce action work. The only thing now is to get the feel for how much of a backswing I'll need to hit certain distances.

Thanks for this.

[Grins]

The last 2 times out have seen a big improvement on my pitching, thanks primarily to this thread!  I finally holed out from off the green this year for the first time in forever!  And even more impressive to me, I had a 25 yard-long pitch to a downhill, slippery green with a pond at the bottom.  I threw it up high and soft and let it trickle down to gimme range (12" or so)!

Thanks Erik, Mike, and TST gang!  Love this thread!  i keep going back to it & reviewing & it has helped a lot!

[teeitup22]

I have been struggling lately with my short game - specifically pitching. Lately I have been pretty much shanking the ball. I am a lefty and when I shank, it goes 45 degrees to the left - a bad feeling. Does that mean, most likely, that I am not turning through the ball (letting gravity take over)?

[Jakester23]

I have been struggling lately with my short game - specifically pitching. Lately I have been pretty much shanking the ball. I am a lefty and when I shank, it goes 45 degrees to the left - a bad feeling. Does that mean, most likely, that I am not turning through the ball (letting gravity take over)?

Make sure your "dealing cards" see above if you don't know what I mean.  Also make sure you transfer the bend in your right elbow to your left.  That was an important feel for me as was the dealing cards feel.  Its hard to take your instinct to hit the ball out of the shot but that the only way to do it correctly.  When I shank a pitch its because I try to hit the ball meaning I accelerate through the ball instead of letting the club do the work.  Stick with it.  Its the best way to pitch you get more consistent result with this technique then with any other.

[mvmac]

I have been struggling lately with my short game - specifically pitching. Lately I have been pretty much shanking the ball. I am a lefty and when I shank, it goes 45 degrees to the left - a bad feeling. Does that mean, most likely, that I am not turning through the ball (letting gravity take over)?

Could be a few things. First thing I would check is to make sure the weight doesn't move back on the downswing, even set it a bit forward at address. Also make sure the club is more toe up on the backswing and loading slightly under plane. Other than that I would recommend posting a video here

http://thesandtrap.com/f/4180/member-swings

[MattM]

Not to plug the book but........ The explainations on the pitch in the Lowest Score Wins actually helped me with my pitching. There are a couple of things said about the technique in there that haven't been mentioned in this thread. I don't want to get them away because I had to buy it to read them, but they will help.....

[natureboy]

Was that Justin Rose? Feel for him, but still a bit consoling to know the pros do it too. Since it was U.S. Open I am guessing some tension crept in there.

[iacas]

Was that Justin Rose? Feel for him, but still a bit consoling to know the pros do it too. Since it was U.S. Open I am guessing some tension crept in there.

I'm guessing it wasn't tension. I'm guessing it was just that the shot seemed rather straightforward, and he perhaps got a little sloppy with it. I could also imagine that it's just something that happens to a lot of pros because they flirt very much with the edge. Many don't have much bounce ( gliiiiiiiiiide ) on their wedges, and many will take the club up and out a little more than I prefer, and rely on the fact that they're skilled to "manually" slide the club under the ball. Basically many PGA Tour players play a timed flip, rather than one that's a little more automatic like we discuss here.

They're good at it, and they practice it a lot , but they're only good at it about 98% of the time. This was one of the 2%.

[Jakester23]

So Ive been doing pretty good with this shot for a few years now.  Im confident hitting it off of tight lies, out of bunkers, and in the rough. Its my go to shot from 20-60 yards.  The only thing Im noticing is 95% of the time I pull it about 20-25 ft left sometime a bit more than that.  I know that its going to happen now so I aim right but I was wondering if there is some reason why this I happening.  Id like to be able to just line up right at target and hit it there.  I had this shot today a few times and it was consistently 20+ left.  Any help would be great.

[billchao]

So Ive been doing pretty good with this shot for a few years now.  Im confident hitting it off of tight lies, out of bunkers, and in the rough. Its my go to shot from 20-60 yards.  The only thing Im noticing is 95% of the time I pull it about 20-25 ft left sometime a bit more than that.  I know that its going to happen now so I aim right but I was wondering if there is some reason why this I happening.  Id like to be able to just line up right at target and hit it there.  I had this shot today a few times and it was consistently 20+ left.  Any help would be great.

Have you tried opening up the face a bit and making the same swing?