Quickie Pitching Video - Golf Pitch Shot Technique

[Williamevanl]

Works now...

[talismand]

Originally Posted by iacas

The video in this post? http://thesandtrap.com/forum/thread/39411/quickie-pitching-video/18#post_540140

Video shows up for me. I re-posted it so maybe it'll work for you now.

Correct. And it works now, thanks!

I tried this idea out a little this afternoon and ran into two problem areas. I could not for the life of me hit a decent shot from two trouble lies. About 10 feet off the green, on a steep upslope (35 degrees or so). The second issue was a similar scenario but on a steep downslope (green was further away, but I think you see what I'm getting at). What are the best ways to approach these types of shots (besides "not hitting the ball there", haha).

[iacas]

Originally Posted by talismand

I tried this idea out a little this afternoon and ran into two problem areas.

It's called "quickie" for a reason. :-) This summer I'll film some more.

[darkhunter139]

I know this thread is kind of old but I feel like it deserves a bump :)

Thanks for making this video Erik, just wanted to let you know it has helped me a lot.

[iacas]

You're welcome, despite your lousy avatar.

[westcyderydin]

Hey thanks Erik, those videos are just what i needed to see right now.

i had been trying to use the same takeaway as my normal swing with my pitching motion and that was bad thinking.

Any thoughts on the feelings that come from pitching practice effecting the full swing or the takeaway of the full swing?

[DeanS]

I'll second that thanx and thanx for the bumb. Tried this yesterday with good success. Also added a Tom Watson tip, square the hips at setup, which allowed me to give gravity an assist.

[iacas]

[SpacklersEdge]

Hey Erik, What's controlling the speed of the swing in this shot, i.e. the distance you are hitting it?  Obviously opening/closing the clubface will affect trajectory and distance given the same swing.  But, I am trying to hit it by essentially letting gravity drop the clubhead as was described, so of course this isn't going to get you anywhere near 70 yards?  Are you varying backwing distance much across a span of 10-70 yards, or mostly increasing the distance by using the hands to help the club accellerate a little faster than gravity would do on it's own?

[iacas]

Originally Posted by SpacklersEdge

Hey Erik, What's controlling the speed of the swing in this shot, i.e. the distance you are hitting it?  Obviously opening/closing the clubface will affect trajectory and distance given the same swing.  But, I am trying to hit it by essentially letting gravity drop the clubhead as was described, so of course this isn't going to get you anywhere near 70 yards?  Are you varying backwing distance much across a span of 10-70 yards, or mostly increasing the distance by using the hands to help the club accellerate a little faster than gravity would do on it's own?

Backswing length will change a little, sure. 70 yards is about the max, maybe with a stronger lofted sand wedge (54 or so). Beyond that and you start to just want to hit a 3/4 regular shot.

The speed with which you pivot through changes the distance. You don't really want to "open/close" the clubface much - you're changing bounce when ou do that and want to be careful. Better to just use a different lofted wedge if you can't get the height you want with changing the shaft lean a little bit.

[CuppedTin]

Great video, I have never really grasp the difference between a chip and pitch until now. I think an easy way for me to pitch would be to visualize doing a floating hinge... Does that make sense?

[CuppedTin]

Originally Posted by iacas

Is a "pitch" basically a flipping of the hands at impact?

[iacas]

Originally Posted by CuppedTin

Is a "pitch" basically a flipping of the hands at impact?

Kinda. You don't want to feel that you're flipping. The shaft is still forward for most shots, but not a lot.

[Zeph]

Compared to a chip or a full shot, there is a little flip. If you overdo it, you might end up skulling the ball. But it is important to know the mechanics behind this shot, since it differs from most shots.

[The_Pharaoh]

Excellent thread Erik! Thanks for taking the time to put these videos together.

[dsc123]

Thanks for the great video.  These shots have always been trouble for me, to the point that I would prefer to hit two pitching wedges from 250 yds out than try to get it close and pitch it.   Got a new Vokey (58/8) last week and went back to this video and practiced it a couple of times.  It was an immediate and drastic improvement.   One of my least favorite shots became one of my favorites and in the 2 rounds that I've played I'm already getting up and down more.  THANK YOU!

[bunkerputt]

I think this might be along the lines of what I've started doing.  The action feels like straighten the right leg, hinge the club, tilt left on the backswing.  Then move the knees left and tilt right on the downswing.  That's the feel anyway.  the head doesn't move at all.  It's super easy to get consistent contact this way.  All that is required is good tempo to not flip it.  Face ends up pointing at the sky on the follow through with the club laying limp in the right hand.  It almost feels like cheating.  I used to use the arms a lot and try to rake the club across the ball.  That way was much harder than what I do now, which is basically just drawing a circle with the shoulders and bringing the arms along for the ride.

[anthony]

I'm bumping this thread for awesomeness. I actually discovered this two years ago on my own, but was since convinced that I needed to to the "stiff arms" chip instead. Well, after some blown up & down's last weekend, I decided to break in my new real feel mat off my patio into the yard using this pitching technique. My front yard is about 30 yds to the road, so I was practicing 25 and in. Holy cow.

My pitches went way higher than usual with a much tighter arch than I was doing previously. The videos in this thread demonstrate what to do perfectly. Just get a nice loose feeling hinge going back and turn into it. I bladed one or two, but those were because I didn't fully commit to the shot. Overall, the shots were all good. I kinda can't believe how well they were. I even opened up the wedge, moved the ball way up in the stance and hit a couple 5-10 yd flop shots that went a mile high.

Can't wait to put this into play.