Quickie Pitching Video - Golf Pitch Shot Technique

[mvmac]

Before and after, check out the backswing changes with the left wrist and face angle.

 

[mvmac]

Soft arms and importance of the body rotation on pitch shots.

Can't hit this shot with the leading edge 😀

 

 

[mvmac]

This is pure

 

[mvmac]

Things to take note of with Finau's shot

• How far the club moves/swings compared to his hands
• Toe up at A2
• Lots of speed (related to the first point)

 

[colin007]

On 1/28/2019 at 11:43 AM, mvmac said:

Things to take note of with Finau's shot

• How far the club moves/swings compared to his hands
• Toe up at A2
• Lots of speed (related to the first point)

 

But he doesn't seem to have any body rotation, maybe I'm just not seeing it?

[dennyjones]

On 12/23/2018 at 12:55 AM, mvmac said:

This is pure

 

I didn't see the second video until just today.   I aspire to this!

[nevets88]

On 11/28/2018 at 11:42 PM, mvmac said:

Soft arms and importance of the body rotation on pitch shots.

Can't hit this shot with the leading edge 😀

 

 

Here's the YT vid top post creator, Bryan Pate, made on the soft right arm.

 

[saevel25]

I'm trying to control my backswing length better on pitch shots. 

Is the feeling of the right wrist just hinging only a good feel for shorter pitches? I feel like I get into trouble because my normal backswing motion is to move the arms a lot. I tend to hinge late in my normal swing. I was using my TV as a mirror, and trying to mimic the the club movement to parallel as shown in the video of the OP. The only way I get there is by just hinging that right wrist.

[iacas]

It's not just a hinge, though, as you still want to roll to expose the bounce/glide.

But, yeah, it's more of a wrist thing than a "moving your whole arms thing."

[checkerfred]

I'm happy to have found this thread.  I had a guy show me this that worked with a very well known teacher here and he showed him this technique.  I never could get it down consistently and couldn't figure out why.  He didn't explain it like this though, so hopefully I can nail it now.

On this shot, or even a chip, when you put the weight forward, where on the foot should I feel that weight?  I've never known the proper way to have the weight forward.  Nothing feels right when I do it.  I feel like I'm way too stuck and can't pivot good.....I just feel way too uncomfortable when I try to put my weight forward.

Also, would float loading not encourage more forward shaft lean since the hands are moving forward on the downswing earlier than the club head?

[iacas]

On 9/10/2019 at 8:31 PM, checkerfred said:

Also, would float loading not encourage more forward shaft lean since the hands are moving forward on the downswing earlier than the club head?

Float loading adds more speed as the club has to catch up faster.

[David Wolfe]

Good morning!  Great forum!!  Read all 42 pages this weekend!!

Question for Dave.  You said in a video that you were trained / influenced by Phil Rodgers.  

Per his book and videos, Rodgers used one ball position (inside the left heel) and adjusted his weight (left foot, centered or right foot) to change trajectory.  You do not seem to use this approach.  You seem to change both ball position and weight distribution for each trajectory. 

Am I correct?  

[iacas]

18 minutes ago, David Wolfe said:

Per his book and videos, Rodgers used one ball position (inside the left heel) and adjusted his weight (left foot, centered or right foot) to change trajectory.  You do not seem to use this approach.  You seem to change both ball position and weight distribution for each trajectory. 

Am I correct?  

Kinda. Ball position doesn’t change much, nor weight, but the former can a little.

We prefer to change trajectory by club and alignment (setting up to the handle).

[ncates00]

On 8/17/2019 at 4:22 PM, iacas said:

It's not just a hinge, though, as you still want to roll to expose the bounce/glide.

But, yeah, it's more of a wrist thing than a "moving your whole arms thing."

In a full swing, I take it you probably advocate a bit of the wrist hinge (a la Faldo pre set move), but to not do it in a pitching or chipping movement, correct?

[David Wolfe]

Thanks for your response. 

Before I start practicing this new technique, I want to confirm the adjustments. 

I watched :  Eric Hitting a Few Chips and Pitches

Standard Pitch:  Weight left, Hands near left thigh, Ball off of left heel

Slightly Higher Pitch:  Weight left, Hands near left thigh, ball slightly more forward (near left instep)

Higher Pitch:  Weight left, Hands near left thigh, ball slightly more forward (near left instep), Hands are lower to ground with open face

In all three scenarios, the swing motion is relatively similar:  Hinge hands quickly (with little body motion / pivot), keep the arms close to the body, start the downswing with a slight body pivot and a relaxed paint-brush release of the hands.  Hands will finish near the left hip. 

Thoughts? 

[iacas]

5 hours ago, ncates00 said:

In a full swing, I take it you probably advocate a bit of the wrist hinge (a la Faldo pre set move), but to not do it in a pitching or chipping movement, correct?

a) Full swing - I have students that set the wrists early and students that set the wrists late. No real preference there.
b) Pitching - Generally I like more wrist hinging. Clubhead rolls under plane (barely), but moves a lot relative to the hands.
c) Chipping - Just a little wrist hinging. The more you hinge, the lower the ball can go with less delivered loft.

2 hours ago, David Wolfe said:

I watched :  Eric Hitting a Few Chips and Pitches

Standard Pitch:  Weight left, Hands near left thigh, Ball off of left heel

Slightly Higher Pitch:  Weight left, Hands near left thigh, ball slightly more forward (near left instep)

Higher Pitch:  Weight left, Hands near left thigh, ball slightly more forward (near left instep), Hands are lower to ground with open face

Probably those are about right.

2 hours ago, David Wolfe said:

In all three scenarios, the swing motion is relatively similar:  Hinge hands quickly (with little body motion / pivot), keep the arms close to the body, start the downswing with a slight body pivot and a relaxed paint-brush release of the hands.  Hands will finish near the left hip. 

Thoughts? 

I think the things that are different than you wrote there are this… the "lazier" my hands/wrists are, or the more I let the club fly past my hands, the higher and softer the ball launches, even if setup is the same. So that's a big part of it, too.

[David Wolfe]

Thank you VERY much for responding to my questions. 

The golf season is just starting here in the Boston area (we had light snow yesterday and started COVID-19 lockdown today !!) and now I am very excited to start practicing these new techniques. 

THANKS !!!  Dave

[David Wolfe]

Do you have any instruction threads for bunker shots?