Quickie Pitching Video - Golf Pitch Shot Technique

[iacas]

It's a handy technique if you have a short pitch and need to minimize the amount the ball rolls. I used it a couple of times today to save par. For me it takes a bit of practice to get a feel for distances using this technique.

I find that it's a handy technique for about 95% of the shots I hit around the greens.

[allenc]

Awesome video Erik! What does the back stroke feel like to you? When I worked with Dave, he told me to feel the knuckles on my right hand facing downward . It gave me a good idea of what it's like to expose the bounce and to get the club head moving without the hands going back too far. Just curious to hear what your "feel" is.

I have been struggling with this technique for a few sessions now but this tip really hits the spot. The knuckle down feeling is very strange to me since it is much different than my normal takeaway but it just works like magic for this pitch. It got me up from about 30% to 90% the outcome I want (on the practice range).

[StefanUrkel]

So, I tried this, and it was solid.  Then, I was playing around with new things, and I tried bringing the club back low to the ground instead of hinging.  I put the ball very forward in stance and didn't put my hands forward. I worked extremely well. This isn't a good way is it?

[mvmac]

Also note the position of the clubface ("toe up") at A2.

 

Hudson Swafford using the bounce to pitch the ball, barely disturbing the turf. #golf #golfswing #PGATOUR #PGA #golflife #golfpro #instagolf #golfwrx

A video posted by OnTour Golf (@ontourg) on Dec 8, 2015 at 7:43am PST

[Frank62]

I was taught a technique similar to this when I first took up golf. It had a more open stance and club face with an early and loose (float loady) wrist hinge. I couldn't  play golf for crap at the time but I used to amaze more seasoned friends of mine with a perfectly executed flop shot almost every time I attempted it. 

This thread has changed the way I play around the greens forever. My scrambling game has improved dramatically with the amount of up-and-downs I am now achieving. Many thanks for all the contributions to this thread. I have now read all 36 pages!

[Suchmo]

Earlier in the thread Erik showed in a video (chips and pitches for TST) a very short pitch, no more than a couple of yards, that he sarcastically described as really difficult. I'd love to be able to use this method of pitching for short shots like this, but find it impossible to use it for anything under 5-10 yards. Can anyone describe the alterations required to the standard pitching technique needed to achieve these shorter pitches? Usually I 'chitch' but this isn't always possible.

[boogielicious]

8 minutes ago, Suchmo said:

Earlier in the thread Erik showed in a video (chips and pitches for TST) a very short pitch, no more than a couple of yards, that he sarcastically described as really difficult. I'd love to be able to use this method of pitching for short shots like this, but find it impossible to use it for anything under 5-10 yards. Can anyone describe the alterations required to the standard pitching technique needed to achieve these shorter pitches? Usually I 'chitch' but this isn't always possible.

If you need height, to clear something, let gravity move the club. Practice bringing the club back, keeping weight on your left foot, and let the club drop without help from your arms or hands. Do the pivot and let your left arm fold around your sides.

To practice, I start with a medium pitch, maybe 10 yards carry, and work down the ladder, i.e., 8, 6, 4 etc. I find it easier to do it this way because the short ones really require light touch.

[Suchmo]

58 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

If you need height, to clear something, let gravity move the club. Practice bringing the club back, keeping weight on your left foot, and let the club drop without help from your arms or hands. Do the pivot and let your left arm fold around your sides.

To practice, I start with a medium pitch, maybe 10 yards carry, and work down the ladder, i.e., 8, 6, 4 etc. I find it easier to do it this way because the short ones really require light touch.

Isn't 'weight on the left foot, let gravity move the club' the method for all pitches? Does the setup not differ for really short pitches?

Edited March 7, 2016 by Suchmo

[boogielicious]

1 minute ago, Suchmo said:

Isn't 'weight on the left foot, let gravity move the club' was the method for all pitches? Does the setup not drifter for really short pitches?

Not really. If I have a clear shot at the green, I am probably do chipping with a putting method. But if I have to go over the end of a bunker, with little green, I will try a short pitch with my most lofted wedge. You could try a lob shot, which is a pitch with an open club face. Same technique but bigger swing. The ball will go high. But I find that one harder to guess the carry distance.

[billchao]

1 hour ago, Suchmo said:

Earlier in the thread Erik showed in a video (chips and pitches for TST) a very short pitch, no more than a couple of yards, that he sarcastically described as really difficult. I'd love to be able to use this method of pitching for short shots like this, but find it impossible to use it for anything under 5-10 yards. Can anyone describe the alterations required to the standard pitching technique needed to achieve these shorter pitches? Usually I 'chitch' but this isn't always possible.

If you struggle with short shots, you might just be too wristy in the backswing. Hinging too much will give your clubhead more time to accelerate and then you'll hit it too far or subconsciously hit the brakes on the shot and mess up your mechanics. 

I had that problem. When @david_wedzik first taught me the proper technique, he had me pitch to a ball he tossed no more than 12' away. It surprised me how easy it was to hit it that short once I got it.

[boogielicious]

4 hours ago, billchao said:

If you struggle with short shots, you might just be too wristy in the backswing. Hinging too much will give your clubhead more time to accelerate and then you'll hit it too far or subconsciously hit the brakes on the shot and mess up your mechanics. 

I had that problem. When @david_wedzik first taught me the proper technique, he had me pitch to a ball he tossed no more than 12' away. It surprised me how easy it was to hit it that short once I got it.

I spent some time on this today. For the short ones, I only hinged at most 45 degrees. The rest of the motion was the same. Worked well. 

[mvmac]

10 hours ago, Suchmo said:

but find it impossible to use it for anything under 5-10 yards. Can anyone describe the alterations required to the standard pitching technique needed to achieve these shorter pitches? 

Same technique, just make a smaller swing.

[Lihu]

18 hours ago, Suchmo said:

Earlier in the thread Erik showed in a video (chips and pitches for TST) a very short pitch, no more than a couple of yards, that he sarcastically described as really difficult. I'd love to be able to use this method of pitching for short shots like this, but find it impossible to use it for anything under 5-10 yards. Can anyone describe the alterations required to the standard pitching technique needed to achieve these shorter pitches? Usually I 'chitch' but this isn't always possible.

No alterations.

Are you pre-loading the lead armpit?

[ZappyAd]

Is bounce on the club still a good thing out of very muddy, uneven lies?  We've had a very mild, wet winter here and so the course I play at (a) is quite waterlogged and (b) has been played a lot over the winter.  So around the greens there is patchy grass and then bare patches of sticky mud.  You invariably get a lie where the ball is nestled down either infront or behind a tuft of grass sitting in sticky mud. Any interaction of the club with the ground always seems to end up with a loss of clubhead speed and large clumps of mud or grass getting stuck on the bottom of the club.  Playing a low runner with a closed clubface is still an option but any attempt to get any kind of height is very difficult.  Is it a case of using this technique but just getting better at it or should it not be attempted from that kind of lie?
 

[billchao]

10 minutes ago, ZappyAd said:

Is bounce on the club still a good thing out of very muddy, uneven lies?  We've had a very mild, wet winter here and so the course I play at (a) is quite waterlogged and (b) has been played a lot over the winter.  So around the greens there is patchy grass and then bare patches of sticky mud.  You invariably get a lie where the ball is nestled down either infront or behind a tuft of grass sitting in sticky mud. Any interaction of the club with the ground always seems to end up with a loss of clubhead speed and large clumps of mud or grass getting stuck on the bottom of the club.  Playing a low runner with a closed clubface is still an option but any attempt to get any kind of height is very difficult.  Is it a case of using this technique but just getting better at it or should it not be attempted from that kind of lie?
 

I remembered there being some discussion on this subject and I ended up finding the thread:

Thanks for reminding me about this. I completely forgot about wet conditions and I'm sure I'll run into it a lot if this early spring weather holds up.

[Big Lex]

Sorry if someone already asked....but I'm not reading 36 pages of posts

Do you consider this a "special" pitching technique, or is this your "stock" pitch shot? (Assuming from your 95% comment above that this is your stock pitch shot....)

When playing, for what general length range of shots do you use this method? Maybe 5-10 steps off the green at most?  Is your motion for 30-40 yards similar?

I love the "pitching and chipping are basically the same motion." I messed up my short game for years thinking they were two different techniques, and trying to do them differently. It seems like one shot, on a spectrum.

 

Edited March 8, 2016 by Big Lex

[boogielicious]

2 hours ago, Big Lex said:

Sorry if someone already asked....but I'm not reading 36 pages of posts

Do you consider this a "special" pitching technique, or is this your "stock" pitch shot? (Assuming from your 95% comment above that this is your stock pitch shot....)

When playing, for what general length range of shots do you use this method? Maybe 5-10 steps off the green at most?  Is your motion for 30-40 yards similar?

I love the "pitching and chipping are basically the same motion." I messed up my short game for years thinking they were two different techniques, and trying to do them differently. It seems like one shot, on a spectrum.

 

I would say it's a stock technique. You apply it to short and long pitches, lob shots, sand shots with a little set up difference but same swing sequence and chips with a slightly different finish. You just vary the backswing length for different distances. You can use it with a one club technique if you just want to use say your 54 or 58 wedge. Or you can vary clubs and keep the backswing the same length and get different distances and roll outs.

Once you get the feeling down, you will find it very versatile and forgiving. 

[iacas]

On March 8, 2016 at 0:31 PM, Big Lex said:

Do you consider this a "special" pitching technique, or is this your "stock" pitch shot? (Assuming from your 95% comment above that this is your stock pitch shot....)

Stock shot. This is how we teach pitching.

On March 8, 2016 at 0:31 PM, Big Lex said:

When playing, for what general length range of shots do you use this method? Maybe 5-10 steps off the green at most?  Is your motion for 30-40 yards similar?

It can be used out to 60-80 yards or so.

On March 8, 2016 at 0:31 PM, Big Lex said:

I love the "pitching and chipping are basically the same motion." I messed up my short game for years thinking they were two different techniques, and trying to do them differently. It seems like one shot, on a spectrum.

They aren't the same motion. The backswing and follow through vary dramatically. Chips use the leading edge, pitches use the glide/bounce. They're on a spectrum, sure, but at opposite ends.