Quickie Pitching Video - Golf Pitch Shot Technique

[MattM]

I posted in Erik's other pitching thread that I started hitting the ball way too far at the beginning of the year and couldnt keep my right hand from turning over.  The result was pitch shots tha had height but no forward momentum was taken off.  id land the ball three feet before the hole and it would bounce up thenroll 20 feet further.

I came on here two days ago andsaw the dealing cards at the top of the backswing comments and sureenough that did it!  I played a tough course yesterday with fast hard greens and got four scrambles but should have had five if not for  missed putt.  I was placind the ball about 5 feet befote the hole with only a few feet of rollout.  from rough or fairway it didnt matter!  It was very exciting!

[nevets88]

Keep the core moving!

 

[boogielicious]

11 hours ago, nevets88 said:

Keep the core moving!

 

That's is my swing thought on pitches. Let the pivot do the work. It keeps me from have my arms and hands start the downswing.

[TomJam]

Hello all

I have read through this thread and watched all the vids over the last few days and I have to say this is awesome stuff.  Thanks to all for your inputs.

I have a question.  It is mentioned a few times that the elbows should be very close to the body.  Does this mean drawing your hands in toward your body at setup.  Specifically if you were to let go of the club with either hand and just let it hang should it still be in line with where your hand was on the shaft or should it swing forward.

The reason for the question is that I recently read some advice on the full swing saying that your hands should hand directly below shoulders and that if you were to take either hand off the club it should still be in line with your original grip.  I noticed my hands swing way forward meaning I was pulling my hands in toward my body at address.  It feels more comfortable to me this way but that probably due to habit and I am trying to break that.  Just wondering if I should be trying to break the habit with these pitch shots too.

Cheers

 

Edited July 1, 2016 by TomJam

[iacas]

5 hours ago, TomJam said:

I have a question.  It is mentioned a few times that the elbows should be very close to the body.  Does this mean drawing your hands in toward your body at setup. Specifically if you were to let go of the club with either hand and just let it hang should it still be in line with where your hand was on the shaft or should it swing forward.

The elbows tend to rest against the sides, but it's more a matter of how they fold softly, not so much a matter of them being held or forced against the sides.

5 hours ago, TomJam said:

The reason for the question is that I recently read some advice on the full swing saying that your hands should hand directly below shoulders and that if you were to take either hand off the club it should still be in line with your original grip.  I noticed my hands swing way forward meaning I was pulling my hands in toward my body at address.  It feels more comfortable to me this way but that probably due to habit and I am trying to break that.  Just wondering if I should be trying to break the habit with these pitch shots too.

That's a bit more true of the full swing, but you're also typically bent forward a bit more in some full swings. And it's not entirely true on full swings, either: arms should hang, but we're not talking about 90° vertical:

[TomJam]

6 hours ago, iacas said:

The elbows tend to rest against the sides, but it's more a matter of how they fold softly, not so much a matter of them being held or forced against the sides.

Yes I have definitely got the feeling of a soft folding of the right arm close to the body on the BS thanks to the dealing cards analogy.  But my question more relates to the setup.  I know the elbows will be a little softer in the setup as compared to the full swing and therefore have a little more natural elbow flex but if you let go of the grip with your right hand and let it hang limp does it move back but still in line with the spot the hand was placed on the club (when I say in line I mean if you took the target line and put it through the middle of your hand) or does it swing back and forward of the body?

6 hours ago, iacas said:

That's a bit more true of the full swing, but you're also typically bent forward a bit more in some full swings. And it's not entirely true on full swings, either: arms should hang, but we're not talking about 90° vertical:

 I assume that the arms do not hang vertically as  they are pushed out slightly by the pectorals and the anatomy of the arm is such that it bends slightly when relaxed rather than hanging straight down.  But if the golfers were to let go of the club the hand would swing behind but still in line with the club right?

Your answer brings another question up.  You say "you are bent forward a bit more in some full swings" but I would have thought that with the pitch and chip you are bent forward more than in all full swings purely because the club is shorter.  Or do you try to stand up more at address with these shots?

Thanks for the quick response and the great info.  This general way of hitting pitches is what I used instinctively when I first started playing golf but changed to the more rigid method that is taught all over the net.  Why would I do this?  Because much of golf is counter intuitive in the full swing so I figured I needed to listen to the "experts" on all shots.  But I think pitching is one shot that can be played more intuitively.  It is good to come back to this style after many years of forcing the issue with the other method and have it feel immediately "right" and get some amazing results straight off the bat.

Edited July 2, 2016 by TomJam

[iacas]

8 minutes ago, TomJam said:

Yes I have definitely got the feeling of a soft folding of the right arm close to the body on the BS thanks to the dealing cards analogy.  But my question more relates to the setup.  I know the elbows will be a little softer in the setup as compared to the full swing and therefore have a little more natural elbow flex but if you let go of the grip with your right hand and let it hang limp does it move back but still in line with the spot the hand was placed on the club (when I say in line I mean if you took the target line and put it through the middle of your hand) or does it swing back and forward of the body?

It's close to vertical, often because you grip down a bit more too. So the angle in the image above is closer to 90° or vertical.

And, fwiw, my elbows are not particularly bent. The arms are "soft," but I wouldn't call them bent.

8 minutes ago, TomJam said:

 I assume that the arms do not hang vertically as  they are pushed out slightly by the pectorals and the anatomy of the arm is such that it bends slightly when relaxed rather than hanging straight down.  But if the golfers were to let go of the club the hand would swing behind but still in line with the club right?

Pretty straight down, really, IMO.

If you're slightly different that's fine.

8 minutes ago, TomJam said:

Your answer brings another question up.  You say "you are bent forward a bit more in some full swings" but I would have thought that with the pitch and chip you are bent forward more than in all full swings purely because the club is shorter.  Or do you try to stand up more at address with these shots?

Because you're gripping down more. I grip down more, but also stand up a bit… in essence I feel I'm maybe a tiny bit taller with the wedges, the hands are a bit closer to the "zipper" or front of my pants, and the ball is quite a bit closer to me than a full swing wedge.

But these are almost matters of style - some players will be more upright, some bent over a bit more, some with the ball closer, some quite closer.

8 minutes ago, TomJam said:

Thanks for the quick response and the great info.  This general way of hitting pitches is what I used instinctively when I first started playing golf but changed to the more rigid method that is taught all over the net.  Why would I do this?  Because much of golf is counter intuitive in the full swing so I figured I needed to listen to the "experts" on all shots.  But I think pitching is one shot that can be played more intuitively.  It is good to come back to this style after many years of forcing the issue with the other method and have it feel immediately "right" and get some amazing results straight off the bat.

Hey, Dave and I count as experts, too!

[Suchmo]

@Iacas. You've mentioned before that there is a spectrum of shots between a short pitch and something closer to a chip (still using bounce, but firmer wrists, more shaft lean). What situations necessitate such variation? Naturally, a shot that is more 'pitchy' allows for a higher trajectory, but are there other considerations about when to use different shots, or is it totally personal?

[iacas]

5 minutes ago, Suchmo said:

@Iacas. You've mentioned before that there is a spectrum of shots between a short pitch and something closer to a chip (still using bounce, but firmer wrists, more shaft lean). What situations necessitate such variation? Naturally, a shot that is more 'pitchy' allows for a higher trajectory, but are there other considerations about when to use different shots, or is it totally personal?

Pitches can go lower than chips, too, depending on the club you're using, the lie, etc.

I can't give an answer. It depends on everything: the lie, the type of grass, the firmness of the green, the length of the shot, the carry yardage, the slope… everything.

[Suchmo]

Thanks. Fair enough. I'm pretty new to golf so my short game is primitive. I play most of my short game shots with a high bounce 50. I play a slightly more 'chippy' pitch whenever I can as I tend to be more accurate with it and go for higher trajectory pitches just to clear obstacles or when a sudden stop is required. I guess with time I'll develop a feel for when I should mix it up. 

[TomJam]

On 7/3/2016 at 6:30 AM, iacas said:

Hey, Dave and I count as experts, too!

Ha ha.  Should have said "gurus" :)

Thanks for the responses

[cutchemist42]

So from what distances would you use this before you get into 3/4 1/2 versions of full swings?

[saevel25]

1 minute ago, cutchemist42 said:

So from what distances would you use this before you get into 3/4 1/2 versions of full swings?

I've broken my wedge game up into 4 positions. 

Full Swing
A3 - Arm parallel to the ground
A2.5 - Between A3 and A2
A2 - Club shaft parallel to the ground

I mapped these yardages for my LW, SW, and GW. 

I tend to use my pitching technique from inside A2.5 yardages. The distances depends on how far you hit you wedges. 

[cutchemist42]

25 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

I've broken my wedge game up into 4 positions. 

Full Swing
A3 - Arm parallel to the ground
A2.5 - Between A3 and A2
A2 - Club shaft parallel to the ground

I mapped these yardages for my LW, SW, and GW. 

I tend to use my pitching technique from inside A2.5 yardages. The distances depends on how far you hit you wedges. 

Do you have precise yardages mapped out for pitching arm positions then as well? Or is it more of a feel?

[saevel25]

Just now, cutchemist42 said:

Do you have precise yardages mapped out for pitching arm positions then as well? Or is it more of a feel?

Mostly feel. 

[mvmac]

1 hour ago, cutchemist42 said:

So from what distances would you use this before you get into 3/4 1/2 versions of full swings?

About 50-60 yards and in. You can still take it 3/4 back and pitch it.

Which is different than this, which is full swing technique. Basically when you pitch it there is little to no shaft lean at impact (using the bounce) and with full swing technique there is shaft lean (leading edge is more engaged).

[Taigolf]

Of the other pitching method "How to flight your wedges and short irons" and the pitching of using the bounce, one is using the bounce more, the other is using less hinge, seems very different method.  When should we use which? 

[iacas]

5 hours ago, Taigolf said:

Of the other pitching method "How to flight your wedges and short irons" and the pitching of using the bounce, one is using the bounce more, the other is using less hinge, seems very different method.  When should we use which? 

That's not a "pitching" method. That's a full-swing method.

So, generally speaking, pitching is for higher and shorter shots.