Quickie Pitching Video - Golf Pitch Shot Technique

[mvmac]

 

[zero]

Just wanted to share (drum roll) this works. For me, however, there's a constant mental battle when learning new techniques. There's the new thing I learned and have practiced endlessly, and then there's the last second mental glitch that makes my body do the old thing. So I need a new swing thought to accompany any new technique, which in this case is HIT DOWN ON IT, LET THE LOFT DO IT'S JOB. Or as I heard on the golf academy recently, pinch the inch (the inch after the ball). Once my brain accepted this thought, middle of club face hitting the upper middle of the ball.... no more blading/skulling. At all. Ever. Stupid brain!

Edited April 10, 2017 by zero

[boogielicious]

10 hours ago, zero said:

Just wanted to share (drum roll) this works. For me, however, there's a constant mental battle when learning new techniques. There's the new thing I learned and have practiced endlessly, and then there's the last second mental glitch that makes my body do the old thing. So I need a new swing thought to accompany any new technique, which in this case is HIT DOWN ON IT, LET THE LOFT DO IT'S JOB. Or as I heard on the golf academy recently, pinch the inch (the inch after the ball). Once my brain accepted this thought, middle of club face hitting the upper middle of the ball.... no more blading/skulling. At all. Ever. Stupid brain!

For this technique, I use the swing thought, "Let the pivot move the club head". When I do that, it takes my hands out of the pitch. If my hands get too active, I will hit it heavy.

[mvmac]

 

[kpaulhus]

KJ sure is using the bounce there. 

[iacas]

32 minutes ago, kpaulhus said:

KJ sure is using the bounce glide there. 

FTFY.

[Jack Watson]

All good advice on pitching.  Very inline with what Phil Rogers teaches.  I used to use a metronome app on the smartphone too.  I liked 66 bpm.  Beep beep swing swing.   For me getting quick in the transition instead of using gravity is the mess up.  Very free feel with the clubhead.

You can pitch right off the putting green and not mar it this way.  Love it.  

[mvmac]

7 hours ago, kpaulhus said:

KJ sure is using the bounce there.

Yeah I love the "click" at impact, no divot.

[NoobSwingz]

so i tried this for about 4 hours in my yard yesterday. im a high handicapper and still have alot to learn. Ive been using the leading edge with basically a shoulders/putt swing and actually have been decent with it. Just want to say here that forward motion in my swing is something in my year of golfing that i have not grasped at all. I have tried several times to work on it with little drills and whatnot but it NEVER clicked and i just moved on to other things, knowing at some point i would have come back to it. 

So in the 4th hour of doing this i finally moved my weight correctly thru the ball and a light bulb went off. i immediately starting making much better contact with this method! I still need alot of work with it as inconsistency is definitely still there. Im not sure i have the bounce right....i may still be scooping just right under the ball instead of gliding....or at least some of the time.....cuz i still chunk grass sometimes. Either way, im definitely getting much higher flying shots and some so accurate it makes me all warm and fuzzy lol.

Also on a side note....i was randomly walking thru my bedroom and stopped for 2 seconds to do an extensor/pivot drill.....man was i wowed when my body instinctively moved forward thru the motion! I cant wait to see if i actually carry this over to my full swings. So next time you wanna teach forward motion....just make them do these pitches for a few hours haha  

[NoobSwingz]

@iacas also, i wanted to ask about ball location at address. you mention in this video to keep it toward the front of your stance. however in your other video, you have the ball all over the place....anywhere from even to your back foot, all the way up to even with front foot. so i guess the question is, where would the most normal place be and what result does placement have if everything else remains the same? further back = low trajectory and further foward = higher? does forward produce more backspin or just less rollout

i would like to figure out how to use the least amount of rollout as possible so i can just aim at my target and let the ball stick so i dont have to worry about roll

Edited April 22, 2017 by NoobSwingz

[iacas]

6 hours ago, NoobSwingz said:

@iacas also, i wanted to ask about ball location at address. you mention in this video to keep it toward the front of your stance. however in your other video, you have the ball all over the place....anywhere from even to your back foot, all the way up to even with front foot.

Which video is that?

I rarely have the ball back of center.

[drmevo]

This technique has been working great for me most of the time, but every once in awhile I will cold shank one. The other day, it was two in a row - I was circling the green. My third attempt was fine and almost went in so I don't feel like I was doing anything drastically different, and I don't think I was just standing too close. Anyone else have this issue? I'm not sure I could get video of it since it's fairly rare. 

[iacas]

41 minutes ago, drmevo said:

This technique has been working great for me most of the time, but every once in awhile I will cold shank one. The other day, it was two in a row - I was circling the green. My third attempt was fine and almost went in so I don't feel like I was doing anything drastically different, and I don't think I was just standing too close. Anyone else have this issue? I'm not sure I could get video of it since it's fairly rare. 

Golfers occasionally shank it. Just as Ian Poulter, Webb Simpson, etc.

I wouldn't over-think it, or look to change much if it's still relatively rare.

Either way, you're getting the sweet spot outside the ball.

[RH31]

1 hour ago, drmevo said:

This technique has been working great for me most of the time, but every once in awhile I will cold shank one. The other day, it was two in a row - I was circling the green. My third attempt was fine and almost went in so I don't feel like I was doing anything drastically different, and I don't think I was just standing too close. Anyone else have this issue? I'm not sure I could get video of it since it's fairly rare. 

I'm not sure what you were doing, but I know what happens when I have shanked(and chunked) the ball when trying to pitch or chip.

If I get too square with my setup, then take the club back inside the line on my backswing, then directly down the line  through the shot, my chance of flubbing, drubbing or shanking greatly increase.

So I try to setup open (30*-45*) on all these shots, I take the club outside the line on the backswing, and then swing across the line through impact. I try keep clubface rotation minimal back and through the shot. Grip it as lightly as the lie will allow.

[iacas]

4 minutes ago, RH31 said:

So I try to setup open (30*-45*) on all these shots, I take the club outside the line on the backswing, and then swing across the line through impact. I try keep clubface rotation minimal back and through the shot. Grip it as lightly as the lie will allow.

I don't recommend doing much of that. I play plenty of shots relatively square to the target line.

All of what you wrote encourages use of the leading edge: setting up open effectively moves the ball position back, taking the club outside exposes the leading edge, etc.

This topic is about the way I teach pitching, and it's not by doing those things. The opposite is closer to the way I teach it: take the club under the plane, rolling the face open, square setup, weight and ball position forward…

[RH31]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

I don't recommend doing much of that. I play plenty of shots relatively square to the target line.

All of what you wrote encourages use of the leading edge: setting up open effectively moves the ball position back, taking the club outside exposes the leading edge, etc.

This topic is about the way I teach pitching, and it's not by doing those things. The opposite is closer to the way I teach it: take the club under the plane, rolling the face open, square setup, weight and ball position forward…

Actually, setting up open helps keep me from using the leading edge, which has always been a problem for me. The shaft position at address is straight up and down.

The only reason I commented was because I've seen a number of lesser skilled chippers/pitchers struggle with the timing when playing the shot down the line. Cutting across the line, working the hosel away from the shot, takes the shank element out of it.

Didn't mean to interrupt this instructional thread in any way though, so I'll zip it.

[NoobSwingz]

On 4/22/2017 at 6:50 PM, iacas said:

Which video is that?

It was ur 11 or 12 minute video of u in studio doing a few pitches and chips.....maybe it was just the camera angle

[drmevo]

On 4/23/2017 at 9:37 AM, iacas said:

Golfers occasionally shank it. Just as Ian Poulter, Webb Simpson, etc.

I wouldn't over-think it, or look to change much if it's still relatively rare.

Either way, you're getting the sweet spot outside the ball.

Well, relatively rare in that it doesn't show up when I'm practicing around the yard but it might happen every other round or so. In fact, I had another just yesterday on the course. Mishits don't bother me that much at my skill level, but the embarrassment of almost hitting the other people in the group who should be well out of the way is what I'd really like to avoid.    Maybe I'll post a swing thread anyways - I could of course be doing something wrong even on the "good" shots.