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Quickie Pitching Video - Golf Pitch Shot Technique


iacas
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On 4/23/2017 at 2:17 PM, RH31 said:

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.

Open stances effectively move the ball back in your stance, which exposes the leading edge more and uses the bounce/glide less.

If you aren't changing the orientation of the club, then you're not doing anything to add or increase more bounce/glide.

On 4/23/2017 at 2:17 PM, RH31 said:

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.

The opposite can just as easily be true - swinging outside to in puts the hosel outside the ball, and unless the person pulls it in enough, exposes the hosel to the ball quite a bit.

If the hosel is inside the ball, it'll only shank if it gets outside too far.

On 4/23/2017 at 2:17 PM, RH31 said:

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

This topic is about the specific way of pitching demonstrated in the first post (and some subsequent ones).

On 4/23/2017 at 8:59 PM, NoobSwingz said:

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

The camera was ahead of square, yes.

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
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On 4/23/2017 at 8:54 AM, 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 think I figured this out, as the issue was starting to work it's way into full shots, with a lot of heel strikes and pull hooks. What I believe happened was, in an effort to stay loose in my arms and wrists, I had also completely relaxed my armpit pressure points so the club was swinging out away from me further than usual. Once I got my arms a little more connected, I started hitting better shots all around and I had some really nice up and downs on Friday. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2016-4-9 at 11:32 AM, b101 said:

@iacas - further to your help in the Edel wedges thread, I wondered if you'd mind checking my thoughts on my technique with a wedge shot quickly. I've read through the thread and come back to it about three times over the past year, meaning that my technique has gotten better and better. Whilst I think I use the bounce, I doubt I do anywhere near as much as you guys. I'd love to get this sorted if I'm to get an Edel fitting later in the year, so your help would be brilliant :-).

I definitely don't feel 80/20 weight on front foot, probably need the ball a touch further forward (it's always further back than I think!) and could do more with the float-loady pivot? If I were picking one thing to practise, it would be the float-loady feel at the moment, but if anything else leaps out at you, it'd be hugely appreciated. FYI, as Brian always wants loads of detail on the flight, the ball popped up nicely, high and straight, pitched about 25 yards on and stopped after one small hop with next to no divot (maybe a tiny one about the size of a pound coin - 25mm square) on pretty wet turf - the same was true for the next four shots and all ended within 5 feet of my flag.

Many thanks as ever - the help you guys give is invaluable.

Ben

About a year on and here's my progress. Not there yet, but I think this is looking a lot better - definitely trying to quiet the lower body and I feel I'm getting there with the pivot doing the work. Still needs more practice, but the ball launches much higher and softer than it used to:

 

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Currently focusing on: Key 4 - shorter backswing.

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@b101, feet can be further apart, and hinge the club up more so your hands move a bit less (relative to the distance the clubhead travels). You're going to have a hard time generating the speed you will want with that little wrist hinge relative to the hand travel.

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Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
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2 minutes ago, iacas said:

@b101, feet can be further apart, and hinge the club up more so your hands move a bit less (relative to the distance the clubhead travels). You're going to have a hard time generating the speed you will want with that little wrist hinge relative to the hand travel.

Great feedback, thanks - will re-watch the first video with those points in mind.

Currently focusing on: Key 4 - shorter backswing.

What's in the bag: Callaway X2 Hot Driver, Titleist 915F 3 wood, X2 Hot 3 Hybrid, 3, 5-AW Apex Pro irons, 54*, 58* Cleveland RTX, Odyssey Versa 1 Putter

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  • 1 month later...

So it's Sunday morning & I was sitting here deciding on what to work on today at the range when I landed on, get some short game work in. (I'm only about 10 mins away from the Biltmore in Coral Gables & they have a great pitching/chipping practice area there). So, using the search feature here, I typed in 'chipping bounce' to get thoughts on how to - or whether to - use a wedge with bounce for chipping...especially off of tighter lies. 

I used to be a decent chipper. Then I developed chipping yips. And unfortunately I really didn't know what I was doing that made me good once the yips hit. I have Vokey wedges - a 52/8 & 56/14. Lately I've been using my 52 to chip instead the 56 because the 52 has less bounce - in my mind, bounce was the culprit to my inconsistency. Part of that was the optics of it - you put that 56/14 behind the ball & the leading edge is more off the turf than the 52/8...so my mind said, 'Okay...play it back in the stance to take some of the bounce off.' The result was a very descending blow that would take a divot...and inconsistency. I would just chide myself & say, 'Burn it in...hit 300 of those.'

This thread is an amazing eye-opener! I read the first 5 or so pages, watched the vid a few times. The idea of actually using the bounce as a method of improving the consistency on chips never entered my mind. I always thought it the enemy of consistency - from bunkers or rough, sure, use the bounce. But tight lies? 

Also the idea of using more wrist movement - I landed on, 'that causes inconsistency.' Again, once I got the yips I was trying to figure out what the heck I was doing when I was good to try to get back to it, and I came up with stuff that was just adding fuel to the fire - put the ball back, weight forward, limit wrist movement...it had turned into a damn tomahawk chop onto the back of the ball.

I'm going to go out to the practice area & work on the points in the video at the beginning of the thread & will let you know the results. I'm sure I will have questions!

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Okay, back from practice. Here's what I found out -

First off, this is awesome! It's a perfect example of what I think is right is exactly wrong, and what I think is wrong is actually right. 

I hit a bag of chips first, about 15 feet off the green, around 60 feet total in length. I watched Erik's vid a few times to ingrain, then started. It took maybe 5 or so swings to 'get it,' and here's the results of about 40 chips:

20170625_110144.jpg

Accurate? Not really, but note - none chunked, none bladed over the green. Consistent contact. I wasn't concerned about where the ball went as much as I was trying to just ingrain what I watched. The accuracy will come as I stop thinking about the swing mechanics & start thinking on the shot itself.

Okay, I'm trying to load more pics but it says I hit my max upload amount. So I'll just explain from here. I took a pic of the ground where I hit the chips from, and no divots. Some disrupted turf of course, but no digging - so obviously my angle of attack shallowed out.


I then hit a bag of pitches - from about 30 feet off the green. The only change I did was open the blade a little, but the same movement as with the chips. Success!

This is great stuff! Thanks @iacas !

Edited by zipazoid
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6 hours ago, zipazoid said:

Okay, back from practice. Here's what I found out -

First off, this is awesome! It's a perfect example of what I think is right is exactly wrong, and what I think is wrong is actually right. 

I hit a bag of chips first, about 15 feet off the green, around 60 feet total in length. I watched Erik's vid a few times to ingrain, then started. It took maybe 5 or so swings to 'get it,' and here's the results of about 40 chips:

20170625_110144.jpg

Accurate? Not really, but note - none chunked, none bladed over the green. Consistent contact. I wasn't concerned about where the ball went as much as I was trying to just ingrain what I watched. The accuracy will come as I stop thinking about the swing mechanics & start thinking on the shot itself.

Okay, I'm trying to load more pics but it says I hit my max upload amount. So I'll just explain from here. I took a pic of the ground where I hit the chips from, and no divots. Some disrupted turf of course, but no digging - so obviously my angle of attack shallowed out.


I then hit a bag of pitches - from about 30 feet off the green. The only change I did was open the blade a little, but the same movement as with the chips. Success!

This is great stuff! Thanks @iacas !

I agree, this thread is gold. You don't specifically mention it but I assume you used the 56/14 wedge?

Before reading this thread a while back I generally took bounce for granted. Now I'm considering getting a couple of extra wedges with varying bounce angles to suit the changes conditions of my home course during winter/summer.

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Yes, the 56/14. You're right I forgot to mention that, but that was the whole idea - using that wedge with the bounce to pitch/chip with.

It's just so simple, as the best ideas are, and it showed how discombobulated I had gotten with my chipping, to the point of doing the wrong things thinking they're the right things...then berating myself for dissolving skills when the truth was, I was all out of whack. 

I hit a total of about 150 chips/pitches & not one skull or one chunk. Sure, a couple of poor ones, but that method just took those two misses away. Can't wait to ingrain it so I can go back to how I used to play - see the shot, hit the shot. 

Okay, I got another pic uploaded - this is the ground after hitting about 70 chips - note no divots, just disrupted turf that can be pressed back down with one step of a foot. Also note my wedge at the bottom of the screen (I'm a lefty) - look at the grass marks - almost all are in the sweet spot, not along the sole, which shows the method does get the club under the ball, which was my concern...that the bounce would result in skulled shots. Nope.

20170625_110835.jpg

Edited by zipazoid
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Glad you liked it.

FWIW I consider "chipping" (using the leading edge) on one end of the spectrum, and pitching (using the "glide") on the other end, with 99% of the shots occupying some place between the two extremes.

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Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

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14 hours ago, iacas said:

Glad you liked it.

FWIW I consider "chipping" (using the leading edge) on one end of the spectrum, and pitching (using the "glide") on the other end, with 99% of the shots occupying some place between the two extremes.

At this point I'm just thrilled with consistent contact. 

I used the phrases 'chipping' and 'pitching' only in the context of height of shot I wanted. Both were with the 56, but when I got to 'pitching,' i wanted more height but with the same motion. As I ingrain I'll get more specific I'm sure. Jut glad I'm not scruffling them all over the place.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 21/05/2017 at 4:34 PM, b101 said:

About a year on and here's my progress. Not there yet, but I think this is looking a lot better - definitely trying to quiet the lower body and I feel I'm getting there with the pivot doing the work. Still needs more practice, but the ball launches much higher and softer than it used to:

 

Latest update: I think things are getting better with the wrist hinge, but can still do more to tighten it - I still don't think I use speed in the way. I'm happier with the quieter lower body, but I go way further in the follow-through than Dave does in the original video.

A few stills to compare:

pitch_p2.thumb.png.8c45841aa157976627d91993e42a0779.png

Pretty similar at P2 other than that Dave hasn't moved his lower body at all, whereas I have (something I'm trying to get rid of in my full swing as well).

pitch_impact.thumb.png.aa73c52cf4b4ef5feb1d1c106c5db403.png

I think Dave's weight is shifted a bit more and his right arm looks 'softer' than mine. Happy with neutral shaft lean though!

pitch_finish.thumb.png.03c4dbebbc731d7ec2d3f8b564231573.png

This is the main difference and I'm not sure what it's a function of... Either I just need to stop the swing sooner and trust in the speed rather than length, or there's something else.

Any tips or hints from anyone who can spot more would be greatly appreciated! 

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Currently focusing on: Key 4 - shorter backswing.

What's in the bag: Callaway X2 Hot Driver, Titleist 915F 3 wood, X2 Hot 3 Hybrid, 3, 5-AW Apex Pro irons, 54*, 58* Cleveland RTX, Odyssey Versa 1 Putter

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Weight could be more on your lead foot. Also, try to create speed with the torso/body versus the hands. I like to feel a slight pause at the end of my back swing. Then I just pivot through and just feel gravity having the club slide under the ball. 

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  • 7 months later...
  • 1 month later...
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Great "look" here on the followthrough for a pitch shot.

30222115_934229816737530_4819887019733469045_n.jpg

 

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Mike McLoughlin

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  • 4 months later...
Note: This thread is 1324 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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