Erik Hitting a Few Chips and Pitches

[iacas]

4 hours ago, b101 said:

1. How would you encourage someone to practice this? I've seen some videos by James Ridyard that look similar in approach that advocate taking one club and trying to hit the ball to different distances at different heights to 'skill up'. 
2. To what extent, given your research, does the average amateur need to vary pitch trajectories around the green? I feel that I do given the impact of wind and slopes on my course, but would you normally recommend playing around with it as much? I ask as I know the LSW mantra of sticking to your stock pattern.
3. On the back of that one, are there any of these shots that you consider as particularly high-risk?

No need to apologize. That's what this site's for, to ask questions and to explore the answers.

1. A few different ways. Hit shots to the same target but vary the loft. Hit the same loft to various targets, and alter them. Those are the two simplest, most straightforward ways. Really, so much of my own wedge game around the greens was from just goofing around as a kid. We'd see if we could spin the ball right when it hit on a green, perhaps even up a slope. We'd see how low we could hit a wedge, or spin one the most, or hit a flop shot off a steep downslope, or fly something over another cup on the green but stop it short of another cup (when the pro wasn't looking, and then we'd repair the ball marks).
2. Depends on the handicap level. If you're a 20, for example, varying the loft and trajectory may just be too much to think about when your goal should just be to get the ball on the green. As you dip into the low teens you'll experiment more because you'll have more skill to vary these types of shots and have a decent feel for how they'll roll out (or not roll out), how big of a swing is required, etc.
3. Any chip (leading edge) off a really tight and/or soft lie, particularly bigger swings, because the leading edge greatly reduces your margin of error. Any flop shot with a bigger swing because, again, the swing is big and any error can send the ball 60 yards instead of 16.

[b101]

6 minutes ago, iacas said:

No need to apologize. That's what this site's for, to ask questions and to explore the answers.

1. A few different ways. Hit shots to the same target but vary the loft. Hit the same loft to various targets, and alter them. Those are the two simplest, most straightforward ways. Really, so much of my own wedge game around the greens was from just goofing around as a kid. We'd see if we could spin the ball right when it hit on a green, perhaps even up a slope. We'd see how low we could hit a wedge, or spin one the most, or hit a flop shot off a steep downslope, or fly something over another cup on the green but stop it short of another cup (when the pro wasn't looking, and then we'd repair the ball marks).
2. Depends on the handicap level. If you're a 20, for example, varying the loft and trajectory may just be too much to think about when your goal should just be to get the ball on the green. As you dip into the low teens you'll experiment more because you'll have more skill to vary these types of shots and have a decent feel for how they'll roll out (or not roll out), how big of a swing is required, etc.
3. Any chip (leading edge) off a really tight and/or soft lie, particularly bigger swings, because the leading edge greatly reduces your margin of error. Any flop shot with a bigger swing because, again, the swing is big and any error can send the ball 60 yards instead of 16.

Thanks - love this and the responses are what I'd want to hear. Cue lots of experimentation! Will keep you posted...

[MuniGrit]

Very informative! I used to struggle with pitches and chips until I found techniques as you describe. There were not a lot of good videos on youtube and I wish I would have seen Erik's videos when I was looking. Totally off topic but who uses the long putter in the background!

[iacas]

50 minutes ago, MuniGrit said:

Totally off topic but who uses the long putter in the background!

It's one of a few putters we have just sitting around.