Inconsistent contact on my chip and pitch shots

[tmf9]

Im having trouble hitting the ball solid from around the green to about 30 yards out, i tend to catch the ball a little thin, and if i try to correct it, it seems i'm catching it a little heavy, I had someone tell me it looked like i was coming in too shallow, too much like a full swing but not sure if thats the case or not

[saevel25]

Search the forum for pitching, there is a tone of advice, and some videos that can help you

Set up square to your target, flare your right foot out just a little. Then put your weight on your front leg. A little drill to help is to bank your right knee towards the target, and bank towards the inner part of your right foot. Pitch the ball with more body rotation.

But the weight on your front leg, and keeping it there will improve your contact and stop you from thinning the ball.

[WUTiger]

Originally Posted by tmf9

... I had someone tell me it looked like i was coming in too shallow, too much like a full swing but not sure if thats the case or not

Possibly you are overdoing it on the backswing, and then decelerating (trying to slow down the follow-through to prevent the ball from going too far.)

One "law" on golf shots is that you must accelerate through the ball, or you risk chunking the shot. This goes for full shots, putts, and chips around the green.

Also, check out the last couple of months of Golf Digest . A common theme for chips and pitches is to turn the hips through the ball on downswing to get more even power.

Also, check the recent TST threads on chips and pitches. A pitch should have steeper take-away angle than a chip, because a pitch lofts the ball higher into the air.

Recheck : You have trouble with this, and you have a 0.6 HDCP?

[Hacker James]

I am not qualified to give advice, but I can say what works for me.

1. narrow stance (club head length for chips, a bit wider for pitches)

2. grip ahead of ball (shaft lean forward)

3. ball back or even outside right foot on high lofted wedges., more towards middle on pitches.

4. weight on front foot (60% or more)

5. preset wrist cock at take away (hinge and hold)

Swing thoughts  that help more than anything are"hinge and hold".  "turn away" and "back through". Now all my chips are crisp and clean (well, mostly). Most of this (if not all) has more than likely already been addressed in this forum.

[Mr. Desmond]

Weight on lead foot throughout stroke, and very soft arms. Don't try a regular swing. Do not keep any lag. Vertical shaft at address or grip leaning backwards. Keep arms near the body and swing along your belt line. Pivot and straighten lead leg with soft arms. Search Stan Utley Pitching on youtube, or Grant Mayo Pitching on youtube.

[Lihu]

Recheck : You have trouble with this, and you have a 0.6 HDCP?

Actually, I would love to be able to hit 30 yards solidly. With my current skill level, I can only bump and run at 30 yards or less and hope it lands near the hole. I think he is wondering how to hit like a pro does with a chip shot and have it spin at a high rate so it comes to a dead stop where it lands or even backup into the hole.

[tshapiro]

Remember when you are setting up that the left shoulder is the center of the swing. Therefore, a ball near the center of your stance should receive a decending blow. As with all shots, brace your right leg so that it can be used to keep your weight from drifting away from the target. If your weight gets caught away from the target than so does your left shoulder, and so does the low point of your swing, resulting in a fat shot. If you adjust for the left shoulder being away from the target by lifting than you will come up thin. This is basic swing path geometry. With regards to your rear leg position, you should do whatever is necessary to create a swing path that is naturally a tad bit in to out. If your setup is correct, early scooping with your right hand will also reduce your swing radius as you return to the ball position resulting in a thin shot. To prevent this, you should strive to feel a lag through contact.

[tmf9]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

Recheck: You have trouble with this, and you have a 0.6 HDCP?

Lol yeah, it's not like im chunking it, or blading it across the green, Im just hitting these greenside shots to like 15 feet, cathcing it a groove or two too high or low all the time where I should be hitting them inside 5 feet.  I know a lot of it has to do with feel, but its hard to stay consistent if i'm not catching the sweet spot consistently.

[saevel25]

Has your ball positioned change, or alignment? Maybe your standing to far away or closer to the ball than before.

[Hacker James]

although the "soft hands, use the loft for what it is intended" approach to pitching  is excellent advice, it just does not work well for me.  It probably would with a bit of practice, but just feels as though I need too much "finesse" and a little too handsy,wristy for me. Also, there is no reason for me to change as what I am doing now works quite well (for me).  I saw the video from Joe Mayo and Grant Waite and it makes a lot of sense although certainly nothing new about it.  Any swing can be learned I suppose, and with enough practice one can become proficient with it.

[fersman4]

Originally Posted by Hacker James

although the "soft hands, use the loft for what it is intended" approach to pitching  is excellent advice, it just does not work well for me.  It probably would with a bit of practice, but just feels as though I need too much "finesse" and a little too handsy,wristy for me. Also, there is no reason for me to change as what I am doing now works quite well (for me).  I saw the video from Joe Mayo and Grant Waite and it makes a lot of sense although certainly nothing new about it.  Any swing can be learned I suppose, and with enough practice one can become proficient with it.

I'm with ya here. I like idea of using bounce to stop from hitting fat from tight lies (it happens to me once or twice per round). Here is the video posted in the other recent topic by mvmac: http://thesandtrap.com/t/39411/quickie-pitching-video

But after trying to hit 150 balls from 20 yards out on the practice green using this technique, and hitting about 10% of them thin and only about 2% of them to within 6 feet, I'm inclined to think I'm not ready for that method. I was getting to the point that I was intentionally hitting fat and off the toe just so that I didn't hit it thin, and though the ball went in those cases, distance was far from consistent with very similar tempos. So I'm prepared to use my inferior technique for now until I can get some real help, and not just a generic video.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Hacker James

although the "soft hands, use the loft for what it is intended" approach to pitching  is excellent advice, it just does not work well for me.  It probably would with a bit of practice, but just feels as though I need too much "finesse" and a little too handsy,wristy for me. Also, there is no reason for me to change as what I am doing now works quite well (for me).

Originally Posted by fersman4

But after trying to hit 150 balls from 20 yards out on the practice green using this technique, and hitting about 10% of them thin and only about 2% of them to within 6 feet, I'm inclined to think I'm not ready for that method. I was getting to the point that I was intentionally hitting fat and off the toe just so that I didn't hit it thin, and though the ball went in those cases, distance was far from consistent with very similar tempos. So I'm prepared to use my inferior technique for now until I can get some real help, and not just a generic video.

Educated guess: there's still a lot of "hit" to your implementation. There's virtually NO wrist in a properly done "Golf Evolution Pitching Motion" after the take-away.

[saevel25]

Originally Posted by iacas

Educated guess: there's still a lot of "hit" to your implementation. There's virtually NO wrist in a properly done "Golf Evolution Pitching Motion" after the take-away.

Slowly figuring this one out. This move is pretty tricky to get use to if your use to being very handsy with pitch shots. Which i was. Use to really take long backswings and control distance with my hands in the downswing, results were very poor.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by saevel25

Slowly figuring this one out. This move is pretty tricky to get use to if your use to being very handsy with pitch shots. Which i was. Use to really take long backswings and control distance with my hands in the downswing, results were very poor.

The feel/thought of "dropping the club against the ball" with very soft arms against the body helps me take the "hit" out of this pitch as I make a pivot.

On longer pitches, the turn back and through is more pronounced as is the pivot and standing up on the lead leg.

Stan Utley uses a similar basis for the pitch and discusses the running pitch, normal pitch, and high lofted pitch (the paint brush stroke). I find it builds your confidence and consistency to use a similar basis for all pitches.

[Hacker James]

Originally Posted by iacas

Educated guess: there's still a lot of "hit" to your implementation. There's virtually NO wrist in a properly done "Golf Evolution Pitching Motion" after the take-away.

in the video when Joe describes the "paint" brush, it sure looks like a lot of wrist to me.

[TourSpoon]

Bobby Clampett has a good drill called the sand drill...emphasizes accelerating through the ball with a forward swing bottom.

http://www.impactzonegolf.com/the-chip-shot-sand-drill/

[fersman4]

Originally Posted by iacas

Educated guess: there's still a lot of "hit" to your implementation. There's virtually NO wrist in a properly done "Golf Evolution Pitching Motion" after the take-away.

Most likely yes. That's what I figured too, but I just couldn't stop.

[anthony]

Originally Posted by Hacker James

in the video when Joe describes the "paint" brush, it sure looks like a lot of wrist to me.

I think what he's referring to (correct me if I'm wrong) is that you turn your body and let gravity and the clubhead do the work on the downswing. I think it looks wristy because of the angles, but your not actively using the wrists.