Pitching

At the Dewsweepers Golf School and on the Dewsweepersgolfshow.com website it’s always a topic, “How to improve my short game and scoring”

Last week we talked about the importance of the chip and run and the fundamentals required hit the shot effectively. We discussed the need for a proper set up and to finish with a flat left wrist and bent right wrist.

Well when we go to pitching we are going to build on what we did last week. We alter our set up slightly. Our feet will move slightly wider because we are going to make a bigger pivot motion to provide the extra power needed for this shot. I like to see your feet inside shoulder width.

Ball position now moves closer to your left foot and falls directly underneath the logo on your golf shirt or a ball or so width inside your left or lead foot.

Move the club back with your trunk and allow your wrist to hinge properly. Often time I see golfers trying to hit pitch shots without any wrist hinge. The wrist hinge is critical in order to hit down on the ball properly and make solid contact.

Let the size and speed of your pivot dictate how far you are going to hit the shot. Make sure you make a big enough backswing. Too often golfers make short backswings and try and accelerate the club with their hands in order to give the ball enough power to get to the target.

Make sure you swing the shaft of the club down and left going through the ball.
This will help get you out of the habit of swinging up and trying to scoop the ball in the air.

While swinging the shaft down to the left keep those educated hands we worked on last week. Keep your left wrist flat and right wrist bent.

Applying these principles to what we have done last week will help you pitch the ball more effectively and consistently. You will control your distances better and get more up and downs and shoot lower scores.