The Pitch Shot of the Short Game

The characteristics of a pitch shot over a chip shot differ. A pitch shot flies longer and higher than a chip shot. And once it lands the ball normally rolls about the same or slightly shorter than the distance it flew.

Let's look at the golf grip needed for the pitch shot:

I believe that with the short game you should have a neutral grip. And I believe this because with the short game you don't need a lot of power. Having said that, there are some great short game players, e.g. John Daly and Paul Azinger who have very strong grips. But again, I would advise that you use a neutral grip like this:

And you can check this simply by setting up with your feet together and then looking down on your hands. If you can see two knuckles of your left hand then that's a neutral grip. If you can see 3-4 knuckles that's a strong grip. If you see 1 knuckle or no knuckles then that's a weak grip. I suggest you have a neutral grip and that means you should see two knuckles when you look down on your left hand.

Now for a pitch shot you should have the ball positioned in the center of your stance. Also, here's some other points that you need to be aware of when setting up for a pitch.

Your knees should be slightly flexed and your arms should be relaxed and hanging down from your shoulders. At setup you want your hands to be in front of the ball. Also, your body should be aligned parallel to the target line of your shot. The exception is your feet. Because when you turn your left foot out it will appear as though your feet are open but they aren't. Also, you should be gripping down on the club almost near the bottom of the club.

So it's important that when you setup to pitch shot you...

§         grip the club with a normal, neutral grip and grip the club down the end of the grip

§         position the ball in the middle of your stance

§         have your feet about shoulder width apart

§         angle your left foot out about 25-30 degrees and your right foot out by about 10-15 degrees

§         align the club directly at where you want your ball to start

§         have some flex in your knees

§         position your hands so they are in front of the ball

§         have your arms relatively straight

§         align your shoulders, hips and knees all parallel to the starting line of your shot

§         have about 60% of your weight on your left foot

OK, here is a picture summary of the pitching setup you should have during a pitch shot...

    And then you should follow-through until the clubshaft is vertical with the ground like this..   while making a pitch

shot.                                                                                         

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So that's the stock standard pitch shot.

Once you've practiced that - and know the distances all your wedges fly on average then you should practice either a shorter or longer swing. Now I don't recommend a lot shorter or a lot longer swing. Just a little bit....about a foot longer or shorter either side from the first pitch shot I've shown you.

 Thanks for reading!! May you enjoy continuing your golf improvement!!