Most golfers have difficulty with short shots of ten to thirty yards. When the ball lands on the green it often rolls past the hole and even off the other side of the green. This is caused when a player tries to “scoop” the ball into the air by releasing his hands to early on the down swing. When the ball does land on the green, it has almost no backspin, which is needed for it to land “soft” and “check up”. To create backspin on a pitch shot and better control the ball once it lands on the green requires two key elements: 1) The club head must be traveling downward as it impacts the ball, and 2) On the down swing, the club head must approach the ball from a fairly steep angle.

On a pitch shot the back swing begins with rotation of the shoulders and cocking of the wrists, just like a full shot. Since the distance is short, the back swing is relatively short (depending on the actual distance). After the back swing is completed (shoulders rotated and wrists cocked), the down swing begins with a shift of weight from back foot to forward foot. The rest of the body follows and the wrists remain cocked until just before impact, and release automatically at the right moment. The club head strikes the ball from a steep downward direction, the loft of the club forcing the ball into the air with backspin. When the ball lands on the green, its backspin will slow the ball’s momentum, and it will “check up”. The amount of checking up depends upon the amount of backspin imparted and the balls trajectory. NOTE: When hitting this shot from tall grass, less backspin will be produced due to the grass coming between the club and ball at impact.

With our help, you will become confident with this shot.