By Matt Keel
Pitch shots seem to be the most dreaded and difficult shots for many golfers. Golfers tend to fear leaving the pitch short of the green or overcompensate and hit the ball over the green. The good news is that the pitch shot is not as difficult as we make it out to be. In this article we’ll look at several reasons why golfers have difficulty in their distance control and how to gain more consistency.
Typically I see several reasons why golfers have trouble controlling the distance of their pitch shots. The first two reasons pertain to a mismatch between the length of the back swing and the length of the through swing. Some golfers will take too long of a backswing causing their through swing to be much shorter. The result of this swing is the club head will be decelerating at impact causing a short shot. I also see golfers with a short backswing and nearly a full finish. Causing too much club head speed resulting in the shot being too long. The size of the backswing should match the size of your through swing. A third reason is that golfers will swing harder for farther distances and softer for shorter distances. The result from this swing will be inconsistency in your distance control. You will be more consistent if you make the same effort in your swing, but vary the size of your swing to control your distance.
Now, let’s discuss how to gain more consistency in your distance. Starting with you sand wedge, first make sure your back swing and through swings are equal lengths. Next, vary the size your swing size to create different length shots. Since your distance is controlled by the size of your swing, learn three different swing sizes to cover three distances. Figure 1 and figure 2 show the back swing and through swing for a one quarter swing. Figure 3 and figure 4 show a half swing. Figures 5 and 6 show a three quarter swing.
Your job is to practice each size swing to determine what distance each swing creates for you. The distance can vary from golfer to golfer, but the key is to learn how far YOU hit the ball with each swing. Once you learn each distance, then you can apply it on the golf course. For instance if your half swing hits the ball 30 yards, you’ll know exactly what swing to create when you have that distance on the golf course. Once you have confidence with your sand wedge, try the same system with other wedges to add even more shots to your bag.
The pitch shot is a simple shot and can be improved with some practice. By keeping you swing equal length back and through and varying the overall size of your swing, you will start to see better pitch shots in a short period of time. Once you see the improvement, your confidence on the course will increase as well.
This summer, Wildfire Golf Academy is conducting a variety of instructional programs to encourage people of all ages take up the game of golf. Throughout the summer Wildfire Golf Academy will be running junior camps and clinics, adult evening clinics, ladies only clinics, and parent/child private lesson packages. Each program is designed to increase the skill level of all golfers.
