If like most golfers, you want to get more distance with your driver off the tee. So they hit the range and practice their drives and nothing else. The fact is that most shots in a round of golf are from within 100 yards from the pin so they should be practicing their short game more. You can actually lower your handicap by mastering your pitching than you could by increasing your drives by several yards.

Mastering the art of pitching can lower your score. When you can pitch well, you can take 2 strokes instead of 3 by pitching next to the flag. Learning to pitch accurately from the fairway is fundamental to improving your golf game but it requires good distance control which is not always easy to achieve, even for a Golf Swing Guru!

How to Pitch

For a great pitch shot you must position the ball in the center of your stance as you want to get under the ball and get it in the air. Stand with your feet closer together, with an open stance, and place more weight on your left foot. Then aim the club-face at the target and make sure you hit the ball with a perfectly square club-face. The length of your backswing will determine the distance the ball will travel – it may be waist height, shoulder height or a full swing. Hit the ball with a crisp, descending blow to ensure ball then turf contact.

Even though you feet are in an open position, aim the clubfaceat the target, as if your feet were parallel. By opening your stance you are decreasing your backswing; also, you can choke down on the grip which will also decrease your backswing but it will give you more control. Release the club-head openly through impact and then move smoothly into your follow-through.

Select One Club to Use for Pitching

Many golfers mistakenly use too many different clubs for different distances. For shots up to 100 yards you could successfully use a full sand wedge, pitching wedge, or you could even use a 7, 8, or 9 iron by controlling your backswing. But there is no need to complicate matters; a better strategy is to select a distance that you are comfortable with and one club that you can always use to reach that distance.

For instance, let us say that you are an expert at hitting the ball 95 yards with an 9-iron and using a shoulder height backswing. The scheme is that you use this distance as your pitching zone. If you hit a wayward drive on a par-4 you will want to hit the ball out onto the fairway so that your ball stops in your pitching zone. After you have practiced enough you will be able to get the ball close enough to the flag to give yourself a chance of a par. A similar thing can happen on a par 5; instead of going for the green in 2two which is a hard shot, you should hit a smaller club to your pitching zone which still gives you a chance of birdie.

Practice your Pitching Distances

Of course, there will be many times that you will have an approach shot of anywhere between 35 and 95 yards. In these situations you will have to know your pitching distances. Again, it is a good idea to select one club that you can control and regulate the length of your backswing for each distance. You will want to practice this a lot until you can calculate the distances time after time. Pitching, like chipping, is more about control and touch but it is extremely important because you can reduce your score a lot with a good short game. Just remember to practice your putting and The Simple Swing as well!

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