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April 2011 Keys For Better Chipping With Bernie Najar, PGA Professional
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KEYS FOR BETTER PITCHING
With Bernie Najar, PGA Professional
To pitch the ball correctly, it's important to remember the pitch shot is designed to carry more than it rolls. With that in mind, you need to play the majority of pitch shots with your high lofted wedges. The pitching swing requires the following characteristics to produce soft landing shots around the green:
- A "U" shaped swing that is generally halfway back and halfway through with an early set of the wrists and the arms staying close to the upper body throughout the swing.
- When making the pitching swing, the upper body pivots continuously during the swing.
- The club strikes the ball with a descending blow that lofts the ball onto to the green.
To help achieve these swing characteristics, practice the "U" Drill as described below:
- The "U" Drill is all about getting the wrists hinging early and keeping the arms close to the body. To accomplish this, place a tee under each armpit and practice swinging the club back and through with wrists setting early in backswing and your upper body moving continuously back and through as you swing.
- Practice hitting 10 shots with the tees in, and 10 with them out. As you do this, try to achieve the same connection with arms and body on each swing.
After hitting at least 30 shots working on the "U" Drill, practice The Touch Drill For Pitching shown below:
The Touch Drill For Pitching
- Walk up to the green and note a landing zone for your pitch shots. Walk away from the landing zone and mark the following distances: (10 YDS, 15 YDS, 20 YDS)
- From these distances practice the pitch shot 6-10 times at each distance.
- Test your touch by going to each distance again and practicing until you hit three shots in a row that land within 2 club lengths of the landing zone from each distance.
If you practice the "U" drill and the Touch Drill For Pitching several times a week, you will be on your way to shooting lower scores.
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