Golf Pitch & Chip Lessons

Pitching and chipping are two of the most important aspects of your golf game. Go to any golf course and you'll see considerably more players on the range than the chipping green and yet your wedge play is so much more significant to your score. About 70 percent of the shots played in a round of golf take place within 100 yards. Improving your shots around the greens can take pressure off your long game, make the game more enjoyable and lower your scores and handicap.

The Basic Chip

If you are on or around the fringe and have plenty of green to work with, you should be performing a basic chip shot. Using a wedge or short iron, set up with a slightly open stance and position the ball back of center. Your weight should be set toward your front foot and your hands should be a little ahead of the ball. Having set up correctly, turn away from the ball with your hands, shoulders and chest in unison and turn back through. There is no need for any wrist action in the basic chip as you are only trying to carry the ball a short distance.

The Basic Pitch

When you are looking to land the ball further with less roll, you are hitting a pitch shot. Because you want a higher flight to help the ball stop quicker, use one of your wedges for pitching. On pitch shots you should set up with a slightly open stance and the ball position back from center. As with the chip shot, you should take the club away with the hands, arms and shoulders working together. Unlike the chip shot, however, you need to hinge your wrists on the back swing. With the correct turn and light grip pressure, the wrists should hinge naturally. Once you have completed your backswing, turn through into a full-finish position.

Bump and Run

Rather than land the ball on the green, you can sometimes play a bump and run, a low-flying shot that lands short of the green and releases toward the hole. The bump and run is simple to execute but requires imagination. You must be able to anticipate the flight of the ball and the way the first bounce will affect the ball. Having done that, simply play the ball a little further back in the stance and make a normal short pitch swing. You can perform the bump and run with any club from a wedge down to a 6-iron or 7-iron depending on how low you want to keep the ball.

Lob Shots

The lob shot is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Use your most lofted wedge for lob shots, either a sand wedge or ideally a lob wedge with at least 60 degrees of loft. In order to hit the ball higher and land it softer, you must open your stance more and add loft to the clubface by laying it open. From this set up, make a long pitch swing and trust that the added loft will do its job.

Pitching and Chipping Tips

When pitching, vary the distance you hit the ball with the length of your backswing not the power on the downswing. With a consistent rhythm you will pitch more consistently. By ensuring that you make at least a three quarter follow through on all your pitches, you will have more stability in your pitching and better results. Always have the ball either in the middle or back in the stance. Hold your follow through to allow your body to gain feedback and learn from each shot