This article will cover all aspects of golf pitching and provide a roadmap for improving this part of your game. We will start with the basics of golf pitching, then move on to some tips, and finally, some practice games and drills.
How do you pitch your golf shots?
Golf pitching is generally considered any shot between 30 and 70 yards. This is one of the more difficult shots many golfers struggle with. Three key steps are required to improve your golf pitching skills. To be a good golf pitcher, you must:
- Make a sharp descending strike and hit the middle of your club face.
- You can refine your starting direction to be laser-accurate.
- To optimize distance control, master your trajectory and distance control.
Technique for golf pitching
Two critical points are missing in the pitching technique of most golfers. First, they try to lift the ball higher than to create a down strike. Their backswing is too long, and they often have to accelerate into impact unless they are happy clearing the green by 50 yards.
To improve your fundamentals, follow the steps below. Even if you are a scratch golfer, this will still be helpful.
Setup for golf pitching
You need to make two adjustments to your complete swing setup. First, you need to lower your grip. This will require you to move closer to the golf club.
This gives you greater control over the club and allows you to swing the ball from shorter distances positively. This is a small but important point.
You can also have your feet closer together (pictured above). No right or wrong answer regarding how close your feet should meet. Here is how I set up pitch shots at 25-30 yards. As I reach 70-80 yards, my feet become almost full width (the image below).
It is essential to understand the reason for this change better than using a measuring tape to measure your position.
The best golf ball pitchers have excellent body rotation through and back. Your hip abductors are activated if your stance is narrower. This makes it easier to rotate your hips, pelvis, and upper body while you swing back and forth.
The best place for your ball is in the middle of your stance. Your front foot should be slightly heavier.
Golf pitching swing
After you’ve mastered your pitching setup, watch the video below.
One-day practice for golf pitching
Begin by getting some balls and swinging at the pitching or driving area. Focus on a crisp, descending strike. Your body should feel like it is rotating backward and through with your arms at your sides.
This practice doesn’t require you to worry about distance or a target. Focus on one great strike and watch how the length swings affect the ball’s trajectory and distance.
Your pitch shots should be arrowed down the flag stick.
Pitching, in reality, can be a mini-full-swing. Your start direction is strongly affected by your backswing. You will have difficulty pulling off pitch shots if your arms are detached from your body.
It’s better than having your pitching swing too flat. Although you may struggle with your strike, it is the best side. Try placing a towel underneath your arms if your arms become disconnected.
This swingball training aid is another excellent tool to improve your pitching and swing plane. Swing ball training aid has the advantage that it focuses on correct arm folding and rotation. You can also hit more shots with it than with a towel.
It is easy to tell the difference when you know how to pitch. It will feel like you can rotate through your shots until your pitch shots are down the flag stick.
Pitch shots – Mastering distance control and trajectory
The final step in distance control is where Elite players often miss their pitch shots slightly to one side or the other. They are, however, exceptional at controlling pitch shot distance.
Here is a snapshot of my stats analysis for tour players. This is an output of a player who participated in the Challenge Tour. You can see that most of the error is only a fraction left or to the right. However, his distance control is superb.
How can you master distance control? These are the basics. Then it’s time to improve your club head velocity, dynamic loft, and angle of attack at impact. Five pitches must be hit in a row, with a near identical strike, trajectory, and distance.
You can fail here if you look at how your body moves through your pitching shots.
Your body will stop rotating, but your arms will slow down. However, the momentum of the club heads means that the club keeps moving forward. This causes wrist flicking and significant changes in all three impact factors (club head velocity, dynamic loft, and angle and attack) mentioned above.
Golf pitching drill
Here’s a fun little game that teaches you how to pitch. This pitching drill can be played on a small area or in nine holes.
It is tough to score, as you’ll see on your first attempt. It is an excellent way to get feedback about your misses and their progress. You will also be forced to improve your pitch shots, as they can significantly impact your final score.
After you have the basics down, you can change your club and ball position. By changing your ball position and club, you can have a wide range of pitches from 30 to 70 / 80 yards.
Summary of golf pitching
I hope you find this post helpful and that it gives you some ideas to implement. Even if your skills are excellent, it is essential to start with the basics. Poor setups are often the reason for poor pitching actions. You can find more tips and tricks in the ultimate hacking guide.