I am horrible at pitching/chipping. Need strategy

[patchouli]

I can't play within 100 yards. I will be 10-20 yards out and wind up with a 20 foot plus putt.

 

It is very frustrating. If I could just get it closer I could lower my scores immensely.

 

I don't know where to place the ball in my stance, what to do with my wrists, what to do with my backswing/follow through/ anything.

 

I know how to shape shots everywhere else on the course, but I am at a loss in this regard.

 

I need a strategy for improvement.

[evanaamodt]

A good strategy is to think of your chips/pitches as a clock. 10 yards swing to 1 o'clock, 20 yards swing to 2 o'clock, and so on. Those shots all come down to feel and takes lots of practice/time. Hope this helps.

 

Evan

[GolfMN]

I used to be really inconsistent around the greens. I did a bit of my own homework and I took a few simple ideas and applied them to my game, the results have been great.

 

-The club has loft, let it get the ball in the air. You will have a hard time if you try to scoop the ball up all the time

-On chips, keep it low through impact

-Your right hand is your friend. I just walk around hitting chips with my right hand, get that in your head and your home free.

-Everybody talks about it for full swings, but on pitch shots keep your spine angle constant, and really think about that, it helps cut down on thin and bladed shots.

 

If I were you I would develop a good solid bump and run to go with. Use a mid-low iron that you are comfortable with and roll the ball up to the hole. You wont be able to use it all the time, but it will save you strokes any time you have green to work with. Keep the shaft pointed at your belly button, swing a bit like a pendulum and make sure you catch it clean. Its a different feeling but you'll like it.

 

If you dont have a well developed short game, a lob wedge will only make it worse.

 

I prefer to hit pitch shots with my body and not my arms, I like to swing through it with my chest and shoulders, the rest follows.

 

With a bigger pitch shot I try to remember to extend toward the target to cut down on my tendency to pull wedges, I think it helps me be more consistent.

 

Get to know one club. I chip and pitch with all the wedges I own and all my irons up to 6, but I know my 8 iron and low wedge the best. If I get into a bit of a weird lie or my game goes down the crapper, I can always fall back on those two clubs. I know exactly what to expect out of anywhere and I'm totally confident standing over them.

 

Ok now that I've thrown out all the things that helped me improve my short game, I'm gonna add the important stuff.

 

Be an individual. Off the tee there are a lot of hard and fast rules, but the closer you get to the green the more ways there are to do things. Once you get inside your shortest full shot its up to you to get the ball in the hole, and some things work well for some people and not for others. You have to develop a game that you are comfortable with. Yes, basic mechanics apply, but in the end, the club pro cant get the ball inside 4 feet.

 

Put some time into it. I find that its easier to adjust to a long game change than a short game on. Getting used to new ideas around the greens can take time. Be prepared to put your time in to develop something that you can be confident in out on the course.

 

Now that all that made no sense I'm going to bed.

[ericld]

The hands must arrive at the ball way before the club head. I don't think you could exaggerate it enough. Go get a bucket of balls and practice that one movement.

 

Most people flip their wedges.

[larrybud]

I can't play within 100 yards. I will be 10-20 yards out and wind up with a 20 foot plus putt.

 

It is very frustrating. If I could just get it closer I could lower my scores immensely.

 

I don't know where to place the ball in my stance, what to do with my wrists, what to do with my backswing/follow through/ anything.

 

I know how to shape shots everywhere else on the course, but I am at a loss in this regard.

 

I need a strategy for improvement.

 

Pick up The Dave Pelz short game bible. He not only tells you where to place the ball, but why. He not only tells you where to land the ball on the green, but why.

 

The only way to be good at the short game is to 1) Make solid, consistent contact every time. 2) Consistent contact will lead to consistent distances for a certain length shot (be it a pitch or a chip). 3) With consistent distances you will learn how hard to hit a paritcular shot.

 

Same goes with putting. If your stroke is so bad that you hit the ball all over the face of hte putter, there's no way you'll ever develop a feel of how hard to hit a putt, because the same length of stroke will give you a wide variety of distances.

[SkiHound]

I agree with Tentementrock's suggestion of going out on a pitch-n-putt. I like to go out and through balls down from every possible lie. But you also need solid technique before practice. A question I would have is are you hitting your pitch shots solid but not the right distance? If so, spending some time on a pitch-n-putt can really help. If your not hitting it solid then you need to work on mechanics. Lots of folks really like Dave Pelz approach to the short game. It's pretty technical but works for many. I've kind of adapted a combination of my full swing and the techniques presented by Stan Utley. The person I've been taking lessons with presents the idea that every swing relies on the same fundamentals. E.g., a putt is just a mini drive and a drive is just a big putt. We've really worked on ball position from different lies and acceleration through the shot. During a typical lesson he'll through balls down that give me uphill lies, downhill lies, sidehill lies, and combinations. Deceleration is an absolute killer. A lot of us have a tendancy to make too long a backswing and then decelerate because we think we're going to hit the ball too hard. Which we would if we accelerated. So we've worked on really shortening the backswing but being aggressive and accelerating through the ball. His basic approach is pretty consistent with what Utley teachs. From Utley I've really learned the importance of staying connected and pivoting around the left leg. I rarely mishit pitch shots anymore. I'm sometimes too long and sometimes too short, but I generally make a solid swing.

[KF_Tower]

Practice!!!

Play from the women's tees and then your short game is for scoring instead of scrambling. The pressure is off.

[SadTrombone]

Check out Pelz' short game bible for the distance wedge technique and then check out Utley's Art of hte Short Game for chipping/pitching/bunker shots.

 

Take the best of both books. Pelz has lots of information (how can you argue with a rocket scientist?) and Utley seems to have working knowledge of the shots.

 

-mini

[patchouli]

Thanks all.

 

I have peltz's putting bible. I will pick up his short game bible and Utley's book too.

 

I went to a par 3 course today (Interbay-in Seattle, par 28). It was windy, and I shot a 33, which was really good for me. I missed a few putts too.

 

I make okay contact, but I have real trouble aiming it, and having it go the correct distance. Typically, it is well right, and well past the hole. When I should be having 3 footers, I am left with 12-15 foot putts.

 

Today, I had a bit better luck by "restricting" my follow through in a sense that I kept it in line with the target rather than pulling the club to the left as I follow through.

[raidernut1234]

1. Ball in the back of your stance.

2. Tape a 2 foot shaft extension to your pW or 9 iron. this way when you set the club down, the shaft extension will be in front of your left hip.

3. swing.

CHIP shots. the club will finish low.

Pitch shots, swing your body thru and rotate letting the club finish to the sky (watch phill mickelsons pitch swing. he DOES NOT FLIP HIS WRISTS).

this simple drill has made me a PHENOMONAL short game player.

by the way. start without BREAKING your wrists on the back swing. once you get this motion down. to hit the ball higher and have it land softer, simply hing your wrists on the backswing and returnt them to square at impact.

DO NOT FLIP YOUR WRIST. THE CLUB MUST BE BEHIND THE HANDS AT IMPACT.

good luck, let us know what works for you.

russ

[glcoach]

Flippity Flop:

 

You probably flip your wedges, work on letting your pivot hit those shots while keeping your left wrist FLAT and your right wrist bent. It takes a lot of work to become an ex-flipper, but the rewards are worth it.

[mikpga]

Have you considered taking a series of short game lessons?

[The Boom Bapp]

I can't play within 100 yards. I will be 10-20 yards out and wind up with a 20 foot plus putt.

 

It is very frustrating. If I could just get it closer I could lower my scores immensely.

 

I don't know where to place the ball in my stance, what to do with my wrists, what to do with my backswing/follow through/ anything.

 

I know how to shape shots everywhere else on the course, but I am at a loss in this regard.

 

I need a strategy for improvement.

 

How many wedges do you have in play?

 

Do you feel you get timid when you know you have to hit any shot 100yds and in?

 

Do you feel you do not fully commit to the shot causing deceleration on the down swing?

 

Have you read or heard of the comment to "Accelerate" the head on the down swing?

 

I only ask these question simply because I went through the same issue a few years ago until I read a GD article explaining the importance of acceleration in your wedges

[jjvasquez650]

GUYS!!! u got it all wrong!!!

 

 

hey just work on grip it and rip it...then u just have to work on putting :lol:

[patchouli]

Actually, I have thought about lessons. I am an assistant superintendent, and our club pro has offered to help me with this matter, but I have virtually no free time that matches up (until this fall, hopefuly).

 

Answers:

 

Old TaylorMade burner PW (bubble shaft). 5 years ago, I practiced a lot more than I do now, and used to be able to hit all sorts of shots with it just by altering the face angle. I was good at flop shots by opening up stance and club, etc. Now I feel "lost."

 

New Cleveland 51* wedge. I bought it from a friend after one really good shot that checked up next to the pin. I wanted it for my 100 and in club. HAven't been able to hit it since I paid for the club.

 

Nameless 56* sand wedge. Cannot use it for anything but sand shots, and exactly 75 yards full powerful descending blow swings. If I throttle off of it or attempt a pitch shot, I miss hit it. From 75 yards, its okay though.

 

Do I get timid from 100? Apprehensive and nervous, yes. Timid, not so much. I never really chunk it or leave it short. I just can't get it to aim correctly (20 degrees off target line, or so), and it usually far too long (goes rolling past the hole and does not bite or check up).

 

I don't think I decel. I try to have a good "brush" the turf feel for shorter pitches/chips (I don't know if this is the right thing to do). For fuller shots, I try to get crisp, still powerful impacts they just don't do what I envision (shoot right and too far).

[patchouli]

BTW, I am a 20.4 handicap right now.

 

Everyone I golf with thinks this is impossible when they see me swing/play. Then after a while they see why.

 

I can run a string of pars and then throw out sporadic 7's, 8's, and 9's.

 

Very frustrating.

[ezra76]

I've got 2 simple rules.

 

Chipping - Hinge and hold

 

Pitching - connect and swing with my belt buckle.

 

I play off 9 and spray shots all over the fricken place, lol. My regular playing parnters respect my short game. Probably because I've left them holding their..... putters in their hands more than once. lol. Practice is key for me. Once a month I'll spend a solid hour hitting pitch shots in the feild at a range I go to. Seems to give me a "tune up" that lasts a dozen or so rounds.

[mikpga]

You need to be creative with your time management. If you can find time to play, you can definitely find time to take a lesson or two.

[mfm22]

All the above is good info . all the tech/mech stuff is out there easy to find. the hard part is using it!

you need to find a wedge you're comfortable with[54-56]. take 5-6 balls in your pocket one wedge and find a field in your area like large school field get away from people and practice with a purpose. pick a target 25 yds away [take target - cone with you ] target = anything work on tech and mechanics first as you loosen up . Is club on plane ,am I spinning out or coming from inside, don't take full swings 1/2 -3/4 more than enough . As said before you must have flat left wrist [if you're right handed], you must have hands ahead of ball at impact and the club must be square at impact .

Now you can see what it takes to deliver club head with those requirements . everyone is going to have different

feel for these things and that is what it takes - feel

I go to field after work 3-4 times a week ,try to find low grass to hit off and do the same ...it helps a lot

[mfm22]

shots under 60-70yds seem to be dead on .Set club face to target then square body up .

 

Never see this discussed but very important is eye dominance. If you're right eye dominant [most right handed people] then aiming is a bit harder .

I 'm left eye dominant and right handed , hurts me in shooting need to go lefty ,but in golf is an advantage as I line up targets with eye closest to them .

[patchouli]

Played today (while working with irrigation consultant on a project).

 

Shot 5 strokes better than I have been in a long time.

 

I drove the ball horribly and was stymied by trees a bunch of times, but....

I actually had a lot of tap-in putts today.

 

I've never heard "that's good" uttered towards me.

 

I know it's not fixed, but just these tips helped a bunch. I tried to keep my hands ahead of the face. I tried not to flip flop my wrists (I think I had been doing this a lot, it felt different keeping my wrists more rigid). I anctually got it to aim and roll where I wanted and had it die next to the hole like I wanted a few times.