There are more strokes lost from the short game than anywhere else on the golf course. Too often do I see frustration and stress caused by pitching, chipping and putting. (more on putting in the next course)
Short Game Strategy
The #1 goal when chipping or pitching is to get the golf ball onto the green.
That’s the key! Unfortunately, this is easier said than done sometimes when there are inconsistencies in ball contact.
Pitching
A pitch shot is any golf shot where you within 50-30 yards of the green and you have to make a small lower body rotation to make contact.
To hit the pitch shot:
- Bring your feet closer together in the setup
- Push the hands ahead of the golf ball (see pictures below)
- Keep the weight on your front side
- Use the shoulders to take the club back (don’t sway towards the back)
- Keep the arms extended and rotate the hips down at the golf ball
- Your chest should be facing the target making sure you accelerated through the golf ball.
Chipping
The chip shot is used whenever you are just off the green and need to pop the golf ball into the air to get on the putting surface.
The difference between a chip and pitch shots is that the motion of the chip is controlled only by the shoulders, not the lower body.
To hit the chip shot:
- Bring the feet closer together in the setup
- Push the hands ahead of the golf ball
- Keep the weight on the front side
- Use the shoulders to take the club back
- Keep the arms extended and use the shoulders to keep the angle of your club face the same as when you started the swing.
- The hands should come down at the golf ball first, not the clubhead! This eliminates any wrist action that causes fat or thin shots
- After contact, the arms will still be extended away from the body
Read more about the chip shot in my article here