Watching the Masters this weekend was fun to see the best players chip and pitch at the highest level on the toughest greens. Most people talk about how far the tour guys hit it but forget to discuss how fantastic they are around the greens. They use proper technique, read the lie of the ball and then use bounce or dig sole appropriately. The basic fundamentals for chipping and pitching are the following
Chipping
- Ball back of center
- 80% + of weight on lead or left foot
- Firm grip pressure
- sternum closer to target than belly button
- Limit trail, right arm hinging during back swing
- Limit club rotation
Pitching
- Ball towards center of stance depending on desired trajectory of shot being played. Higher the shot the more forward
- More weight on lead leg
- Normal grip pressure
- Normal type set up
- Make a small normal swing
These are the basics and there are basically three types of shots played either chipping or pitching
- Pitch-Chip and run uses less loft, hands well ahead at impact and the ball will roll much farther on the ground that it will fly.
- Standard chip is same technique as above with a more lofted club. This shot is still low ish but uses more spiin. A 52-56 degree wedge is normally used
- Lofted shot uses a lofted club with the ball traveling much further in the air than on the ground.
Then there is impact types. You must read the lie and see how closely the ball is to the ground. After this you must determine if you are going to bounce the club into the ball or use the leading edge to strike the ball. Most players alwasy try to hit the ball first and are afraind to hit the ground first.
If you are looking to hit a softer shot it is actually easier to hit the ball fat on purpose. If y
ou read the lie correctly and set your club bounce properly you can hit from right behind the ball to several inches behind the ball and hit a high, soft shot with spin. Each wedge has a different amount of bouce and loft. The more you open the club face the more bounce you add.
THE KEY to this shot is making practice swing opening the club face and closing it until the bounce is set properly so that when the club strikes the ground is slides. You want to take small swings and see what the club does when you strike down into the ground in the same condition that your ball is in. If the club bounces off the ground close the face. If the club digs or makes a divot open the face. Once you find the right amount of bounce, club aim you are ready to hit behind the ball and produce a shoft shot with spin just like the guys on tv.
Next time you go to practice try to remember how important good chipping and pitching is to your score and spend time on your short game. The best player in the world hit about 12 greens per round and are chipping or pitching an average of 6 time per round. To shoot par or better they have to be great at chipping and pitching. You can become great at chipping and pitching with proper technique and some practice. Watch the best and use them as your model.
Jim Hartnett, PGA
www.myhome4golf.com
