Pro Pointers - Short-game scoring secrets

Penulis : Unknown on Wednesday, November 20, 2013 | 1:57 AM

In the scoring zone : Thoughts on better pitching and chipping

The majority of mistakes around the green are made when people try and help the ball up into the air.

What happens is they try and put more loft underneath the ball, believing that’s the way to get it airborne.

The right side of the body drops (or dips) heading towards impact, the club strikes the ground behind the ball (disaster!) and there is no follow-through.

Time for a rethink.

What you have to remember is that everything in chipping and pitching has to be designed to hitting the ball forward – that’s your job.

The loft on the clubface will get it into the air.

So for a regular pitch shot of 60 or 70 yards (as you see above), I would set up with my body slightly open, and with the ball played towards the right foot.

From within, say, 80 yards of the pin, your pitching action should be relatively compact. The right elbow stays pretty close to the side of your body as you make a threequarter type backswing, before working down and in towards the right hip as you approach impact. Remember, also, that the hands should always be leading in the downswing. That encourages you to get the ball first and to get the ball

I play it midway between the middle of the stance and the right foot, so quite far back in relation to a regular iron shot. Because you are aiming to the left, your shoulders are naturally slightly open, and as a result you create a swing that works outside to in across the ball.

Adjusting the ball position basically compensates for the line of your swing, the result being a crisp ball-turf strike and a shot that drifts softly to the right.

At the set-up, my weight favours the left side a touch (which encourages me to hit down on it), but most important of all, I trust the loft and make sure my hands are ahead of the clubface coming into the ball.

And when you get the feeling, you can be quite aggressive, ripping through the shot to really get it spinning.

Use your practice swing to get a sense of the right elbow/arm working across the chest – and the hands leading the clubhead approach impact.