No Fear Pitching
The young lady in the above photo is barely 6 years old! She KNOWS no fear of playing the game of golf, because its exactly that to her, a GAME!
What happens to the rest of us! The above shot puts extreme fear into our hearts. We see the wide bunker and a narrow green. This little girl sees her pink ball (look closely in the photo) and knows it simply flies over the bunk to get to the green.
Focus on the reward, not the punishment. Put away your scuffed balls when navigating a pitch shot over the pond. Focus on what you want and NOT what you are trying avoid.
Lets begin the with fundamentals. Below is your blueprint for success:
Pitching
Fundamentals/Set-Up
• Grip down on the handle for better feel and control (and vary distance control).
• Ball position centered
• Shoulders parallel to target line
• Stance may be open
The Pitching Motion
Two important ingredients to successful and consistent pitch shots:
1. Maintain width of swing (maintain radius of swing)
2. Keep arms, hands, and club in front of torso (as it turns) throughout the swing
Distance control optionsGrip down on handle
On shortening the length of swing . . .
Imagine if you were standing in front of a large clock where 12 o’clock is at your head and 6
o’clock at your feet, 9 o’clock to rear hip and 3 o’clock to target-side hip. Vary swing length (position of hands in the swing) to control distance:
The young lady in the above photo is barely 6 years old! She KNOWS no fear of playing the game of golf, because its exactly that to her, a GAME!
What happens to the rest of us! The above shot puts extreme fear into our hearts. We see the wide bunker and a narrow green. This little girl sees her pink ball (look closely in the photo) and knows it simply flies over the bunk to get to the green.
Focus on the reward, not the punishment. Put away your scuffed balls when navigating a pitch shot over the pond. Focus on what you want and NOT what you are trying avoid.
Lets begin the with fundamentals. Below is your blueprint for success:
Pitching
Fundamentals/Set-Up
• Grip down on the handle for better feel and control (and vary distance control).
• Ball position centered
• Shoulders parallel to target line
• Stance may be open
The Pitching Motion
- Imagine an inverted triangle formed by your shoulders, arms and hands
- The “triangle” swings away in one piece at start of the backswing
- As the hands swing back and reach waist-high, they should begin to hinge
- The downswing consists of swinging the arms and the club swing out toward the target.
- Swing ends with weight on target-side foot & shaft vertical, pointing clubhead to the sky.
Two important ingredients to successful and consistent pitch shots:
1. Maintain width of swing (maintain radius of swing)
2. Keep arms, hands, and club in front of torso (as it turns) throughout the swing
Distance control optionsGrip down on handle
- Narrow stance
- Shorten length of swing
- Slow the speed of swing, but maintain consistent rhythm and timing
On shortening the length of swing . . .
Imagine if you were standing in front of a large clock where 12 o’clock is at your head and 6
o’clock at your feet, 9 o’clock to rear hip and 3 o’clock to target-side hip. Vary swing length (position of hands in the swing) to control distance:
- 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock
- 9 o’clock to 3 o’clock
- 8 o’clock to 4 o’clock
Videos on the way . . .
I want to hear from you. What are your best pitching tips or questions?
