Master the 50 yard pitch shot

Master the 50 yard pitch shot

A simpler approach to the 50 yard pitch shot

Neither a chip or a full swing, “in-between” shots from around 30-70 yards, are ones that club golfers, even low handicappers, often find tricky. In fact, among tour pros, they’ll often lay-up to a full swing yardage, often around 100 yards, rather than put themselves in this range. That can be smart course management (playing to your strengths), but you don’t want to fear these shots either.

Execution has been misunderstood

The “in-between" wedge shot is feared because for years golfers have misunderstood how to execute it properly. Here are the main culprits…

    • Hands forward
    • Weight forward
    • Ball position centre to back in stance
    • Hinge your wrists going back
    • Hands/Grip leading through impact
    • Hit down on the ball
    • Ball then turf contact is key

Sound familiar? Unless you’re completely new to the game, then I’m sure you’ll have heard these ideas before.

They’re not altogether wrong, however, these ideas and concepts have been so over-emphasised that I see bad pitchers overdoing one or more (and often all) of these things frequently. And of course, what do people who are struggling with their pitching do? Try to do one, or even all 7 of the above, but even more so! And before long their confidence in playing these shots has gone.

The good news

The good news is that the pitch shot is a lot easier than you may think.

Photo 1: A neutral set-up

Photo 2: A simple take-away

Photo 3: Top of backswing

Photo 1: The set-up: I want this to feel natural and neutral. So, my weight is close to 50/50 left to right (just a little more left than right), the club shaft is more or less vertical (hands are a touch ahead of the club head), and the ball position is a little forward of centre.

Photos 2 and 3: A very simple backswing. I’m not trying to either hinge my wrists or keep them stiff. Instead, I’m simply swinging the club back as far as I sense is required for the length of shot I’m playing.

Photo 4: Maintaining width in downswing

Photo 5: Releasing the club head through impact

Photo 6: A balanced finish

Photo 4: Swinging back through, the club head is retracing the arc it swung back on. Again, I’m not trying to hold wrists, or push my hands forward, or hit down on the ball, or make ball-turf contact etc. Instead, I'm simply brushing the grass under the ball with the sole of my wedge, using the wedge's bounce angle to prevent any digging.

Photo 5: Past impact, I’m letting the weight of the club head swing through, not fighting it.

Photo 6: My body turns with the swinging motion of the club into a balanced follow-through position.

Think "u" not "v"

One of the big keys to notice is the overall shape of the arc (the yellow lines)- fairly constant and wide. That’s a key difference to the steep swings I often see. I would describe the desired swing shape through the ball as more like a U than a V.

If you struggle with “in-between” pitch shots and you’ve been trying to do the clichés listed above, then please give this a try. I think you’ll find pitching becomes a lot easier and, with a little bit of practice, you’ll soon be relishing these shots rather than fearing them.  For more help with your game, contact me directly.

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