Correct wrist bend for close in pitch shot in Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles
Correct wrist bend for close in pitch shot in Golf (Video) - by Pete Styles

I think a lot of people can get confused between the difference between a chip shot and a pitch shot. And really they are just bigger examples of the same shot. A chip shot would be quite a short little bump around the side of the green. And a pitch shot is just a bigger longer more exaggerated version. So it isn’t really decision when you are standing at the side of the green ‘do I chip this or do I pitch this.’ It’s really how your eye sees it and then just use the appropriate club or technique. Genuinely said the pitching shot is going to be a longer swing using a bit more wrist hinge and a chip shot because it’s a shorter distance would be a smaller back swing with much less wrist hinge. So if I go ahead to start with same club I’ve got my gap wedge here, my 52 degrees gap wedge and chip the ball forward. Just a very delicate lift, lifts it maybe three or four yards over the fringe of the green, rolls it up to the flag. And the pitch would be slightly longer using my wrists and hitting the ball a lot harder, goes around about 55 yards that sort of shot. So big differences in how hard and how far we can hit it. When you are quite close to the green it’s not a bad idea to extend the chip into a sort of pitching swing but without too much wrist hinge. So it’s not a case of taking the club back and then flicking the wrist really violently to set the club, would rather the club came back with fairly minimal wrist hinge and then plunge it through with fairly minimal wrist release on the far side. So we take it back to shoulder height and plunge it through to shoulder height. But I’m not really using my wrist to add loft and decrease that flicking swing through the ball. So it’s back with the shoulders through with the shoulders not overly using the hand action to flick the ball up. So chipping is short, pitching is longer with wrists but a nice green side pitch could have very little wrist hinge just to play a little bit more consistency.

2013-03-29

I think a lot of people can get confused between the difference between a chip shot and a pitch shot. And really they are just bigger examples of the same shot. A chip shot would be quite a short little bump around the side of the green. And a pitch shot is just a bigger longer more exaggerated version. So it isn’t really decision when you are standing at the side of the green ‘do I chip this or do I pitch this.’ It’s really how your eye sees it and then just use the appropriate club or technique. Genuinely said the pitching shot is going to be a longer swing using a bit more wrist hinge and a chip shot because it’s a shorter distance would be a smaller back swing with much less wrist hinge. So if I go ahead to start with same club I’ve got my gap wedge here, my 52 degrees gap wedge and chip the ball forward. Just a very delicate lift, lifts it maybe three or four yards over the fringe of the green, rolls it up to the flag. And the pitch would be slightly longer using my wrists and hitting the ball a lot harder, goes around about 55 yards that sort of shot. So big differences in how hard and how far we can hit it. When you are quite close to the green it’s not a bad idea to extend the chip into a sort of pitching swing but without too much wrist hinge. So it’s not a case of taking the club back and then flicking the wrist really violently to set the club, would rather the club came back with fairly minimal wrist hinge and then plunge it through with fairly minimal wrist release on the far side. So we take it back to shoulder height and plunge it through to shoulder height. But I’m not really using my wrist to add loft and decrease that flicking swing through the ball. So it’s back with the shoulders through with the shoulders not overly using the hand action to flick the ball up. So chipping is short, pitching is longer with wrists but a nice green side pitch could have very little wrist hinge just to play a little bit more consistency.