Left Hand Golf Tip: Try to Keep Club Face Open to Help Pitch Shots to Check (Video)
Left Hand Golf Tip: Try to Keep Club Face Open to Help Pitch Shots to Check (Video)

One of the best shots that the professionals play when you’re watching them on TV or you’re out there at a tournament is the pitch shot which flies relatively low to the ground through the air, stops small just takes a bounce on the green and then checks up and stops near the hole. It’s a great little shot to watch but it’s also a relatively easy shot which you can kind of take on to the course and play yourself. A lot of it is a combination between the set up and then the actual hand movement and the wrist movement through the ball. One quick way you can actually do it is to kind of get your way forward and your hands ahead but then actually as you’re going through impact is to hold the clubface a little bit open. Now what this will do this will get the combination between a downward strike and a little bit of loft to actually create some back spin and get the ball checking up.

Now with the normal pitching set up as long as it’s a relatively short pitch kind of 50 – 50 to 70 yards or so you want your feet and your hips to be set slightly open and your shoulders to be square. This will preset the hips in an impact position because you don’t quite have the time to turn them through in a short pitch and the shoulders being square should keep the swing path relatively consistent. So, you got your feet and your hips slightly open your shoulders nice and square and then the weight ahead 60-70% on the front foot and then the hands just ahead. Now normally on a full shot as you swing through, you’re back and through the clubface rotates into this kind of position here with the toe pointing up to the sky half way after impact. With this shot what you want to be doing is effectively keeping the club face a little bit more open or holding off the club as is popularly known. So this is going through impact, hold it off the release so rather than pointing up to the sky in this position here the clubface will be pointing just off to the side. So to get yourself settled correctly feet and hips slightly open, shoulders square, weight 60-70% forward, hands ahead and then as you’re coming through the ball you’re only holding the clubface off just to keep it open and increase the chances of getting a little a bit a check. So this is how it looks in real time. So the weight back keeping the clubface open sending it out there relatively low and getting a nice bit of check. So try that next time you’re out and you got a short little pitch shot or give it a go on the practice range of course to start with just so you get used to it but take that out to the course and from the short distance you’ll soon find your consistency and your scores becoming much better and much more consistent. 2014-03-06

One of the best shots that the professionals play when you’re watching them on TV or you’re out there at a tournament is the pitch shot which flies relatively low to the ground through the air, stops small just takes a bounce on the green and then checks up and stops near the hole. It’s a great little shot to watch but it’s also a relatively easy shot which you can kind of take on to the course and play yourself. A lot of it is a combination between the set up and then the actual hand movement and the wrist movement through the ball. One quick way you can actually do it is to kind of get your way forward and your hands ahead but then actually as you’re going through impact is to hold the clubface a little bit open. Now what this will do this will get the combination between a downward strike and a little bit of loft to actually create some back spin and get the ball checking up.

Now with the normal pitching set up as long as it’s a relatively short pitch kind of 50 – 50 to 70 yards or so you want your feet and your hips to be set slightly open and your shoulders to be square. This will preset the hips in an impact position because you don’t quite have the time to turn them through in a short pitch and the shoulders being square should keep the swing path relatively consistent. So, you got your feet and your hips slightly open your shoulders nice and square and then the weight ahead 60-70% on the front foot and then the hands just ahead. Now normally on a full shot as you swing through, you’re back and through the clubface rotates into this kind of position here with the toe pointing up to the sky half way after impact. With this shot what you want to be doing is effectively keeping the club face a little bit more open or holding off the club as is popularly known.

So this is going through impact, hold it off the release so rather than pointing up to the sky in this position here the clubface will be pointing just off to the side. So to get yourself settled correctly feet and hips slightly open, shoulders square, weight 60-70% forward, hands ahead and then as you’re coming through the ball you’re only holding the clubface off just to keep it open and increase the chances of getting a little a bit a check. So this is how it looks in real time. So the weight back keeping the clubface open sending it out there relatively low and getting a nice bit of check. So try that next time you’re out and you got a short little pitch shot or give it a go on the practice range of course to start with just so you get used to it but take that out to the course and from the short distance you’ll soon find your consistency and your scores becoming much better and much more consistent.