Beginner Golf Tip: Which Club Should You Use to Chip? (Video) - by Pete Styles
Beginner Golf Tip: Which Club Should You Use to Chip? (Video) - by Pete Styles

You love to see golfers on the TV when you’re watching them and they are near the side of the green and they’re with the cart and they are talking about all the different clubs that they might be able to play with. And I’m a big fan of that, as a better player I carry four wedges in my back from 10 yards off the green. I might have five or six different options to choose in my armory. But as a beginner playing golf when you’re near the green it’s probably better just to have one simple club choice to make which is going to be your pitching wedge, then focus on making the appropriate technique and the appropriate length of shots. Too Many options going around your mind could actually cause you some inconsistencies and you focus too much on the club and less on the technique.

The technique for pitching needs to be both central in a relatively narrow stance, gripping down, leaning onto your front leg on a nice timed, good temple swing. Evenly back, evenly through, 50 percent back, 50 percent through, a nice accelerating stroke 50-50 gives us a good contact, lifts the ball nicely onto the green. The pitching wedge gives you a nice, the balance between the shot that goes nice and high and lands when it stops and one that will roll a little bit. So it’s not a very high risk shot, not for example like a sand wedge or a lob wedge would be but it’s also going to go higher up in the air and fly over the bunker, maybe a seven an 8-Iron wouldn’t do that.

So practice with your pitching wedge until your pitching becomes really sharp, really crisp. When you’re happy with your fundamental technique, that’s when you can try out all the different clubs to go different heights, different distances. But when you learning the game, keep it simple and pitch with the pitching wedge.

 2013-04-02

You love to see golfers on the TV when you’re watching them and they are near the side of the green and they’re with the cart and they are talking about all the different clubs that they might be able to play with. And I’m a big fan of that, as a better player I carry four wedges in my back from 10 yards off the green. I might have five or six different options to choose in my armory. But as a beginner playing golf when you’re near the green it’s probably better just to have one simple club choice to make which is going to be your pitching wedge, then focus on making the appropriate technique and the appropriate length of shots. Too Many options going around your mind could actually cause you some inconsistencies and you focus too much on the club and less on the technique.

The technique for pitching needs to be both central in a relatively narrow stance, gripping down, leaning onto your front leg on a nice timed, good temple swing. Evenly back, evenly through, 50 percent back, 50 percent through, a nice accelerating stroke 50-50 gives us a good contact, lifts the ball nicely onto the green. The pitching wedge gives you a nice, the balance between the shot that goes nice and high and lands when it stops and one that will roll a little bit. So it’s not a very high risk shot, not for example like a sand wedge or a lob wedge would be but it’s also going to go higher up in the air and fly over the bunker, maybe a seven an 8-Iron wouldn’t do that.

So practice with your pitching wedge until your pitching becomes really sharp, really crisp. When you’re happy with your fundamental technique, that’s when you can try out all the different clubs to go different heights, different distances. But when you learning the game, keep it simple and pitch with the pitching wedge.