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Grip & Stance
Grip and stance in golf pitching are huge! To hit more, you need the right grip and stance. Here’s advice, technique, and drills to improve your game. Let’s do it!
Proper grip
When golfing, your grip is key. Get it wrong and your game could suffer. Here are the basics:
- Position your right hand slightly higher than your left.
- Place your thumbs up against the handle parallel to your shoulders using three knuckles for each hand on the club face.
- You can use stronger or weaker hands depending on the situation. But don’t depart too much from neutral positions with either hand.
- Keep your hands together for stability and equilibrium.
- Also, don’t grip too tightly – go for a relaxed grip. This will allow you to make any changes in position during a swing without altering your posture.
With practice and experimentation, you’ll have better control and improved distance in no time.
Proper stance
For proper pitching, your feet must be close together – about 6 inches apart. Hang your arms naturally in front of you, bend at the waist, and hinge at the hips. Angle your back foot slightly outwards for an open stance. Separate your feet to 6-8 inches. Turn your left toe in by 20-25 degrees. Point your left heel towards or past the target. Put 60% of your weight on the left foot. Bend your knees. Hold the club with even pressure. Roll your shoulders up and down. This will help with flexibility and allow for a full release at contact with the ball – resulting in more distance and control.
- Close feet together – about 6 inches apart.
- Separate feet to 6-8 inches.
- Turn left toe in by 20-25 degrees.
- Point left heel towards or past the target.
- Put 60% of your weight on the left foot.
- Bend knees.
- Hold club with even pressure.
- Roll shoulders up and down.
Backswing
Backswing is the start of the golf swing. It’s key to success or a miss. A proper backswing sets a good foundation. A well-executed one is vital for consistent golf play.
Let’s look into tips, drills and techniques to master it:
Keep your head still
Keeping your head still is key for a good pitching shot. Set up with shoulders parallel to the target line and chin up. This will enable full rotation of arms and shoulders. Don’t lift up on the backswing. Instead, stay connected between the ground and hands. Keep good posture with a forward bend at the waist. Resist pressure with both legs active. Stay silent to find your posture and practice regularly for better balance and consistency.
Rotate your body
The golf backswing is the start of the downswing – and it’s important! It sets the stage for a great follow-through. An important part of a successful swing is rotating your body as you turn.
Good posture and balance are key. When you begin, turn away from the target keeping feet grounded on the ground and maintaining balance. Focus on turning your torso by shifting your shoulders in a rotational pattern. This builds power for when you reach impact.
Your right foot should stay anchored to help initiate the body turn. Pivot around it – but don’t move it! Otherwise, it will take away from the momentum of the swing, which can negatively influence shot accuracy and distance.
When you’re reaching higher loft shots like chips or pitches from inside 90 yards, proper technique must be employed for desired results. Otherwise, you may find yourself off track, even out of more manageable distances. Any minor misjudgement multiplied nonlinearly over increased complexity can lead experienced players to bunkers or sand traps, or have their shots fall just several feet off their expected destination. So, always ensure that body rotation is properly done per particular set requirement!
Keep your arms straight
To have a successful backswing, remember to keep your arms straight the whole way through. Doing this will give you more power and accuracy in your shot. It may be tough at first, but with practice you’ll see a tremendous difference in your game.
When keeping your arms straight, make sure they form a line from head to toe. Don’t hang them away from your body or make any sudden movements—this can lead to an inconsistent shot and poor performance.
Also, keep your back straight throughout the process. If it’s too bent or arched away from the ball, it can affect your backswing and the accuracy and strength of the shot.
These tips will help you improve both accuracy and strength as you practice with different clubs!
Downswing
A great golf pitch starts with your downswing. This is when most of the energy is produced. To get the furthest and most accurate shot, it’s important to do this part of the swing properly. Here are a few points to remember and drills to help you perfect the technique. Let’s discuss!
Start with the lower body
The aim of the downswing is to create good timing, speed, power and distance. Start with your lower body, then engage your core and follow through with your arms and wrists. A mistake golfers make is starting with their arms or wrists before their lower body. This messes up your timing and decreases shot power.
To do a successful downswing, keep a steady lower body posture. Start with your feet and progress up to your core. Turn your hips back and initiate a slight shoulder turn and twist your torso forward using your core muscles. Move through the transition phase to the downswing start and have a bit of natural lag – “the slot”. Stay connected with your chest and keep your head still.
For contact between clubface and ball at impact, be aware of your weight in both legs. Keeping most weight on your back foot helps create torque for faster swing speeds with more consistency than if you lead or share weight between both legs. Remember that different clubheads need different lengths of swings, so adjust according to if you are hitting a short iron or driver off the tee box.
Keep your arms straight
One of the most important parts of golfing is keeping your arms straight during a downswing. This helps generate power and speed. A common error is to bend the arms too early. This leads to loss of power and accuracy.
To ensure arms remain straight throughout the downswing, start with the back facing the target. Keep the hips and shoulders upright. Hold the club at arm’s length with the hands close to the body. This prevents early arm bending.
Keep everything still when executing a downswing. This lets gravity do its job and maximizes power on impact. Any external shifting may cause imbalances and incorrect contact with the ball.
When it comes time to swing, let the lower body move first. Move quickly but smoothly for maximum distance and control.
Finish with your wrists
The finish of the downswing is key for ball contact and accuracy. If you don’t do it right, the ball can go too far or off-target. Here are some tips for an efficient and powerful wrist finish:
- Keep the left arm straight through impact and extend it fully at the end of the downswing.
- There may be some resistance from the ground and ‘bounce’ from a mis-weighted clubhead. To lessen this, actively throw the right forearm over the top of the shaft and fire with the wrists during follow-through.
- Keep a firm grip on the club, but also stay relaxed for full wrist action and club rotation.
- Let gravity do the work – wrists should release quickly but with control for greater distance and accuracy.
Lastly, experiment to find what works best for you! Different people have different ways of weight shift and force from the wrists. Find what works for you and apply it consistently to get closer shots with fewer strokes.
Follow Through
For a successful golf pitch, the follow through is key. It will bring the power and accuracy you need to finish the hole. Here, we’ll discuss basics of a follow through, plus some tips, techniques, and drills to up your pitching game.
Keep your head down
Balance is key for a successful golf pitch. Your head should be down, as looking up is a common mistake. Keep your eyes fixed on a point at ground level in front of you. Don’t raise your eyes up – this will throw off your balance. Keeping your head down through impact will help you control swing speed and power, and make sure your shots are accurate and have the desired distance.
Finish with your right shoulder
The aim of any golf pitching shot is to hit the ball with a full, balanced swing. To do this, end with your right shoulder up. Start your backswing correctly. Make sure to hit the ball in the same spot as before and get your body angle right. Rotate your body and move weight to your left leg. Keep the clubhead on the ground.
On the downswing, extend your arms till halfway. Rotate from left to right with lower body momentum. Turn your hips for power at impact. Pivot towards the ball’s destination. Shift weight onto right side. Bring up right shoulder first. Keep arms extended till after impact. Finish with strong follow through. Rotate upper body to the target. Then stop. If timing was right, the ball will be well-pitched and go the right way.
Make sure your hands are in front of your body
When you hit your pitch shot, it’s important to keep your hands in front of your body. This helps the clubhead stay behind the ball. It also encourages a pendulum swing instead of hitting the ball too hard. Keeping your hands in front of your body leads to solid contact with the ball, avoiding slicing or hooking issues.
For right-handed players, the left arm should form an L-shape as they move from the address position to past impact. Keep the club close to the arm and both arms slightly bent and shoulder height. During the backswing and into finish, focus on ‘steering’ with the arms. This will keep the clubhead on the same line. Avoid a casting motion at all costs!
Keeping proper hand position is key for consistent pitch shots:
- Keep the club close to the arm.
- Keep both arms slightly bent and shoulder height.
- Focus on ‘steering’ with the arms.
- Avoid a casting motion at all costs!
Drills
Drills are a must for golfers who want to learn and perfect their pitching. There’s a few drills to try – each one targeting a different area of the game. These help with accuracy, consistency and power. Let’s take a look at the best golf pitching drills and how they can help your game!
Here are some of the best golf pitching drills:
- Alignment Drills to help you line up correctly.
- Chipping Drills to improve your accuracy and control.
- Pitching Drills to help you hit the ball with more power and consistency.
- Putting Drills to help you make those crucial putts.
Hinge & Hold
The Hinge & Hold drill is a great way to learn proper hip and torso movement for pitching shots. Start with feet square, hips slightly open and chest facing target. Grip the club handle with both hands until slight tension in wrists.
Take a shallow backswing with hinging wrists and elbows. ‘Hold‘ the top of the swing. Rotate body, arms and club in a coordinated way until level with ground. Keep wrists flat and keep pressure on them for arm tension.
Keep emphasizing weight shift by rotating and shifting left side. Mastering this drill should help create consistent contact from 130 yards. Practice makes perfect!
Wrist-Only Drill
The wrist-only drill is designed to help golfers understand how the wrists should move in a pitch shot. Set up in your normal stance, take your normal grip and rest the club head beside the ball. Make sure you’re balanced before swinging.
Take the club away while keeping your wrists quiet. No shoulder movement should be involved. Grip pressure and tension should be applied to make sure your wrists stay stable throughout the backswing.
Swing to a full finish with a high follow-through. Maintain pressure with both hands and keep a steady speed through impact.
Once you can hit shots with only your wrists in an upward swing, incorporate them into a downswing pitch. Keep dynamic balance throughout; too much side-to-side sliding or body movement could affect accuracy when hitting actual shots.
Be mindful of the movements that create spin on the ball. Working on these basics with free-flowing wrist motion will help with strike consistency from short range.
Two-Ball Drill
The two-ball drill is great for improving your golf pitching. It ensures you don’t mess up your shot due to poor timing or lack of control.
To do the drill, take two balls and put them 5-10 feet apart. Take your stance and aim left of the landing spot. Swing around as if you are striking one ball, turn around and go back again. This will help you keep a smooth rhythm.
Vary the distance between the two balls to make it more challenging. This helps you practice different shots with different arcs. Keep practicing until it becomes natural. Then you can replicate it in game situations accurately!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the best golf pitching technique?
A: The best golf pitching technique is to make sure the ball is positioned correctly in the stance, the body is in the proper alignment and the club face is square to the target. Once in place, take a practice swing and make sure the club is coming down on the correct path. From there, the golfer should focus on striking the ball first, followed by the ground.
Q: What drills should I use to improve my golf pitching?
A: To improve your golf pitching, there are several drills to consider. Start by practicing your stance and body alignment to ensure the ball is positioned correctly. Next, practice your swing path and club face angle to ensure you are striking the ball consistently. Finally, practice your speed control to ensure you are hitting the ball the desired distance.
Q: What is the most important tip for golf pitching?
A: The most important tip for golf pitching is to focus on striking the ball first, followed by the ground. This will help ensure that the club is coming down on the correct path, the ball is traveling the desired distance, and that the ball is landing in the desired spot.
