Explode Your Pitch Shots
I get a lot of golf students asking me how to hit the pitch shot out of rough and too often they make this shot way more difficult than it is. The basic understanding of pitching the ball from the rough is to play this shot similar to a bunker shot. There are several rules to follow when pitching the ball from the rough, just as there are rules to follow for great bunker shots.
Hitting Your Pitch Shots Out of the Rough
The first key to hitting great pitch shots from rough are understanding what type of shot you’re trying to hit.
Our golf stance width will be relatively narrow, (depending on the length of the shot), and will require us to hinge the club very quickly on the backswing. This allows us to get maximum downward angle on the ball to reduce as much friction of the grass between the clubface and the ball. We will however hit slightly behind the ball to allow the club to get down to the ball and explode the ball out of the thick rough similar to a bunker shot. We must hold the club firmly with our fingers in order to keep the club from closing, but always remember to accelerate through the ball and do not allow your wrists to flip over. We want to accelerate and hold the face square. Remember the phrase hinge and hold with acceleration. Due to the long grass and the ball back in our stance this ball will come out easily and will land about halfway and run the rest of the way.
The pin cut closely to the edge of the green will require a bit more of bunker rules. In order to pull this pitch shot off we need height to stop the ball. The long grass will take backspin off of the ball and therefore we must adjust our setup to get the ball up. First set up with a much wider stance and move farther from the ball. Next, lower the handle of the club. This will provide a feeling that our hands will be down and close to our knees. Now simply play this shot like a bunker shot with the clubface open at address and out goal is to hit slightly behind the ball. We want nice rhythm and a ¾ backswing. Our club will enter the grass an inch or so behind the ball and we will control the distance by our follow through. A short firm follow through will produce a high soft shot while a longer follow through will produce a higher, softer, and longer shot. We are still hinging and holding with acceleration, but our setup is different. This will allow you to hit two different types of shots depending on the situation.
Remember that people struggle from these lies because they are unsure of how the ball will come out. You must force the ball to come out either low or high and this is affected mainly by our setup. Try these two different pitch shots and you will be prepared the next time you have this shot on the course.
Keep em Long and Straight,
CJ
12 Comments
CJ,
I am working all the time with your drills, etc. In my recent two rounds, I am hitting my 3-wood (off the deck, including uneven lies) and 18-degree hybrid, really well. Trajectory somewhat low and piercing, but good distance (190 and 175 respectively, really good for me!) and quite straight. But when I take up a 7-iron or 8-iron I am still hitting fat at lot and even shanking (!) which I have never done before… Any thoughts or suggestions? (I suspect there may be a weight-shift problem, but…) Jeep
Jeep,
Thanks for writing in to me. I know I can help you so let’s discuss this. Besides hitting your 7 or 8 iron fat what other shots do you hit i.e. direction? Let me know and I will be glad to help.
Keep em Long and Straight,
CJ
CJ, thanks for getting back to me. What else: I used to have a consistent slice off the tee…not so bad now, but it does re-emerge, esp. at the end of a round when I am tired. Biggest problems with 6/7/8 irons and 23-degree hybrid are fat, chunking shots, and reduced distance. When I hit well, I pick the ball clean, leave very little divot. Direction-wise, my tendency is to fade; recently I have been experimenting with a ten-finger grip to get my right hand more involved, also using your tabletop drill to work on finishing the swing. (Now I hook sometimes, which gives me cheer! cf. Lee Trevino) I think I am hanging back, not really getting my weight through in a connected way. I have been focusing on the right heel to left ball of foot sensation. Finally, the one thing about your swing I don’t get is the “window of opportunity”…seems like cool phrase but doesn’t communicate anything to me bio-mechanically, whereas “up the wall” does. Is this enough to respond to? Perhaps I can get some video. Thanks! Jeep
I have alot of trouble hitting irons lower than 7. I would either duff it or hook it really bad.I almost never hit a perfect iron.please some advice will be great.
Really sound advice, lets face it, no one in the world knows exactly how their ball will exit the rough but being clear about your objective of either a high softer trajectory or a lower running shot is 99% of the battle. Own the shot before you make it!
Stephen Stoward,
Thanks Stephen for the comments. You must dictate the shot that is for sure. that is your best bet. Keep in touch.
Keep em Long and Straight,
CJ
I have a lot of trouble hitting a ball sitting on a down hill lie. please can you help me.
Edna,
Remember these rules for not even lies.
1. match your hips and shoulders to the slope.
2. Play the ball towards the higher foot.
3. Swing along the slope
Basically get your body matching the slope and pick the club up even quicker on the backswing and finish like a knockdown shot which will ensure you are swinging down the slope. Also tell me a bit more info about your swing as this can be a great drill to help certain faults in your swing. Hope this helps
Keep em long and Straight,
cj
would you recommend a more lofted club, I have tried a 7 wood and also a 3 iron. I have to admit the 3 iron seems to go better but someone told me to use a more lofted club.
Edna,
Probably not a 3 iron. You need a lot of clubhead speed to be able to hit a 3 iron high enough and have it stop on the green. a 3 hybrid is a great alternative and unless you have good clubhead speed I might also recommend a 4 hybrid also.
keep em long and straight,
cj
Thanks for that I will try it tomorrow if we have golf. A lot of rain over here in N.Z. at the moment.
Excellent advice. I might add that you take CJ’s tips and DECIDE to become fully committed to the shot. Pretend at your setup that you are the greatest short game wizard there ever was as you implement these techniques. Most golfers suffer from indecision and doubt more than lack of tactics.