By Bobby Eldridge Head Professional,
PurePoint Golf Reprinted with permission
Golf Pitching - Definition and Introduction
The definition of a Pitch shot is a shot that has maximum air and minimum roll on its way to the hole. In other words pitching is 2/3 air and 1/3 roll. The golf ball flies 2/3 of the distance to the hole and once it hits the putting surface it rolls 1/3 of the way to the cup.
As a reminder the definition of a chip shot is a shot that has 1/3 air time and 2/3 roll on its way to the hole. A chip shot is a shot that is played with a 5, 7 or 9 iron. The flatter faced clubs keep the ball low to the ground. Pitch shots are hit with loftier clubs to give the ball the 2/3 air time that is needed.
During a round of golf you might encounter a short shot going up to the green. You might have to go over a knoll, edge of a bunker, a pond, high rough or a tight pin position. When you are faced with a shot like this you will have to hit a pitch shot that has a higher trajectory and lands softly.
How to Complete the Pitch Shot
You will need two things to pull this shot off, proper technique and lofted clubs. So, what would I do as far as clubs are concerned? Well remember the flat faced clubs are the ones you use when you chip. The lofted clubs, the pitching, sand and lob wedges are the clubs designed for the higher shots.
The ability to pitch a golf ball in the air with trajectory, a soft landing and the correct distance is one of the game's more difficult shots. If the golf ball is sitting up it makes the execution much easier. More times than not the golf ball is either sitting down in deep rough or on hard pan. In either case the shot becomes very difficult to hit the correct trajectory and distance.
However; if you use the correct technique and some practice you can learn to become a wonderful pitcher of the golf ball no matter what your handicap is.
When you think of pitching the golf ball keep in mind what you are trying to accomplish, a golf shot that travels mostly in the air and then rolls a short distance.
Pitching Instruction and Club Selection
When you are faced with a shot that requires more air time than roll time there are three or four clubs you can choose from. Most sets of golf clubs come with a pitching wedge and sand wedge. In the past 20 years the LOB and gap wedges have become very popular. The LOB wedge will give you that extra loft the sand wedge won't. The gap wedge is a wedge that fills in the space between the pitching wedge and sand wedge.
A bit of good news is the wedges of today have the degrees of loft indicated on the bottom of the clubs. What you have to do if your wedges don't have the numbers on the bottom is find out what the loft of your wedges are before you can get started. There is a chance if you own three wedges you could potentially have three wedges with the same amount of loft. Believe me if you do not have a lie and loft machine somewhere in your town it is worth shipping your wedges to someone who can bend them to the degrees you want.
Pitching - The Lob Wedge
If you use the LOB wedge as the most lofted club in your bag you can work backwards to your pitching wedge. Let's start with the LOB wedge; most LOB wedges have 60% of loft. If your next wedge is a sand wedge it should have 56% of loft, the gap should have 52% and the pitching wedge at 48%. The 4% increments has to do with the distance you can hit the ball with a full swing.Each club should be about 10 yards apart with a full swing. On less than full swings the clubs are closer in distance. Before you go and purchase any new wedges there is one last item. Some wedges are forged and some are cast. A wedge that is forged is made of softer metal. If you are going to purchase a wedge try and find a forged club and not cast. It is more difficult to stop a ball using a cast wedge.
Pitching - The Golf Ball
The golf ball makes a huge difference when you are trying to hit a soft pitch shot around the green. There is one huge problem. It is a double edge sword. If you play a two piece golf ball, you will gain distance off the tee and in your full swing but it is very difficult to stop it compared to a solid golf ball. You have to decide if distance is more important than your short game.
