“You have to try things,” says Titleist staff member Tom Patri. “I tell my students that the two greatest short game teachers are Dr. Trial and Mr. Error. Experiment with your wedges – open and close the club face, move the ball position up and back in your stance, adjust your grip and move your hands up and down the handle – that’s how you build an arsenal of shots to address any challenge you face around the greens.”
In any short game situation, the first step is to determine what type of shot is called for. Can you hit a stock chip or pitch shot or do you need to adjust the height or spin on the shot? Is the green firm or soft? Into the grain or down-grain? Are you facing a tucked pin or do you have plenty of green to work with? Do you have a clean lie or will grass get between the ball and your club face? These are just a factors you need to consider as you plan out your shot.
In the video above Tom faces a 30-40-yard pitch shot to a tucked pin with very little green to work with. This shot calls for a high shot that will fly onto the front of the green and stop quickly once it lands. If the pin were positioned towards the back of the green, he might play a lower trajectory shot that hits short of pin-high, but then releases to the hole.
To Hit a High Pitch Shot:
° Use a club with more loft or add dynamic loft to the wedge by opening the face.
° Move the ball position up in your stance, closer to your lead foot.
° Open your stance to promote an out-to-in swing path that cuts across the ball.
° Weaken (rotate counter-clockwise) the grip of your left hand (for a right-handed player).
° At impact, feel like the club shaft is vertical or even leaning back away from the target slightly.
° Accelerate through the shot, feeling the sole of the wedge slide under the ball.
° Swing through to a high, full finish.
We hope you enjoy the tip and to learn more about Tom and the instructional programs he offers, check out his website at as well as his Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels.
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