- Hello, Adam Bazalgette here.
Today's subject: chips versus pitches in golf.
(upbeat rhythmic rock music)
So, chips versus pitches.
We'll talk a little bit about the definition.
But I'll show you that, hey,
there are some similarities, there are some differences,
and how to blend body motion and wrist cock for each,
so that you get some control over the shot.
If you like the video,
please subscribe to the YouTube channel.
Scratchgolfacademy.com is my home website.
Full courses in every aspect of the game there.
So let's assume as we get started, we have a decent lie.
We are fairly near the green.
These are short, relative, greenside shots.
I think the biggest difference between
the two is really club selection.
That's what determines how the ball reacts when it lands.
There's a little 58 degree sand wedge.
Landed at about four yards on the green.
Here's a nine iron.
Same landing spot, or close to it.
Nothing like the same outcome.
So, I think one is an extension of the other,
but as we treat them, let's treat them a little separately
and look at the differences.
(golf club softly hitting ball)
Now, pitches are generally longer shots, not always.
At least in terms of the distance carried.
Plus the more loft you have,
the more near the bottom of the ball you hit,
the more speed you need to make the ball go anywhere.
So pitches, have a little bit more wrist cock
and a little bit more speed in the club relative
to the body generally speaking.
Remember this rule of thumb, the more the club shaft
and the club head move in tandem with the body,
the more control you have.
The more they move separately and like a whip, a little bit,
the more speed you have.
So we've got to get the right mixture.
Let's look at that.
(golf club softly hitting ball)
So, signs that you may be using
too much wrist action in your little pitch shot.
Number one, inconsistent contact.
If you get a lot of wrist cock,
you might stick the club in the ground.
Of course you're going to react to that sometimes
and try to catch the club up and you'll get some thin ones.
So thin, fat on a steady diet is probably a sign of that.
Another one is just inconsistent distance control.
You'll compress the ball too much.
You won't have feel.
Now, a sign you don't have enough wrist cock.
Probably just this long,
draggy kind of arm swing, too much motion here
and not really much compression on the ball.
Not really much crispness to the hit.
Let's have a look at a couple great players doing it
and then we'll get back out here.
So, Rickie Fowler.
A little bit of wrist cock as he goes back.
He's able to skid the club under the ball there.
No big divit.
And look at his arms stay fairly close to him,
fairly soft and the club has some speed as it comes through.
Tiger looks like he's hitting more
of just a little hit and hold spinner.
Good wrist cock.
Watch the good body motion through the shot with the torso.
And again, arms nice and close to him and soft there.
Alright, consistent pitching, your trunk,
your upper body should be in control.
It should be the genesis of the motion
but it's still a game of club and ball.
If it's not creating speed there,
it's not doing you any good.
So here is one instance, a small shot like this,
we're actually like a little towel drill.
Try this, put that under your arms.
Key is don't squeeze and get tightness,
just barely resting there.
I can actually let my arms slide slightly on my ribs.
Now make some back and forth practice swings.
And I feel energy in my body.
I feel the towel moving but I feel it translate out
to the golf club so that there's some speed there.
That's a good feeling to me.
Let me try a little shot.
Yeah, nice speed through the ball.
Nice and close there as I went.
Now remember, if you start chunking the ball,
if you start digging the club in,
you've probably added a little too much wrist cock.
So take a little bit out, you don't have to get stiff,
until the club's brushing the turf a little bit more again.
So let's just very briefly touch on a pitfall
that can affect both chips and pitches.
And that is, getting the club to the inside.
Getting it behind your hands, will not work well for you.
Have a look at a great player and then we'll talk about it.
This is Annika Sörenstam hitting a little chip
at the facility where I work, actually.
And in this case, the shot went this way
and breaks that way.
So just watch how her club goes back.
Nicely done.
Keeps it in front of the hands here.
None if this stuff where to club gets there.
So much easier to make consistent contact that way.
So, I don't really want to dwell on that in this video.
But generally speaking, I think you should have the feeling
that the golf club looks more towards the ball
and less out here to the side as you start back.
Or if you like, if someone was standing next to you,
you could make a small swing
and not whack them in the legs over there.
If you can do that, you'll be in good shape.
You can still break your wrists a little bit,
but the wrist break is more of a downward hinge,
not an inward hinge, like that.
(golf club softly hitting ball)
So, there's a little nine iron chip.
Now, with chipping, listen, the speed of the green
and of course the loft you select are going
to have a huge determination on how long the chip is
How much it's going to roll out.
But the stroke is basically a control stroke.
So, here's the thing.
Again, as I mentioned at the beginning of the video.
If you want control, you want the club shaft
much more similar in speed to what your body's doing.
Much more of a one piece thing.
But the pitfall I see people fall into,
is when they think of that,
they start becoming all stiff and wooden.
Lose feel.
And when you do that you'll also probably you
are not going to make good contact with the ball.
So soften your arms.
Hey, this club isn't moving at a high speed,
80 or 90 miles an hour.
I don't need all that tension to control it.
Soften up, it helps me move.
I can feel my arms against my chest.
Now I can move more freely.
No active wrist motion.
But I'll tell you, the weight of the club
should cause a little bit of play in the wrist.
In other words, when you chip it,
you should be able to feel the club head in motion.
Then you're going to have some feel.
And likely, much more solid contact as you go.
So chips versus pitches in golf.
I hope that's helpful to you.
If you like the video,
please check out scratchgolfacademy.com.
I have full courses,
including full short game courses there.
And please subscribe to this YouTube channel
if you like the video as well.
Lots of free content there.
Thanks.
(thumping dance music)