Peter Finch: The New Way to Pitch
Many top pros - certainly those with the best short games - now use the sole's bounce far more when pitching. Peter Finch explains golf's new way to pitch
Many top pros - certainly those with the best short games - now use the sole's bounce far more when pitching. Peter Finch explains golf's new way to pitch
THE NEW WAY TO PITCH Many golfers will pitch with the ball back in stance and weight more towards the front foot so the angle of attack is travelling down, taking ball first then turf. That can work if you're trying to hit a low pitch up the green, for example.
But many top players, and certainly those with the best short games, now utilise the bounce in the sole far more when pitching.
What is bounce? Bounce is the angle between the lowest point of the sole and the leading edge when the club rests square on the ground – the bigger the angle, the more bounce a club has.
Bounce stops the club from digging in, so if you can use it, the club will glide along the surface a little more, digging in less and adding a bit more loft at impact. Combine loft at impact with a little bit of speed and a slightly descending angle of attack, and you can generate lots of backspin.
Watch all 7 videos in Peter's 'Keys to Consistency' series...
- Understanding impact basics
- Golf's set-up essentials
- How impact varies from club to club
- A bullet-proof chipping action
- Fringe putting drill
- Pressure putting practice
Pitching with the bounce The new way to pitch requires a slightly open stance with the ball fairly central and the hands a touch lower to help you engage the bounce more at impact. The shoulders should be a touch open too, so you’ll also need to open the clubface a fraction.
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The club should then be a little bit more upright in the backswing – not miles outside the hands, but certainly not dipping inside the body. Then as you go through the ball, try to get the upper body and the lower body turning to the left of the target while the club travels, or feels like it’s travelling, towards the target.
This new way to pitch will engage the bounce more through the turf. You won’t see much of a divot, but the ball will pop off high and soft with plenty of spin on landing.
Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.
Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf
Jeremy is currently playing...
Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft
3 wood: Srixon ZX, EvenFlow Riptide 6.0 S 50g shaft
Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft
Irons 3- to 8-iron: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts
Irons 9-iron and PW: Honma TWorld TW747Vx, Nippon NS Pro regular shaft
Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts
Putter: Kramski HPP 325
Ball: Any premium ball I can find in a charity shop or similar (or out on the course!)
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