Control your pitch shots

A decent short-game will get you far in golf and how to own one is to practice.

Key for many pros is to focus on the ball-to-target line, and in particular, moving up and down this line longer in the swing.

Indeed, on longer pitches, the clubhead will inevitably move slightly inside the ball to the targetline, but don’t get it working back inside your hands.

1 Feet closer together

Stand with your feet quite close together because it feels comfortable. you don’t need to develop power from your legs when pitching, so this allows you to stay balanced and focus on your upper body movement.

2 Tempo and speed

Judge your distances when it isn’t a full shot by feeling how far you swing the club back. The tempo and speed of the swing should stay the same when pitching. It’s the length of the backswing that controls distance.

3 Into the wind

move the ball further back in your stance and place your hands further ahead of the ball with more shaft lean when pitching into the wind. Swing it a bit easier to reduce the spin so the ball doesn’t balloon into the air.

4 Finish position

The finish position should be with the torso pointing directly at the target and right heel only slightly off the ground while the legs have remained quite passive.