Do you struggle with distance control when you chip or pitch the golf ball? If you interested in developing more distance control, I’d suggest giving these pitching tips a try. I did, and it has made a big different in my short game.

For years, I have primarily been a one-club chipper regardless of the distance to the hole and type of lie. But this technique required me to have excellent touch all the time.

Here is the new approach I have been taking that relies more on the loft of the club to provide the distance control instead of my hands or wrists.

• 9 iron - Use for short chips
• 7 iron - Use for medium length chips
• 5 iron - Use for longer chips

You’ll want to experiment with each of these clubs to see how far the bar travels in the air and on the ground once it hits the green. And try to practice with a green if at all possible because it is critical to get a feel for the type of roll you’re getting with each trajectory.

I’d also suggest getting some practice using this new club selection technique on both uphill and downhill lies.

You may be wondering why I haven’t mentioned your pitching wedge, sand wedge, or loft wedge.

I still use all of those clubs, but usually only when I need to get the ball into the air quickly or if I have a particularly bad lie in the deep stuff.

Give this a try and I’m sure that you start to see why using these 3 clubs is your secret to quickly developing distance control with your golf pitching.

Add to Onlywire

About 12 years ago when I started to pick up the game again since playing as a kid I played a lot of rounds with my father-in-law. He’s not a flashy player, but he always gets it done and plays with a great amount of consistency.

One golf chipping tip that he introduced to me that has served me well has been to use my putting stroke to chip the ball when I’m around the greens. This won’t work from the deep rough, but it’s a great tool to have in your toolbox when playing from the intermediate rough or fringe.

Take your club of choice and start by setting up a little closer and more upright to the ball. You may want to experiment with the ball position, but I place it anywhere from the middle of my stance to the inside heel of my back foot.

Once your set-up is complete, you’ll want to keep more weight on your front foot just like any other pitch shot then simply take your putting stroke.

I always try to pick out a spot about a third of the way to the hole and let it roll from there.

Why go for the fancy shot when you can get consistent results with a more simpler approach? And if your nerves are running high during the round, it is sure great to know you can use this easy set-up and get great results.

Cheers!

I was reading through some of my old Golf Digests today and came across this tip from Jim Flick.  I like this golf swing tip in large part because it keeps things simple. Check it out.

Jim  was reflecting on the 1969 British Open, specifically recalling the brilliant short game play by Davis Love Jr., the late father of current PGA tour pro Davis Love III.

If you’ve watched the British Open over the years you know the wind can play a large factor in the outcome of this major.  Following a spectacular week of pitching in 1969, Davis Love Jr. shared that one of his secret weapons was his grip pressure on golf chipping.

It turns out if Davis wanted to hit a high pitch shot he would grip the club lightly and conversely would grip it tighter if he wanted a lower trajectory bump and run type shot. 

Gripping the club lightly allows the club to release and naturally adds loft as it glides under the ball at impact.  A firmer grip helps keep your hands in front of the ball at impact with a secure clubface position through impact.

It’s so easy to over analyze all aspects of our game and I know that I will give this simple golf chipping tip a try the next time I hit the practice range.

 To better golf, Michael

We’ve all been there…you end up in some thick rough right off of the green and you end up chunking the ball or skulling it so that it goes way past the hole.  Here’s a golf pitching tip that will eliminate the stress of hitting the ball squarely without getting the clubhead caught up in the rough.

Grab your fairway wood or hyrbid club and set-up like you would for a putt. Choke down on the grip and take your normal putting stroke.

The design of these clubs will help you cut through the rough and will get the ball airborn just long enough to land it and let it roll to the hole.

Give this a try the next time you end up in this situation and you won’t be disappointed.

To your golf success, Michael

Discover the breakthrough golf chipping technique that will drop your handicap by a third and have your golf buddies turning their heads

It’s hard to believe, but even the pros struggle with their distance control. In fact, I remember hearing over and over again a few years ago that one of reasons Tiger Woods was in a slump was because he was struggling with his distance control.

I don’t know about you, but only if I had Tiger’s problems….

I’ve always thought of myself as a feel player, especially when I am inside 100 yards to the pin. As I’ve learned over time, being a feel player can have its share of problems.

The key to any part of your golf game is to develop a routine and/or swing that is repeatable and the same can be said for your short game. Here’s a tip that I incorporated into my game which has dramatically changed the way I score inside 10o yards.

For starters, different distances require different lengths of backswings. So, your backswing shouldn’t be the same for a 95 yard shot vs. a 45 shot. Seems like good common sense, but how many times have you tried to control your distance by the changing the speed of your swing?

Start by thinking of your backswing as a clock. For shorter distances, you might only need to bring the club back so that it’s at 9 o’clock or parallel to the ground. Intermediate distances might only require a 3/4 swing or 10-11 o’clock. You get the picture…

And it’s important to apply the same principle to your follow-through. If you’re taking a 9 o’clock shot your follow-through should stop when it’s parallel to the ground or at 3 pm.

You’ll need to figure out which distances work for you during each “click of the clock” but you’ll quickly develop a consistent and reliable approach to distance control within 100 yards.

Talk to you soon,

Michael Kosmala

If you’ve spent any time watching golf on TV you’ve likely heard countless commentators talk about “releasing the ball to the hole.” So what does this mean and how can you achieve this in your golf game.

The first step to getting the ball to release to the hole is understanding that minimum air time equals maximum roll.

Assuming that you’re using the proper set-up (placing the ball in the middle of the stance, shifting 75% of your weight to the front foot and placing your hands and the shaft slightly forward towards the target), it’s the follow-through that will help you the most with this type of shot.

Keeping your club low and short on your follow-through during pitch shots will ensure that the ball takes a lower flight and releases to the hole.

As for distance control, think of the distance you have to the hole in thirds. You want to hit the ball about 1/3 of the way to the hole allowing it to roll and release for the final 2/3s of the distance.

Give this a try the next time you hit the course!

Take care, Michael Kosmala

Unlock the short game method that will slash 7 strokes off your score in 2 rounds!

It has been my observation that most amatuers spend their practice time working on their golf swing, typically hitting a combination of woods and irons.  And while it is important to develop consistent ball-striking with these clubs, very little time is typically devoted to the short game.

If you haven’t already figured this out, the quickest way to drop 10+ strokes from your golf score is to work on the short game.  And today we’ll focus on pitching tips.

You’ll learn 3 pitching tips that will immediately improve your consistency around the green. Following these 3 simple golf tips will eliminate the days of topping the ball, shanking it or blading the ball over the green.

1. Ball Position - You’ll want to position the golf ball in the middle of your stance.

2. Weight distribution - Place 75% of your weight on your front foot.  This is critical as many golfers thinking that placing their weight on the back foot will help get the ball up in the air. Not so!

3. Hand position - Once you follow the first 2 steps, you’ll want to place your hands (and the shaft of the club) ahead of the ball.  So, you want the club to lean slightly towards the target. On visual cue that might help is to think about having the end of your grip point to the middle of you front leg.

The last two tips seem counter-intuitive to a lot of golfer. But, you’ll find that this will help you hit down on the ball letting the club angle do the work for you.

Take these golf short game tips to the practice range the next time you go out you’ll start to see a difference in your pitching immediately. Good luck!

If you’ve been to my website recently, you’ve probably taken a look at the line of golf instructional videos I am promoting from PurePoint Golf. There are so many golf gurus out there promising the world but very few deliver the goods the way PurePoint Golf’s Bobby Eldridge does.

If you’re not familiar with Bobby or his teaching you should be. Bobby has spent over 30 years of his life teaching average golfers just like me how to dramatically lower their golf scores. The key to his teaching is that he has simplified the golf swing to a point where golfers of all ability levels can hit the ball straighter with more consistency and distance than ever before.

Enter his new Pitching DVD…

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