Pitching Lesson 5 – Your Backswing

We have covered the pitching setup well and truly so it’s now time to look at swinging the club back for a pitch shot.

Once you are in a perfect pitching setup position the golf club should begin to move away from the golf ball with clubhead swinging back on a slight arc away from the golf ball. (See Picture #13 Below)

Pitching Take Away

If when playing a pitch shot you take the clubhead too much inside on the backswing then the right shoulder will turn too much in the backswing. (See Picture #14 Below)

Conversely, if you swing the clubhead too much outside in the backswing then the right shoulder will tilt up too much. (See Picture #15 Below)

But by swinging the clubhead back on the correct arc, the right shoulder will have the correct amount of tilt in the backswing which will enable the golf club to swing up correctly for a pitch shot. (See Picture #16 Below)

At the top of the backswing if the clubhead has swung up on the correct arc this will enable the clubhead to swing back down on the correct angle. And the angle that the club comes down into the ball is what allows the leading edge of the clubhead to make contact with the bottom of the golf ball and the ground at the same time. (See Picture #17 Below)

This downward contact is what creates the impact that makes the golf ball go up in the air with the correct amount of loft and backspin.

It’s important to note when pitching that when you begin the backswing you should have 70% of your weight on your left leg and during the backswing it is very, very important that 70% of your weight remains on your left leg and that it NEVER EVER moves back towards the right side as you are swinging back. (See Pictures #18 and #19 below)

Keep Your Weight On Your Left Leg At All Times In The Backswing

If the weight slides back in the backswing the clubhead will never swing UP as it should when hitting a pitch shot. (See Picture #20 Below)

The sliding motion that is shown in picture #20 above makes the clubhead stay low to the ground in the back swing and remember what does not go up won’t come down. If the clubhead does not swing up it will not swing down. If the clubhead travels too level to the ground the leading edge will not be able to find the bottom of the golf ball. The impact will resemble more of a putting swing, the leading edge will strike the middle of the golf ball and the ball will not go up in the air. (See Picture #21 Below)

So in summary, when swinging back for a pitch shot make sure you keep 70% of your weight on your left leg and swing the club up. In the next pitching lesson we’re going to look at the backswing length for a pitch shot. So look out for that next important pitching lesson.

About The Author: This article was written by professional Bobby Eldridge. Bobby has been teaching golf for over 35 years and over that time he has given over 40,000 golf lessons. Bobby has produced a great Pitching DVD that shows you in simple terms how you can hit great pitch shots from anywhere.

So to improve your pitch shots so you slash shots from your golf scores click here to find out more about the Pitching DVD.