Pitching Lesson 3 – Setup

In the previous pitching lesson I said that you should have the golf ball in the center of your stance when playing a pitch shot. So now we are going to look at some more finer points to hit successful pitch shots.

After you have addressed the golf ball in the center of your stance for a pitch shot, you should then move 70% of your weight over to your left leg. (See Picture #5 Below)

Pitching - 70% Weight On Left Side

When you move 70% of your weight to your left leg you are creating an angle for the backswing. (See Picture #6 Below)

Pitching Correct Back Swing Angle

As the clubhead begins to swing back in the backswing it has to swing back and up (See Picture #7 Below)…

Pitching Take Away

…it can not swing back and low to the ground. (See Picture #8 Below)

Club Not Starting Up Correctly

If the clubhead swings too low to the ground in the backswing it will swing too low to the ground in the downswing causing the clubhead to strike the ball on the top or the middle of the golf ball, but it will never find the bottom of the ball consistently.

When you move 70% of your weight over to the left side the clubhead has to swing up in the backswing as long as you do one more step. DO NOT SLIDE THE WEIGHT TOWARDS THE RIGHT FOOT IN THE BACKSWING.(See Picture #9 Below)

Do NOT Do This When Pitching!

Do you understand?

The 70% weight distrubution that you setup at address has to stay on the left side during the entire backswing. (See Picture #10 Below)

Keep Your Weight On Your Left Side

Once the clubhead has started back the only place it can go is up. If you allow the weight to move towards the back foot the clubhead will level off and it will not go up.

When pitching you want to have the feeling that you are standing on your left foot. If you continue to struggle with this method of pitching, I have a great drill for you.

Pitching Drill

Find a downhill slope of about 10-20 degrees. When you address the golf ball from this position you will automatically place 70% of your weight on your left side. That is the same feeling you should have when you hit a normal pitch from a flat lie.

If you have never placed this much weight on your left side it might feel awkward for the first couple of hundred practice shots. After that it will become second nature and your pitching will be much improved.

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.