That 40-yard shot with a bunker standing between you and the flagstick can make any golfer’s palms sweat, but it doesn’t have to. The pitch shot is the reliable, go-to shot for turning these nerve-wracking approaches into genuine birdie chances. This guide will walk you through exactly what a pitch shot is, when you should play one, and the clear, step-by-step technique to add it confidently to your golf game.
A golf pitch shot is a shot played from around 20 to 50 yards away from the green. Its main purpose is to send the ball high into the air so it lands softly and stops relatively quickly. Think of it as a miniature-version of your full swing, designed for precision over power. You are looking for more airtime than roll-time.
One of the most common points of confusion for golfers is the difference between pitching and chipping. Understanding this difference is fundamental to improving your short game. Here’s a simple way to think about it:
Imagine you’re just a few feet off the edge of the green with a clear path to the pin 30 feet away. That’s a perfect scenario for a chip. Now, imagine you’re 35 yards out, but a deep bunker guards the front of the green and the pin is tucked just a few paces over it. You have to fly the ball over the trouble and have it stop fast. This is the moment for a pitch shot.
A clean, consistent pitch shot starts before you ever swing the club. Your setup is your foundation, and getting it right makes the rest of the motion much, much easier. It's a slightly athletic posture, more structured than a chip but not as wide as a full iron shot.
Set your feet so they are narrower than a typical full swing stance. A good guide is to have the inside of your heels line up with the outside of your shoulders. This narrower base makes it easier to rotate your body through the shot without swaying, which is a major source of inconsistency.
Before you swing, favor your lead foot (your left foot for a right-handed golfer). A good feeling is to have about 60% of your weight on that lead side. This position does two very important things: it encourages your swing to bottom out at the right spot - just after the ball - and it helps you deliver the club with a downward strike, creating clean contact and predictable spin.
For a standard, go-to pitch shot, place the ball in the center of your stance. This is your neutral position. From here, you can make small adjustments to change the shot's trajectory:
For now, just sticking to the middle is the perfect way to build a reliable starting point.
Take your grip and let your arms hang naturally from your shoulders. Your hands should be positioned slightly ahead of the golf ball, creating a gentle forward lean in the club shaft. This is not an exaggerated forward press, just a natural consequence of having your weight on your lead foot. This setup promotes hitting the ball first and then brushing the grass afterward.
With the setup down, it’s time to make the motion. The golf swing is a rotational action powered by the body, and the pitch shot is a perfect example of this. Forget trying to manipulate the club with your hands, instead, let your body's turn create the power and your wrists create the loft.
The backswing for a pitch is a connected, one-piece movement. The goal is to rotate your chest, arms, and club away from the ball together. As you turn, your wrists should begin to hinge naturally. This wrist hinge is a primary speed generator in the pitch shot and is what creates the necessary height.
A great way to control your distance is to use the "clock system" for your backswing:
The key here is that the length of your backswing should control the distance, not the speed of your effort. You want to maintain a smooth, rhythmic tempo on every pitch, just adjusting the backswing length as needed.
This is where the magic happens. From the top of your backswing, the first thought should be to simply rotate your body toward the target. Feel your chest turning to face the pin. This powerful rotational move will naturally drop the club down into the right position to strike the ball cleanly.
Your weight should remain on that lead foot as you turn. Avoid any temptation to hang back or fall onto your back foot in an effort to "help" the ball into the air. The loft of your wedge is designed to do that for you. Trust it! Your job is to deliver that loft by rotating your body through the impact zone.
As you rotate through, your hands will be leading the clubhead into impact. The feeling should be one of "covering" the ball with your chest. You will strike the ball first, and then the club will take a shallow divot just after the ball. After impact, your arms and the club should extend toward the target as your body continues to rotate. Hold your finish! When you finish the swing, your chest should be facing the target, your right heel should be off the ground, and almost all of your weight (90% or more) should be firmly planted on your lead foot. Holding a balanced finish is a great indicator of a well-executed pitch shot.
Even with the right idea, some common habits can creep in. Here are the three biggest culprits in pitching and how to straighten them out.
The Mistake: This is the number one issue for aspiring pitchers. It comes from an instinct to help the ball up by flipping the wrists at the ball. This causes the clubhead to pass the hands before impact, leading to thin shots that rocket across the green or fat shots that go nowhere.
The Fix: Focus on rotating your sternum through the ball. The feeling should be that your chest, arms, hands, and club move through the impact zone together. The clubhead should never overtake your hands until well after the ball is gone. Practice by holding your finish and checking that the club face is still looking at the sky, not pointed down towards the ground.
The Mistake: Hitting the ground first, resulting in a heavy shot that doesn't reach the green. It’s almost always caused by your weight falling onto your back foot during the downswing, moving the low point of your swing behind the ball.
The Fix: Go back to the setup. really feel that 60/40 weight distribution on your lead foot. As a drill, you can even try hitting a few pitches with your back foot resting on its toe. This forces your weight to stay forward and all but guarantees you won't fall back, an instant cure for the chunks.
The Mistake: Hitting the top half of the ball with the club's leading edge, sending a low screamer over the green.
The Fix: This is often a posture issue. Many players stand up or lift their anlges as they swing. Stay in your posture. At address, feel the angle of your spine. Your goal is to rotate around that spine angle and maintain it all the way through to your finish. A good thought is to feel like your chest stays "covering the ball" PAST impact.
Your wedges are your scoring clubs, and understanding which one to uses for pitching gives you more control. The most common clubs for pitching are:
For starters, get really good with one club - your Sand Wedge is a great choice as its bounce and loft are very forgiving. Once you’re confident hitting the basic shot with your SW, you can begin experimenting with the other wedges to see how they change the ball flight and give you more options around the green.
The pitch shot is your answer for those awkward yardages where a full swing is too much and a chip won't work. By building a solid setup with your weight forward and the ball centered, and focusing on a body-driven rotational swing, you can turn a shot that causes anxiety into one of your biggest strengths.
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