Confused about Chipping & Pitching

[BRISTOL86]

Hi All

Another newbie question

I've been reading Dave Pelz's Short Game Bible and the overall message seems to be that a chip and pitch are two totally different shots, with different stances.

In the pitch shot - which I am taking to mean a shot where the ball is lofted and will be about 50:50 in terms of air/ground time - he says a shoulder width stance with the ball at the centre of the stance.

In the chip shot - which I am taking to mean a shot which minimises loft and spends the majority of it's time on the ground - he recommends a very narrow (4-6 inches) stance with the ball aligned with the outside of the right foot (for a RH golfer). This causes a "leaning" effect of the club shaft as your hands seem to still need to hang centrally but the ball is way back in your stance.

Is it purely the stance and ball position that makes so much difference to the loft (or not) of a shot then?

I'd always assumed that a chip shot and pitch shot were pretty much the same action/setup, but you would use a more lofted wedge for the pitch to increase the angle.

Thanks!

 

[duncan mackie]

you will get quite a few 'definitions' because there realy aren't any!

personally I consider the pitch shot to be normal swing, scaled down for distance.

a chip shot isn't.

this seems consistent with what you have outlined from Peltz - although I have never read his material!

 

[AuburnWarrior]

I'd say a 'pitch' shot would be anything from 100 yards to, say, 30 yards. You'd be going aerial so, for example, you'd use a 52 degree wedge. Depending on your own personal distances you'd use a 1/4, half or 3/4 swing to reach the pin.

A 'chip' shot would be a shot from around the green. Any club can be used for this shot - from a hybrid for a very flat trajectory to a 64 degree wedge where you need to get the ball up and down to clear a bunker.

I'd say Pelz is correct with his stance rule but it's whatever you feel comfortable with. My advice is get yourself to a place with a very good short game practice area and have some fun! Use different clubs from different parts of the fringe and see what results you get. See what happens when you chip with a hybrid, a five iron, a seven iron, etc.

 

[BRISTOL86]

Thanks for the advice all, much appreciated! :cheers:

 

[HomerJSimpson]

The modern way of chipping would appear to have the shaft more upright to utilise the bounce. I tried the Pelz method for a while but found it too technical and mechanical

 

[bobmac]

As a general rule of thumb...
a chip spends more of it's journey on the ground whereas a pitch spends more time in the air.
A 10 yard shot played over a rough bit of ground/bunker with a SW/PW would be a pitch whereas a 10 yard shot up the green played with a 7 iron would be a chip

 

[TheBellyWedge]

Imagine you are throwing the ball at the pin. High will stop fast low will run. This will give you a good idea on how to hit it. Remember, chip over a bunker, pitch over flat ground.

 

[Wolfman]

Imagine you are throwing the ball at the pin. High will stop fast low will run. This will give you a good idea on how to hit it. Remember, chip over a bunker, pitch over flat ground.

Back to front I think, chip over flat ground, pitch over bunker

 

[TheClaw]

Who's cares what you call it as long as you know how to do it?! I've rarely duffed a chip because I called it the wrong name.

Disclaimer- this only applies to golf shots, not women.

 

[BRISTOL86]

Who's cares what you call it as long as you know how to do it?! I've rarely duffed a chip because I called it the wrong name.

Disclaimer- this only applies to golf shots, not women.

Yeah, I don't really care about the terms, I was just trying to make the distinction between a shot that calls for a shoulder width stance with the ball centered and a very very narrow stance with the ball way back in the stance and understand how they effected the mechanics of the shot.

 

[Heidi]

what about a bump and run shot? its a bigger chip.
am playing a links later today and it'll be my shot of choice in the wind

 

[swanny32]

I adopted the hands forward, club head back in the stance technique for chipping and I've been terrible at it, going to go back to how I used to chip and see if I can iron that out a bit as I used to be pretty solid around the greens.

 

[bobmac]

I adopted the hands forward, club head back in the stance technique for chipping and I've been terrible at it

Like this you mean?

[video=youtube;NA8aMPqdmbY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA8aMPqdmbY&list=PL7Uf2W3sfvqYBJ3OUldKvQT7ZWYEmPOyW[/video]

Maybe you need more wedges

 

[One Planer]

Like this you mean?

[video=youtube;NA8aMPqdmbY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA8aMPqdmbY&list=PL7Uf2W3sfvqYBJ3OUldKvQT7ZWYEmPOyW[/video]

Maybe you need more wedges

A question on he above clip Bob.

I notice in your back swing you take the club back to around the 8 o'clock position regardless of club. I take it when chipping that is a good way of controlling how much run you get by keeping the back swing length the same but varying the loft and club length?

 

[bobmac]

Some people keep the same swing and vary the club. Some keep the same club and vary the swing and some do both.
There is no right or wrong way.
You decide which method suits you.

 

[Yosser]

David Leadbetter Golf short game

[video=youtube;-KYH99MuaMU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KYH99MuaMU[/video]

I've found this video very useful, in it David describes the "chip-putt", "regular-chip" and "pitching" and advocates the use of many clubs.