Pitch Shot Drill

[Yuzo]

i tried a drill today that i remember reading in a magazine,... on pitch shots grip the club so your little finger is over-hanging the wedge.

i tried this and my pitch shots were so much better, much more consistent shots.

is this a drill to practice on the range? or do players actually play with their finger over-hanging the club? as it didnt feel very comfortable.

one last question,... why do we use so much wrist action on such a shot? and can this method only be used on pitch shots with my PW and SW? ... what if i didnt take a full swing and used such wrist action on my 9 iron?

 

[birdieman]

i tried a drill today that i remember reading in a magazine,... on pitch shots grip the club so your little finger is over-hanging the wedge.

i tried this and my pitch shots were so much better, much more consistent shots.

is this a drill to practice on the range? or do players actually play with their finger over-hanging the club? as it didnt feel very comfortable.

one last question,... why do we use so much wrist action on such a shot? and can this method only be used on pitch shots with my PW and SW? ... what if i didnt take a full swing and used such wrist action on my 9 iron?

Can't imagine any player playing pitches with their little finger off the grip - the butt end is too thick to grip properly for a start. Also it's more normal to choke down a little on pitches for extra control.

You play pitches with lots of wrist cock to maximise spin on the ball. If you swing with less wrist cock you'll impart less spin onm the ball. By taking extra club and moving the ball back in stance you'd be playing a knock down shot which is useful into the wind - the extra club combined with less wristcock will impart far less spin on the ball which is what you want playing into a headwind - keeps it lower and on a more boring trajectory.

 

[RGDave]

I actually tried this idea and couldn't get my head around it.

I think Birdie is right, the normal "play" is to choke down and if I understood the O.P. then this idea is opposite to common practice.

I'm not saying it's wrong, it might work for some people, I don't know, I couldn't get it at all.

 

[JustOne]

What kind of yardages are you talking about for these pitch shots? Generally I try to keep my wrists as quiet as possible on all shots that don't require it (ie: I have a bunker to go over).