pitching motion over steep - hjs

the_coach

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"some tips for shallowing my pitching. Getting very steep (deepish divots) and need to flatten out, brush the turf more. Tried linear and traditional method and steep in both. Put a large towel under my arms and I stay nicely connected but take it away and I tend to get very steep again (hjs)"

stuff to check over at set-up for a 'regular type' pitch shot

ball position opposite sternum center chest or 1 ball in front of sternum
weight around 55% - 45% lead to trail
hands/handle just opposite front half of ball - so slight forward leaning shaft (the hold on the handle usually better if choked down some as a norm for all distances under 80' - so not in a normal full swing position towards the butt end but more in the center of the handle for control and consistency)
feet around 12" apart between heels, lead foot splayed to 11o'clock trail at 12 (90º to target)
lead foot (being totally square on to the shot interferes with the core being able to rotate properly through the much shorter no weight shift pitch swing motion - why a linear approach can often times lead to difficulties with ball contact)

issues at set-up that encourage narrow and steep
ball back trailside of center
weight hard on leadside (70%/30% up)
hands/handle 2" - 3" or more in front of ball - big forwards leaning shaft angle
above set-up or near too will encourage a handsy/wristy pick-up - so narrow & steep going back coming down

also can encourage way too much arm separation lifting the arms up outwards & away from the body - action has little or no upper body turn or rotation - but a 'false' body turn in that an arms lift up usually means an upper body tilt (not turn) upper spine leaning towards target then stays there in front of the ball so downswing steep - steep downswing has the leading edge sharp down into ball

above sometimes linked with a wrong swing intention of needing some 'down & steep' to achieve any spin/bite whereas shallow good contact imparts more spin

to achieve shallower approach angle - set-up has to be good upper arms have to stay in contact with the chest wall going back with quiet wrists - the 'power source/engine' of the motion is rotation of the core and chest - to feel that set -up without club in 'good set-up' as outlined above in posture without club place right hand finger tips on belt buckle, left hand finger tips just under sternum center chest - make slow turns back and through feeling the hands (so the core from just below belly button to chest/shoulders turn as one unit together - keep weight as set-up avoid sway

that core rotation is what is needed to control the pitch motion so more a feeling of the arms/hands/club going along for the ride, arms and hands though are 'soft' not tensed up no real 'hit' with either arms or hands - forearms and hands soft the wrists will still set as much as they need to without any active wrist/hand involvement - but if looked back at in video it will appear there is active hand involvement in reality it's just the weight of the club and the core rotation that gives that impression

different pitch distances achieved through length of backswing (thru-swing mirrors the amount back) and speed of the "core" rotation - but the "core" & the arms/hands/club move more as one connected speed - you don't need the separation of lower body to upper as in a full swing - as the distances needed can be achieved without -

to that it's important to video this practice ot review it to then fully understand and monitor set-up and motion really is what it should be as feel to real alone won't cut it as habit too fully ingrained

with this core rotation it's key to stay in posture and vertical height from the takeaway to impact - just through impact the lead shoulder lead left chest will appear and feel to move upwards so too the hands and handle but that's only because true rotation continues with the spine kept in posture until just after impact - there's no independent active lifting up through the strike - spine returns to more 90º to take pressure off after the follow through when the shaft is around horizontal in the thru- swing with chest and core facing target direction to slightly left of target
 

the_coach

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the drill at 45" is a good ways to feel what happens into/thru impact - just be mindful it's a 'feelin' of up more brought about by the rotation of the upper core - if rotating in posture the lead shoulder lead pec will rotate both back around and up - no real independent lifting/standing up into the shot


[video=youtube;5zl_O9nc5c4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zl_O9nc5c4[/video]
 

the_coach

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".......that core rotation is what is needed to control the pitch motion so more a feeling of the arms/hands/club going along for the ride, arms and hands though are 'soft' not tensed up no real 'hit' with either arms or hands - forearms and hands soft the wrists will still set as much as they need to without any active wrist/hand involvement - but if looked back at in video it will appear there is active hand involvement in reality it's just the weight of the club and the core rotation that gives that impression

different pitch distances achieved through length of backswing (thru-swing mirrors the amount back) and speed of the "core" rotation - but the "core" & the arms/hands/club move more as one connected speed - you don't need the separation of lower body to upper as in a full swing - as the distances needed can be achieved without -

to that it's important to video this practice ot review it to then fully understand and monitor set-up and motion really is what it should be as feel to real alone won't cut it as habit too fully ingrained

with this core rotation it's key to stay in posture and vertical height from the takeaway to impact - just through impact the lead shoulder lead left chest will appear and feel to move upwards so too the hands and handle but that's only because true rotation continues with the spine kept in posture until just after impact - there's no independent active lifting up through the strike - spine returns to more 90º to take pressure off after the follow through when the shaft is around horizontal in the thru- swing with chest and core facing target direction to slightly left of target"

this video is speaking to a bunch of the stuff that was in this excerpt from 1st post
distance control through connected lengths of swing plus connected tempo of body to arms/hands/club

[video=youtube;ndoEMAaw4FY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndoEMAaw4FY[/video]
 
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