Pitching: golfdigest.com

3 Steps To A Better Short Game

Pick the shot, pick the club, pick the swing

By David Toms

With Peter Morrice

Photos By J.D. Cuban

October 2007

On greenside shots, you have to decide three things: (1) what kind of shot to hit, (2) the best club for that shot and (3) the kind of swing that will make that club produce the result you want. Many amateurs pick the wrong shot or the wrong club or use the wrong technique: They grab the lob wedge when they have 50 feet of green in front of them. The thing is, the formula works only if you get all three parts right. Here are a few examples.

<< SHORT PITCH

Set Up Open, Cut Across The Ball

1. SHOT
Here I have a very short pitch shot that I want to drop softly in the fringe. My lie is good, so I should be able to slide the club under the ball.

2. CLUB
I'm using my 60-degree because I need maximum touch. I open my stance, which pre-rotates my body to the target. This keeps the swing shallow and helps the club slide through the grass.

3. SWING
I play the ball off my front heel and open the face. Then I hinge the club up and swing down along my stance. I have plenty of loft, so there's no need to flip the club. The ball comes out high and soft.

<< FAULT

Too often on these short shots I see amateurs square their stance and then open the face. Two problems there: First, a square setup leads to a steeper swing and can cause fat contact. Second, the clubface is angled to the right -- a swing along the target line will hit the ball to the right.