How to hit tour-style pitch shots that take one hop and stop

If you watch a tour player hit a pitch shot into a green, one of the first things you'll notice is that they almost always drive the ball in low with some backspin. There are some instances when that type of shot won't work, but given a choice, most elite players opt for getting the ball out of the air as quickly as possible.

How about you?

When you hit pitch shots higher, it's more difficult to control distance. You're adding unnecessary variables, like having to judge wind and how big of a swing to make. The common mistakes I see with amateurs are hanging back to try to lift the ball (below) or steering the shot into the green. Do either, and you're making the flight and roll-out more unpredictable.

Let me show you how to improve your pitching accuracy by hitting the ball on a lower trajectory and a straighter line toward the hole. It starts with your setup. First, here's a common bad setup position many amateurs use to hit a pitch (below). This is the "not that" part of the lesson.

Instead of getting behind the ball to try to lift it, play it farther back in your stance and make sure your sternum is in front of the ball at address like I'm demonstrating below.

Setting the sternum in this position pre-sets the low point of your swing to be in front of the ball, meaning you'll strike down on it, get good contact and lower your ball flight while creating a lot of ball-stopping spin. It looks like this (below).

One last thing to consider: club selection. Instead of pitching with a lob wedge, experiment with lower-lofted clubs. You'd be surprised how effective you can be even using something like a 9-iron. Point is, get the ball flight down, and you'll start leaving more of your shots pin-high.

David Armitage is director of instruction at the Shell Bay Club in Hallandale Beach, Fla.