Golf pitching tips for Beginners

Pitching a golf ball is often overlooked as being just a “gimmick” but it can have significant positive impacts on your game if you know what to do with it.

This article will give you 14 tips for improving your pitching skills and finally start seeing some improvement in those pesky errant shots to the right or left of the green.

1. Know The Speed And Variance Of The Wind Before Pitching

When you pitch a golf ball, the wind is almost always going to be your biggest distraction.

Strong winds are extremely difficult to play against and will result in many unexpected shots for virtually everyone including those who consider themselves otherwise average players.

The key here is to gauge how hard a breeze there is, and whether or not it's in your favor. If you're standing behind the tee box, hold up one finger for every mile per hour of wind speed to indicate that pitch (or any shot) should be taken with one club less than usual.

If winds are gusting around 10 miles per hour or more, take a two-club reduction. If it's more than 15 miles per hour, get ready to play one or even two clubs less for most of your shots.

2. Grip The Golf Ball Slightly Farther Down The Club

The farther down the club you grip the golf ball, the lower and flatter your shot will be, and the more accurate your ball will be.

Try gripping the club 1-3 inches lower than you normally would and it should go a long way to correcting some of those errant shots that you've been dealing with lately.

This is especially true if you're using somewhat of an unorthodox grip such as interlocking or overlapping grips.

Pay special attention to your grip when making your first practice pitch. You might find that you need an even lower grip than usual in certain situations.

3. Keep Your Left Wrist Locked Down When Pitching The Golf Ball

One of the most important fundamentals for getting a good, solid pitch is ensuring that your left wrist is locked down on the follow-through.

This is important for many reasons, but one of the most significant ones to remember is that your wrist should be locked down all throughout the swing, from start to finish, and during any kind of shot such as a chip or pitch. Keeping it locked will give you maximum power when sending that little white ball sailing its way towards the target.

4. Do Not Release The Golf Club Into Impact With Your Left Wrist Still Bent

While we're on the subject of left wrist, one thing to watch out for is releasing your golf club into impact with your left wrist still bent or hanging down from where it was at address.

5. Make Sure You Have An Even Tempo And Rhythm To Pitching The Golf Ball

One of the most important aspects for good pitching is an even tempo and rhythm.

You want your body to be moving at a steady pace during the downswing, not speeding up when you get closer to impact or slowing down after it.

This will ensure that you have a good, solid strike every single time.

6. Try Taking More Clubhead Backswing And A Slightly Early Release

If you're having trouble keeping your left wrist locked down when pitching then try taking more clubhead backswing and release the golf ball earlier in your swing.

This will help make sure that your wrist and club are fully extended when your ball is struck, which will lead to a clean strike.

The more you practice with this concept the better you'll get.

7. Use Your Body To Power The Pitch

When pitching the golf ball you'll want to try and use your body more than your arms.

In other words, don't just swing the golf club with a whippy motion that uses mostly arm muscles to strike the golf ball. Try to use your lower body for power instead and get it moving so that your arms can simply act as a means of propelling the golf club into impact.

You'll have all the power you need to get an accurate shot when this happens.

8. Try To Keep The Clubface Square Through Impact

Plenty of golf players will tell you that using a pitching wedge for golf shots is much better than using golf irons. This is especially true when it comes to golf pitching.

When using a wedge, you have the most room for error because there's more sole underneath the golf ball than there would be with golf irons.  That increases your margin of error so that if you happen to miss your golf pitch by a little bit, it's not as likely to roll away off course.  You can also get a better strike with golf wedges than you would golf irons because there's more room for error there.

To pitch your golf ball using a wedge, simply set up similarly to how you normally would but with one foot slightly in front of the other.  The golf club will usually be lower to the ground, and you'll want to use an open stance so that your golf ball has a clear shot at the target.

9. Try To Make Your Golf Ball Fly Higher

If you've tried golf pitching and found that it just wasn't your thing, or if you're just not getting the hang of it no matter how much you try, then one important golf pitch tip is to simply try to make the golf ball fly higher.  This is done by making a golf pitch that's just a little bit higher and then coming down to earth with it.  Doing this will stop the golf ball from bouncing around and skidding out of play, which is always one risk you run when pitching.

10. Keep Your Eyes On The Target As Much As Possible

Many golfers who want to improve their golf score will golf practice regularly in order to get better.

Most golf players know that practice alone won't cut it though, and that one of the best golf pitch tips is to work on your mental game as well.  This means staying focused and avoiding distractions as much as you can.  It also helps if you golf pitch when you are as calm and relaxed as possible, which is why golfers will golf pitching on a course that's quiet as opposed to one that's teeming with people.

If you can successfully golf pitch while focusing on your target instead of what's going on around you, then you're well on your way to being golf pitch ready.

11. Try To Use A Fairway Wood Instead Of An Iron

As golf pitch tips go, this is a good one because golfers who can use a golf fairway wood for golf shots are able to work on their swing in much the same way as they would with an iron or wedge. With either of these golf pitch, the golf ball can go farther and you don't have as much room for error.  This is especially true when golf pitching because it's likely that your golf shot won't be traveling in a straight line to its intended target.

If you would like to golf pitch with a fairway wood then simply set up in a fashion that you would golf pitch with an iron.  You'll want to use an open stance and to make your golf pitch swing as long as possible in order to accommodate the extra loft of your golf club.

12. Try To Cut Your Swing In Half If You're Not Completely Confident In It

If golf pitching isn't your thing, then you'll want to golf pitch wedge shots outside of the golf course as much as you can.  Practice makes perfect, but that won't be enough for some golf pitchers.  Some also prefer to take half swings at their golf pitches instead of full ones in order to golf pitch golf balls.

13. Make Sure You're Holding The Golf Club Correctly When Golf Pitching

You should golf pitch golf balls with your golf club held in a position similar to what it would be if you were golf chipping.  Your hands should be lower and farther down the golf club than they normally would, and your golf club should be facing downward.  This golf pitch golf technique tip will help you to get a better strike on the golf ball because it's harder for you to mess up your golf grip and swing technique.

14. Experiment With Different Golf Pitches When You're Golf Pitching

As you golf pitch some golf balls, whether it is golf chipping or pitching, you will want to try golf pitches of varying heights and distances.  The goal is to golf drill yourself and figure out the correct golf pitch distance for each golf shot.

This golf pitching tip may not be all that helpful if you're golf pitching a golf ball on the course, but it's great if you golf pitch golf balls off of a tee.

Conclusion

This golf pitching guide has helped golfers of all skill levels golf pitch better golf shots.  If you golf pitch golf balls with the knowledge from this article, then your next golf volley will be much more effective in order to help you lower your golf score.  Be sure to practice these golf pitches as much as possible so that they become second nature to you.  

No matter what golf pitch you need to golf strike with, whether it's golf chipping or golf pitching, this golf pitching guide will help you golf strike better golf shots.

 

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