Hit Your Pitches Close With This Drill

If you’re unable to hit your pitches close enough to one-putt, you may be costing yourself strokes. Hitting pitches close enough will help you chop strokes off your scores and your golf handicap. Here’s a drill from short game guru Dave Pelz that will help hit pitches close:

The Brush Drill:

Set up as if you were going to hit a normal pitch. Open your clubface slightly so that the sole’s bounce just brushes the green. Relax your grip. You want it light but not too loose. Now make 20 swings without the ball where you just brush the grass with your club. Then try hitting some balls. You want to leave a scuff, not a divot, when you hit these balls.

Keep practicing this drill until you’ve ingrained the feel of this shot. When you use it on the course, focus on scuffing the grass, not chopping out a divot. Soon you’ll find yourself hitting pitches closer to the pin, leaving you more makeable one-putts.