Swinging on plane could be the most overlooked short game basic in golf. In fact, many weekend players have no idea which plane their wedges move on when hitting a pitch shot. This can hamper accuracy and consistency. The drill below, courtesy of short game guru Dave Pelz, teaches you the right plane to pitch it close.
Thumbs-up Drill
Find a practice green where you can safely hit pitches. Go out about 20 yards or so and setup for a normal pitch shot. Make your normal takeaway but stop at about the 7 o’clock position. Remove your right hand from the club and curl your left thumb in a hitchhiking position.
Check the extension of your thumb. If the extension points toward your head, you’re too steep. It if points behind you, you’re too flat. But if it points toward your sternum, you’re on plane.
Now hit the shot for real. But stop your swing three quarters of the way into your follow-through. Curl your right thumb. The extension of the right thumb curl should point to the middle of your sternum. If it does, you’ve stayed on plane through the swing.
Use this drill to train yourself to say on plane when pitching. Do that and you’ll rid your-self of a damaging short-game mistake.