Know the secret to break 80? It’s playing well from 100 yards and in. That’s a key focus in our golf lessons. If you’re like some weekend golfers, however, you lose a ton of strokes on pitches. That’s golf’s red zone. Stick those pitches close, and you’ll break 80 and lower your golf scores.

But scoring with your pitch shots close is easier said than done. To do it well, you’ll need to learn to hit low, medium, and high pitch shots. Below are some golf tips on hitting pitch shots to those heights. We also provide a golf drill that teaches you how to hit all three of these pitch shots.

 

 

Golf Tip: Hitting Low Pitch Shots

Low pitches are ideal for uphill shots, shots to a back pin, or shots needing to roll. Many weekend golfers use a 9-iron or a pitching wedge for this shot. These clubs have less bounce, are easier to hit crisply. Plus, they generate backspin to get the ball rolling. Stay away from the sand wedge with this shot—especially with a tight lie. The SW’s bounce will kill you.

To hit low pitches, set up so that everything is parallel to the target. In other words, aim your shoulders two to three feet left of your target (right of target for left-handers). Do the same with your feet. Also, stand closer to the ball, play it back in your stance, and limit wrist rotation. Lean the shaft toward the target and keep it that way throughout the shot.

Golf Tip: Hitting Medium Pitch Shots

Medium pitches are ideal for middle pin placements. These pitches fly a bit higher than low pitches and have less roll. While the sand wedge is the club of choice for medium pitches, you can also use a gap or lob wedge, depending on the distance. We encourage weekend players to practice hitting pitches with all three clubs. That gives them a nice feel for the height and roll each club produces.

Set up with a slightly open but narrow stance, with the clubface square to the target. That setup steepens your angle into the ball on the downswing. Opening your stance makes it hard to find the “middle” ball position. But playing the ball directly below your sternum guarantees the ball is always in the middle. Hit this shot about three-quarters of the way to the hole and let it roll the rest of the way.

Golf Tip: Hitting High Pitch Shots

This shot is challenging to learn. But if you want to break 80, you must learn to hit it with accuracy, a skill we teach in our golf lessons. One of the keys to hitting a high pitch that holds the green when it hits is accelerating your downswing right up until impact. That’s something some golfers have a hard time executing.

Grip the club with the clubface open before setting up. Trial and error will tell you just how much you need to open the face. Take a slightly narrower stance, which forces you to make a steeper swing, play the ball up in your stance, and lean the shaft away from the target slightly. Now, make an accelerating downswing as you come into the ball. Finish in balance.

7-8-9 Pitch Shot Golf Drill

This golf drill teaches you to hit pitch shots with four heights. Use it as your go-to golf drill for hitting pitches:

Address the ball. Now imagine a large clock behind you. Practice swinging your left arm to the various “hours” of the clock as a way of controlling the distance on your pitch shots. For left-handers, it will be your right arm.

Practice hitting a low pitch shot by taking the club back to the 7 o’clock position, then coming forward. This position becomes your low pitch shot position. Now, practice hitting pitches going back to the 8 o’clock position. This position becomes your medium pitch shot.

Next, practice hitting pitches going back to the 9 o’clock and the 10 o’clock positions. These shots become your high pitch shots. Once you mastered these shots, you’ll have four go-to pitch shots when you need them. Don’t forget to cock your wrists on these swings. Keep your weight on your front foot while hitting pitches.

Also Read:

Proper Golf Stance Seven Pro-like Checkpoints

Four Golf Tips To Improve Your Pitching

Lower Scores by Practicing the Right Golf Drills

Hit it Harder, Straighter, and Longer by Practicing these Backswing Golf Drills

Use the Golf Tips in this Golf Drill to Save Strokes

 

Nail these four pitches with help from our golf tips, and you’ll shave strokes off your scores and your golf handicap. Plus, you’ll take a major step forward in breaking 80. Remember, real golf, as we say in our golf lessons, is played from 100 yards and in

Hit Pinpoint Downhill Pitch Shots Next Time Out: 7 Proven Golf Tips

One of the most popular questions we get in our golf lessons is how to hit downhill pitches. Hitting pinpoint downhill pitches saves pars and birdies. Save enough of those and you’ll break 80 next time out.

But having this type of shot can intimate you. That can cause you to mis-hit the shot, costing you strokes. Keep the six golf tips below in mind when you have a downhill pitch and you’ll nail It every time.

Below are seven keys to hitting downhill pitches.

1. Use the right wedge for the shot
2. Weaken right- and left-hand grips
3. Align your body with the slope
4. Play the ball back in your stance
5. Use open stance with target
6. Use a steep swing to match the slope
7. Pick out a target on the green

Hitting downhill pitches is all in your setup. If you set up correctly, chances are good you’ll execute the shot perfectly:

• Use one less club than you’d typically use from that distance. So, if you would typically use a 56-degree SW for this pitch shot, use a 60-degree LW.
• Adopt a slightly weaker grip. That’s where a player turns your hands to the left a bit more than usual. (If you’re left-handed, you’ll turn your hands to the right.)
• Use a slightly wider stance for balance and play the ball back a bit in your stance. Now, match your hips and shoulders to the slope’s angle. That might be a challenge on some shots, but the better you do that here, the better your shot.
• Pick out your target for the shot. Then, make a steep swing to match the angle of the slope. You should feel as if you’re chasing the ball down the hill.
• Be careful with downhill pitches! It’s easy to skull the shot and run it past the hole and off the green. You might find yourself with a tough chip shot coming back. That can cost your strokes.

We hope golf tips on hitting accurate downhill pitches helps—a frequently asked question in our golf lessons. Hit accurate downhill pitch shots using the golf tips above can save pars and birdies. Make enough of those and you’ll break 80.

Eliminate Pushing and You’ll Never Miss a Green

and Shoot Lower Scores

Pushing approach shots—right or left—can cause you to miss greens. It can also leave you with a tough shot from a bad lie. That, in turn, can cost you strokes. You don’t need a golf lesson to tell you that that’s bad for your scores.

Below are two simple drills that help eliminate pushing:

1.      The Towel Golf Drill

Loading incorrectly at the top causes a push. Not flexing your back knee can cause this swing flaw. The golf drill below helps you correct this deadly swing flaw:

Placing a towel, headcover, or similar object under the outside of your back foot gives you the feeling that you’re swinging back against something. That, in turn, makes it easier to retain knee flex in your backswing.

2.      Over the Stick Golf Drill

Put an alignment stick in the ground on the correct target line about five yards in front of you. Now work on hitting the ball straight over the stick. Having a visual target focuses you on where you need to start your shot. You can even start the shot left of the target (right for right-handers) to get your swing back online.

Practice these golf drills to stop pushing. That, in turn, will help you hit solid irons into the green, lowering your scores and helping you break 80 consistently.