GWD_MAY_16

© PICTURE ANGUS MURRAY
Everything I know about…
Pitching
By Jamie Donaldson
He hit one of the most famous short-iron shots of all time at the 2014
Ryder Cup. Now the Welshman helps you to prosper in the scoring zone.
How do you define a pitch shot? People have a few
different ways of saying exactly what a pitch is.
A pitch is a shot that spends more time in the air than
it does on the ground. A chip shot, in contrast, spends
more time on the ground than it does in the air. It’s
that simple really. So for me a standard pitch shot is
one that lands on the green, takes one hop and stops
pretty quickly after that.
When does a pitch turn into a full shot? How far out?
A pitch can be anything up to about 100 yards or so.
But anything above, say, 60 yards is something of a
grey area. If you pin me down I’d have to say a true
pitch has to be no more than 60 yards long to qualify.
So what is your thinking over a standard pitch shot?
As much as I can, I try to keep a relationship between
my arms and my chest. I want to feel a connection all
the way from address to
impact. There is inevitably
going to be a little bit of wrist
action in the swing itself, but
it is the movement of the
torso that is the biggest factor
in the creation of momentum.
To that end, I like to feel what
is happening in my shoulders. They are my focus
during the swing, back and through.
To foster that feeling, I like to hit pitch shots with a
golf glove under each armpit. My aim is to strike the
ball solidly without the gloves falling out. If I achieve
that, I know the connection I’m looking for has been
maintained throughout the swing.
If you try that and one or both of the gloves are
falling to the ground, stand a little closer to the ball.
The late, great swing coach Bob Torrance used to say
that you can never stand too close to the ball. That
may not be literally the case, but I know what Bob
meant. Use the gloves as a guide to get as close as you
can. Move closer and closer. As soon as they are not
falling out, you are in the perfect spot in relation to
the ball. As for the length of the swing, a lot of that is
‘To me, the left arm should
never go past horizontal
on the backswing – more
than that is a full shot’
down to experimentation. You need to know how far
you can hit the ball with all lengths of backswing,
which should be the same length as the followthrough.
Some amateurs take too long a swing and decelerate
through impact; others are too short and jerky. How
do they find the optimum length?
They first have to set the parameters. To me, the left
arm should never go past horizontal or 9 o’clock on
the backswing. If you go further than that you are
probably hitting something more akin to a full shot
than a pitch. A good image to have – and swinging in
front of a mirror helps here – is to think of the left
arm and the club forming a right angle. That’s as far
as you can go and still be hitting what I would define
as a pitch shot.
Is there any footwork involved?And how wide should
the stance be?
Width of stance comes down
to the individual. This is not
an exact science. But your feet
should be closer together than
they’d be for a full shot, your
weight a little further forward
than normal. It helps encourage
the descending blow you need through impact.
Okay, that’s your standard pitch. But how do you
change the trajectory of the shot?
The simplest way is to use a different club of course.
Or you can shift the ball within your stance. But only
a little. If you move the ball forward it will
automatically come out a little higher; move it back
and the shot will fly lower.
What about spin? Is that important?
You’ll get most spin on the ball using the most lofted
club in your bag, whatever that may be. That club
won’t produce much distance either. Using a “pitch
swing” the ball won’t go more than maybe 40-50
yards. But spin is not that big a deal if you have a
May 2016 Golf World
81