MASTER THE 50-YARD PITCH

Rethinking and simplifying your action could reap big dividends

- Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Mark Townsend

The 50-yard pitch causes us problems as it’s nothing like a full shot and we confuse ourselves trying to work out our length of swing, tempo and club choice. The main problems come when we do too much with our hands and there’s a lack of flow. We over-accelerate or decelerate and fail to match up the lengths of our backswing and follow-through, leading to inconsistency. This article will help with your rhythm, strike and distance control...

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1 PIZZA BOX DRILL

This is a good thought for anyone who has a floppy, handsy pitching action. I call it the pizza box drill as you make practice swings like you’re holding a book or a pizza box. Set up with your palms face up as this gets the shoulder blades in the right position. Many club golfers get very tense over this shot and this encourages the shoulders to stay relaxed, which is key as we want the bigger muscles to control the shot.

Some players feel it in their chest and some in their back. We’re all different, but the priority here is to make it feel like the takeaway is all very connected. The hands should not be moving independently – this is something that doesn’t promote a consistent impact and makes it really hard to gauge the right distance.

It also gets the elbows closer together, the back in the right posture and the shoulder blades in the right position. When you take the club back, feel like the big muscles in your back and core initiate the backswing, rather than flipping your hands. You are not doing anything quickly or abruptly – the 50-yard pitch should be an easy, smooth swing.

2 LET GRAVITY TAKE OVER