Short Game – Medium Pitch Shot

By | on December 16, 2022 | 44 Comments | Array


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Paul Wilson is the creator of Swing Machine Golf and founder of Ignition Golf. Paul's golf swing technique is based on the Iron Byron swing machine. YouTube Channels: Paul Wilson Golf and Ignition Golf Tips. Please Join me on Google+

44 Responses to “Short Game – Medium Pitch Shot”

  1. I’m a senior, 9 handicap lefty and have improved the consistency of my game by using your teachings.
    This is the weakest area of my game, the medium distance pitch. I’ve tried all sorts of different methods from running it up with an eight iron to flopping with my lob wedge and can not get consistent.
    I will practice this and hope to get the same improvements as you have given the rest of my game. Maybe I can shave another couple of strokes from my handicap.
    Keep up the excellent work!!!

    David D.

  2. Paul ,apart from changing clubs ,Pw,Gw,Sw,and turning slow,médium Speed,fast ,there’s a Third way to régulate the distance OF the carry ,which is by changing the position OF the hands on the handle :end OF grip ,middle OF the grip ,close to the steel .
    The advantage I see is you don’t have to fiddle with YOUR rotational Speed .
    In REAL Life ( and golf ) you Contrôl distance by exercizing the shot quite a lot ,in order to get the feel OF it .
    To stop the ball ,or have it roll ,you ” pinch’it ” more or less at impact
    You should practice this shot ( and the short pitch you showed too) hours ,because you Will hole or not the put dépending the distance the ball stops from the pin !

    • Raymond,

      I don’t like changing hand position but if you feel you have to do it then go ahead. Change your hands and you will most likely change your grip. Why change your swing if you don’t have to?

    • December 27, 2021

      RobertFehrenkamp

      Paul, I am having an issue with the ball going right on the medium pitch shots. The face of the club is too open at contact. I believe it is because I am not loading enough weight on my right side at the top of the swing? Should the weight shift on the backswing for the medium pitch be the same as a full pitch shot? Thanks!

      • Avatar photo

        January 15, 2022

        Paul Wilson

        You would want to start to release some pitch shots if they are going right. The club face is open. On a medium pitch shot there really is very minimal weight shift. If you were doing something like a reverse pivot, then yes you would want o have some weight shift. But keeping the weight 50/50 would be fine. Start with this tip:

        Start Releasing Your Pitch Shots: https://ignitiongolf.com/release-pitch-shots/

  3. November 29, 2016

    jeffstein

    Hey Paul-

    I’m a new member and your instruction has helped me greatly. I’ve been in the
    backyard working on short and medium chips. Every now and then, I blade one by the dogs. I think I’m dipping during the hinge. Is that likely and do you have any thoughts about ‘staying tall’? I feel as if I’m starting tall. Best wishes!

    • Avatar photo

      November 29, 2016

      Paul Wilson

      Jeff,

      Glad you have you on board. That’s great to hear you are improving.

      You should be staying tall and allowing the arms to stretch out as you hit the ball. Maybe you are trying to help it a little. If you try to help it you will look up to see if you did what you are trying to do. Make sure the body is moving the arms.

  4. August 18, 2017

    BradLeClair

    Hi Paul,

    I tend to shank the ball when I’m trying to hit a pitch shot hard. Am I just standing too close to the ball, or am I using too much hands/arms in my downswing? Should I be using my hips more? It’s so confusing because on the short pitch shots I’m ok, but as soon as I have to load up and hit it a little further, the ball goes all over the place off the hozzle.

    Thanks in advance.

  5. March 12, 2018

    RandyRusin

    Paul, loving all the tips, can’t wait for the snow to disappear to get out. I assume this is something one can do with the swing caddie to dial in yardage. Do you do this will all clubs or just SW PW GW LW

    • Avatar photo

      March 12, 2018

      Paul Wilson

      Randy,

      Glad you like the tips. Thanks.

      You certainly can do it with the swing caddie.

      I hit this shot only with Sand Wedge. I only hit full shots with PW, GW and SW down to 70 yards. With SW only and 60 yards and in do I ever abbreviate my golf swing. Why do shorter swings with other clubs when you don’t have to. Don’t you practice your full swing the most? You sure do so try to use this swing as much as possible but vary the rotational speed of the body. Way easier and more simple. Sure you can do other shots but no you need to be out there all day practicing them like I did many years ago.

  6. March 12, 2018

    RandyRusin

    Sorry Paul I think you answered my question in other videos on pitching. It sounds like you use just a SW and can hit it anywhere from 10 to 60 yards with the short and medium pitch shots. Backswing and body turn. Is this correct? Keeps the guess work out of do I use GW or SW full swing, short swing. Or do you dial in your yardages with different wedges and clubs?

  7. March 13, 2018

    RandyRusin

    Paul, took your short, medium and long pitching tips to the indoor range today with the Swing Caddie. WOW can’t wait to keep dialing it in. Put it in approach mode and had a blast practicing today. It really works. It will take all the guess work out of it this year. Carry PW GW SW 60 degree. Would have to stand over ball wondering what club to take and how hard to swing. Should be able to dial just one club in now for those 100 and in shots. Thank you.

    • Avatar photo

      March 13, 2018

      Paul Wilson

      Randy,

      Glad you tried it and liked it. It works amazingly well. Not good if you are just guessing. You need to know exactly how far you are going to hit it before you hit it. Once you get to this level it’s a breeze. Keep at it. Doesn’t take long to master.

  8. Thank you, Paul, for this fantastic resource. Do your wrists roll over to release the short and medium pitches? If yes, is it completely passive or do you assist it? My abbreviated swings are leaving the face open, producing weak and inconsistent pitches. When I actively roll my wrists I make nice “clicky”contact but the closed face sends the ball left.

    • Avatar photo

      April 24, 2018

      Paul Wilson

      Stephen,

      On the medium pitch I would be releasing the club. Once hinged I am not trying to hit with them. Sounds like you need to roll a few over for a while. Then turn them off once they are unlocked which means you switch to belt buckle to hit the shot.

  9. Working on full swing and now trying to work on the medium and short pitch. In the medium pitch is the takeaway the same as the full swing? you say hinge and turn the belt buckle. Is there a delay in the movement when you hinge on the medium shot before the follow through of the rotation of the belt buckle. In the full swing I am finally having some success with swinging the hips through.
    On the medium pitch shot what should I be focusing on as I takeaway the club? I have some good shots but it seems that the club turns in my hand causing the ball to go right and not with a solid shot. The short takeaway and swinging the body through just seems comfortable.

    The short pitch you say point the end of the of club towards the target and then swing through. What is the finishing position of the take away on the short pitch?
    I am sure things will get better as I apply your technique but things seem awkward now.
    Thanks,

    Peter

    • Peter,

      Yes, it is an abbreviated version of the real swing. You would be turning as in your real swing. This would start the club back then you manually hinge it. Don’t make it too comlpicated and overanalyze it. You nee to think about setting the hinge. You are going slow as you are about to set the hinge. As you feel it set you then feel the belt buckle turn slightly ahead of the arms comes down. If so, you will never hit it fat.

      Watch:

      Meltdown at the 12th: https://ignitiongolf.com/meltdown-at-the-12th/

      As you take the club back you need to think HINGE that’s it.

      Right = tight. Let the club release through impact.

      The follow through on the short pitch is when the club is almost vertical. Don’t I say that in this tip:

      Short Game – Short Pitch Shot: https://ignitiongolf.com/short-pitch/

      Keep it simple. Hinge turn that’s it.

  10. February 22, 2019

    jeanlellouche

    Hi Paul
    I have two questions about the short game :
    – for short pitch shot (10 to 30 yards), do we apply the same elements as for a full swing, like spine angle and release point
    – for medium pitch shot, is it better to block the hips just in front of the ball, and prepare an half backswing with the arms only , to be in the same position like the full swing

    Thanks a lot for your answers
    Jean

    • Avatar photo

      February 24, 2019

      Paul Wilson

      Jean,

      Yes, but you are not thinking about that stuff. You are thinking of the butt of the club and hinging it. It’s a tiny backswing so that other stuff will be minimal.

      Short Game – Short Pitch Shot: https://ignitiongolf.com/short-pitch/

      Watch how much my body moves.

      Medium pitch is a normal swing except you are hinging the club early. That’s it.

      Short Game – Medium Pitch Shot: https://ignitiongolf.com/medium-pitch/

      So pitches are abbreviated versions of your real swing. It’s just you need to set the club earlier. Once set switch to belt buckle to hit the shot.

  11. February 25, 2019

    jeanlellouche

    Paul,

    Thank you for your answers.
    I need to focus on these points in the next days, to improve my reliability. But when it works, it’s perfect.
    Oddly, in the shipping shots, the technique works almost immediately.
    May I ask you a last thing ? When you have the availablility, will it be possible, to have a tip in slow motion about short game, because the ones about swing are very useful.
    Thanks a lot for your teaching and particularly for the checkpoints vidéos.

    • Avatar photo

      February 26, 2019

      Paul Wilson

      Jean,

      I will put this on my list. Need the course to get green first. Thanks for the idea.

  12. Hi Paul, would you apply this technique to bunker shots?

  13. Paul, I use this out of green side bunkers. Extremely successful.

  14. Very good reminder lesson ,Paul ,It’s good to go back to basics ,time and again .
    I commented on this video 4 years ago .
    I should add that there’s also the PAUL AZINGER method .
    Paul AZINGER was a pretty good Tour player ,and became a RYDEr CUP Captain .
    He advised to turn more or less in the backswing rotation to adjust for distance .;
    You have to have a very upright swing to be successful at these pitch shots ,so stay close to the ball .at address.

  15. September 14, 2019

    CraigBaker

    Paul

    Can you explain the mechanics of needing to grip down on the club for short and medium pitch shots? Since you are still using a tall stance, I am trying to understand why grip depth is changed

    • Avatar photo

      September 16, 2019

      Paul Wilson

      Craig,

      You are gripping down because shorter shots are more delicate, gripping down allows you to point the butt at the right spot and you will hit it shorter.

  16. Hi, I am new to the Body swing. The full swing was miraculous. Straighter and longer than before with the slow turn of the legs. I also hit the pitch shot well but I found the trajectory higher with all my wedges with the short and intermediate swing than ever before. No 37-40 angel like the pros advocate. Am I doing something wrong or is this high trajectory to be expected? Can you use different backswing length instead of different speed on your hipturn ?

    Are you still recommending your chipping tecnique . The position of the ball back in the stance and the forward leaning club is seen more seldom these days.
    Best
    Lennart

  17. August 1, 2020

    LennartSmith

    Does this mean that you close the clubface after impact even when you pitch and roll over your arms?
    Best
    Lennart

    • Avatar photo

      August 4, 2020

      Paul Wilson

      There is some release to pitch shots, the face would start to shut after you have hit the golf ball. IF you are hitting pitch shots too high or some slice spin to them then yes, you would want to work on the release. Check out this video:

      Start Releasing Your Pitch Shots – https://ignitiongolf.com/release-pitch-shots/

  18. December 29, 2020

    terrybadger

    Hi Paul,
    I have always liked your tips, but I did change one in a way that seems to suit me better. When I have a pitch shot that is going to be longer than a medium pitch shot, I change clubs from a sand wedge to a gap wedge or pitching wedge. I do really well with that more compact swing when I pitch, so I took your idea of changing clubs when you are chipping various distances, to this long pitch problem. It works for me. Do you see any problem with it?
    thanks,
    terr

    • Avatar photo

      January 3, 2021

      Paul Wilson

      If this is a change that you can practice and be consistent at then definitely try it. Little modifications like this are great and I really do love hearing from what things work. Keep up the good work.

  19. Hi Paul

    I tend to pull these left, even with the turn. On the hinge I think I may be pointing the butt of the club too far outside. Should it be more in line with your target path, behind the ball? In the down the line view here your’s seems on or just outside of it.

    Thanks so much,
    John

    • I’m finding it is actually helping me to do your 1 piece “Y” takeaway briefly then hinge and turn. Seems to keep all the pitches straight.

    • At the medium pitch shot position you would want the butt of the golf club pointing straight down to the ground and it would be pointing at your target line or slightly outside. If you are pulling your shots then you might be swinging too hard with the arms, causing the pull. You can always try to swing slightly right of the target and at least get some shots going right (for a right handed golfer) and then stop thinking about that and go back to your pitching technique. Check out these tips as these would be the same fixes as the pitch shot:

      Over The Top – Where Is The Butt Pointing?: https://ignitiongolf.com/ott-butt-pointing/
      Over The Top – Swing To First Base: https://ignitiongolf.com/ott-first-base/

  20. Paul, with your pitching technique is it total distance or just carry. If it is carry, how much roll do you have to expect when pitching the different distances? Do you expect less roll when hitting longer pitch shots or shorter ones?

    • This would be carry distance. You are hoping that on a regular green that it will stop within a couple yards; if you hit it 40yds then it will stop within 41-42 yds. The shorter shots will roll slightly more then longer shots will stop quicker. This is because more backspin is produced on longer shots. These pitch shots take some practice to get better at, so give it a couple weeks and you will see the average roll outs for these shots.

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