WHY CAN'T WE ALL LOFT the
ball up into the air confidently and softly like
Phil Mickelson around the green? It can¹t be
that hard, can it? Pitching the ball is a wonderfully
complex skill that requires imagination, finesse,
muscle control and feel in order to place the ball
on the green close to the hole. While not everyone
has Mickelson¹s talent, we all can learn from
the three fundamentals that he and all great players
utilize to hit the high, soft, finesse shots around
the green. Ball Position
The placement of the ball in your stance determines
what the club will do as it approaches the ball.
You can use the center of your sternum as a guide
for a normal shot trajectory. By placing the ball
back 1 inch in your stance, where the ball is
on the right side of your sternum, you will be
catching the ball on a descending blow and hitting
a lower trajectory shot.
Likewise, if you place the ball on the left side
of your sternum, you will be catching the ball
slightly on the upswing, as the club ascends,
and will hit a higher, softer shot.
So all you need to remember about ball positioning
is to ask yourself what type of height you need
for the shot. When you want a normal trajectory
with the ball in the air about half the time and
on the ground the other half, place the ball in
the center of your sternum. For a lower trajectory,
where the ball is in the air one-third of the
time and on the green two-thirds of the time,
position the ball off the right side of your sternum.
When you¹re looking for a higher trajectory,
with the ball in the air two-thirds of the time
and on the ground one-third of the time, place
the ball to the left of your sternum.
Hand
Position
Where you place your hands in relation to the
ball is very important. In 95 percent of the pitch
shots golfers face on a day-to-day basis, it is
usually best to place your hands slightly ahead
of the ball. This forward press of the club allows
you to keep your hands leading the club through
impact. But in those few key situations when you
must get abnormal height on the ball, you can
move your hands back to even with the ball and
gain some extra height, or even move them behind
the ball for the maximum height possible on these
short pitches.
However, keep in mind that these two hand positions
are very hard to execute consistently and offer
very low success rates. If you experiment with
your hand position, you will usually find that
when the hands are forward, you will get a lower
ball flight, but when the hands are back, a higher,
soft pitch shot will occur.
Weight
Distribution
The final key to trajectory control is where you
place your weight. Weight displacement moves your
center of gravity around, and thus moves the low
point of your swing arc. Placing your weight so
that it favors the left foot will move your sternum
in front of the ball and cause the low point of
your downswing arc to be moved farther forward.
This will make you catch the ball more on a descending
blow and hit a lower shot.
If you center your weight, your sternum will
be right over the ball, the low point of the swing
arc will occur at the ball, and you will hit a
normal trajectory shot. If your weight favors
your right foot, this will move your sternum and
the low point of your swing arc farther back,
causing you to catch the ball on the upswing and
hit a softer, higher shot. So experiment with
moving your weight around and see how your shots
are affected.
By learning to integrate these three fundamentals
and understanding how they affect ball flight
and shot trajectory, you can become a virtuoso
around the green, shoot much better scores and
make your short game the envy of all your friends.
