Zach Johnson on Controlling Pitches (Videos)

Since Zach Johnson is leading the Open at the time I'm writing this (between 2nd and 3rd rounds), I thought it would be fun to look at his pitching technique. I have two videos, one for a 40-yard shot and another for an 80-yard shot, to give you a better look at his technique.



Compare the similarities between the 40-yarder in the first video with the 80-yarder in the next one.



Note that Zach has a very flat, very "under the plane" swing. While I generally talk about one-piece takeaways, simply because most players don't swing as flat as Zach, his full swing is flat as well so he uses the same technique. The more similar you can make your short game and long game techniques, the more consistent you'll generally be.

Between the two videos, we can pick out these keys for a pitch shot:

• Narrow stance, slightly open, a little more weight on the lead foot. (Zach says 60%-40%, but you don't have to be too exact about it.)
• Ball is back in his narrow stance, just inside his trailing foot.
• Zach doesn't use the "clock technique" -- that is, various length backswings with your hand positions described by clock hands (ie, eight o'clock) -- but goes entirely by feel.

That feel thing is the primary thing he does differently from most of the instructional books you'll find (including mine). He may make the same length swing on both of the shots in the videos, but vary the speed of his swing rather than the length. It's a method that requires more practice but may suit some of you better. Trust me, you'll know if it does!

And clearly it works well for Zach. Always go for the method that works best for you, not some supposedly "right" way of playing. We're each different, and we have to learn to play to our strengths if we hope to play well.

It will be interesting to see how Zach finishes this major. Tough conditions play into his hands, as witnessed by his two majors coming on tough courses in nasty conditions. One thing's for sure: if it comes down to a war of wedges, my money's on Zach.

Martin Hall on Drawing a Wedge (Video)

Here's a technique I haven't posted before, so you can thank Martin Hall for this one. Here's Martin demonstrating how to hit a draw with a wedge.



Most of this sounds like typical instruction for playing a draw with any club. I'll use Martin's description, which is for a righthander, and I'll put the lefthander's version in brackets:

• Aim the clubface at the spot where you want the ball to finish.
• Aim your body to the right [left] of your target.
• Twist your forearms as you hit the ball and follow through to close the face. Martin uses a bucket to demonstrate the motion.

I admit that I don't care for all that twisting. While there are times where extra forearm action is needed -- hooking the ball sharply around a tree comes to mind -- you'd generally like to keep your forearms as quiet as possible. However, hooking a wedge is difficult, so I can see where you might need some extra "stuff" to make the wedge shot hook. (I'll have to try it myself and see, when I get a chance. It clearly worked for Bubba at Augusta!)

However, here's an extra key thought that you may never have heard before, and it might help you when you need to draw the ball with other clubs as well. Martin says you want to keep your trailing shoulder high, which may be a bit misleading. It's more like you avoid dropping your shoulder as much as you normally would. (After all, your trail hand is lower on the grip than your lead hand, so obviously your trail shoulder has to be a bit lower than your lead shoulder -- and it will be unless you do something strange. If you do something strange, you'll probably pull the shot as well as hook it... and that's not good.)

Anyway, this is a good thing to remember when you absolutely have to hit a draw with any club, but especially a wedge. Feel as if you're making a level shoulder turn and that should help you get that extra curve you need. The ball should fly lower and hit the green with a lot of spin.

Tyrrell Hatton on Pitch Shots (Video)

Tyrrell Hatton will likely be on the European Ryder Cup team later this year, so it's appropriate to take a look at how he plays pitch shots. Note that Tyrrell is playing only a 55-yard shot here. That's tricky for many players.



While Tyrrell says he swings "shoulder to shoulder" with this swing, you can see in the video that his hands actually never get to shoulder height on his backswing. Rather, his lead arm is parallel to the ground, which is quite normal for most players hitting a pitch shot.

He positions the ball in the middle of his stance for this shot, which creates a downward strike that gives him a reasonable amount of spin, but not enough to get the ball zipping backward once it hits the green. You don't want a lot of spin on this shot; ideally, you'd like it to hop once or twice and stop. Clean contact is the important thing here.

Ironically, as I watched Tyrrell's swing, I had the same reaction I did with Andrew Rice's video lesson in yesterday's post. Tyrrell is making a move that's almost identical to the L-to-L drill I keep mentioning. (This link goes to a post with the simplest version of that drill.)

I know I say it a lot, but the L-to-L drill is a fundamental move in the golf swing. The more you work on it, the better your impact will be, which means you'll get more distance with more accuracy than you would otherwise. And you get those advantages simply by choosing how you want to focus your practice -- in today's case, it would be short game work -- and then using the same basic drill with that goal in mind.

Since you'll be using the same drill each time, you'll continue to help your overall swing at the same time, which should cut the amount of practice time you need to keep your swing in shape.

It's a win-win situation.

Keith Lyford's Three Critical Golf Shots

You'll want to take a look at this article by PGA teaching pro Keith Lyford over at golftipsmag.com. It has all kinds of info about the differences between different types of shots -- info that you may not have heard before

I want to focus on some of his new info about pitching.



This is new info that Lyford says wasn't available even a year or so back. First of all, thanks to force plate technology, we know not only that the pros set up with about 60% of their weight on their lead leg, but they keep it there during the backswing.

Now I bet a number of you had guessed that, even if you didn't know the exact percentage. Keeping your weight forward for pretty much the entire pitching motion is something many instructors have taught for a long time, even without high tech confirmation.

But here's something that's really new to most instructors, and it's something rarely even considered until the figures from the new tech came in. Are you ready for this? Here's the quote from the article:

The pitch shot’s kinematic sequence is different from the full swing. On a full swing, the lower body starts the down-swing. But for pitches, the upper body starts the downswing sequence. That’s why you see Tour Pros hitting pitch shots with a more flat-footed swing—without a lot of weight shift, compared to their full swing.

Let that sink in: Full swings are more leg-oriented but pitches are more arm-oriented. If you're having trouble hitting your pitch shots consistently, there's a really good chance you're using your legs too much. According to the new force plate info, during your pitch shots you shouldn't be using your legs much at all! 

Don't misunderstand. You don't want to lock your legs rigidly in place when you pitch. You're going to use your legs a bit; you're standing on them, after all, so that can't be helped. But you want to keep your legs fairly quiet. Don't try to drive your legs when you hit your pitch shots.

That one little bit of new info may save some of you a lot of shots going forward.

Claude Harmon III on a Simpler Short Game Setup

First, make sure you understand that the first photo below shows THE WRONG WAY to set up for general short game shots. At least, that's what Claude Harmon III says in this Golf Digest instruction article. It's called Want a More Consistent Short Game? Simplify Your Setup.



Harmon says this address position, which is a popular recommendation as of late, isn't good for most of the short shots an average golfer faces. It's great for hitting a low running shot but it does so by delofting the clubface. That makes it harder to get the ball up in the air for other shots without skulling or scooping the ball.

Here's Harmon's recommendation:



By centering the ball in your stance, you minimize the chance of a mis-hit. And if you need to hit a low shot, you can just use a club with less loft.

The difference between Harmon's setup and the one I generally recommend is small. I like to have the ball under my hands -- which puts the ball slightly ahead of center -- while Harmon has his hands slightly ahead of the ball. He uses his feet to position the ball while I use my hands to position the ball. That's why we have a difference; I feel it's easier to create the same position each time using my method. (I also tend to use a less-lofted club for standard shots; I like to hit lower shots when I can.) But we're both using the same concept -- the closer the ball is to the low spot in your short game stroke, the more consistent your contact will be.

Harmon's article is short and you'll want to take a look at it, if for no other reason than to learn what Tiger told him about short game setup. But in any case, the guiding principle is this: With short game as with most other things in life, it's better to avoid extremes when you can.

Paul Casey on the High Lob Shot (Video)

Since Casey won last week, he gets to teach a lesson this week. He recorded this lob shot video as one of the Titleist Tips from the Tour shorts.



Before getting to the tip itself, Paul reminds us that he doesn't have to go straight at the pin. This is something we often forget -- there's nothing wrong with playing the safe shot and avoiding the high score if we aren't sure we can play the bold shot. A low-scoring player always considers all of his or her options.

A quick note about that "safe" shot: Paul specifically says it's a lower shot, and it might even be a running shot. That's a lot easier shot to play, and perhaps that should be your choice if it's available to you.

Okay, here are a couple of things I picked up by studying the video, things that Paul doesn't mention and that may not be clear with only one or two viewings:

• While Paul mentions that his stance is open, you may not realize how far forward his ball position is. He has the ball up even with his lead heel. That's quite far forward when you aren't using a tee, and he has the clubface wide open so he has to catch the ball almost perfectly. This isn't a shot you want to try if the ball is sitting down. You need a good lie.
• You absolutely can't hang back on your trailing foot! With the ball so far forward and the clubface wide open, that's a sure recipe for a skulled shot. It's true that you can't hit down on the ball with this ball position, but you have to make sure your upper body stays stationary during the swing -- it doesn't move backward but it can't move forward either. (At least, not until after the ball has been struck.) You MUST hit the ball accurately in order to get that high ball flight.

Paul makes this look easy, but you need to be sure of yourself if you want to play this shot. Given how much clubhead speed this shot requires to get both the height and the distance, this is not the shot for you if you aren't confident of your ability to pull it off.

That's when you take the safe shot. Never feel guilty about doing that.

Robin Symes on Straight Arm Pitching (Video)

Yesterday I did a post about Stricker's pitching technique and pointed out that he doesn't straighten his arms. So today we cover how to pitch with straight arms!



This might seem contradictory but it's not. Different people use different techniques because they get better results with one or the other. The big question is...

How do you know which technique is best for you?

Symes says that this technique feels "wooden." I'm not sure that's a good description. This may be a good technique for you if you use a very shoulder-oriented putting stroke... and if you do, this probably won't feel "wooden" to you at all.

There's really only two things you need to focus on if you want to try this pitching method:

• Neither elbow bends at any point during the stroke. This is the main difference between this and the Stricker stroke from yesterday's post. That means you have to turn your shoulders a lot during your backswing, which is different from the way most players pitch. Again, that's why Symes describes it as "wooden" -- if you don't do this normally, it WILL feel a bit weird.
• You'll probably need to limit this technique to shorter pitches. Symes suggests 40 yards or 40 meters (which is closer to 44 yards for us American players) as the outer limit. It's not that you can't use this method for longer pitches; it's just that you're more likely to move a lot over the ball on longer shots. Why? Because the bigger your shoulder turn, the bigger your hip and leg movement. Unless your tempo and sequencing is solid, you may find yourself making poorer contact with longer swings.

Other than those two caveats, this technique really isn't much different from any other pitching method. If you use a very shoulder-oriented putting stroke and are having trouble around the green, you might find this to be a very natural alternative to "normal" pitching methods.

James Ridyard on Pitching Like Stricker (Video)

With Steve Stricker breaking his win drought this past weekend, I thought a Stricker lesson would be appropriate. James Ridyard from Today's Golfer magazine (a UK pub) has a helpful lesson.



Pay close attention to the technique because it's based around a very simple idea: Don't rotate your wrists any more than necessary. Everything in this video is focused on this simple idea, and it's the key to Stricker's consistency. I want to focus on two things Ridyard says.

First, Stricker sets up with his hands a bit higher than most players. This allows him to take the club back without having to rotate his forearms as much as you would if you carried your hands lower. His lead arm and club shaft almost form a straight line -- almost but not quite. Creating a very straight line would require more tension than Stricker's technique. Less tension equals more feel.

Second, pay close attention to Ridyard's warning against trying to hold your wrist cock late into the pitch. This isn't a power shot, and pulling your hands into the shot that way will make it hard to use the bounce of the club. It might help to think of your hands remaining in front of your belly button all the way through this short swing. Again, this helps reduce the need to rotate your hands at impact.

And remember: The less you rotate your hands and wrists, the easier it is to bring the clubface back square into impact. And that's a major key to a good short game.

Graeme McDowell on the 100-Yard Pitch Shot (Video)

Since Graeme is tied for the lead at the Genesis Open, I thought it a good time to post a tip from him. This is a Golf Monthly video on how he plays 100-yard pitch shots.



The biggest thing I want you to take away from this tip is that Graeme likes to have AT LEAST TWO WAYS to play each of his yardages under 150 yards. One of those is a full throttle shot that spins like the devil but isn't necessarily his most accurate, the other a shoulder-height shot that he can control well. (Shoulder height is an easy length for most players to feel.) The hard shot is played with the higher-lofted wedge, the partial shot with a lower-lofted wedge.

Graeme chooses which one to use based on pin position. He uses the hard spinny shot for front pin positions and the partial shot for pins that are farther back on the green. (That partial shot is going to roll out a bit because it's not spinning as hard.)

He's certainly getting good use out of his wedges at Riviera, where it's really tough to get close to the pin positions. Be sure to watch and see if you can pick out which holes he uses partial shots on and which get the full-bore wedge.

Tom Watson on the Half Wedge (Video)

Here's a Callaway video from roughly two years ago with Tom Watson's keys to hitting half-wedge shots. And I'm going to point out some things that are clear in the video BUT aren't mentioned.



Tom's key -- and yes, he only mentions one -- is pretty simple. He says you need to keep your weight on your lead foot because the half-wedge shot is so short that, if you let your weight move to your trailing foot, you won't have time to move back to your lead foot and hit the ball solidly. He recommends you lift your trailing heel so you're forced to keep your weight on your front foot. That's simple enough.

Now let's look at the unspoken keys.

Number one, Tom is using an open stance but it's only barely open. In fact, it's almost not open at all -- especially after Tom lifts that trailing heel, because he moves his foot back from his aim line slightly when he lifts it. Since he's doing it from a narrow stance, balance shouldn't be a problem.

And number two, which might be the most surprising of all, is how far forward in his stance Tom is playing the ball. He has it positioned opposite his lead heel. Check the video at the :32 second mark and you'll see it. That means his hands are actually just behind the ball and the shaft is almost vertical. (You can see that at the :50 second mark.) Tom is using the bounce of the wedge here, and he's allowing his body rotation at impact to get his hands over or just past the ball. If you have your weight over your lead foot as Tom suggests, that should happen automatically.

So there's another simple tip from Tom Watson... complete with the unspoken keys you might have missed otherwise.

Annika on Playing Half Shots (Video)

This is a video Annika did last January for the LET. It's a unique drill for quieting your lower body when you play half shots. (I'd just call it a pitch but hey, she's Annika, She can call it anything she wants!)



I don't think I've ever seen this cross-legged version. Note that she crosses her trailing leg in front of her lead leg. This is important because you want to quiet your body movement during your backswing, NOT your downswing -- you want your body to move freely into your finish.

Let me repeat that: You want your body to move freely into your finish. If you have trouble getting the shot on line, that's the first thing you should check. That free-flowing finish keeps the clubface from flipping over at impact.

A simple drill, but I can see how this one should help you hit the ball more crisply on short shots. And since it's Annika, you know it's got to be a good drill, right?

A Short Game Tip from Bill Harmon

Golf Digest has a new article with some thoughts from instructor Bill Harmon about Tiger's game at the Hero. And he had a short game tip that I found very informative.



There was a lot of talk about Tiger's chipping last week, and much of it was a debate over whether his occasional problems were the result of yips. Harmon says no, it's bad technique where his club shaft had too much forward lean at impact.

We've all heard this before, right? But Harmon provided a simple drill to help get things back in sync:

If you tend to dig the leading edge in behind the ball on basic short game shots, narrow your stance and practice taking the club back halfway and coming to a complete stop. Then, without manipulating your hands to change the plane of your swing or making a big lateral shift, let the clubhead swing down to the ball. If it makes contact behind the ball, it usually means you're pulling the club behind you too much on the backswing.

Pay close attention to that last sentence. Pulling the club too much to the inside during your takeaway causes your downswing to come into the impact zone on a very flat angle. In high rough, that means you'll get a lot of grass between the ball and the clubface. On a tighter lie, the clubhead gets very close to the ground much sooner in the downswing, which will cause you to hit the ground sooner.

And in both cases, the shaft will be leaning toward the target when you contact the ball. You want the shaft to be nearly vertical at impact, in order to use the bounce on the club's sole.

Narrowing your stance helps you stay more stable over the shot, so you don't move forward as much at impact. That forward movement just gets your hands farther ahead of the clubhead, which makes the digging worse. And stopping your backswing completely helps eliminate any compensations you might be using that further flatten your downswing.

It's a simple drill to help simplify your chipping motion. And the simpler it is, the more likely you are to make a good chip.

Jason Sedan's Lob Shot Drill (Video)

Lob shots give most weekend players (and some pros!) more problems than they should. To help us all out, instructor Jason Sedan filmed this simple drill for practicing lob shots.



Note Jason's starting position. His stance is slightly open and the ball is located -- more or less -- opposite his lead instep. You can get a good visual on that position from the video; I just want to call it to your attention so you WILL notice it!

To "balance" this position -- so you don't hit the ball thin -- Jason sets up with a bit more weight on his lead foot. Again, take a good look at the video. Basically he sets up with his lead shoulder slightly ahead of the ball position BUT the shaft of the club is aimed at his belly button.

Note also that he says NOTHING about opening the clubface! Although he says nothing, if you hold the wedge as he shows in the video, with the shaft leaning slightly backward away from the target, the toe of the wedge might be a bit up in the air. It depends on exactly how YOU address the ball. You may find that you need to open the wedge slightly, or you might not need to at all. Start with the face square and adjust if necessary.

From there it's just a matter of keeping your weight over your lead foot. No moving away from the target during your backswing! This isn't a power shot so there's no need to move -- you can create enough speed with just your shoulder turn and arm swing.

I like this video because it's a super simple way to practice lob shots. Once you've got this down from a standard lie, you can start practicing those Mickelson tricks you've been dying to try.

Dave Pelz on High Pitches (Video)

Yes, I have to post a tip from School of Golf's Wedge Week with Dave Pelz. Here's Dave on how to hit a high pitch with a 60° wedge.



Note how Dave alters his address position. At first he sets up perfectly square to his aim line, with everything -- feet, knees, hips, shoulders -- aligned parallel to a line straight at the pin. The ball is in the center of his stance. That means a line from the ball position running between your heels forms a T with your aim line.

Then he shuffles around counter-clockwise so his stance is open to his aim line and he's aimed left. BIG NOTE HERE: These instructions are for righthanders. IF YOU ARE LEFTHANDED, you will shuffle around clockwise so your stance is open to your aim line but you are aimed right. You got that?

However, one thing remains the same in both cases: The ball position is still in the center of your stance, as it was when you were lined up straight at the hole. The difference is that your T is now OPEN -- it points to the open side of the flag. Then you just rotate the club in your grip so the face once again points STRAIGHT AT THE FLAG. Now when you swing along your foot line, the ball will fly toward the flag, not curve.

How can this be? you ask. Simple -- although the ball is still positioned in the center of your stance, shuffling around had the effect of moving the ball back into the curved area of your swing. The club is actually moving toward the flag when it strikes the ball, even though it won't necessarily look that way to you while you're standing over the ball.

Confused? Don't feel bad. The reason we all have trouble getting our mechanics correct is because we often have trouble understanding how body rotation alters swing path. Just trust Dave here and do what he says. After a bit of practice you'll be happy with the results.

Mike Davis on Downhill Lies (Video)

GCA teacher Mike David did a short segment on how to play off a downhill lie that I found very helpful. Of course, I'm going to try and simplify it a bit.



Davis lists five primary keys to making a good shot from a downhill lie:

1. Tilt your torso with the slope
2. Widen your stance
3. Ball position is a bit tricky -- imagine a line rising perpendicular from the ground to the downhill side of your face and put the ball there
4. Swing easier
5. No weight shift -- set up with weight on downhill leg

Okay, let's see if we can make these things a bit more instinctive.

Numbers 1, 2 and 5 can be made a bit simpler by combining them and studying the video. When you tilt your torso, you're trying to get your shoulders more in line with the slope. But if we widen our stance and set up with our weight already on our downhill side, we can effectively get these three correct by simply placing our head directly vertical over our lead foot and then moving it ever so slightly to the uphill side. That's simply a balance thing -- we don't want to lose our balance and fall down the hill when we swing! Widening our stance and setting our head almost over our downhill foot automatically creates a spine angle suitable for the slope.

To get the ball position correct (key #3), let's use the address position we just created. Instead of trying to create a line perpendicular to the slope -- we've already created several angles in our address -- let's just place the ball vertically below our UPHILL EAR. If you look at the video, you'll see that's roughly where the ball is... and you can find that place during a practice session simply by dropping a ball held beside your uphill ear and watching to see where it lands.

Finally, instead of trying to change our swing speed (key #4) let's just think of this swing as a big pitch shot. That will keep us from swinging too hard or too long, and we can just make a normal swing from about shoulder height.

Those three keys should help you duplicate the Davis setup from this video without getting too caught up in the angles you're trying to create. Addressing the ball on a downhill slope affects both your balance and your vision, so you might as well make it as simple as you can. This way, you can use gravity to help you create a consistent address position.

All you need is a little time on a slope practicing your setup. You won't need to hit balls at first -- just get familiar with the setup. As Davis says, learning to predict your distance comes with practice.

Justin Rose on Short-Sided Pitch Shots

Today, a link to a short Golf Digest article by Justin Rose called Pitching to a Short-Sided Pin. It's a very short article but I thought the image Justin mentions is worth your time.



Simply put, Justin saw his teacher Sean Foley pitching to a pin from the short side and noticed a tattoo on the inside of his right forearm. (That would be his trailing forearm, so you lefties would see it on his left forearm.) The tattoo was pointing skyward after he hit the ball, which meant that his forearm didn't roll over at impact.

That tattoo image is a good one to help you if you have trouble with this shot. Make a mark or stick something on the inside of your trailing forearm near your wrist, then practice making pitch shots without letting the mark turn to the side of your target line at impact.

A simple fix for a simple problem. Those are the best kind!

Bobby Jones on the "Smooth" Short Game

There are a lot of opinions about how long your backswing should be relative to your downswing, especially in your short game and putting. The great Bobby Jones -- who was no slouch at any of it -- wrote some of his opinions in a 1930s newspaper article called Importance of a Smooth Short Game.

Here are a few thoughts from that article, which is reprinted in a book called Bobby Jones Golf Tips: Secrets of the Master, on pages 33 and 34.

One of the qualities most to be desired in a golf stroke is smoothness, and smoothness becomes impossible unless the backswing is amply long to allow for gradual acceleration of the club in coming down. A backswing that is too short brings about the necessity of making a sudden effort in the act of hitting. Bridging the gap between zero velocity and maximum in the shorter space implies hurry and effort, which can very easily destroy the rhythm of the stroke. Such a procedure is directly opposed to the motion of swinging the clubhead.

Nowhere is the disastrous effect of a short backswing more easily noted than in the play on and around the greens.

He says that some players do become good at holing out their short putts if they practice a lot, but that they will lack the touch necessary for long putts. And after noting how important touch is, not just on short putts but on the long ones as well, he adds:

The man who takes a short, sharp rap at the ball will never be able to compete in these respects with the putter who swings the club.

Almost always I am able to trace my putting troubles to an abbreviated or too rapid backswing. Whenever I am swinging the club back smoothly and in a broad sweep without hurry I am confident of putting well. When I am not doing so I know I will putt badly.

Yes, I know that Brandt Snedeker has a short quick stroke. But can you name anyone else who is known as a good putter with a similar stroke? No. That's because Brandt has a magnificent sense of rhythm, and the length and speed of his swing complement each other. Sneds is the exception that proves the rule.

Then Jones adds this little bit, which I think is a very useful short game tip:

The same thing applies with equal force to chipping and other short approach work. Billy Burke, one of the finest short-game players in the world, has said that he makes a point of swinging back even a little farther than necessary when playing the first few chips of any round. He recognizes the importances of an ample backswing and feels that it is easier to make sure of it at the start than to work into it from the other direction. [my emphasis]

That's a simple way to find your rhythm early on in a round. Your work on the range doesn't always translate directly to the course. This is a nice trick to help you make that transition.

Stan Utley's Secret to Simplifying Your Short Game

This comes from Stan Utley's book The Art of the Swing, which was unique when it came out (in 2011) for including "scan codes" to let you access smartphone lessons. I thought this short quote from the book might give many of you a new approach to help you better understand how the short game works.

In a chapter about halfway through the book called One Club, Five Shots Utley suggests learning several short game shots with only one club -- he recommends a 58° wedge. Here's a slightly condensed quote from that chapter:

Understanding the basic mechanics that go into the different shots you hit -- and how the concept of sequencing applies to those shots -- is what I would call "school." You have to learn the basics and repeat the lessons, and the tests come at the end, when it's time to go out into the real world.

Now that we've spent some time talking about the form, the sequence and the feel of different shots, I want to take those lessons out of the classroom and onto the course to show how they fit together within your entire golf game.

And I'm going to do it with one club -- my 58-degree wedge.

Why one club? It's simple -- literally and figuratively. When I do a large clinic, some of the first questions I always get are about club selection fro different shots around the green... But I believe doing it that way isn't always the simplest way.

I believe the easiest way to hit consistently good shots and develop better touch and feel is to take one club and make it your short-game specialty club. Then take the time to learn the ins and outs of that one club -- what you need to do to make shots go high or low, long or short. By getting way more practice time and reps with one club, you're going to be more comfortable and confident with it...

Understanding how to play different shots with the same go-to club will make you a complete player. You'll have a better chance of manufacturing a specialty shot for a unique situation using a club you've hit with a million times before. I'm not saying it's wrong to use different clubs around the green... But, I believe you'll get the most consistent positive results from learning the vagaries of one wedge and building a collection of different shots with that wedge. [pp 87-88]

Many of you know that I recommend a two-club approach to the short game -- typically, it'll be a lob wedge for short-sided high shots and either 8-iron, 9-iron or pitching wedge for almost everything else. (Clubs with straighter faces are easier to hit consistently.) But I'm not against Stan's approach. His logic is sound -- if you use one club a lot, you'll get really good with it and be confident when you use it. You probably already do that with other clubs in your bag. (I still remember a scramble I played in where I used a 7-wood from places where my teammates were using lob wedges... and getting my shots closer every time. Confidence matters!)

In the book -- which, unless you can find it used, is no longer available (and the listings I found were awfully expensive) -- Stan uses the one-club approach to teach the low chip-and-run, lofted pitch, bunker shot, trouble shot and distance pitch. In the past I've done posts on just about all of these, I think, although they aren't always called by Stan's names. And if I've missed any, there are plenty of videos and articles about them on the web.

But no matter where you find the instruction, learning the techniques for all sorts of short game shots by using just one club is a solid approach to improving your game quickly. It eliminates one of the variables in the shot -- you're always using the same loft -- so it's easier to learn exactly what you need to do to make each shot work.

And once you learn the techniques, you can always expand your repertoire to include two or three or even more clubs, if you want. ;-)

Dealing with Conflicting Wedge Advice (Video)

A couple days back, I posted a short game video from Lee Trevino. Lee knows what he's talking about because he has always had a great short game.

But so does Phil Mickelson. And if you watch this slideshow of Phil's chipping at the Golf Digest site, you'll get some different guidance than you will from Lee.

And if you watch this short game video from Golf Digest Best Young Teacher Brandon Stooksbury (the video below), you'll get yet another approach. Who's right? Who's wrong? What's a poor player to do?

Let me give you a few tips to help sort things out.



One thing that I noticed right off is that none of these videos is specific about which short game shot they're teaching! I can tell you that Lee is teaching a pitch shot, and Phil is teaching a flop shot, but Brandon is teaching something midway in-between.

How do I know this, you ask? Because I look for some specific clues in the slideshow and videos. You can look for these things too.

First, if possible, I look for clues about the trajectory of the shot.

• I can see that Lee's shot is flying pretty high when he hits it, and I can see that he and Billy are quite a distance away from the green. Lee is also using a lob wedge; I could tell that when I ran the video full screen.
• I can see that Phil's shot is shooting almost straight up in the air (the final slide shows all the pictures in sequence), and the text on the second slide says he's using 60° and 64° wedges.
• I can see that Brandon's shot looks to be flying about the same height as Lee's, but I can see from another section of the video (just keep reading) that he's using a lob wedge like Phil and Lee.

Although all three men are using lob wedges of some sort, the trajectories are slightly different. Those differences are explained as I gather other info.

Second, you need to note the stance. Lee and Phil both use an open stance, Brandon uses a square stance. (Lee doesn't say his stance is open, but you can see it in the down-the-line shots of both him and Billy Andrade.) If you open your stance, you also have to open the clubface. Otherwise you'll pull all your shots.

Third, check the ball position. Lee says to place it back in your stance, Phil has the ball opposite his lead heel, and Brandon say to place it forward although he actually has the ball just ahead of center, as you can see in the video.

Let me make a quick note about playing the ball back in an open stance. It sounds funny but, with an open stance, your stance is effectively narrower than the same width in a straight stance, so the ball is actually closer to the middle of your stance. If that doesn't make sense to you, let me know in the comments and I'll do a post to explain it. For now, just take my word.

But you can't stop with just knowing the ball position...

Fourth, you have to check weight distribution at setup. If your weight is more on your lead foot, the ball is probably being played farther forward. With a more balanced weight distribution, the ball position is going to be farther back. Phil has 99% of his weight on his lead foot, according to the text on slide #3. Lee has his weight more on his lead foot, but not nearly as much as Phil. And Brandon's weight is nearly equal on both feet. (You can tell from Lee and Brandon's videos.)

Finally, you have to check how the hands and arms move when compared to the ball position. And this is where it can get tricky. Check these out:

• We'll start with Brandon this time. Brandon specifically says not to bend your lead elbow and pull the club across the ball. That's because his stance is square. He lets his arms and shoulders work as a unit, without any manipulation, and the turn of his shoulders provides a very quiet swing where his wrists don't bend forward or back. The weight of the club pulls his hands straight out so his wrists don't flip or bend. He's playing a "straight" shot, and the ball is in the standard mid-stance position for a straight shot.
• Lee is the exact opposite. You can see him bend his lead elbow somewhat dramatically as he swings along the aimline of his open stance, and finishes with his bent lead elbow close to his side. He's "cutting across" the ball.
• And Phil? Although he plays from an open stance, he tries to swing straight down the line for as long as possible. The result is that he actually "chicken-wings" a bit, as you can see in the final slide's swing sequence.

These are all things you need to take note of whenever you try swing techniques that are different from what you normally do. Differences in address position make a huge difference in how the swing works, as do extra hand and elbow activity. All of these affect when you actually contact the ball during your swing, and therefore it changes what you're trying to do when you hit it.

Hope that helps you know what to look for when exploring any new golf techniques.

Leaning the Shaft for Different Lies

There's a short slide show over at Golf Digest called Basics: Get a Handle on Your Short Game that shows how to position your grip (club handle) for four different short game shots. Essentially, it's a photo guide to leaning the club shaft. I'll summarize them here, but seeing the photos will really help you lock them in your memory.

The photo at the side here shows the standard position for a short game shot from the fairway. The shaft is vertical. You want to use the bounce here.

With buried lies -- either in rough or sand -- the shaft leans forward. You want to use the leading edge to get down in there and dig that baby out! The deeper the ball is buried, the more you want to lean the shaft.

And with a fluffy lie -- where the ball is sitting up on top of the grass -- the shaft leans backward. The ball is teed up, if you will, so you want to hit up on it. Otherwise you'll just slide completely under the ball.

Simple guidance that's easy to remember. Just take a look at the pictures and read the captions; it'll really help you remember how to address the ball in each case.