Golf Instruction for Pitching the Golf Ball

My name is Bobby Eldridge with the PurePoint Golf Academy. Today, I wanted to talk about pitch shots and more specifically, pitching the golf ball with loft. The most common golf instruction problem I’ve seen is when a golfer tops the ball over the green when pitching.

Well, I have a great golf instruction tip for you today. Are you ready? The reason that you struggle when you pitch is because the golf club swings down in the downswing, and just before it gets to the golf ball, it starts to swing back up and you wind up hitting the middle of the golf ball.

When you pitch the golf ball, the goal is to hit down on the ball and to have the ball crawl up the face of the golf club and go onto the green. The only way to make this happen is for the leading edge of the club to hit the bottom of the golf ball. The reason that many golfers skull the ball over the green is because they focus on the follow through being high and as a result, hit the ball on the upswing. In short, they don’t hit down on the ball, but rather hit up on the ball.

Imagine the golfer with the high follow through. As they come down, they start to swing back up again. Can you imagine how high the club face is at follow through? This is the incorrect way to hit a pitch shot. I’ve been in golf instruction for a long time and this is one of the most common problems I see.

The correct way is to put a little extra weight on your left leg, or the front leg, lean over on top of it, and with your arms, swing the club head down and let the golf ball go up. It will crawl right on up the club face. The key is to follow through low to the ground, not high.

In the downswing make sure, with your weight on your left side, that you swing your arms down and get the leading edge to swing into the ground. And then, the golf ball will crawl all the way up the face and take off for the target.

So remember, ball in the middle of your stance, weight on your left leg, swing your arms up and down. We like to keep golf instruction simple.

For better impact and for a little more loft when you’re pitching, get the feeling that you’re swinging the club face down into the ground.

Bobby Eldridge is the Head Instructor for the PurePoint Golf Academy where he teaches “The Simple Golf Swing” theory. You can check out PurePoint Golf instructional DVDs at http://www.golfswingguru.com/index13.htm

The driver DVD has been released. You can see it here.

http://www.golfswingguru.com/driver.php

Here’s a new link to many of the golf instruction articles and golf lessons that we have published over the last few months.

http://www.golfswingguru.com/index14.htm

The best thing about “The Simple Golf Swing” is that it is a system. Most golfers swing at the ball, but never really THINK about what they did wrong, or more importantly, what they did right.

Thinking about the possible corrections usually will not work because there’s always a little wrist cock, or a certain turning angle that could have influenced the good or bad result.

What a system does for your game is it allows you to proactively analyze each shot after you hit it and realize the result, good or bad.

For example, I hit the ball and it slices. Now most golfers are going to hit the ball again and slice it again. Maybe they hit a good ball every once in a while, but they’ll never know what MADE them hit the good shot.

With this system you’ll get 5 simple steps to go through for every swing you put on the ball. Now you’ll start to see trends developing, and you can always tie those trends back to one of the 5 steps you are most likely forgetting about which is causing the negative trend.

So in my example, I hit a slice. Now because I have this system in place, I automatically know what I have to concentrate on for the next shot. I know that I did one of 2 things. I let my body get ahead of my hands, or I failed to start the downswing with my arms. If I top the ball, I automatically know that I failed to keep my leading shoulder down on the ball.

So the point is that having simple but effective controls in place will really help your game. You’ll be really surprised how much you’ll learn about your own game, and how easy it is to develop and maintain good habits once you understand how to recognize them.

David Nevogt writes golf instruction material that helps golfers of all levels reach their full potential and lower their scores. David is the author of “The Simple Golf Swing” which guarantees to have you shooting 7 strokes lower in only 1 week from today. You can find more of his golf instruction by going to http://www.golfswingguru.com

Read this sentence then stop for 10 seconds and ask yourself what you think the three most important elements to the game of golf are. Four, three, two, one…

Ok, now I will list mine in the order of importance.

Driving the golf ball in play.
Putting the golf ball with consistent speed control (distance).
Pitching the golf ball with loft.
Today we are going to concentrate on what I consider the MOST important aspect to the game of golf, DRIVING THE GOLF BALL IN PLAY. This aspect of the game is the number one confidence builder in our sport. As you probably know and have experienced, your score adds up quickly if hit your tee shots out of play.

Buckle up - Because if you read this special report every time before you play a round of golf this summer, your friends will think they are playing with Fred Funk come September. Fred Funk has led the P.G.A. Tour in driving accuracies for the past four years. He averages hitting 76% of the fairways every time he plays 18 holes of golf. If you are going to change the way you drive the golf ball you will need to implement the following four fundamentals.

THE PICTURE: Approach every tee shot with a clear picture in your mind of what you want the golf ball to look like in flight
PROPER DRIVER: Choose the proper driver for your swing.
CORRECT TEE HEIGHT: For your golf swing.
CORRECT SWING PLANE: Swing the driver on the correct swing plane for your swing.
THE PICTURE: If you can see it, you can have it. Before you take your driver, or any club for that matter, out of your golf bag, you better start seeing what you want the golf ball to look like during its journey down the fairway. Of the millions of words my mother (the first woman to teach at a golf school in the United States) passed on to me, the one phrase that has stayed with me all of these years is THE PICTURE. You must have a mental picture of how you want the ball to fly through the air and where you want it to wind up. When you have a driver in your hands, you have to pick out an exact area you want the ball to land on. IF YOU DON’T SEE THE PICTURE, YOU ARE HEADED FOR TROUBLE.

Important Tip: During the course of a round of golf, you can find yourself driving the ball well, but all of the sudden you are faced with a difficult driving hole. Shortly after I turned professional, I played a practice round with Tommy Bolt the 1958 U.S. Open Champion. We came to great par four, 435 yards long, water down the right side of the fairway from the tee to the green, out of bounds markers down the entire left side of the fairway from the tee to the green. After I teed my golf ball up I turned to Tommy and said, “What do you do here with O.B. left and water right?” Tommy looked me straight in the eye and said “Son, if you see the water and the O.B. markers, you better go find another line of work.”

That stick with me to this day, and I wanted to pass it on to you. Don’t worry about the challenges, just think about what you want the ball to do. I have benefited immensely during my career, and I want you to benefit from this as well.

PROPER EQUIPMENT: Now that you can see the picture, let’s see if you brought the correct brush to paint with. If you are still trying to buy 20 more yards every time you walk into a golf shop. It is time to stop-NOW! If you own a driver that is metal, has a graphite shaft, and the grip is new then you own what it takes to send the golf ball straight down the fairway.

Let’s back up a foot or two. The loft on the golf club will play a major role in how accurate you are. If you are struggling with your driver you might consider buying a driver with at least 10-12 degrees of loft. The less loft a driver has the more you are apt to slice and hook the ball. If you are driving the ball well you can buy a driver with less loft.

An important side note: If you are driving the golf ball short, low and to the right the shaft might be too stiff. If you are driving the golf ball too high and to the left the shaft might be too weak.

Another item to consider if you have small hands, have the club repair shop regrip all of your grips with either a junior grip or a small grip. If your hands are large, have the shop regrip you clubs with oversize grips.

Bottom Line – worry about getting the ball in the fairway first, and then focus on distance generation. Chances are, you own the equipment right now, that will give you the fairway shots you’re looking for. Remember – It’s the swing, not the equipment. The equipment helps once you have a good swing, but you’ll never FIX your swing with an equipment upgrade.

CORRECT TEE HEIGHT: The tee height does not seem like such a big deal, but it plays a huge roll in whether or not you drive the golf ball consistently down the fairway. Something so simple can often be the biggest challenge.

The two major mistakes are teeing the golf ball too low or teeing the golf ball too high. You may have heard that golf is a game of opposites. This is a perfect example. Let me explain why. If you are constantly swinging your driver too vertical into the ground in the downswing, you probably tee the golf ball to low. Most golfers with a vertical driver swing fear swinging underneath the golf ball so they tee the ball low in hopes of catching it square. For those of you with this challenge, the next time you are on the golf course, tee the golf ball up a little higher and sit back a little bit more on your heels and keep your weight there in the downswing. After your shot has landed, look down to see if your tee is still in the ground. If you are always conscience of leaving the tee in the ground, you will not pop your tee shots up anymore.

If you are topping your tee shots to the right you might have the ball teed too high because you are trying to hit the ball on the upswing. The next time you go out to play, tee the ball down a little. After the golf ball has landed, make sure your weight is on your left foot and meaning you have transferred your weight correctly.

CORRECT SWING PLANE: With this final tip I feel confident you will be on your way to driving the golf ball straighter and with more consistency. The golf club in your bag that swings the most vertical, (up and down) is your sand wedge. The golf club that swings the most horizontal (around you-baseball swing) is your driver. The mistake I have seen most amateur golfers make is that they swing their driver like their sand wedge and they swing their sand wedge like their driver.

A couple of things to remember when you are addressing the driver:

Chin up
Turn your right shoulder in the back swing level
Swing the golf club around you/not up and down
Leave the tee in the ground after you hit the ball
When you are ready to begin your backswing, keep your swing thoughts to a minimum. Just think about swinging more horizontal.

At the beginning of this special report I promised you would drive the ball more with more confidence, accuracy and more consistent if you read this article every time before you tee it up this summer. This stuff seems simple, but give it a try and send me an email letting me know the results. You’ll get some really good results.

This is only a starting point that will provide a great basis for more consistent driving. At the end of this month, we’re going to get back to you with some in depth information on how to get more accuracy and consistency with your driver. Stay tuned…you’ll love the results you get this season.

Click Here to See The Simple Golf Swing DVD

Click Here to See the Newly Released Short Game DVD

Click Here to See The Simple Golf Swing eBook

Bobby Eldridge is the Head Instructor for the PurePont Golf Academy where he teaches “The Simple Golf Swing” theory. You can check out PurePoint Golf instructional DVDs at http://www.golfswingguru.com/dvd.php

I hope this finds you well. I wanted to take a moment to introduce you to the new Director of Instruction at golfswingguru.com. His name is Kyle Hallberg and he’s a certified instructor with the USGTF.

This is a position that I have been looking to fill for a long time, and finally I found someone that has what it takes, not only to communicate and teach this swing to you, but to manage the golf school, and manage the other instructors that we are bringing on board.

Kyle has walked into a very large responsibility. As the Director of Instruction, his first goal is to make you a better golfer through any means possible. His second goal is to make it easier for you to take advantage of the teachings that we offer.

This means that we will be offering a golf school in the very near future. The first 4-day golf school is tentatively scheduled for Spring ‘06, and if you would be interested in attending, please find the link at the end of this e-mail to take a short survey on where you would like to have the school, and what exactly you need help with. The vision is for this school to be world wide, with golf schools in Australia, Asia, Europe, South Africa, and the United States as the North American Headquarters.

Furthermore, we will be offering a substantial discount on the golf school, if you have the book and you are familiar with the swing.

Please look for Kyle’s first tip “How to Successfully Get out of Bunkers Every Time” in a few days. Thanks, and have a great day.

David Nevogt writes golf instruction material that helps golfers of all levels reach their full potential and lower their scores. David is the author of “The Simple Golf Swing” which guarantees to have you shooting 7 strokes lower in only 1 week from today. You can find more of his golf instruction by going to http://www.golfswingguru.com

In the next 15 minutes, I am going to change the way you play your shots from inside 50 yards. If you spend 15 minutes before every round of golf on these four tips, I guarantee you the strokes will fall off your scorecard.

We are going to cover putting, chipping, pitching and bunker shots. Before I get to my four short-game secrets I need to lay a little groundwork first.

From the putting green in front of the clubhouse at Ft. Myers Country Club, where I grew up playing, to the practice putting green at Starfire Golf Club, and all points in between, for 35 years, I have heard the same problem. “I putted so poorly today. If I had putted halfway decent I would have shot my best round ever!”

But…every time I pass the practice putting green where I teach, ALMOST NOBODY is practicing before they tee off. But here’s the thing- every single professional golfer spends at least 15 minutes - 1 hour on the practice putting green before they tee off. That’s not the tip. I just wanted you to get an idea of the time that it takes to get better.

IMPORTANT TIP: 90% of all putting greens in the world are built low in the front and high in the back. There are two reasons, in case you are wondering.

First, it holds the shots that are coming onto the green and secondly for drainage purposes. The reason I am telling you the greens are built low in the front and high in the back is for you to
understand the idea that the majority of putts hit from the front of the green going to the back are going to be slower than putts hit from the back of the green going towards the front.

Since this is true, when you are facing the green, putts from the right side of the green will have a tendency to break to the left and putts from the left side of the green will have a tendency to break right. With this idea in mind lets move on to my TOP FOUR SHORT GAME SECRETS!

Secret #1: Putting – Focus on Distance not Direction

Do you know why most amateurs three-putt more times on their first nine holes than their last nine holes? By the time they get to the last nine they have the feel of the greens! My colleagues have always agreed that in order to become a great putter you must have the ability to read greens. However, I have always believed you must also have GREAT TOUCH.

I have just given you an incredible tip. You have to develop your touch in order to control your speed. I can not tell you how many times I have asked an amateur golfer after they hit their putt if they thought the putt was going uphill or downhill. Most amateurs reply with, “I completely forgot about the speed!” Most of them struggle more with speed more than direction. So how do you apply this advice?

Always look towards the front of the green so you can decide if you are going uphill or downhill.
Empty your mind of every mechanical thought you have and just stroke the ball. FORGET the mechanics when putting.
Don’t ever hit a putt until you have visualized your golf ball going into the hole first. Make it in your mind before you hit it.
Secret #2: Chipping – Keep Your Weight on your Front Foot in the Backswing

A chip shot is a short shot around the green that has minimum airtime and maximum roll time. Another way to describe it is 1/3 air, 2/3 roll. You can use one of the following clubs when chipping: 5-iron, 7-iron or 9-iron. Common complaints that I receive from amateurs about chipping are that they top the ball, hit the ball thin, hit the ground behind the ball, blade the ball over the green or completely shank the ball.

The mis-played shots I just described to you are usually the result of an incorrect set-up. There are three positions in chipping that are the foundation of a successful chip shot. Let’s review them:

The golf ball should be positioned in the middle of your stance
Place 75% of your weight on your left foot (right-handed golfers)
The grip end of the golf club points to the middle of your left leg.
Grip down on the golf club to the END of the grip.
The reason you want the golf ball in the middle of your stance is for a more consistent impact. If you place the golf ball too far forward in your stance, you will have a tendency to hit the ball thin, or top the ball and you will pull the ball to the left. If you play the ball too far back in your stance, you will have a tendency to top or shank the ball and push it to the right.

When you place 75% of your weight on your left foot, you are ensuring yourself that you will hit down on the ball and not up. Make sure you keep the weight on your front foot in the back swing.

Gripping down on the golf club will ensure a cleaner more controlled hit at impact. If you are struggling with hitting thin shots or topping your chips, when you move your handle further to the left (across from you left leg), you will allow the clubhead to hit the ball on a descending blow and not ascending.

Secret #3: Pitching – The Clubhead must Stay Low to the Ground After Impact

Choose one of the following clubs when you attempt a pitch shot: pitching wedge, sand wedge or a lob wedge. A pitch shot has maximum air time and minimum roll time. In other words, the golf ball has 2/3 air time and 1/3 roll on its journey to the hole. Just the opposite of a chip shot.

Airtime is very difficult to create if your technique is off even in the slightest. So, if you are tired of topping, sculling, and hitting the ground behind the golf ball when you pitch, this is the pearl for you.

Low Follow-Through = Maximum Airtime

If I had a dollar for every amateur that told me that they are trying to follow-through high after impact so that their pitch shots will go up in the air, I would be set for life.

Most of the time, a high follow-through after impact will force the ball to be hit on the upswing which results in a top, scull or ground-behind shot. If you setup to the golf ball just like you were going to chip, you are halfway there. Remember:

The golf ball should be positioned in the middle of your stance
Place 75% of your weight on your front foot
The grip end of the golf club points to the middle of your front leg.
Place your grip HALFWAY down the grip of the club
The back swing is usually longer than your chip shots. If you keep your weight on your left leg - you DO NOT need to transfer your weight. As the golf club begins to swing down into the ground, make sure you follow thru LOW to the ground after impact. You want to feel as though you chopped the back of the ball with the club head.

Secret #4: Bunker Play – The Backswing is a Full Swing Just Like Your Driver

This tip will help you sleep well the night before a big golf tournament. Your ability to play successfully from the sand weighs heavily on technique and a small amount on strength. If your technique is correct, you do not need to have a lot of strength. The two mistakes that hold amateurs back in the bunker are a line drive hit or leaving the ball in the bunker.

Most of the time they are afraid to swing too hard because they are afraid of the line drive shot. So, you end up swinging so slow that the ball only moves two feet. First and foremost, set up correctly.

The golf ball should be positioned across from you left heel
Place 75% of your weight on your front foot
The grip-end of the golf club points to your BELT BUCKLE.
Do not transfer any weight. Stay on your front leg. What you are trying to do in the bunker is hit the sand not the ball. This setup will ensure that this happens.

The reason you play the ball across from your left heal is so the clubhead will swing DOWN into the sand at impact and not up.

Placing weight on your left foot ensures the clubhead swings down at the bottom of the swing. Placing the handle of the club across from your belt buckle allows the bounce on the bottom of the clubhead to impact the sand at the correct angle.

I promised you in the first sentence, these four short game tips that would change the way you played from inside 50 yards. Make yourself a promise to spend 15 minutes before every round this year practicing your short game and you WILL watch your scores fall.

Again, my name is Bobby Eldridge and I am the Head Professional at GolfSwingGuru.com. My one and only goal is to make you a better golfer this season.

We teach a very unique swing method that WILL lower your scores, and have you playing great golf in no time flat. Our DVD’s are presented by Kyle Hallberg, the Director of Instruction at GolfSwingguru.com.

If you have been struggling with your game and you would like to improve, our unique system can help you. We are so confident that it will help, we GUARANTEE that you will Drop 7 Strokes From Your Average Round of Golf.

That is completely possible if you let us help you. We hope that you will learn more about our unique way of swinging the club, and we look forward to hearing your success story.

Click Here to See The Simple Golf Swing DVD

Click Here to See The Simple Golf Swing eBook

Bobby Eldridge is the Head Instructor for the PurePont Golf Academy where he teaches “The Simple Golf Swing” theory. You can check out PurePoint Golf instructional DVDs at http://www.golfswingguru.com/dvd.php

This lesson is entitled, “How to Get out of Bunkers”, and everyone knows how frustrating they can be if you don’t know the proper mechanics to get out of them. But the bottom line is, for the pros, bunker shots are some of the easiest shots on the course.

These steps will ensure that you have the right mechanics for getting out of bunkers. Once you’ve read these steps, practice them and get used to hitting out of bunkers, and they will become just as natural as a regular short game shot. These steps will give you the solid foundation that you need for bunker success.

Here are the steps: (note: These steps apply to a normal sand bunker. Not wet or hard sand)

1. Choke down on the golf club (Have your right index finger about an inch from the bottom of the grip). Choking down gives you the control with the club and also allows you to “feel” the shot rather than hitting it.

2. Narrow your stance a little and play the ball a few inches forward in your stance. This will also aid in controlling the shot, and it will contribute to higher ball flight.

3. Dig into the sand with your feet a little and get comfortable.

4. Keep your body completely still throughout (no twisting hips).

5. Start your swing with your arms and keep your swing vertical. The end of the grip butt should be pointed at the ball at the top of your backswing. (Don’t bring the club straight back, remember steep is better here!)

6. Your left arm should be parallel to the ground and fully extended at the top of your swing.

7. Then start your downswing at the sand focusing to hit 1 inch behind the ball. Don’t focus on hitting the ball, hit the sand an inch behind and the ball will get out every time!

8. Your arms and body follow the ball as it leaves the sand.

9. Remember steep angle into the sand is key here, however you don’t have to swing too hard, we are not blasting the ball out we are advancing it.

Drill:
Go into a bunker and take 3 clubs your pitching wedge, sand wedge, and a lob wedge(if you have one). Remember that you can get creative with shots; just because it’s a sand wedge doesn’t mean that you’ll “feel” the most comfortable or give you the best results. But I want you to notice the difference in design and performance.

Regardless, hit a few shots with each club and really notice the difference in how the ball comes out of the sand. Then choose the club that bests suits you. But remember on all these clubs swing steep and hit 1 inch behind the ball. You can even draw a line 1-2 inches behind the ball and aim for that line.

At home, office, or at the course take practice swings and focus on bringing the club up at a steep angle. Watch as your grip end points to the ground. And stop there - this is the position that you want to be in. A great way to see if the grip is pointed over the ball is sticking a tee in the grip handle. Do that a few times to ensure that you know where to stop the golf club and start your steep downswing. Then the downswing is easy! Just hit an inch behind the ball. Practice this for a few days then go have fun in a bunker!

David Nevogt writes golf instruction material that helps golfers of all levels reach their full potential and lower their scores. David is the author of “The Simple Golf Swing” which guarantees to have you shooting 7 strokes lower in only 1 week from today. You can find more of his golf instruction by going to http://www.golfswingguru.com

If you’ve been battling a hook for a while you understand how frustrating they can be. Everyone else is, more than likely, slicing the ball, and you are playing from the opposite side of the fairway.

But… the hook really is pretty easy to cure. Try this sequence of corrections, and most likely the hook will be fixed in no time. Your goal in correcting a hook is to swing from outside to in.

1) Weaken your Grip - You could be playing with a grip that is too strong. You’ll want to simply rotate both hands around the grip and towards the target. This will make it much harder for the clubface to naturally close through the impact zone. Don’t over do it, and like everything else, testing is crucial. Make sure to test this, before moving on, unless you are positive that you already play with a weak grip.

2) Move the ball forward in your stance - It is common of players that slice the ball to play the ball forward in their stance. So copy them. If you hook, the result should be a relatively straight ball. (Side Note: Whether you hook or slice, your first goal should be to learn to do the opposite.) Moving the ball forward in your stance should get some things back on track.

3) Aim to the left (to the right if left handed) of the target - Start out with an open stance to the target. This will put that clockwise rotation on the ball that you are looking for. Just open your stance a little bit, and swing along the line of your shoulders.

4) Make sure that you are finishing with your weight on your forward foot - This is the single best solution for the hook. If you hook the ball, chances are that you finish with some of your weight still on your back foot. This causes you to come around the ball with a closed clubface. This is the number one cause of the deadly snap-hook. Finish with all of your weight forward, and you’ll never experience it.

David is the author of “The Simple Golf Swing” which guarantees to have you shooting 7 strokes lower in only 1 week from today. You can find more of his golf instruction by going to http://www.golfswingguru.com

I’ll tell you right now… this is going to be painless, contrary to what you may think. I’ll start with a single definition.

Level Shoulder turn - a turn that stays level with the ground (parallel to the ground) through the backswing.

So, now that we have that out of the way, let’s continue on with this quick and easy tip to draw the ball. And if you’ve battled a slice for years upon years, just wait until you try this. The next time out to the range, your slice is going to be dramatically reduced.

Here it is. Instead of taking your normal shoulder turn (whatever that may be), focus on keeping your shoulder turn as level as possible (parallel to the ground). So as you are setting up to the ball, feel your feet on the ground to determine if there is an uphill or downhill lie. Then in your backswing, just focus on keeping your shoulders level to the ground.

Now, this may actually produce a HOOK of all things, so remember to adjust accordingly. And remember that you are attempting to wrap that club around your body. You want a horizontal swing plane, not vertical. That’s what this level shoulder turn is really accomplishing. You’ll find it so much easier to release through the ball correctly, and to square up the face of your club at impact.

Give that a try on your next trip to the range and you’ll be amazed to see that dreaded slice going away, especially if you use this in conjunction with the rest of the “The Simple Golf Swing” system. I know this probably seems incredibly simple to anyone who has been battling a slice forever, but just remember that simple solutions are usually the most effective.

David Nevogt writes golf instruction material that helps golfers of all levels reach their full potential and lower their scores. David is the author of “The Simple Golf Swing” which guarantees to have you shooting 7 strokes lower in only 1 week from today. You can find more of his golf instruction by going to http://www.golfswingguru.com