If your scores haven’t been improving this season, then maybe it is time to step up the practice around the greens. Here is a mini pitching boot camp to whip your short game into shape.
The short game does not typically require power associated with tee shots, but rather skill to control the distance the ball rolls on the greens. Mastering shots around the green come from motor control: controlling your muscles and nerves and increasing motor control can come from improved fitness.
Unlike your long game, where a large portion of the power generated through the legs and torso, your short game requires fitness from an entirely different set of muscles. The shoulders, arms, wrists and hands initiate pitch shots, so you will want to develop strength and flexibility in these muscles.
On-Course Exercise-
To hit pitch shots that land softly on the green, you need first need to set up correctly to create the correct angle of attack.
1. Set up with a more narrow stance.
2. Lean your weight towards your front leg.
- Do This-Lean your weight towards the target
- Don’t Do This-Lean your weight away from target
3. Ball position should be in the middle of your stance for a normal trajectory shot and played in the back of your stance if you want to keep the ball low.
4. Lean the shaft forward towards the target.
5. As you swing the club back keep the clubface outside your hands so that the club works up not around your body.
(Note: If your clubface moves inside as you swing the club back, you will not be able to strike the ball with a downwards blow to elevate the ball.)
- Do This-Keep the clubface outside the hands on the backswing
- Don’t Do This-Don’t let the clubhead move inside your hands on the backswing
Off-Course Exercise-
Try this exercise to help train youself to set up with more weight on your front leg and to learn to keep the clubhead outside the hands on the backswing.
1. Set up as if you were going to hit a pitch shot, but elevate your back leg on a chair or bench. Doing this will challenge your balance.
2. Using a small hand weight or medicine ball, practice taking small swings as if you were pitching.
3. To keep your balance you will have to keep the medicine ball in front of your body. If you whip the ball around your body, you will lose your balance.
- Balance on your front leg holding a medicine ball
- To keep your balance, you have to keep the medicine ball in front of your body.
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