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| By Chuck Quinton, Master RST Instructor |
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The 30 yard pitch shot is a very tough one for golfers at all levels. So what is the secret to playing this shot? Well, the first one is to never put yourself in a position where you are faced with this shot.
In the 2005 British Open, Tom Watson asked Jack Nicklaus why he didn't try and drive a particular hole after Watson put his tee shot on the green. Nicklaus replied, "Because the 30 yard pitch shot isn't my best." If the best golfer in the history of the game didn't want to face this delicate shot, don't feel bad if you don't feel comfortable playing it either!
There are many ways to play this shot, from using a putter to a lob wedge, but I always like to keep things simple and play the shot that gives me the greatest margin of error. Playing this shot also requires a plan and a goal. The first goal is that no matter what, our next shot will be with the putter.
So many shots are given up by high handicap golfers from these simple little pitch shots because they try and pull off a low percentage shot. The "in thing" to do these days is to reach straight for the 60 degree lob wedge and fly it all the way to the hole with a lot of spin. It's pretty to watch but is the lowest percentage shot apart from a full on flop shot to play in this situation.
As I mentioned, our first goal is to get this ball on the green so that the next shot is taken with our most accurate club in the bag, the putter. Part of our plan is to figure out what club in our bag gives us the greatest margin of error to get this shot close to the hole while still meeting goal number one of making absolutely certain that the ball will end up on the green.
If the green is open up front, meaning there are no hazards such as water or sand, playing a lower shot with a less lofted club gives us the most room to make a mistake.
In this video, I demonstrate four different shots. The first I play is with the hybrid. I use it first because it's the most fail safe and versatile shot for the average golfer to learn.
The second is with a three wood for longer shots. The third is with a 7 iron when you need to carry the ball about 10 yards and finally, I use the lob wedge to carry it most of the way there with a lot of spin.
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