Loading and the Pitch Shot


Bobby demonstrates the pitch shot. Note the divot and the 4 inch in front of the ball swing bottom. To me, the pitch shot is the most important shot in the game. That’s right, the most important! Why, because it is the pure, fundamental building block of the entire golf swing. The pitch shot has all the components of the full swing, in shortened version. (Photos courtesy of Kerry Corcoran)

The pitch shot requires some loading or cocking of the left wrist on the backswing. The cocking of the left wrist builds potential power during the backswing. Retaining the angle between the left wrist and the clubshaft “stores” that Loaded power until impact. The forward pivoting motion of the body initiates the pitch-shot’s downswing, while the mental focus throughout the downswing is on keeping the left wrist cocked for as long as feasible. Letting one’s attention shift to the ball and the clubhead is another great disrupter of sustained Dynamics through the Impact Zone, whether on a pitch shot or a full drive. Even if the golfer has hinged his or her wrists and the club fully on the backswing, normal human anxiety can easily take over and an over-eagerness to hit at the ball, rather than swing through it convulsively flips the clubhead prematurely. The ball should never be the focus in the swing, but rather the ball should just be in the way of the swing.

The left wrist will uncock before impact completely on its own during the downswing as a result of combined centrifugal force and gravity, and there isn’t a human being on earth than can stop if from doing so. In fact any uncocking or unhinging of the wrists during the early stages of the downswing in an attempt to add power, speed and/or loft to the club instantly annihilates any chance you have of striking the ball with a Flat Left Wrist and a Forward Swing Bottom through The Impact Zone.

Learn to load the club on the backswing during the pitch shot, then practice storing this load for as long as feasible on the downswing, while initiating the downswing through the driving of the hips. This will improve your strike of the ball and give you better results.

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