Sarah Claridge - WPGA Teaching Professional
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Sarah Claridge - WPGA Teaching Professional
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Sarah Claridge - English Girls South West Development Coach

Online Tip

Untitled Document

A pitch in time...

The key to consistent pitching lies in having control over distance. I'm going to teach you how to play three distinct shots that will all travel different distances. With the technique in place, as you gain confidence you won't have to worry about how far the shot will travel and you'll be able to concentrate on where you want the shot to finish. In each case the through-swing is a mirror image of the downswing and that means my rhythm is smooth. You shouldn't feel on a shorter pitch shot that you're swinging the club at a different tempo. All you change is the length of the swing.
  
Pitch Shot 1
Pitch Shot 2
  
1 and 2 This what I call my eight o'clock swing on account of where my left arm is pointing at the end of my backswing. For this shot I grip well down the shaft and I hit the ball around 30 - 40 yards. By the end of my follow-through, I'm in the mirror-image position of four o'clock.
 
Pitch Shot 3
Pitch Shot 4
3 and 4

This is my medium pitch shot that travels 50-60 yards. Note my left arm is pointing to nine o'clock. The length of the swing is the only difference between the shots. At the end of the swing, my arm is facing three o'clock.
 

Pitch Shot 5
Pitch Shot 6
5 and 6

Finally, the 10 o'clock swing. The opposite finishing position is two o'clock. I would expect this shot to travel 70-80 yards.
 

Sarah's Secrets

Trust the length of your swing to determine how far the shot will go. Don't force the swing to make the ball go 10 yards further and don't quit on the shot for fear of flying the green.

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