Hitting an accurate pitch-and-run shot is a lifesaver. It shaves at least one, and maybe two or more, strokes off your score. But hitting this shot isn’t easy. You’re using a lofted club—a 9-iron or a wedge—and trying to get the ball to run when it lands. The harder you hit it, the more backspin you impart, causing the ball to stop when it lands.
The key to the pitch-and-run is hitting the ball with overspin, releasing it on contact with the ground. Here are 6 keys to doing it successfully:
Play the ball farther back in your stance than normally. Standing almost square to the target, lean your weight forward, place your hands ahead of the ball, and swing the club at a shallow angle. Try to pick the ball cleanly from the grass at impact.
As your body turns through the shot, encourage your right arm to turn over your left, releasing the clubhead. Your stance allows you to work the club more inside the target line than normal. Feel the clubhead’s toe closing as you strike the ball. Keep the backswing and the follow-through reasonably short.
Also, maintain light pressure on your grip throughout the shot. This helps release the clubhead. Remember, try to pick the ball cleanly from the grass. Any attempt to hit at the ball only deepens your approach, imparting backspin on the ball.
To learn how the shot feels, try tossing a ball underarm. Try making the ball run as much as possible, almost as if you were bowling. To do that, your right arm must rotate and release, just as you do with the pitch-and-run shot.
Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book How To Break 80…And Shoot Like The Pros!. He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that was able to figure out the secrets of shooting in the 70’s on a consistent basis without quitting your day job. Jack has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately.