One can play a high, soft landing shot by using passive wrists. This is an extremely effective and easy method to pitch the ball. This is how it works:
0:00 Hey there, thank you for clicking on this video. My question for you today is: Do you have to hinge your wrist when playing a short little pitch shot over a bunker or penalty area, let’s say 30, 40, 50 yards? Do you have to use the wrists?
0:41 So as you can see, that ball flew really high and stopped quickly! I didn’t really use my wrists. The hinge did come, but very late during the backswing. So, my answer to you is: You can definitely pitch the ball – you can pitch the ball 30, 40, 50 yards WITHOUT using your wrists. And you can see the ball flies high enough. The method is a lot more simple than using your wrists – a really great way to play these short little shots over bunkers and penalty areas. Would I use this technique myself? Well I do hinge my wrists earlier, but that’s not to say, that this technique is incorrect. As you could see, the ball flew high and landed softly.
1:33 Now how did I do it? Very basic: I played the ball forwards in my stance. I had my weight slightly on the left side and my feet were just about parallel to the ball-target line. That’s it. And then during the backswing, I made sure that my club head stays in front of my feet. I didn’t swing too flat and I basically didn’t hinge during the backswing. Because of the weight of the club, the hinging did take place at the end. But then my hands were also quiet during the downswing. I transferred my weight. I swung downwards. Well I didn’t actually think about that. All I did was let my arms and shaft drop during my weight transfer. I kept my hands very quiet during the through swing.
2:24 So as long as you keep your weight slightly left, let the loft do the work to get the ball in the sky, this technique is going to work wonderfully for you. These 56, 57, 58 degrees of loft are really your friends. They will get the ball into the sky – you don’t have to do anything fancy.
2:49 So might now ask me: Vaughan, what if the lie is grassy? When I play out of the rough, for example, do I then have to use my wrists? Actually you don’t. All you got to do is just put more weight on your left side and then you will automatically swing steeper into the ground – without using your wrists.
3:11 It’s really a great technique to begin with, especially if you’re scared of these short little high shots. I teach many students that have a lot of respect for this shot. This really will give you the confidence to play these shots on to the green, close to the flag. And the more you play, the better you’ll get. You’ll start gripping the grip lighter and then you can start using your wrists. But you don’t have to! There are pros like Steve Sticker who play these things with really dead hands.
3:42 So, I hope that helps you. I think it’s a very important shot. This technique makes it really simple to get the ball up high. But don’t forget to swing down when you want to hit the ball high. A lot of us try to scoop the ball. Thanks for watching and I really look forward to seeing you again soon. If you’ve liked this video, please share this video with your friends and give it a thumbs up. Bye.
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