Hitting A Successful 40 To 60 Yard Pitch | My Favourite Shot!!

Hi, I’m David Young – an Advanced PGA Teaching Professional – welcome to my channel! This YouTube channel is designed to help develop the skill of golf and how to focus the mind’s role in golf.

I specialise in mind and on-course lessons as well as golf tips to help you improve your game.

Whether you’re just starting out on your golf journey or you’re a seasoned pro looking to fine-tune your game, I’m confident that I can help you get to where you want to be. So, if you’re looking to improve your golfing skills in a fun, engaging, and supportive environment, look no further than me!

Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLKZieMZJTc7xbSTYxpF3gA/join

🔗 Affiliate Links (if you use my link, I will earn a small commission, thank you for your continued support):
Red Tiger Range Finder (Ad/Gifted) – https://amzn.to/3S1XQjK
Every Shot Counts, Mark Broadie – https://amzn.to/3QquY3Z
Golf Sequin Swing Mat – https://amzn.to/4b7ApOP
Garmin R10 Launch Monitor – https://amzn.to/3X2oVq6
Titleist Pro V1 Balls – https://amzn.to/3QhdEyb
Bushnell Rangefinder – https://amzn.to/4hUmgqo
Callaway Alignment Sticks – https://amzn.to/3EOA33B
Golf Impact Bag – https://amzn.to/3DnQzHp
Callaway Supersoft Balls – https://amzn.to/4j6jfUK

Follow me:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theresourcefulcoach/
Website: https://theresourcefulcoach.co.uk/

Contact me:
theresourcefulcoach@gmail.com

[Music] Hi there, it’s David John the Resourceful Coach and we’re going to talk a little bit about pitching today. We’re going to talk about that sort of 40 to 60 yard pitch which I always think the amateur golf is not a massive fan of, but for me it’s one of my favorite shots in the game of golf. It’s one of those shots if you can get right can make a massive difference to your game. We’re going to go through two or three key things that I tend to do when I play the shot. How it helps me to get the consistency that I want. Now, the biggest thing I notice when I go onto the golf course with amateur golfers is the inconsistency of how far they hit each club. And I think that’s the big thing I always want to try and improve with my golfers is get them understanding how far they hit each club with the length of swing that they’re doing to get the desired result they want. And this is a sort of a shot you’re sort of in the middle of. You’re sort of in no man’s land in essence. You’re not doing like a little chip and run from just off the edge of the green and you’re not doing a full swing. You’re doing a swing that’s somewhere in between. So, the key thing I look for with players when they play this shot is the rhythm of their swing. And if I can get their rhythm right, that makes such a big difference to how they one connect with the ball and two, they then control the distance that they’re hitting the shot. And I think if you watch the top players on TV, the one thing, the best player in the world, doesn’t matter who it is, we’ve got Scottish Shuffer as the number one player at the moment. The reason why he’s the number one player at the moment is he can control his distance. And the only way he can do that is from consistency of strike and then knowing how much speed to put into the shot. And that’s what this shot’s about. This is the key thing for me with this shot. It’s about controlling that distance, getting it on the green, and again, what would be a good result? I think that’s important to understand when you’re playing the shot. What would be a good result from this position? So, tendency again, people try to play what I call a little bit of a high tariff shot. They’ll they’ll get this distance away and automatically they pull out maybe their most lofted club that they’ve got, something like a lob wedge or a sand wedge and think they got to flip it up in the air. And the problem for me when I play that shot or I feel like I play that, the more I put that ball up in the air and it feels like it’s just going straight up, I feel out of control. I feel like I haven’t got control of the ball. And that’s the first thing I want when I play this shot. I want control of the golf or any golf shot. I want the control. I want to hit this ball onto that green, control the distance that I’m hitting it. It feels a little bit lucky when I try to play a full shot with something like a lob wedge. It never feels right. When I’ve got a little 30 yard shot over a bunker, I feel the technique we’re going to talk about in a minute seems to work really, really well, and I start to get the desired result that I’m looking for. So there’s my lob wedge. As I said, what I see with golfers when they have the shot is they’re then making that sort of big full swing and they’re trying to hit into it as hard as they can to get the elevation. And the most common result when they do that is they’ll lean back and just thin it straight across the ground. And now because they’ve put so much energy into the shot, if they catch it thin, it just scuttles over the other side. It can sometimes go like a full eight iron. It goes goes way past where you want to go. So that’s why get that club out of the hands. Okay? It’s very very rare I let them stick with that. So most golfers then you’ve got a few different wedges in your bag. The next club we come to the one I use a lot is my gap wedge. So something around about 50 52 degrees. And what I’ve got is a club there that’s going to give me enough loft to do what I want and enough power to do what I want with what feels a much more balanced controlled swing. So I want to feel that tempo as I go through the shot. So, the biggest thing I get when people watch my channel is they always pick up how easy my swing looks. And probably it became that way because my main emphasis when I first started playing golf was short game. So, I love playing these shots. I love to feel the idea of the shot back and through and get the feel of the shot and get the strike. And then it was the buzz when you’re getting it right that that ball would land on the green and then stop. And that comes down to really consistency of connection, clean golf clubs. Make sure your clubs are nice and clean. And then third thing then is the golf ball that you’re using. If you’re using something more like a Prov1, there’s a greater chance you’ll get more backspin than say using something like a a Super Soft Callaway Super Soft. So that’s an important thing as well as you go along that that may give you that level of control. But we’re looking at this rhythm and tempo. And what we’re we’re looking at here in my mind, I never feel like I’m trying to hit the ball. I just feel like what I’m doing is I’m letting the club swing through the ball to feel that sensation. But the biggest thing I do, I’m just going to bring a ball in this way. And this is the most important thing I do in my setup is I do two things. I narrow my stance and I always play the ball fractionally back in my stance. So what do I mean by fractionally back in my stance? That would be central. Back would be nearer my right foot as a righthanded golfer. And the reason for that is that then that would position my sternum, the middle of my chest, where my microphone is. I might have just hit that there. I get that slightly ahead of the ball. And that feels like that’s where the low point of the swing is going to be. And if I’m hitting that low point, I’m going to hit the ball. The ball is going to run up the grooves of the club and the loft of the club and I’m going to get a result. But by narrowing the stance as well, what it gives me is that feeling of that rhythm and tempo to the shot that I want to play. And that’s what I’m looking for. I want to get that rhythm right to get the strike right to then learn how far I’m going to hit it. And it is a little bit trial and error. What you have to do with these shots is when you go and have a go at this idea is go and hit a few and just feel what the length of swing does and how far that hits the ball for you as an individual. Everybody’s different. So don’t think by swinging it to waist high that will guarantee you might go 30 yards and you go a little bit higher that might guarantee 40 or 50. Everybody’s different. So find what works for you. And I think that’s the important thing. It’s your game. Understand and get that feeling. So just playing up to this green. We’ve seen the effort I put in. I’ve thinned it over the other side of the green with this shot. As we said, I’m going to narrow my stance. That feels straight away less powerful. Feels like I’m controlling it a little bit more. I’m playing that ball slightly back in my stance. And here’s a key question I get asked. Do you have wrist 100% yes. You want your wrist to start to get involved in the swing to help generate effortless energy, but more importantly with a pitch shot, it gets the feeling that you’re hitting down on the ball. That’s the key thing. If I reach the bottom of the ball now, I’ve got a chance to get the elevation. I’ve got the chance to get the contact that I want. And if you’ve watched my lob wedge video, and if you haven’t, go and please look at it. We talk about making sure that club continues through. So, let’s just use this club just to explain that idea is you never want to be that player who’s helping the ball up. So, I’m not changing my idea from a lob wedge to this gap wedge type shot. When I hit that ball, the club should continue through. And if I imagine another club was there, I should hit that club. I don’t want to come in and flick it up. If I’m that player flicking it, you’re going to be like the first shot that I played where it thinned across the other side of the green. So, you’re always imagining that club continuing through. That’s a key word through. Keep the momentum going through. You’re going to get results. Okay. So, now it’s a little bit, as I said, trial and error. Let’s just get rid of that club out of the way. And just feel the distance. Obviously, I’ve done this for a long time. So, we’re not talking I’ve done this for 3 weeks. We’re talking I’ve done this for over 35 years. So, for me, it’s second nature. It’s like you driving your car. I don’t really have to think about it. My brain automatically says, I’m going 60 yards here. What do I do? back through, played the shot up, and we’ve got that ball. What would I be happy with? Well, I’m going to be very, very happy any shot inside a flag stick length. But if we’re 15 ft and under, that’s still very, very good. And that ball’s ended up probably around about 5, six feet. But hopefully what you can see is that rhythm and tempo. I’m just feeling the weight of the club. Nice and smooth. Don’t get that urge to hit it. Let it swing. All of us tend to have a much more relaxed, fluent practice swing than we do the real swing. Just let that have a go. Okay? Get a sensation when you play it. What does it feel like when you do that swing? So then when you get to the ball, just trust it to have another go. So the great thing is we’ve put that probably about a flag stick length away, six, seven feet. I’m not going to change a thing. And that’s the other thing I see golfers do. They’ll play a shot like that and then they’ll try and change it. Well, if I did that every time, I’d be over the moon. If you sat beside a tournament and saw somebody put it from here to within six feet of the hole, you’d be clapping and saying, “What a great shot.” So realize when you do achieve that, it’s good. Okay? The chances are if you keep doing it, law of averages say you’ll get some closer, you’ll get some a little bit further away, but the consistency will become better because you’re creating consistent thoughts. So let’s see if we can do it again. One more time, and then you guys can go out and have a practice with this idea. So slightly narrower stance. I’m using a gap wedge. fractionally back in my stance to get the connection. So, I’ve got my sternum slightly ahead of the ball from there. Just keep the rhythm, feel the shot, hit through. And again, because I felt like I maintained the idea, we’ve put that it’s got a little bit of a firmer bounce, but even that still within 20 ft of the hole. That’s okay. I can live with that. So, this is that shot. We don’t tend to like that 40 to 60 70 yard pitch, but it’s all about rhythm and it’s all about not trying to be fancy. Keep it simple. The thing to remember is when I started playing golf, pitching wedges were around about 50° and sand irons were 56. Well, the sand iron hasn’t really changed, but your pitching wedge in your bag now might be 43, 44 degrees. I could stop the ball with a standard pitching wedge years ago. So, it’s really my gap wedge, my 50 degree gap wedge is doing the job of what I would do normally with a pitching wedge. But you can go out and if you find you’re struggling to get a little bit of height, there’s 52s, 54s, find a club that works for you and then get that rhythm and tempo going. If you do, you’ll have a lot more success. You’ll get rid of that one thinning over the other side of the green and you’re going to feel then your scores are going to start looking after themselves. I’ve hope you’ve enjoyed today’s video. Please go and have a look, as I said, at that lob wedge video and remind yourself how to play that. And we’ve talked a little bit more in depth that idea of going through, but take it into the shot, feel the rhythm, practice it, and learn how you can make this a really strong shot in your game. If you have enjoyed the video, please subscribe, and I look forward to seeing you soon. [Music]