Updated Pitching Thoughts (Copy)

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This article is an update on the many pitching and chipping articles I've written over the last few years. Not much has changed since I did the Wedge Project video, but there are certain elements I have a deeper understanding about. Experience and the smart guys at PING have gone a long way towards advancing my understanding. Let's take a look...

Discussing pitching at a Three Day Golf School

Discussing pitching at a Three Day Golf School

  • Great pitchers typically take little to no divot, flight the ball low and generate high spin rates

  • Lower trajectory shots are significantly easier to gauge than higher ones

  • When struck correctly lower trajectory wedge shots will almost always have more spin than higher shots

  • Most golfers perform better when they deliver 45-ish degrees of loft at impact off a normal fairway. The club they use is irrelevant

  • The quality of the face to ball interaction (friction) is primary in generating spin and determining the launch angle

  • The quality of the lie plays a big role in determining the friction generated at impact

  • Any moisture/matter that gets between the face and ball will typically decrease friction and thus increase launch angle and reduce spin. Control will be also be reduced

  • I used to say that sand increases friction and that is often the case, but I've found it depends on the 'angularity' of the sand

  • Cleaning the club face should be done often and with a wet towel - don't use a tee

  • The primary role of grooves is to disperse moisture and matter from between the face and the ball and NOT generate spin

  • Older clubs with worn down grooves will typically not spin the ball as much as a fresh wedge (all else being equal)

  • Premium golf balls, when struck correctly, will always flight lower and spin more than non-premium golf balls (Urethane cover indicates a premium ball)

  • The optimal technique is primarily based around managing the club to ground interaction 

  • As the player alters trajectory so shall the club to ground interaction change. Lower shots with less loft will often lead to a steeper angle of attack

  • Controlling what the handle does through impact is integral to controlling the club to ground interaction

  • I've come to learn that there is no single ideal spin loft to generate the most spin. Each different lie, situation, golf ball and golfer would require their own unique "optimal" spin loft

  • I've been a proponent of draws for pitch shots, but I've seen too many golfers have success with fades and draws to continue advocating strictly for draws

  • For stock, and thus lower flighted, shots the bounce plays less of a role than you might imagine

  • The worst thing to work towards with your wedge play....stay down. Please don't EVER work towards that

  • I've become a big fan of 'core' distances. Depending on the amount of time you have I'd recommend practicing two or more of these 'core' distances and really taking ownership eg. 30/50/70/90 yards

  • Incorporate variety and skill development into any and all forms of practice

I have found there to be a multitude of different, and somewhat unusual techniques that work well for certain individuals. A good general guideline that might help:

With the weight slightly favoring the front footy and utilizing a narrow and relatively square stance with the ball positioned centrally, be sure to keep your chest rotating through the strike in order to have the sole of the club skimming/gliding along the turf. Stay tall and keep the chest moving!

All the best.

Elevate Your Shortgame

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Move the upper body up through impact when chipping. Wow! This idea is relatively new to golf instruction and very new to most golfers. Far too many everyday golfers are doing their utmost to stay down through the strike as the clubhead approaches the ball. Staying down only stalls rotation and forces the arms to collapse. Please don’t do that!

Please watch the above video a few times and really pay attention to what the chest and upper body are doing as the club gets close to impact. Ideally I’d like to move up more as I know all of the following great golfers do this: Stricker, Woods, Ballesteros, Spieth, Day, Na and Zalatoris. Quite a handy line-up there if you were building a team of world-class chippers!

Know that as you experiment and try to implement this into your chipping motion it will feel strange and you’ll never be moving up as much as it feels like you are. Have a friend take a video and keep chipping away - you too can be like the Jeffersons and move on up.

Have fun with this idea and please give it a try. I’d love to hear from you how it worked out for you.

To learn more about how to wield your wedges around the greens check out my Wedge Project HERE

An Important Chip Tip!

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As golfers we typically don’t have very good awareness regarding how we are moving. We know what we should be doing, but we have a hard time executing the intended move. My explanation in the following video addresses one such situation. Watch…

A few notes:

  • I know this might sound contrary to what you’ve been trying to do for a long time, but consciously try to move forward and up through the strike

  • Feel that the trail shoulder makes a concerted “push” towards the target throughout the downswing

  • Something that has worked for my students and I has been to push off the trail foot on the way down into impact

  • Don’t ever try to stay down or back

Watch what two of the best in the business do on the way into impact. Mr. Jose Maria Olazabal and Mr. Brett Rumford…

I hope you find some of these ideas to be helpful to your game and that ultimately you are able to experience more joy out on the golf course. Thanks for reading and watching!

Are you interested in golf travel? If so we are going to South Africa this coming January 2022. Here’s an incredible brochure on our trip and what we have planned - SOUTH AFRICA 2022

Shortgame - Land the Plane

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Whenever you struggle with chipping and pitching you’re not making solid contact with the ball. The strike is off. This could take the shape of sticking the club in the ground or completely whiffing the ground. Landing the plane is an analogy I came up with many years ago that refers to how we should get the sole of the club to interact with the ground. There should be harmony. Watch….

A checklist to help you improve the quality of strike when wedging:

·      Feet should be narrower rather than wider

·      Weight should favor the front foot – slightly

·      Keep your chest rotating through the strike

·      Feel that you elevate slightly throughout the downswing

·      Avoid trying to stay down

·      Limit the hand and wrist action

One of the big no-no’s I see with golfers who struggle with the club to ground interaction is this over-riding objective to STAY DOWN. Stay away from it. It will wreck your ability to repeatedly land the sole of your wedge harmoniously on the ground through impact. So many of the world’s best wedgers actually lengthen the radius of the motion by elevating in some form or another.

Plane.jpg

Practice helps, but the correct concept is always the best starting point. Start with a few practice swings keeping the plane on the runway for as long as you can. Clip a few shots and then get to work on taking ownership of the motion.

Thanks for reading/watching and I sincerely hope this information in some way contributes to your enjoyment of this awesome game.

Updated Pitching Thoughts

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This article is an update on the many pitching and chipping articles I've written over the last few years. Not much has changed since I did the Wedge Project video, but there are certain elements I have a deeper understanding about. Experience and the smart guys at PING have gone a long way towards advancing my understanding. Let's take a look...

Discussing pitching at a Three Day Golf School

Discussing pitching at a Three Day Golf School

  • Great pitchers typically take little to no divot, flight the ball low and generate high spin rates

  • Lower trajectory shots are significantly easier to gauge than higher ones

  • When struck correctly lower trajectory wedge shots will almost always have more spin than higher shots

  • Most golfers perform better when they deliver 45-ish degrees of loft at impact off a normal fairway. The club they use is irrelevant

  • The quality of the face to ball interaction (friction) is primary in generating spin and determining the launch angle

  • The quality of the lie plays a big role in determining the friction generated at impact

  • Any moisture/matter that gets between the face and ball will typically decrease friction and thus increase launch angle and reduce spin. Control will be also be reduced

  • I used to say that sand increases friction and that is often the case, but I've found it depends on the 'angularity' of the sand

  • Cleaning the club face should be done often and with a wet towel - don't use a tee

  • The primary role of grooves is to disperse moisture and matter from between the face and the ball and NOT generate spin

  • Older clubs with worn down grooves will typically not spin the ball as much as a fresh wedge (all else being equal)

  • Premium golf balls, when struck correctly, will always flight lower and spin more than non-premium golf balls (Urethane cover indicates a premium ball)

  • The optimal technique is primarily based around managing the club to ground interaction 

  • As the player alters trajectory so shall the club to ground interaction change. Lower shots with less loft will often lead to a steeper angle of attack

  • Controlling what the handle does through impact is integral to controlling the club to ground interaction

  • I've come to learn that there is no single ideal spin loft to generate the most spin. Each different lie, situation, golf ball and golfer would require their own unique "optimal" spin loft

  • I've been a proponent of draws for pitch shots, but I've seen too many golfers have success with fades and draws to continue advocating strictly for draws

  • For stock, and thus lower flighted, shots the bounce plays less of a role than you might imagine

  • The worst thing to work towards with your wedge play....stay down. Please don't EVER work towards that

  • I've become a big fan of 'core' distances. Depending on the amount of time you have I'd recommend practicing two or more of these 'core' distances and really taking ownership eg. 30/50/70/90 yards

  • Incorporate variety and skill development into any and all forms of practice

I have found there to be a multitude of different, and somewhat unusual techniques that work well for certain individuals. A good general guideline that might help:

With the weight slightly favoring the front footy and utilizing a narrow and relatively square stance with the ball positioned centrally, be sure to keep your chest rotating through the strike in order to have the sole of the club skimming/gliding along the turf. Stay tall and keep the chest moving!

All the best.

The Art of Being Skillful

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As many of you know I enjoy deciphering which elements contribute to being a great wedge player. Ever since I started with my 'Wedge Project' research in 2010 chipping and pitching have really piqued my interest.

My recent testing, and philosophy, has been aligned alongside golfers using one club and applying their skills to control the trajectory and outcome of their shots in close proximity to the green. For ease of illustration and testing I selected a 58º wedge and a 15 yard carry requirement. I then played three different trajectory shots - a high, mid and low shot. I recorded each version in slo-motion and at regular speed along with running TrackMan in the background to capture data on a handful of each type of shot.

As you can tell there is a dramatic difference in the pace required to execute each intended trajectory. The technical changes for each shot changed as follows:

High: ball positioned off front big toe, face square at address and a sense that the handle slows dramatically approaching impact as the clubhead passes the handle prior to impact. Freddie Couples is a good image here.

Mid: ball positioned centrally, face square at address, medium pace and a sense that the shaft will be vertical at impact.

Low: ball positioned off the back big toe, face square with hands forward as a result of the ball position and an upbeat pace that encourages the handle to 'beat' the clubhead to the ball at impact. Zach Johnson's brisk pace comes to mind with this type of shot

At Impact

At Impact

The TrackMan data provides some interesting differences:

Club Speed: Low 23mph; Mid 30mph; High 37mph

Ball Speed: Low 27.8mph; Mid 28.5mph; High 28.0mph

Smash Factor: Low 1.2; Mid 1.0; High 0.8

Launch Angle: Low 29.6º; Mid 40.6º; High 51.6º

Spin Rate: Low 2230rpm; Mid 1630rpm; High 1250rpm

One thing that struck me was that the average ball speed was the same for each type of shot, yet the club speed was very different. The attack angle was steepest with the lower shot primarily due to the ball position and the shaft lean. I also found it interesting that there was roughly 10º difference in the launch angle of each version.

The numbers might be important for coaches to understand, but what can you, the player looking to save strokes take away?

  • Stick with one club around the greens - you'll become a skilled artisan with it in your hands.
  • Alter the trajectory with subtle changes at address and less subtle changes in the pace.
  • The manner in which you release the clubhead through impact will make a big difference
  • Now get to work!

Thanks for reading and please share with a friend. Happy New Year and all the best for a fabulous 2018. #birdies

3 Key Drills for Great Wedge Play

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Far too many golfers struggle with their wedge play. I see it all the time! In this article and video I have dug deep and come up with my three favorite drills for you to practice if you'd like to get better from close range. Take a look...

Impact Drag Drill

  • Using an alignment rod in lieu of a club take your normal pitching address position
  • Place the tip of the rod on the ground about 3 feet behind where the ball would be
  • Keeping the arms extended, rotate and elevate the lead shoulder to get the rod through impact

Pitching Draw Drill

  • Tee the ball up and place an alignment rod between the ball and the target
  • The objective is to get the ball to draw around the rod
  • Have the handle traveling up and in while the clubhead travel down and out for draws

9 Ball Trajectory Drill

  • Using nine balls to develop skill and adaptability
  • Hit the first three balls to three different targets with your stock trajectory
  • The second three balls are hit with a slightly higher trajectory to different targets
  • The final three are hit with a lower trajectory to different targets as well

My hope is that these drills will help to upgrade your technique, develop your skill around the greens and ultimately help you become a more well-rounded golfer.

Thanks for reading/watching and if you enjoyed this article please share it with a friend who you feel might benefit.

To Mill or Not to Mill?

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My three test subjects...

I must be honest and write that I did this test in the hopes of proving a few people wrong. Instead, I have proven myself wrong. With my research for the Wedge Project I put my "stake in the ground" on what I believed regarding milling on the clubface. All the tests I performed using TrackMan and various wedges always showed that a wedge without a milled face generated less spin (albeit slightly) than wedges with the fine "corduroy" look of milling between the grooves.

I looked up a person I believe to be very knowledgeable when it comes to equipment, Tom Wishon. I read all that he had to say on the matter of grooves and surface roughness and his findings aligned with the results I was seeing in my tests.

Based on what I had available to me I had done my homework and had placed my "stake in the sand" in favor of milling on the clubface. It just made sense to me. Until this....

David Neville and the crew from Vokey Wedges have been kind enough to let me have access to a few test wedges. They sent me six wedges of which I chose to use three for this test.

No grooves and no milling

No grooves and milling

All three wedges have the same grip, shaft (DG S200), length, grind (M) and a stated loft of 56 degrees. I did not check their weight, actual loft, lie angle or bounce measurements. I hit 60 shots off a mat (to eliminate ground interference) with the no groove, no milling club and 60 shots off a mat with the no groove, milled club. I then eliminated the 15 lowest spinning shots to leave the remaining 45 highest spinning shots with each club. I used slightly used ProV1X balls and attempted to carry each shot 50 yards. I wiped or cleaned the clubface between every 3rd or 4th shot. Here are the results:

Titleist SM4 TVD M 56 degree Chrome Fly Cut without Grooves or Milling

Titleist SM5 56.10 M 56 degree Raw Surface without Grooves/Milling Only

As you can see the club that had surface milling or roughness actually generated less spin - 6009 RPM to 6229 RPM. While the difference between the two is negligible and most golfers would have a hard time telling the difference between the ball flight of one versus the other (myself included), the result is significant to me in that I firmly believed the outcome would be reversed.

Keep in mind this is a test involving one golfer hitting a limited number of shots to one distance. The results might be a slightly different with multiple golfers at different distances, but I don't believe different enough to sway the outcome of this test.

I recently posted this quote by Martin Palmer on Twitter: "The secret to mastery in any field is to forever be a student." Today my "stake in the sand" moved - I was a student and I learned something. I think it is vital as a coach, or even as a golfer, to place your "stake in the sand" and firmly believe in a method, approach or theory. Stand by it and argue in its favor. That is, until you uncover sound evidence or reasoning against your viewpoint - then you pick up your stake, admit you were wrong and adjust your approach.

As a point of interest I wanted to see how a standard clubface might interact with the ball. I hit 25 shots (keeping the best 20) with the Titleist SM4 TVD M grind that has 17 standard grooves and a milled face. Here are those results:

Titleist SM4 TVD M 56 degree Black Oxide 17 Grooves with Surface Milling

As you can see this clubface with both grooves and surface roughness generated the highest spin rates of all three clubs. This leads me to believe that grooves play a larger, more important role on cleanly struck shots than I originally thought.

As I continue to learn and work towards providing my students with what I believe to be the best current information and knowledge available I know that I will continue to be wrong. The blessing is that each time I am wrong I will learn, adjust and be less wrong than I was before.

The Wedge Project and a New Look!

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I am very excited to announce the release of The Wedge Project. It has been a long time in the making and I have learned so much more than I ever thought I would when I departed on a simple research project almost four years ago. That idea, to learn more about that low launching, high spin pitch or chip shots that golfers would sometimes hit, has opened my eyes to what I now view as the "missing link" to short game instruction.

wedgeproject

Thank you all so much for your patience as you have waited for me to get this "project" out to you. I am pleased with the product and know that everyone will benefit from the information presented. If you like/enjoy/appreciate what you see could I ask that you please share with your friends how they too might be able to purchase the video - unless of course you don't want them pitching/chipping any better. 

Thank you for your support and readership and I am grateful for anything you could do to help get the word out. Please share your thoughts here and on Twitter using #wedgeproject

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Also, I hope you enjoy the new look of Andrew Rice Golf. We would love to hear your comments, both positive and constructive. If there is anything wrong or missing please shoot me a note and I'll work to get it taken care of ASAP.

Thanks again for everything - without you this site would not be possible.






Jason Dufner on Pitching

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I have never watched a shortgame or wedge video where I agree 100% with everything that has been said. Here is Jason Dufner and I agree with everything he says in this brief video. I am not being arrogant, after all he is the PGA Champion, but I seldom go through an entire wedge presentation without hearing something I want to question. Really good stuff from Duf and his coach Chuck Cook....

I thought the following points were important: shallow angle of attack, quiet wrists, straight right arm

A few of my findings on the shot:

Pitching Truths