Golf Tips for Pitching from Tight Lies

This shot here, with this tight lie, is so scary to so many people. The reason why is that you do not think that there is very much grass underneath the ball, and you have a bunker here that you have to hit the ball up and over to a tight flagstick. Here is a technique that will help you to execute these shots very nicely all the time.

The reason that we struggle with these shots is the bottom of the swing is in the wrong place. Because of the tight lie situation, what happens is players try to help the ball up in the air. They are trying to scoop the clubhead under the ball and what happens is the clubhead always bottoms out too early and now what happens is the club is coming out where the ball is. What happens is you will either skull it over the green or hit it fat into the bunker. Maddening. Here is a technique that will help get rid of that.

We want to get the bottom of the swing in the right place so to do that I am going to put all of my weight onto my forward leg. So much so that I only have the toe of my right foot on the ground. I am going to stay right there and by doing that I have moved my sternum forward and I have moved it right over the golf ball. That is where the bottom of my swing is. When I am hanging back and I try to help it can you see how my sternum went farther back. I am going to put my sternum right over the ball and I am going to make a few rehearsal swings and you will notice that the club now is brushing the turf right where the ball would be. Now I want to put that on the ball. Let's take a look at it. take my set up. Weight is on my forward leg. That ball came out pretty nice. It had the right sound, the right trajectory. This technique will help you get the right feel for hitting this shot.

You have two options. You can practice with your weight forward and then put it back into a normal stance or you can actually take your set up and hit your shots with the forward set up on your right toe. I think you will be surprised how consistent they will be. Give this a try, I know you will get past this bunker without any problem.