Week Four: Pitching

Students will be able to:

• learn the difference between chipping and pitching

• learn how open, square, and close clubface during the swing

• learn the 4 types of wedges

• understand bounce and loft angle

• apply pitching drills to improve pitching skills

• participate in a pitching contest

• learn about the putting green and tools to succeed in golf

• define honesty

Quiz 4

Week 4 Notes:

1. Chapter 3 Rules: Parts of the Golf Course

   1. See some important putting green tips below!

      1. Putting Green Rules and Etiquette…anything with a penalty is explicitly stated so!

         • Never run on the green.

         • Always place your bag on the side of the green, towards the following hole, when you are putting.

         • Whoever is further away should go first.

         • If you are not putting, you should mark your ball immediately.

         • Always repair at least two divots before you begin putting, assuming you have time.

         • Ask your partner if he’d like the flagstick out, in, or tended. The penalty for hitting the flagstick is NO penalty.

         • You can move loose impediments anywhere on the green unless they are in your line. Never touch your own line, because it is considered improving your lie and results in a 2 stroke penalty.

         • Don’t walk in someone else’s line. It’s rude. Make sure your shadow isn’t in someone’s line. It’s also rude.

         • When you remove the flag, place it relatively far away so no one hits it on accident.

         • You can repair ball marks and hole plugs on the green. You can also repair spike marks on the green.

      2. Tools to succeed in golf: ball, tee, ball marker, divot repair tool

      3. Repairing ball marks properly

2. Lesson: Pitching

   • In pitching and full swing, we open the clubface in the backswing, close it in the downswing so that it is square and impact, and close it in the follow-through. The clubface’s being square at impact creates centeredness of contact. Your clubface’s position at impact determines direction: where the ball goes. For a right-handed player, if the clubface is open at impact, the ball goes right, and if it is closed at impact, it goes left. The opposite is true for left-handed players. Remember: knuckles to knuckles from Beginner.

   • In pitching and full swing, the wrists hinge, or break, through impact. The breaking of the wrists through impact create loft. Remember: thumbs up to thumbs up from Beginner.

   • The combination of knuckles to knuckles and thumbs up to thumbs up creates loft and solid contact.

   • There are four types of wedges:

     • Pitching wedge - 48 degrees

     • Gap wedge - 52 degrees

     • Sand wedge - 56 degrees

     • Lob wedge - 60 degrees

   • See this video on bounce angle

     • Bounce angle is the angle between the ground and the sole of the club. As loft increases, the sole of the club rises more off the ground, which means you have to hit more down on the ball as the sole rises away from the ground. Therefore, you have to make lower contact with a sand wedge than with a 7-iron, for example.

3. Practice: Pitching drills

   • Use one-arm drills. Start with you dominant arm and then your non-dominant arm. Hit the ball from tees. This will help you understand how your arms work separately from one another. Then put it together. For right-handed players, your left arm leads the swing and your right arm trails.

   • The tee drill. Place the tee in the ground and try to hit the tee out of the ground. No ball.

4. Videos: Putting Line Etiquette, Putting Green Etiquette, Marking the Ball, Golf Bag Etiquette