The Golf Swing
In The Short Game

Having a good short game is crucial to hitting low scores, as coaches like Dave Pelz have written about.

So how does the golf swing when pitching and chipping - and for that matter putting - differ from the full swing? Remember that in the full swing there are three fundamentals: body turn, wrist hinge and the 'arms' control triangle.

Putting
There is no body turn and no wrist hinge in the classic putting pendulum technique. The clubhead speed comes simply from a gentle rocking of the shoulders. However, it is vital to set and maintain your control triangle.

Chipping
Chipping technique is related to the pendulum putting stroke. Again the familiar triangle is at the heart of the action. As you turn your upper body to create momentum, a sense of fluidity in the hands and wrists will help you generate speed and 'pinch' the ball smartly off the turf.

Pitching
For a pitch shot what we are looking at is a mini-swing. Good technique sees the hands and arms work in tandem with the rotation of the upper body, the wrists providing the vital hinge that gets the clubhead swinging up on plane, thus enabling you to release it smartly into the back of the ball.

Of course, this is just a bare outline. We'll be adding some more detailed short game articles soon.