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This video should help dispel some faulty ideas about pitching, specifically about using the bounce versus forward leaning the club into impact. Before we get to that aspect let’s just be sure to note that all these players make full use of their pivot in order to properly sequence the swing and to get the body to lead the hands and arms into the shot. That means that if you have been taught, or have seen or heard instruction that encourages you to “quiet” your lower body when you hit short and medium pitch shots you should disregard that information. Just watching these guys hit various types of shots should make that clear. Now, I will say that there can be excessive use of the body on pitch shots and that the left leg does not need to snap back or straighten after impact as there is not real need for speed here, but the lower body still has to lead while the upper has to hit through in order to keep the club from “flipping” through impact, the bane of just about every average golfer. Even when using the bounce (where the club slides under the ball and the ball slides up the face to produce a higher, softer shot) the handle must be moving with the body past the ball, in which case it is still not flipping under the ball with the right wrist breaking down. On the video you will see Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka hit wedge shots of varying distance, all striking the ball first before the ground and leaning the club forward enough to take the bounce out of the shot. I teach this as the primary short game shot as it most closely resembles a desirable full swing iron shot, while saving the bounce shot for certain situations in which it would be more effective. If you listen to the TV announcers there seems to be an inclination to suggest that all pitch shots “use the bounce”, but I think you will see here that that is not the case.
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