Pitching and the right hand

[jambalaya]

I was thinking, yes a dangerous thing for me to do, about my pitching problems of late. I coach my daughters softball team and after the practice, during which I pitched batting practice to the girls, I thought about how accurate I am pitching. Always have been. Whenever I have been on a softball team I have pitched. Nothing fancy but very accurate. I could drop the ball behind the plate with a high arch with very good consistency. When I pitch to my girls I am not much worse than a pitching machine. They always get plenty of cuts at good pitches.

So I am thinking, how can I translate this to pitching the ball in golf. My conclusion is that I need to feel the club more in my right hand. After all I pitch the softball right handed. When I think about pitching using the left hand I can see why I am so inconsistent. I try to hit down and through with acceleration but I have lost my touch. Surely we must use our dominant hand more on a pitch shot. But that is not what I do. It is usually equal or maybe even more so my left hand. Am I on to something?

[takinitdeep]

Re: Pitching and the right hand

I was thinking, yes a dangerous thing for me to do, about my pitching problems of late. I coach my daughters softball team and after the practice, during which I pitched batting practice to the girls, I thought about how accurate I am pitching. Always have been. Whenever I have been on a softball team I have pitched. Nothing fancy but very accurate. I could drop the ball behind the plate with a high arch with very good consistency. When I pitch to my girls I am not much worse than a pitching machine. They always get plenty of cuts at good pitches.

So I am thinking, how can I translate this to pitching the ball in golf. My conclusion is that I need to feel the club more in my right hand. After all I pitch the softball right handed. When I think about pitching using the left hand I can see why I am so inconsistent. I try to hit down and through with acceleration but I have lost my touch. Surely we must use our dominant hand more on a pitch shot. But that is not what I do. It is usually equal or maybe even more so my left hand. Am I on to something?

My opinion is it all begins with the rocking of the shoulders back and down/through the chip/pitch.
Set up with an open stance and feet closer together than a full shot and just feel more weight on left foot with hands slightly ahead.
Take the club back by turning the left shoulder a little for short shots and more for longer shots, then, keep your hands ahead coming down onto the ball, making sure to hit it first. This will impart crisp strike and spin. To have less spin, play the ball back further and it will run more.
I like to have the hands fairly passive and let the club do its job.
Putting the right hand dominant for most people would be a problem.

[shootin4par]

Re: Pitching and the right hand

imho
the right hand in the golf swing plays a major role. My best advice to give anyone would be to buy mike austins dvds and study them, really study them. He studied biomechanics, physics, kinesiology, etc..for a person who thought he knew everything, me, I learned how little I really knew. Now I am incoperating his stuff, it is more natural for me, consistent, and fun. Mike austins GIMI at www.mikeaustingolf.com is a good place to start. Back to the point, he believed as well that the right hand played a major role. as some may have noticed I post less on here because some of the stuff I have learned and put into practice is too hard to explain and may just lead to more confusion

[takinitdeep]

Re: Pitching and the right hand

But can you play, S4par,IFOMALOL, what a crock

[shootin4par]

Re: Pitching and the right hand

in life being closed minded gets us nowhere. I am not sure TID why it seems you ffeel threatened by some of the things I post. Why is it you must keep attacking me. But I will leave those issues up to you to figure out in your own due time. Good luck brother
neil

[takinitdeep]

Re: Pitching and the right hand

in life being closed minded gets us nowhere. I am not sure TID why it seems you ffeel threatened by some of the things I post. Why is it you must keep attacking me. But I will leave those issues up to you to figure out in your own due time. Good luck brother
neil

Because if something is that complicated, you won't be able to play with it.
I am trying to wake you up to reality by shaking you up. I haven't felt threatened since I was 8 and the bully down the block chased me into an alley. That threat ended by me breaking his knees with the baseball bat I was carrying.
Don't get all paranoid, you are just going down the wrong street.

[shootin4par]

Re: Pitching and the right hand

no need to try and wake me up. If you think I am sleeping then let me sleep. I do not respond to you unless you post a response directly to me. so if you take the same approach we no longer have to talk to each other. I will keep you in my prayers

[jambalaya]

Re: Pitching and the right hand

Now, now children. Anyway, I put the right hand thought into practice in my round Friday with great results. Friday was probably the best pitching an chipping round I have had in about three years. All I did was make the right hand strong on the grip. I still hit down on the ball but with the right hand more in control. Distance control was much better. Before I felt like I was chopping down on the ball with the side/back of the left hand. I made good contact before, it went straight before, but I had terrible distance control. On Friday I just turned my right hand under a bit and did my normal swing. I kept in mind the thought of standing at the side of the green without a club, ball in right hand, and just pitching the ball to a spot on the green.

[BrianW]

Re: Pitching and the right hand

I have found (a - la - Greg) that maintaining a cocked right wrist and a flat left when pitching and chipping I get much better accuracy.

[takinitdeep]

Re: Pitching and the right hand

I have found (a - la - Greg) that maintaining a cocked right wrist and a flat left when pitching and chipping I get much better accuracy.

Frankly, that same action works for irons in general, the body after some training knows when to release but that is a lag position. Also, on a larger scale works for driver and long irons/woods. The chip is just a shorter version of the full swing with a few modifications.
If one is prone to early release in the full swing, he/she will also be prone to same in chipping and pitching-heck-even putting when we see pulls left of the hole.

[oldwease]

Re: Pitching and the right hand

The best cure I've come across for an early release is to make sure the left arm continues to lead after impact. A lot of players seem to practically stop the left arm at or close to impact which, effectively, blocks the left side and gets the right arm and hand flipping through / over. This action will encourage an early release as the right hand / arm become the only way to maintain the momentum of the swing.

This should be applied to chipping also; keep the left arm going - you will find you hit more consistent chips with a nice, smooth tempo.

[jambalaya]

Re: Pitching and the right hand

Both the left and right arm should work as one and continue to move through impact. Naturally the left arm leads for a right hander. But I am still finding that feeling the right hand more helps me. Maybe that goes against conventional thinking but my distance control has improved.