Following on my previous article “The Basic Pitch Shot” I will show you a drill that will get you to play the pitch shot time and time again with absolute confidence. No more duffed pitches.

If you haven’t already read my previous article you need to do so. However I will recap here and say that the swing for the pitch shot is totally different to a full golf swing. In the pitch shot the body and the hips work together in a synchronized swing and the “coil” used in the full swing is eliminated. Emphasis is on accuracy, not on distance in the pitch shot.

On the basis that you are familiar with the basic pitch shot here is a routine that will give you nine different shots using the same swing.

Looking at a player from a face on position imagine that the target shoulder (left shoulder for right handed players and right shoulder for left handed players) is the center of a clock and the target arm (left for right handed players etc.) is the hour hand. For this drill ignore the club, it is the arms that we are concerned with.

There are three swing positions: Full, three-quarters and half.

The take away for the full swing on the basic pitch shot is to a point where the arm (not the club) is in the 10.30 position. Remember the body and hips are synchronized. If you try and go beyond 10.30 with the pitch shot you are in danger of creating a coil between the hips and upper body and so playing a full power shot.

The three-quarter swing goes to the 9 o’clock position, with the arm (hour hand) parallel to the ground. In the half swing the arm only goes as far as the 7.30 position.

In all three swings the wrists need to be fully cocked at the top of the swing. In other words cock fully at 10.30, 9.00 or 7.30 depending on the swing.

With a club in your hand practice a synchronized turn to 10.30 with wrists fully cocked at that point. Do the same for the 9.00 and 7.30 positions.

Now on the down swing and follow through there are a few important things to remember. The first of which is that the shoulders and hips work together - they are synchronized. The second is that on all three shots the follow through ends with a full, complete finish. Make sure you “finish high” as we like to say at the E.G.T.F.

Take your pitching wedge and practice each of these shots until you are absolutely comfortable with them. Note how far the ball travels on each swing and the characteristics as it lands on the green.

You now have three different shots using the exact same swing.

Once you have perfected this with one club and feel comfortable repeat the exercise using your sand wedge and your lob wedge.

Voila you have just been given nine short game shots that you can play depending on the circumstances you find yourself in, the distance you need to fly the ball and the position of the pin.

Practice these shots and make a note of how far the ball carries.

Here’s a neat little trick. With a marker write on each of your wedges the distance the ball carries for each of the shots. So your pitching wedge might have the numbers 60, 75 and 90 written on it. That would most certainly boost your confidence as you approached a pitch shot. You could just step up and squeeze the trigger.

Now that I have shown you how to play nine different pitch shots using one swing you may want to pop over to my blog (see below) and get more tips on how to improve your game without stress.

In my next article I will give you a few tips on how to get out of bunkers- every time.