chipping pitching #2

practicing these last few days have been interesting and I am learning about these short shots. I have realized I have less understanding when I miss than I do with long shots. part of this is my awareness which is hampered by being up in my head thinking rather than present in my body as I play the shot.yesterday I believe I was standing too close to the ball to allow the club to swing. all great pitchers seem to swing the club and do not appear to have a "hit" at the bottom of the stroke where the club contacts the ball. standing to close to the ball does not allow the club to swing inside the line on the back swing ( think jim furyk's motion )

I also can feel my body sway slightly on the way back, my head turning under which moves the bottom of my swing arc slightly behind the ball making it necessary to adjust on the front swing.

lastly, jay haas helped in a phone conversation where he helped me see that I am a really good bunker player where I use a weaker grip and open the club more on the backswing....this allows me to accelerate and because the club is so open even with acceleration which creates spin, the ball will not fly too far. this same approach is helpful on short shots where I have had too much backswing and too much " power" built up so I can not accelerate through. a weaker right hand grip also makes my hands less active which increases consistency. opening the clubface at address also takes advantage of the bounce on the wedge.