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How to hit a low/back-foot pitch?

TxAggie2018

TxAggie2018

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Not a shot I need to have as a 100+ player, but as a short game fan it's a shot I'd like to have.

I have got a high pitch down pretty comfortably with my 60* wedge, so I kinda want to try and learn the low shot version of it. I watched a couple Youtube videos this week and hit the range.

My general approach

-Feet close together
-Ball inside the right toe
-Lots of weight left
-Aim in front of the ball so the leading edge doesn't dig.
-Accelerate through

When I tried it out, I basically gave the greenskeeper a free roto-tilling in my bay. Just digging EVERYTHING with my leading edge and throwing clods of grass further than the range ball. And I'm normally a picker who takes little divot.

So I'm now that guy that no one likes at the driving range, and I don't want to be that guy. Before I go and tear stuff up again, I figure I would ask for an e-lesson. How can I set this shot up more successfully?
 
Google Kelvin Miyahira's article "How to hit the low spinning wedge shot?"
 
for me I use a lower lofted club like my 50* or even PW. I place slightly behind my right foot (right handed golfer) and think "putter stroke" with the club. I try to not have any wrist hinge, keep my hands from creeping too far forward (leading edge will dig in if you do), and accelerate to whatever distance I want. I also like to have the toe down and that helps me keep the ball low, it imparts a little spin, but still lets the ball run out.
 
With the same 60 degree wedge, have intent to impact the ball with the top groove or second from top groove.
Have a very close look at the clubface, first. Even touch the groove you want to use.

Now let that sink in to your subconscious and let your subconscious find the ball position to get that done.
It really does work. You simply have to believe and just do it.

The same muscles used for BS are used in DS in opposite manner.
The time gap between BS and DS is too quick to control both consciously.
Choose which you will control consciously and which
you will let happen by feel.
 
I think you are on the right track but changes are maybe more subtle from your stock setup (if you are normally more of a picker). You want to nip it, but still not take much divot. I play the ball back a little but not tons, weight shift slightly left but not tons, and deliver a touch more hands ahead of ball than a stock shot (deliver less loft). The rest of the motion is similar to me. If you play around with it on the range making small changes you should be able to see how it varies with small adjustments.

I also use a SW or GW quite a bit depending, but there is no denying the sexy lob wedge low spinner.
 
I agree with @mikeg_74 , a 60° would not be the club I would try it with, you have to de-loft the club to much for that which means to much shaft lean which in turn means leading edge. I use a 50° around the green for this shot and have no issues with it. It has to be practiced, a lot to perfect it but is easy enough to do.
Play with some old guys and see which clubs hey use, you will notice they use a 7/8 iron a lot around the greens for bump and runs and they have perfected it.
 
Snickerdog said:
I agree with @mikeg_74 , a 60° would not be the club I would try it with, you have to de-loft the club to much for that which means to much shaft lean which in turn means leading edge. I use a 50° around the green for this shot and have no issues with it. It has to be practiced, a lot to perfect it but is easy enough to do.
Play with some old guys and see which clubs hey use, you will notice they use a 7/8 iron a lot around the greens for bump and runs and they have perfected it.
Click to expand...

Got it. I was going off a Phil Mickelson video where he recommended a 60, but then again, every one of his videos starts with "let's take our 60 wedge...". The man would probably tee up and hit drives with a 60 wedge if you let him.

I'll try a GW next time I go out there.
 
Jason89er said:
Click to expand...


Great video! This is actually perfect.

I was playing around with some foam balls and slo-mo practice swings on my carpet tonight, trying to see where my leading edge was hitting and how I could get the bounce to land first instead. The idea I had was to open the face and raise the leading edge up more, but an open LW seemed all kinds of wrong for a low pitch shot. It's awesome to see that this Youtube guru actually teaches it that way and shows how to compensate for that.

Also going to bring out a GW to the range, back-foot it, and see what happens there. Creativity is my favorite part of golf and this gives me a couple of interesting options to explore!
 
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The way I've seen it taught recently on a TaylorMade Rory McIlroy video, is to keep the arms as straight as possible, as little wrist hinge as you can, but still turn the body through impact.
 
Snickerdog said:
I agree with @mikeg_74 , a 60° would not be the club I would try it with, you have to de-loft the club to much for that which means to much shaft lean which in turn means leading edge. I use a 50° around the green for this shot and have no issues with it. It has to be practiced, a lot to perfect it but is easy enough to do.
Play with some old guys and see which clubs hey use, you will notice they use a 7/8 iron a lot around the greens for bump and runs and they have perfected it.
Click to expand...
I'm one of those "old guys"...lol
 
I landed my approach into the rough and into mostly dirt and I had to get over a 4 ft mound and then onto a slope down onto the green. The dirt was an issue - hit it first and you're dead. I used a 54 because of the mound, put ball in back of stance, square, weight forward and prayed. Not much hinge, got it over mound and onto green ...

Thinking about it, I might have taken a 50 - the 54 felt iffy as I hit it and less hinge - just very little.

I need to view that video on the low spinner but my shot was trouble - no room but prayer.
 
TxAggie2018 said:
Great video! This is actually perfect.

I was playing around with some foam balls and slo-mo practice swings on my carpet tonight, trying to see where my leading edge was hitting and how I could get the bounce to land first instead. The idea I had was to open the face and raise the leading edge up more, but an open LW seemed all kinds of wrong for a low pitch shot. It's awesome to see that this Youtube guru actually teaches it that way and shows how to compensate for that.

Also going to bring out a GW to the range, back-foot it, and see what happens there. Creativity is my favorite part of golf and this gives me a couple of interesting options to explore!
Click to expand...

He has great stuff on YouTube. Although I would caution against going down too many rabbit holes on YouTube. It’s great for learning certain type shots that may work for you. But if you want individual instruction I would suggest lessons. Can even do them online. Including him. Will cost a few bucks but sticking with one instructor/swing method will help much more in the long run. I watch a lot of golf stuff on YouTube but I don’t use it all. Especially full swing. If you do try you will find yourself with several different swing parts that don’t really fit together. It’s all about finding what works for YOU and what is repeatable and consistent.

I do find it so interesting how many approaches there are to hitting a little white ball with a crooked stick though. 🤣
 
Your setup sounds OK. Try sliding the sole of the club underneath the ball rather than sneaking the leading edge between the ball and the ground.
 
So just an update on this for googlers, as I've been messing around with it on and off for months.

I was trying this shot with a low-bounce 60-06* lob wedge. If I play it back and deloft it a bit, I can make it a 54-0* sand wedge. Anything shallower than that and the leading edge starts coming in first. Maybe you can deloft it more if you have Phil level low point control, but I am the furthest thing away from that.

I was ripping up turf and taking huge divots when I posted this because I was delofting it too far. Playing it a little ways back instead of a long ways back got me much more consistent contact, but the difference between a 54-ish delofted club and a 60 played straight up and down is not dramatic. You clearly get more runout with the latter, but I can't think of a chip shot where a popped 60 shot wouldn't work and a slightly lower 54 would.

So I've just been practicing 60 chips off my front foot and getting the distance control down for that one play. This whole experiment hasn't added a shot to my bag, but it did add a wrinkle to my golf brain.
 
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