Shaving strokes off your card doesn’t depend on hitting the ball harder, but on sharpening your game around the green. That’s where controlling the pitch shot makes the difference: mastering the short distances lets you leave the ball close to the hole and lock in those pars that so often slip away. At Meaztegi Golf we work on this shot with our students because it’s one of the fastest ways to bring a handicap down.
The key is understanding that the pitch shot isn’t controlled by braking the impact or swinging fearfully. It’s mastered with three simple tweaks you can groove on the practice range and then take out onto the course. Let’s go through them one by one.
Controlling the pitch shot: distance is regulated with technique
Before getting into the tweaks, it’s worth setting one idea straight: the pitch is a precision shot, not a power shot. Distance is regulated with the mechanics of the swing and with the club you choose, never by suddenly accelerating or decelerating. With these three tweaks you’ll get a far more predictable response every time you play the shot around the green.
Think about how many strokes you lose near the hole in any given round: a short approach that finishes far from the flag forces a long putt, and from there to a bogey is just one step. That’s why the game around the green is where your work shows up first. It doesn’t call for more physical strength or a faster swing, but for repeating a reliable pattern until it comes out automatically. The three tweaks that follow are precisely that pattern.
1. Adjust the length of the swing
Don’t regulate distance by braking the impact. Vary the distance of the shot by changing the length of your backswing —think of the hands of a clock: go up to 9 or to 10— while always keeping the same acceleration. This is the tweak that brings the most consistency, because the pitch keeps its rhythm from start to finish: the only thing that changes is how far the club goes back, not the speed at which you come down to the ball.
2. Choose the right club
Don’t do everything with the same wedge. Play with the lofts of your clubs —pitching wedge (PW), gap wedge (GW) and sand wedge (SW)— keeping the same swing to get different trajectories and roll depending on what the green asks for. Changing the club, rather than the force, is the most reliable way to vary the distance on the pitch without altering your technique.
3. Keep your weight forward
Keep around 60 % of your weight on your front leg throughout the whole movement. This position guarantees clean contact, striking the ball before the grass, and avoids the dreaded thin shots. Well-positioned weight is the foundation of a solid pitch: without it, the other two tweaks lose much of their effect.
Take the pitch shot from the range to the course
Grooving these three tweaks takes repetition. Spend part of your warm-up playing the pitch at different distances, memorising which swing length and which club you need for each one. A good drill is to set out several balls and pick three targets at different distances, forcing yourself to change your backswing and your wedge instead of muscling the shot. Once you have those references locked in, leaving the ball close to the hole stops being a matter of luck and becomes a conscious decision before every approach. And if you want to put it into practice on a demanding layout, at Meaztegi Golf you’ll find greens aplenty to polish your pitch shot in a spectacular setting in northern Spain.
Frequently asked questions about the short game
What distance does a pitch shot cover?
It’s a short approach shot to the green, usually within the range that no longer requires a full shot. Its goal isn’t power, but the precision to leave the ball next to the flag.
Which club is best to practise with?
Start with your pitching wedge and gradually add the gap and sand wedge. Playing with the lofts, keeping the same swing, is what gives you different trajectories and roll.
How do I regulate distance without missing the contact?
By changing the length of the backswing (to 9 or to 10) with the same acceleration, and keeping 60 % of your weight forward to strike the ball first. That way the contact comes out clean and the distance stays under control.
Where can I train the short game near Bilbao?
At Meaztegi Golf, in Bizkaia, you have a practice area and a course designed by Seve Ballesteros’s team, ideal for polishing your approach shots.