For Middle- And High-handicap Golfers

There is an old saying that a good putter is a match for anyone and a bad putter is a match for nobody. I propose that the same thing applies equally to a golfer's ability or inability to play the short pitch shot from 50 yards or less from the hole.

In executing the short pitch, it is essential to concentrate upon hitting through the ball with the hands. It is the speed with which the hands go through the ball that determines how far the ball will travel. From the incidental stance, holding the club in exactly the same position, it is possible to pitch the ball anywhere from 20 yards to 50 yards simply by altering the speed of your hand action. How far you take the club back doesn't enter into the matter at all. I stress this because I have had dozens of golfers complain that they could not hit a short pitch because they always took the club back too far. If they concentrated upon the hand speed through the ball and let the length of the backswing become instinctive, they would do much better both in producing finer shots and lower scores.

from JOE BELFORE, Country Club of Detroit, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.