Copy my technique and strategies from around the green to improve your short-game deficiencies.Â
One position many amateurs find themselves in is 30 yards from the pin with the ball on a tight lie. You often can’t putt because the ground in front of you is too bumpy, so you’re going to have to fly this shot onto the green.
Playing in many pro-ams, I’ve seen a number of different approaches to this shot. I’ve seen guys and girls that literally hate this shot so much that they will default to the putter. They don’t care what’s in front of them, they will putt all day long. That’s because in the past they’ve gone in for the chip shot from a tight lie – and we’ve all done it; I’ve done it; all amateurs have done it – and either hit it fat or skulled it past the green. It’s really frustrating.
I feel for amateurs when they get in this position and don’t enjoy this type of shot. So I try to play the 30-yard pitch in a way where I’m not going to make that mistake.
[Getty images: David Cannon]

THE BASICS
Two of the key aspects when playing a 30-yard pitch shot from around the green are ball position and stance. Every pitch shot I play from 30 yards away, I aim slightly left of the target and open the face slightly. This adds a little bit of bounce to the club, which will help with the strike. At impact, you’re going to be hitting from slightly across the line, so the open face, which imparts a little bit of spin on the ball, gives you more control.

MORE ON BOUNCE
If I’m playing a 60-degree-wedge shot where the ball is going to land, take two bounces and then check, you want to make sure the ball position doesn’t get too far forward. It’s a similar theme to how I play bunker shots, but I want to feel that when my hands are hanging at address, they hang in a position where I feel that ball is centred to where the middle of my chest is. It’s not too far back, not too far forward, but in a position where I’m going to choose the loft on my club.
I’m not going to play it straight-faced, because the leading edge of the club is very tight to the ground, so that’s why I open the face just slightly. And by opening the face, I’m allowing that leading edge to come up slightly, therefore creating some extra bounce, which is going to help me play the shot. You want a bit of bounce on the club to help to not hit it chunky. I also grip down on it just slightly because
I don’t want to hit the ball heavy.


ANGLE IS EVERYTHING
Use a short backswing to the halfway-back position where the hands are only slightly hinged, then accelerate through impact. The ball comes out a little low because the angle of attack is quite steep and I want to catch the ball first, as opposed to hitting the ground first, and you can get that ball to land, bounce a few times then check.
Because I’ve used the bounce on the club, my divot is quite shallow. It’s not a big, deep gouge or a chunky divot. It’s a very slim, thin divot. You know the bounce on the club is working when you produce a shallow divot.

REMEMBER TO ACCELERATE!
The most important thing – again, like a bunker shot – is you’re always accelerating through impact. You must accelerate; never decelerate. Never take a big, long backswing and back out of the shot because you’re worried. Use a little bit of energy, always accelerating through the impact area. Â
