The Golf Learning Center Update

When I began The Golf Learning Center my goals we very simple: Develop a program that would satisfy four areas- High quality golf instruction, Sport Psychology, Golf Specific Physical Training and Custom Clubfitting.

I am very proud to say that after 2 years the team has come together.

We have Jason on the range providing state of the art custom club fitting. He has done a fantastic job, providing our Members the opportunity to try before you invest, and when you do to make sure they are designed and built just for you.

Our Mental game can be tuned up by Karen Stewart. She is ready to help you perform at your highest levels. Whether it be focus, concentration or helping you mentally tackle those demons when your about to shoot your career round, she can help. She has just come back from San Antonio where she has undertaken additional training, The 8 Traits of a Champion Golfer. We are excited to have her as part of our team!

Golf Specific Physical Training. We have hit a home run. Rob Mottram, a licensed Physical Therapist, has joined the team to help work on you body to perform the moves we as instructors ask you to do. His background includes 11 years on the PGA, LPGA and Senior PGA Tour working on touring professionals in the fitness trailer. During those 11 years his job was to help the players perform at the highest levels and to help rehab injuries. So if you need a check up or a tune-up for your body, Rob's the man!

Last but not least, golf instruction.

I am very proud to have along side me at the center Rob Stanger. He is a Johnny Miller prodigy and brings a tremendous amount of golfing knowledge, both as a player and instructor to the center.

This is Robs' 2nd season with me. Much of the first season was spent watching me teach and learning how I teach. I felt this was vital to have continuity throughout our teaching program.

I now feel we can help you with every part of your game. Clubs, fitness, rehab or the best in Mental Fitness and of course state of the art golf instruction. I hope we are serving you, the Members of Mission Hills Country Club with a program designed to help you reach your golfing goals.

"Tips from the Tee" Newsletter

Feb/March 2002

Chip or Pitch?

So many times this is the situation we are faced with when we are playing our round. . . do I chip it or pitch it??

The way I usually answer this question, is by asking a few questions. Like, what are you trying to do, how much green do you have to work with, what kind of lie do you have and how much time does the ball need to stay in the air before it reaches the green?

I always remember a bit of advice given to me many years ago by my first golf coach "putt it if you can, chip it if you must and pitch only when you have to." The message I got from this is the higher you loft the ball in the air, the more precise you must be. So for most of us, when using our putter is not an option, we should consider chipping versus pitching.

When chipping you have an abundance of choices that could yield you positive results. You have somewhere between 6 and 9 irons in your bag, and all of these could be used to perform a chip shot.

On the other hand when we are pitching we usually have 1 or 2 choices, a sand wedge or lob wedge.

When I am working with my students I like to teach them a very simple and repetitive chipping technique. One that is basically the same size and speed no matter what club they will be using. This allows them to know that when they use a different club it will go a different distance, depending on the loft, not on how hard they hit it.

Once they have the clubs matched with distances they will go, chipping becomes much easier. Knowing there are only two things we have to determine, distance and direction. When we feel more sure of the distance, direction is now the only factor we need to deal with. We can now read the shot like a putt.

Hitting accurate pitch shots can be just as simple. We need to begin by developing references for how far a shot will go when we perform a certain move.

I like to say that pitching is nothing more than a mathematical equation. We have a club with a specific loft and a specific distance we need to make the ball travel. The missing piece is how hard do I hit it to make it go that distance.

I like to begin with each student by helping them develop a technique that will give them these answers. Then when they are faced with these shots they can easily recall the correct amount of clubhead speed to produce the distance they are needing.

I like to compare this to looking at a filing cabinet drawer that is labeled "Pitching" and inside the drawer are folders that have the information neatly tucked into each folder. So when you are faced with a shot of say 45 yards and 35 of it will need to be in the air, you know exactly what you need to do to make the ball fly 35 yards and allow the ball to roll another 7 to 10 yards.

Imagine, when you are faced with a chip or pitch, your level of confidence is much different now when you know how to control the distance of your shots. This is the area of the game we see shots really begin to add up if done incorrectly. A poor chip or pitch, leaves us with a long putts, setting us up for a potential 3 putts. Or worse yet, a pitch that we need to hit over a bunker, and because we are unsure how hard to hit it we either scull it over the green or chili-dip it into the bunker. Favorite nightmare, but. . .

Our goal is to help you develop a strong and reliable short game. This is also an area of the game where we can trim many shots off your handicap.

Do I Chip or Pitch?? If you are unsure I would start by asking the questions I began the article with. A chip is a shot that spends maximum time on the ground, while a pitch is a shot that spends maximum time in the air. Good luck!