Golf Tips From Our Pro

Recently, during slow moments in the shop, I have worked on my pitching in the warmth of the pro shop. We have a nice tight lie (and industrial strength carpet squares) which represents the most challenging lie, in my opinion. I use a very soft foam ball (it can’t damage anything, honest Mom!) but a wiffle ball would work just as well.
At first I was just working on my form but I discovered an interesting result. This ball is so soft that I can’t really feel it hit the clubface. This allows me to focus on how pure or not so pure my contact with the ground feels. Hitting a real ball drowns out the feel of the ground which makes it difficult to evaluate the ground contact.
On a pitch shot it is a given that you will hit the face, so the only contact that matters is that with the ground. Being able to isolate how the club hits the ground has really improved my pitching on the golf course.


  Mike Montgomery
  Head P.G.A. Golf Professional