17 for ’17, Cont.

Stop Scooping

For more consistent pitch shots around the green, don’t try to “help” the ball into the air by flipping your wrists at impact. To break the habit, slip an alignment stick into your grip so that it extends upward on the same angle as the club. When making your pitching motion the alignment stick should not touch your body at any time during the motion from waist high on the backswing to waist high on the foreswing.

This drill will keep you from breaking your wrists while pitching which allows the club to contact the ball on a downward motion producing elevation of the ball with spin and a soft controlled landing.This practice will also help train your upper torso and shoulders to finish through the shot so you are contacting the ball first, not scooping your shots around the green. The drill also requires you to begin your pitching motion with your hands in front of the ball and keeps them in front of the clubhead through the contact area.

—Stan Fenn, PGA Director of Instruction, Golf Academy of Northern Colorado at Harmony Club, Timnath, & Co-Host, “Morning Cup of Golf,” 600 KCOL Radio