Should you be steep or shallow on your pitch shots? The Short Game Chef explains

When pitching with a wedge near the green, should you be steep or shallow? Good question. Like everything in golf, there’s no right or wrong answer, but there are certain matchups to be considered depending on your skill level. 

Weekend golfers tend to fare better when attacking the ball on a shallower angle. Focus on making a wider takeaway, keeping your body centered and getting the shaft vertical at impact (above) instead of leaning toward the target. This does a great job of engaging the bounce on your wedges, giving you a greater margin for error on mishits. 

If, however, you feel you’re savvier than the average wedge player, steep works too. I recommend at least 10 degrees of down angle. Get it by moving your weight forward during your backswing and keeping your swing narrow on both sides of the ball. 

To really get it right, picture swinging out-to-in, like you’re hitting a cut on purpose. With a steeper swing, you’ll get that crisp feel of ball-first contact — but ya gotta be perfect.

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