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I would define a pitch shot, as a shot that travels farther in the air than it rolls. We are going to consider a pitch shot, as one of 60 yds or less.

"Set Up" The ball should be centered between your ankles for all good lies, to allow contact with the ball before the club reaches its low point or divot. Your stance should be athletic, with knees slightly flexed. Hold the wedge lightly with your normal grip. Stand fairly tall and let your arms relax, hanging straight down under your shoulders, with your feet just far enough apart to be in good balance. We want 60% to 70% of the weight to be on the left side, and should stay there during the shot. Having your weight on your left side promotes a downward strike into the back of the ball, which is desirable. Feet , knees, hips and shoulders should be aimed parallel left of your target line, just as for a full shot. Your hands should be slightly forward, so that they are even with the inside of your left leg.

" Pitching Swing" The swing for a pitch shot is really just a miniature full swing with a couple of adjustments. First, as already mentioned, the stance is a little narrower than for a full swing and you set more weight on your left side. Second, the finish is shorter, your hands will finish about waist high, or maybe just slightly higher. Other than that it is just a shorter version of the full swing with the club head traveling on a path from inside the target line to square to inside. The biggest mistakes I see players make with this shot is; 1.Taking too big of a backswing and then slowing down through impact. 2. Trying to help the ball up into the air with a scooping motion of the right hand. In my opinion the most important part of hitting a pitch shot, is to accelerate through the hitting area with the left wrist flat, or slightly bowed, which will cause the handle of the club to be forward of the club head at impact. The idea is to hit slightly downward into the back of the ball, catching the ball first and then the divot.

" Distance Control" The best way to control distance is to control the length of your backswing. Practice hitting shots with different length backswings and pay attention to how far the ball flies in the air. It's a good idea to pace off different distances, for instance, 20, 40, and 60 yds. Put a head cover or towel down on each spot and practice landing the ball on your target. Pay attention to how much of a backswing it takes to make the ball travel each distance. Do the same for in between distances as well. I use my 56 degree sand wedge for most pitch shots but it's good practice to do the drill with all of your wedges and notice the difference in trajectory, which affects how much the ball will roll.

Spending a good amount of your practice time working on shots from 60 yds and in will help lower your scores in a short amount of time.