The “Chitch” – A cross between a full pitch and a chip shot

The "Chitch" - A cross between a full pitch and a chip shot

This is a quick golf lesson in which Kathleen demonstrates what she call the “Chitch”. This shot is a cross between a full pitch and a basic chip shot.

Kathleen: “To do like a full-blown chip, you’ve got to have a tremendous amount of roll, so if I’m like 40 to 50 yards out, not feeling my 50-yard pitch shot, what I’m gonna do is similar to what we did with the chipping, is I’m basically going to place the ball in the middle of my stance, right? So I have a nine-iron in my hand or maybe even a pitching wedge, and I’m still going to set my weight forward. I’m going to have a little bit of a higher back swing. I mean, again, a pitch is, you get past that park bench and I’m hinging but there’s not a lot of hinging going on, so I’m going to maintain that lowercase Y because what I want now is maybe 40% air and 60% roll. This is all in the fairway, by the way, because you can’t do this really in the rough per se. So I’ve got plenty of fairway to work with and I’m going uphill. We get it up in the air about 40%, it lands in 60%, rolls up onto the green. So it’s just kind of like a big chip shot. And again, if I had a bigger club in my hand, it’s going to go a lot further and roll a lot further, but this is more on the fairway, right? Now, the other thing is, is you can really plan and plot to not have that distance and set yourself up for that 70 or 80-yard shot, which is my sweet spot. I love 70 to 80, even sometimes, 90. Who likes 50, 40, 30? Not me. So when you get there, you’re going to love it with your new chitch.”

Summary

  • The “Chitch” is an in-between shot to be used when a full pitch is too much and you are too far away for a basic chip shot (possibly the 30 – 60 yard range)
  • It requires a lot of roll therefore you need a good amount of fairway in front of you
  • It is not to be played when you have a lot of rough in front of you
  • Plan to account for 40% air and 60% roll
  • Great to use with a 9 iron or pitching wedge
  • Set the weight slightly forward
  • Ball is in the middle of the stance
  • Not as much of a backswing as a full pitch but still enough for a slight hinge

About the Author

Kathleen Heiney is a class A LPGA golf professional and based in Denver, CO.  She also has a masters degree in Kinesiology from Indiana University.  She offers private, semi-private, and group golf lessons in Denver and the surrounding areas to golfers of all ages and skill levels.  She also has a unique program, Yoga Fit FORE Golf, that combines golf, yoga, and fitness.