40 yard pitch lesson video

Golf Monthly Top 25 coach Keith Williams has some tips to help you play the 40 yard pitch shot better and get up and down more often.

40 yard pitch tips

Golf Monthly Top 25 coach Keith Williams offers his 40 yard pitch lesson video to help improve your consistency and get up and down more often.

40 Yard Pitch lesson Video

Try these tips if you struggle for elevation on your pitch shots and playing from awkward pitching distances fills you with fear.

The 40 yard pitch shot can cause every golfer a headache. You need to play the shot softly enough to get the right distance but you still need to be committed.

In the situation I find myself here, there is also a bank to go over which adds an extra layer of difficulty. So the key to this shot is to control distance through elevation.

Start by taking a wide stance and sit down a little more into your knees at address than you would for a normal shot.

Open the face and set the ball well forward in your stance - the butt end of the club will feel as if it is behind the ball.

Crucially, your hands should also feel low at address this will help you create the loft we are looking for in the backswing.

As you start the swing, set your wrists, almost excessively, this will make sure you get as much loft as possible on the club.

As you play the shot make sure that your right hand releases under the left through the ball. This will ensure the club stays open at impact to deliver plenty of loft.

You should feel as if the bounce of the club slides under the ball. There is no doubting this is a tricky shot and will take some practice but if you can master you’ll have a better chance to find tricky distances.

Read more top Short Game Tips

Key tips

  • Take a wide stance
  • Sit down a more into your knees
  • Open the face
  • Set the ball forward in your stance
  • Feel like the butt end of the club is behind the ball
  • Hands should feel low at address
  • Set your wrists excessively as you start the backswing
  • Get as much loft as possible on the club
Thomas Patrick Clarke
Sports Digital Editor


Tom Clarke joined Golf Monthly as a sub editor in 2009 being promoted to content editor in 2012 and then senior content editor in 2014, before becoming Sports Digital Editor for the Sport Vertical within Future in 2022. Tom currently looks after all the digital products that Golf Monthly produce including Strategy and Content Planning for the website and social media - Tom also assists the Cycling, Football, Rugby and Marine titles at Future. Tom plays off 16 and lists Augusta National (name drop), Old Head and Le Touessrok as the favourite courses he has played. Tom is an avid viewer of all golf content with a particularly in depth knowledge of the pro tour.