Not all pitches are equal — sometimes you need more loft to carry an obstacle or to fly the ball onto an upper tier, while other situations require you to hit a low runner so you can use the contour of the green to snuggle your ball up to the hole. So to get it as close as possible on any pitch shot, you must know how to alter the trajectory of the ball. All you need to do is alter your setup and swing length to produce the desired height. Follow the chart at right to become an instant shotmaker from 20 yards, and you'll knock it tight regardless of what the course throws at you.

Phil Franke

Phil Franke