Golf is a game renowned for its unparalleled difficulty and the near impossibility of achieving true mastery.
That said, some people just seem to pick it up a bit easier than others. Collin Morikawa is one of those players, and while most of us will never reach his level, there is still plenty we can take from the way he approaches the game.
Morikawa recently shared a tip aimed at helping amateurs improve their long-range pitching, specifically from about 50 yards.
This is not the first time Morikawa has offered advice – he has also spoken about how to hit more consistent drives in the past.
However, let us focus now on his latest piece of advice for amateurs aiming to improve their game.
Collin Morikawa shares advice on 50-yard pitches
Morikawa might not be the best around the greens, but he is among the top players in that mid-range zone between 50 and 100 yards.
In a video for TaylorMade Golf, the 28-year-old addressed a mistake many amateurs make from this distance. He explained:
“I think for the most part people think about the clock system, about how far do I take it back, how hard do I hit it. I always see amateurs from this distance take way too big of a swing. They think they need to take a practice swing which is a full swing, but in reality it is a very short shot.
“If you think of a 50 yard shot almost as a big pitch shot, but with a little bit more follow through, that is kind of what you want to do.
“I am going to keep the ball fairly in the middle of my stance. And I am going to continue going forward. I am not going to try and hit the ball up, because I have the ball on an upslope, so that is going to make the ball go up already.
“Even though it’s a front pin, being able to hit down on a wedge shot is very important to create spin. Spin is going to be created through speed.”
Collin Morikawa explains ‘feel vs real’ clock system
Morikawa’s advice makes sense, but putting it into practice is a lot easier said than done. It takes a lot of repetition and patience before it starts to feel natural.
He also has another approach that players can try when working on shots from that distance.
Morikawa talked about how he approaches these longer pitch shots and explained how he relies on a ‘feel’ clock system.
“I’ve created a feel system, right. So I feel like my hands are here (half swing) when really my hands actually might be right here (three quarter swing), but that’s where my 50 yards is about.”
This method is not necessarily the best fit for everyone, especially those who have not put in the hours to develop their short game. The more structured approach might be better for building consistency early on.
If you focus on Morikawa’s main tip – keeping the backswing shorter and accelerating through the ball – you should start seeing more reliable results from 50 yards over time.
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