Situation: You face a long pitch to a pin at the back of a slow, two-tiered green.
Common mistake: You try to fly a sand or pitching wedge to the hole and come up short.
The right play: Simply adjust your setup to get more mileage out of the easier-to-control pitch-and-run shot.
How to do it: Take a little less club, and from your normal pitching address position, close the clubface slightly and take the club back on a more inside path than you’re used to. Your clubface should remain closed as you reach impact, so that you catch the ball more toward the toe of the club. By taking one less club, you compensate for the closed face, and the shot will travel like a normal pitch shot. But the closed face and the fact that you’re making contact closer to the toe will impart topspin to the shot, helping it run 20 or 30 percent farther.
Keep the clubface closed through impact and try to catch the ball closer to the toe — this will create topspin.
Take one less club, but set up as you normally would.
Close the clubface slightly and take the club inside.