The pitch shot is that little shot golfers use to make birdies possible and salvage pars. This shot gets a lot of use during a round of golf. The golfer who can hit these little wedge shots well will always keep his score low.

The pitch shot is less than a full swing, and is taken with the pitching wedge (or in some cases the sand wedge) and requires accurate judgment of distance. This is in contrast to full shots which require you to select the right club and then make a full swing. With a pitch shot, the club is a given and the distance is a variable. Once you've got the fundamentals, I'll tell you how to hit it the appropriate distance.

You'll be happy to know that the principles you learned for the full swing also apply to the short wedge shot. This is quite a revelation for most golfers, as they are under the impression that short shots require a very still body, as opposed to one that moves freely. All these myths will be debunked by the great results you'll be getting with your shots. The principles are the same for all clubs! You ask, "Even the putter?" The answer is "Yes!"

There will be some slight modifications in the address position. Your feet need to be closer together than with the full swing and the line through your toes needs to be more left of the target; about a 45-degree angle to the left of the target line. There should be slightly more weight on the left foot than on the right foot at address. Depending on the length of the shot, your hands will go down the grip; the shorter the shot the shorter the club. The ball is played slightly closer to your left foot, the same as all the other shots. Otherwise the address position is the same as with a full swing. The alignment of the feet is more to the left of the target but the bottom line of the club is still perpendicular to the target line.

Proper weight transfer is every bit as necessary in the short shots just as with the full shots. If you utilize proper weight transfer and let your body do the work, you can finesse a delicate shot. However, if your arms do the work in your short swing, you will have difficulty hitting the ball the appropriate distance. Make a big body motion for little shots and you will be pleasantly surprised at your control of the distance. Both knees will move as your weight is transferred, just like the full swing. Relaxed shoulders are required for all shots in golf, and the little wedge shot is no exception.

Relaxation will let the arms and club find the perfect plane and the appropriate size of backswing for every shot. Tension in the arms and shoulders is what ruins most poor golf shots.

The following was stated in the chapter on relaxation, but it is important enough to restate it here as it applies to the wedge as well. One of the very important by-products of the shoulder and arm relaxation is that the hands will -- and they must -- be ahead of the club head at impact and well into the finish. The club head never passes the hands in any good golf shot.

The club head will solidly strike the ball when the hands are ahead of the club head at impact. This is something that can only be produced by relaxation. So relax and let's start hitting some very quality short wedge shots. Move your body and your arms follow. This sounds pretty simple --- and it is!

As you incorporate proper weight transfer in your swing, you will notice that your club will start hitting the ground after it strikes the ball. That is normal and good. We call that dislodged ground a divot. This should happen with full swings with irons as well as with short wedge shots, but not with the driver off the tee. This is a function of the body transferring the weight to the left foot, dragging the club and arms and causing the low point of the swing to be past the point where the club strikes the ball.

The right leg and knee must function the same way in the small swing as in the full swing. The leg should stay flexed and the knee should point at the ball during the backswing. The right leg is responsible for changing the body's direction back through the ball.

Because the principles of the Concept Golf swing are truly principles, they apply equally to all variations of the golf swing. The short shot is simply a variation of the full swing with exactly the same fundamentals.

A good drill that will establish the pitch-shot motion in your thinking is to toss a golf ball underhand to a small target 15 yards away. This is basically the same motion used in the short pitch shot. Tossing a few balls, along with your understanding of the five principles, will educate your system and have you hitting good pitch shots quickly.

John Toepel is a Veteran PGA Tour Player, instructor, author, and professional speaker. He is also the discoverer of Concept Golf, the quickest way to immediate, life-long lasting improvements to anyone's golf game. To learn more about Concept Golf, including the most comprehensive golf instruction system ever, "The Concept Golf Perfect Shot Making System", please visit http://www.conceptgolf.com/PSMS.htm and Discover the Par Golfer in You!