Austinpowersgolf:Anyone wishing to give me pitching lessons I'll give you a sleeve of balls if it's actual useful information not hyperbole. Talk is cheap
I can tell you what works for me. And I hope it helps. As an aside, we both use the Cleveland 64-degree (60-yard wedge), and we both play on the iPad.
For pitches under 17 yards, (by the way, I never chip.), below is what has worked for me. But you have to remember that you still need to take into consideration the slope of the green (i.e. is there a severe slope around the green and is it upward or downward). With all of that in mind, here's the rule of thumb I go by.
First, I use full backspin on all pitch shots. Second, I always use a ball with good spin characteristics. The ball I currently use has 4 dots of spin. But I also had good success with the Callaway Chrome Soft (Level 33+), which has 3.5 dots of spin.
Pitches of 8 yards or less: add 3 yards to the total and hit accordingly. In other words, I would hit an 8 yard pitch around 65%. The rating for the Cleveland wedge is 17 yards for the pitch. So (8 + 3)/17 = 64.7%.
Pitches of 9 yards to about 13 yards, I add 2 yards to the total and hit accordingly. In other words, I would hit a 12 yard pitch around 82%; (12 + 2)/17 = 82.4%. For 14 yard or 15 yard pitches, I add 1 yard to the total. For 16 and 17 yard pitches, I don't add anything to the total.
By the way, there are times that I also use topspin. You're going to have to experiment and learn each hole. For example, for the 15th hole on Merion, if I'm just off the front of the green and the hole is the front location, I wouldn't use backspin in that situation. It might come right back at me. I put topspin on the ball for that shot.
For approach shots longer than 19 yards but shorter than 40 yards (approximately), I sometimes use a full shot or I use a punch shot. If I use a full shot, I add anywhere from 6 to 8 yards to the total.
For example, a 30 yard shot would be struck as if it were 36 yards from the hole. Again, using the Cleveland wedge (it's a 60-yard wedge at 100%), I would hit it at 60%; (30 + 6)/60 = 60%.
If I choose to hit a punch shot, I follow the chart at this link:
http://www.wgt.com/forums/p/403805/2786352.aspx#2786352
There are times that I also use a flop shot. That's especially so if there's a severe downward slope around the hole. For flops, more often than not, I go by feel.
For a lot of other advice, see the Pinhunters webpages:
http://shortgrass123.wixsite.com/pinhunters
I hope you find all of that helpful. And by the way, everything that I've posted above, I've learned by reading these forums and taking the advice of others as well as staying patient and practicing a lot. I think I've been able to have some decent success.