Wedge Shot Yardages Question

[Scooper5]

Adult player here playing his 11th season. Had a question about wedge shots that somehow I haven't stumbled on before.

 

After a recent round of playing in two-club-conditions, I realized I had no idea what my varying wedge shot yardages were as I haven't been to a sim or had a ball flight analysis in a while. So today I tried to get full swing, 3/4 swing and 3/4 sawed-off swing yardages with my naked eye at the practice tee (don't have a range finder -- new dad to 11-month-old twins -- money is tight).

 

Here is the question: With wedges is it normal to have a 3/4 sawed-off swing to carry further than a 3/4 normal swing? I tried hitting shots with my 52, 56 and 60 and all played the same where the sawed-off shot carried farther than the 3/4 normal swing.

 

Obviously the 3/4 swing is going to flight higher than the sawed-off swing, but I found it peculiar that the sawed-off hit the ground farther away.

 

Any wisdom to share?

[SNIPERBBB]

Sawed off shots usually mean your swinging harder with an abbreviated follow through compared to a normal swing .

[andrue]

> @Scooper5 said:

> After a recent round of playing in two-club-conditions, I realized I had no idea what my varying wedge shot yardages were as I haven't been to a sim or had a ball flight analysis in a while.

Why are you relying on those? Just get yourself a GPS or laser range finder (the latter is better for measuring wedge shots where accuracy matters more). Find out what your (total) distances are in reality, not 'laboratory conditions'.

 

Determining _carry_ is difficult (especially for longer clubs) with range finders but overall distance is still very useful information that can be obtained as you play. I've never understood why anyone these days who cares (and isn't delusional) doesn't know how far their clubs send the ball.

[buckeyefl]

If you can, try to find an open area ( field at a park or school) and hit your different wedge shots. If the field has deep grass you won't get much roll which will give you a pretty accurate carry distance. Hit 5-10 shots with each wedge swing and then simply pace them off. Be sure to use the same ball that you play and be sure to have something to consistently aim at.

[andrue]

> @buckeyefl said:

> Be sure to use the same ball that you play and **be sure to have something to consistently aim at**.

Consistently aiming isn't my problem. Consistently sending the ball where I'm aiming at though... :)

[Scooper5]

I appreciate the advice about how to find wedge distances, but we are missing the question I really had: With wedges, is it normal to have a 3/4 sawed-off swing to carry further than a 3/4 normal swing. SNIPERBBB alluded to the question but didn't really answer.

 

If it is, cool. Just never thought that would be the case. Learn something everyday.

[Hawkeye77]

Maybe you are presenting less loft with your sawed off intent, maybe you simply sync up better, maybe it’s not really 3/4 - lots of possibilities.

[elthrill]

If you choke down, you stiffen the shaft. Which can cause the ball to actually jump on you. It would depend on how hard u are swinging.

[Golfjack]

Yeah I would think your sawed off shot is flighted lower. 3/4 regular swing is flying higher. Thus shorter. I'm assuming your backswing is all 3/4 and then the follow through is sawed off or just natural. If you watch your ball flight it should be visible. Otherwise, you might be doing the acceleration drill (where you're trying to stop your swing right at 4 o clock position) with the sawed off shot, and thus actually hitting that shot harder than your natural one.

Or you might be talking about gripping down on the club, in which case it should land shorter, but maybe you're hitting the sweet spot instead so it's going further? No reason why gripped down would be longer. However, a guy like Anthony Kim used to grip down all the time and he was plenty long. So maybe your clubs could be fit better?