Wedge distances

[rich_s2]

I don't hit my 54 or 60 full unless I have to. In those cases, its a tucked front pin or really elevated green. I use a ton of 1/2 and 3/4 shots with my all 4 of my wedges. They come in low and have a crap ton of spin. Those swings also take away the big miss for me. Catch them a touch thin they still go the same distance. Hit a full shot thin and I could fly the green. From the feedback I get on here though, my approach is unconventional. My stock 54 full goes 100 yards though if that means anything.

[Pepperturbo]

Agree. Aside from PW, I only carry 52* (105yd) and 58* (80-90yd), and get my jollies from creating iron shots though controlling trajectory and ball spin.

Yesterday, on short Par 4, after a great drive, the green had a big bunker on left and had a 70yd leave into a tight left pin on a slight rise. SW or LW would have meant longer 3/4 swings but more ball spin backwards that surely would end towards the front of the green, maybe off the green, so I went with half a 620MB PW and hit it to 5' left of the pin. Greens were about 10.5 but receptive so the ball hit into the rise and bounced forward once and stuck as planned. It was as perrr-deeee as it was satisfying.

Two playing partners asked how I did that and why didn't I use SW or LW? I explained the reasoning that lead to half-swing PW as opposed to SW or LW. They shook their heads and looked at each other in confusion and mumbled to each other. Have a good day.

[Hawkeye77]

The "full shot thin" part has really resonated with me the past season in particular when hitting to some greens with tough shots or trouble behind the greens with wedges and short irons - less lofted club in some cases, whatever it is, not taking backswing too far and Monte's minivan vs. Ferrari analogy. Clean and shallow contact and the spin is fine, but in some cases going to be less and more run. I envy the low and spinning - watched Arnie hit one like that into a green during a practice round years ago at a U.S. Senior Open and it mesmerized me (I can't do it, lol).

[MelloYello]

This is an interesting topic because just going based on my experience, it seems the average golfer usually has a slight "wipe" going on with his wedges and thus has a tendency to "max out" with a full wedge shot that's often a little high, a little short and a little right.

 

The biggest culprit from what I can see is the tendency to hit what an open face. There's probably no doubt that these golfers have heard that chips and pitches should always begin with slightly opening the face. This is a common piece of advice that I'm sure slips into their fuller wedge swings as well. But I also think the average golfer often mistakes a square face angle for being slightly closed. I suspect this is due to the ball position being slightly back and the shoulders not being as tilted. Thus the head sits more on top of the ball and the visual makes the face appear more closed than say a 3-iron in the front of your stance that you're trying to "stay behind" in order to make a full release and gain height.

 

So my theory is that golfers often (mistakenly) train themselves to hit with a slightly open face and then wonder why their wedges don't feel as controlled as maybe they could.

 

If this isn't you, then disregard this observation but it's something I notice a lot in my friends. My driver does not go 300-yd but I can most certainly hit a Lob Wedge 100-yds if the shot calls for it. Distance with wedges is more about controlling the club as you swing it than it is about raw swing speed. As a little aside, wedges are somewhat like lofted fairways because of the excess backspin that has the effect of negating curvature. There's a tendency for the shots you hit hard to actually go straighter is what I'm saying.

 

Anyhow, you'll want to be careful not to de-loft your wedges too much, but I've actually found the worst (deepest) divots occur more with the guys who are spinning out, pulling their hands ahead, leaving the face open and generally wiping the shot. Don't be surprised if a stronger grip paired with a square face actually reduces the depth of the divot you take (so long as you maintain your upper body's CG and don't slide forward).

 

It sounds a little counter-intuitive to advocate a strong-grip on wedges but I think a lot of golfers hit wedges with a grip that's too weak. A stronger grip ensures a more solid strike and it makes a lot of distance wedges feel more like extended pitches--and of course by extension this makes controlling distance through "feel" rather effortless because anything that feels as simple as a 10- or 15-yd pitch is going to be something you like doing, right?!

 

I believe this is exactly what Phil Mickelson is trying to convey in his discussion of the 60- and 75-yd shots in Secrets of the Short Game. Remember, he advocates a square face angle and talks about distance wedges as being 'extended chip shots.' Not to say I'm Phil, but what he's describing is very much what I feel when I hit wedges.

 

So if you asked me what the key to all that is, well, I think it's the grip. Don't be shy about maintaining a little stronger grip as if you were trying to hit an 8-iron as far and as high as you could. Employ that same approach to wedges and you may pick up a few yards and find you actually start to draw the ball a bit. That's a good sign you're doing it properly.

[SNIPERBBB]

I think it's more of the weight of the heads of most wedges causes a lot of people to flip the crap out of full wedge shots that lead to the big misses with full swings.

[rich_s2]

I hate the way the my 54 and 60 feel with a full swing. SW or shaft, I am not sure but that is definitely one of the reasons I only swing full when i need to. I have a AP2 GW that is money swing full and no issues with my set PW either. My swing sucks though and so I really nit pick my equipment.

[Krt22]

I'd say it's more likely when they try to kill it with a wedge, they pull the handle, open the face, get steep, early extend and flip at the bottom to square it back up.

[Pepperturbo]

You're on to something @SNIPERBBB .
Nobody speaks about head-weight but it has a serious role. Most golfers play irons that are rather light overall, therefore somewhat light SW, around C9/D1.
Guessing - my 58* Vokey is about 308 grams with a 36" playing length and DG-S200 shaft comes out about E0 SW. When friends have tried it they immediately don't like how heavy it feels. Add most people think they have to swing really hard to create spin and distance, they realize a lot of poor shots. If only OEM's would quick selling grooves as the creator of spin, as opposed to how the club head impacts the ball and ball characteristics.

[SNIPERBBB]

When I got fitted for irons, they tried hard to get me into the Mizuno t7 wedges but they were closer to my irons. I like my wedges heavier for chipping. When I played trident component clubs with matching wedges all the down to lob wedge, it was easier to hit full shots.

 

I've adapted my wedge full swing to be able to blast the vokeys when needed