Wedge Problems

willamette · October 10, 2007

Well, I hit my irons and woods really well...I almost always make solid contact and have consistent distance with irons (within a 3-5 yrd range).

Problem is with my Gap through Lob Wedges :russian_roulette: .....can't seem to hit them consistently. This really bites for short par 4s and par 5s. One second I'll hit my lob wedge 50 yards, next time I'll hit it 65.....and often I'll just chunk the thing and it only travels about 35 yards. It's just ridiculous...I put myself in great scoring position and just can't put it in there tight.

Couple things:

- My wedges are Clevelands and do not match my Taylor Made Rac Irons (which are fitted for me, the wedges are not)

- On the range i seem to chunk my wedges...on the course it's just inconsistent.

- When I make a "regular" iron swing I get the worst results - often the chunks. As a result I often just concentrate on not hinging my wrists at ALL on the backswing and just trying to bring my hands/arms back to the exact position I set up in....this yeilds the best results, but often I'll push the wedges high and right (but at least I generally hit it solid this way).

Chipping and pitching from 30 yards in is no problem. And no I don't neglect wedge work on the range...I usually hit about 20% of my balls with wedges, sometimes more like 35%. Just can't seem to improve.

Bomb and Gouge · October 10, 2007

Without knowing you or your game, I'd say you should maybe use your P-wedge more often. Or get properly fitted for a sand wedge.

But most people should leave the L-wedge at home- IMO.

willamette · October 10, 2007

Without knowing you or your game, I'd say you should maybe use your P-wedge more often. Or get properly fitted for a sand wedge.

But most people should leave the L-wedge at home- IMO.

I agree - from 100-135 I use PW. But since I hit a 90% PW about 130, trying to go lower than 100 yrds means I'm making a REALLY short stroke. Yes, it certainly could be done, but I'd rather have two strokes for each wedge. I.E. 90% PW = 130, 70% PW = 110, 90% GW = 105, 70% GW = 80...something like that.

ezra76 · October 10, 2007

I used to have trouble like this when I first started playing. One tip and a lot of practice changed my game from very shaky inside 100 and around the greens to very good.

Hinge and hold, thats it. Don't break your wrist hinge through impact. I take a few practice swings, maintaining the shaft angle and no breakdown. I haven't hit a fat shot off a level lie since I can remember with a wedge.

It works and I've showed several people. My dad broke 90 for the 1st time since he'd started playing again the afternoon I showed him. A kid I met on the course made his first par the hole after I showed him. My golfing buddy... well that SOB chipped in for birdie to close me out on 16 the other day... I wish I'd never shown him. lol.

Most guys I see play the wedges wide open and don't even know it. Shut the face up a litte and drive through it. Holding the angle will get the ball first and then a nice divot. Another thing I see a lot is the ball way up in the stance. I play mine off the back foot and almost behind the back foot for the skip stop (low trajectory, very high spin).

willamette · October 12, 2007

I used to have trouble like this when I first started playing. One tip and a lot of practice changed my game from very shaky inside 100 and around the greens to very good.

Hinge and hold, thats it. Don't break your wrist hinge through impact. I take a few practice swings, maintaining the shaft angle and no breakdown. I haven't hit a fat shot off a level lie since I can remember with a wedge.

It works and I've showed several people. My dad broke 90 for the 1st time since he'd started playing again the afternoon I showed him. A kid I met on the course made his first par the hole after I showed him. My golfing buddy... well that SOB chipped in for birdie to close me out on 16 the other day... I wish I'd never shown him. lol.

Most guys I see play the wedges wide open and don't even know it. Shut the face up a litte and drive through it. Holding the angle will get the ball first and then a nice divot. Another thing I see a lot is the ball way up in the stance. I play mine off the back foot and almost behind the back foot for the skip stop (low trajectory, very high spin).

Thanks for the tip. Tried it today at the range and had pretty good results....better distance control and I only really chunked two out of about 15 wedges (a big improvement). Have to work on getting used to the new trajectory. Isn't this game funny? About 3 months ago I was so confident between 50-100 yards.....hitting everything well. Then it went to pot. Then this little tip and it seems to be back again.

You know what may have screwed it up? That stupid 4 page Dave Leadbetter Article in Golf Digest two months ago about "releasing" the wrists with the wedges (I think ?Thomas Howell? was the golfer he was using as an example). IMO that article should not have been published for an audience of general golfers. He was advocating releasing the wrists because Howell had too much of a shaft angle at impact and was having distance control problems. In my experience 90% of average-good golfers don't have ENOUGH shaft angle with wedges at impact - they all try to "scoop".

oregongolf · October 12, 2007

Well, I hit my irons and woods really well...I almost always make solid contact and have consistent distance with irons (within a 3-5 yrd range).

Problem is with my Gap through Lob Wedges ;) .....can't seem to hit them consistently. This really bites for short par 4s and par 5s. One second I'll hit my lob wedge 50 yards, next time I'll hit it 65.....and often I'll just chunk the thing and it only travels about 35 yards. It's just ridiculous...I put myself in great scoring position and just can't put it in there tight.

Couple things:
- My wedges are Clevelands and do not match my Taylor Made Rac Irons (which are fitted for me, the wedges are not)
- On the range i seem to chunk my wedges...on the course it's just inconsistent.
- When I make a "regular" iron swing I get the worst results - often the chunks. As a result I often just concentrate on not hinging my wrists at ALL on the backswing and just trying to bring my hands/arms back to the exact position I set up in....this yeilds the best results, but often I'll push the wedges high and right (but at least I generally hit it solid this way).

Chipping and pitching from 30 yards in is no problem. And no I don't neglect wedge work on the range...I usually hit about 20% of my balls with wedges, sometimes more like 35%. Just can't seem to improve.

Are your hands ahead of the ball at impact? When my wedge game goes awry, i make a concerted effort to hit down and trap the ball.