Lob Wedge for Tight Bermuda

[GolfTurkey]

As an aside, I recently played a few courses with someone who has one of the best short games of any amateur I've seen. The first couple courses were Bent greens and he was chipping in and dropping bombs on the green like he usually does.

 

Then we played a grainy Bermuda course. He never plays Bermuda and I play nearly exclusively on Bermuda. Before tee off I tried to give him a quick lesson on grain on the practice green. He was like "bla blah, I'm going to ignore the grain and just play".

 

He hit the first few greens but not surprisingly had trouble judging the speed of putts. Then we came to a short par 3 where he ballooned his approach into the wind. It finished about 3 feet short of the green on an uphill tight lie straight into the grain, about 35 feet to the pin. As he pulled out his 9 iron to chip, I started smirking to myself. He contacted the ground very slightly behind the ball, the grass grabbed it and he ended up double-hitting his chip about 4 feet. He immediately asked for a lesson on how to read grain!

[Chuck905]

> @GolfTurkey said:

> As an aside, I recently played a few courses with someone who has one of the best short games of any amateur I've seen. The first couple courses were Bent greens and he was chipping in and dropping bombs on the green like he usually does.

>

> Then we played a grainy Bermuda course. He never plays Bermuda and I play nearly exclusively on Bermuda. Before tee off I tried to give him a quick lesson on grain on the practice green. He was like "bla blah, I'm going to ignore the grain and just play".

>

> He hit the first few greens but not surprisingly had trouble judging the speed of putts. Then we came to a short par 3 where he ballooned his approach into the wind. It finished about 3 feet short of the green on an uphill tight lie straight into the grain, about 35 feet to the pin. As he pulled out his 9 iron to chip, I started smirking to myself. He contacted the ground very slightly behind the ball, the grass grabbed it and he ended up double-hitting his chip about 4 feet. He immediately asked for a lesson on how to read grain!

 

Didn’t they take out the double hit rule?

 

I’m known for double hitting and never fear it so I just chalk it up to bad luck.

 

 

[GolfTurkey]

> @Chuck905 said:

> > @GolfTurkey said:

> > As an aside, I recently played a few courses with someone who has one of the best short games of any amateur I've seen. The first couple courses were Bent greens and he was chipping in and dropping bombs on the green like he usually does.

> >

> > Then we played a grainy Bermuda course. He never plays Bermuda and I play nearly exclusively on Bermuda. Before tee off I tried to give him a quick lesson on grain on the practice green. He was like "bla blah, I'm going to ignore the grain and just play".

> >

> > He hit the first few greens but not surprisingly had trouble judging the speed of putts. Then we came to a short par 3 where he ballooned his approach into the wind. It finished about 3 feet short of the green on an uphill tight lie straight into the grain, about 35 feet to the pin. As he pulled out his 9 iron to chip, I started smirking to myself. He contacted the ground very slightly behind the ball, the grass grabbed it and he ended up double-hitting his chip about 4 feet. He immediately asked for a lesson on how to read grain!

>

> Didn’t they take out the double hit rule?

>

> I’m known for double hitting and never fear it so I just chalk it up to bad luck.

>

>

Yes there is no longer a double hit penalty but most excellent short game players aren't too thrilled when their 35 foot chip goes about 4 feet! What I didn't mention is that the swine drained the putt!

[Pittknife]

> @GolfTurkey said:

> As an aside, I recently played a few courses with someone who has one of the best short games of any amateur I've seen. The first couple courses were Bent greens and he was chipping in and dropping bombs on the green like he usually does.

>

> Then we played a grainy Bermuda course. He never plays Bermuda and I play nearly exclusively on Bermuda. Before tee off I tried to give him a quick lesson on grain on the practice green. He was like "bla blah, I'm going to ignore the grain and just play".

>

> He hit the first few greens but not surprisingly had trouble judging the speed of putts. Then we came to a short par 3 where he ballooned his approach into the wind. It finished about 3 feet short of the green on an uphill tight lie straight into the grain, about 35 feet to the pin. As he pulled out his 9 iron to chip, I started smirking to myself. He contacted the ground very slightly behind the ball, the grass grabbed it and he ended up double-hitting his chip about 4 feet. He immediately asked for a lesson on how to read grain!

 

I grew up playing Bermuda then moved north and it is a bit of a challenge whenever I come back on vacation. It’s a complete different feel and shot selection. I’ve seen this story many times with vacation players, especially when it dries out lol.

 

To the OP:

 

I keep a set in Florida and I have the Cleveland rtx 60 in low bounce. They are really good wedges. My current wedges are sm7 60.08m which I love and will probably take down to Florida with me next month as I just switched to a sm7 60.12 because it’s just to wet and rainy where I live. I have a sm7 60.04 d that is super great for high shots green side but I was digging in too much from fairway lies. It might be good for Bermuda but I’ve never tried it down there.

 

I bought all these because my club is a Titleist’ club and had a sale last year, I got upgraded kbs c-taper 120 shafts for free which is my iron shaft. Make sure you check your wedge shafts, if my memory is right most wedge shafts are dgs200 which I’m not a big fan of because they are whippy for me. Even in short pitches I’ve noticed a big difference with my wedges since I switched shafts. I have better more consistent contact now even with chipping with stiffer shafts.

[BCULAW]

OP here. Thanks for all the awesome responses! At the very least, I now appreciate that I am not the only one struggling with these shots. I'm still "on the hunt" so to speak, but will keep updating as I find the right tools. I went through the same process moving g from Florida Bermuda to the lush grasses in Virginia, just have to "re-find" my feel here again.

[MPSgolfs]

Cleveland rtx 4 at 58 degree in 6 degree bounce

[srksi]

I live in Orlando and use a 60* K grind and 48/54 F grinds. Bounce is your friend. Open the club a 1/4 turn and work on your technique. I chip in the garage off the concrete. Stan Utley shows you how. There’s also a guy in golf digest, Todd Anderson, that has great chipping reference guides. If you open up and tilt, old school, you will have chipping problems because you present the leading edge to the ball and will chunk or blade as you move your head.

 

Get level shoulders and just preset the turn. Chip like you putt with a steady head.

 

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/the-right-way-to-chip

 

I do agree never pitch when you can chip; never chip when you can putt.

 

If that doesn’t work try a double overlap grip in your palm with a 9-iron off hardpan or a super tight bare Florida lie, but with any turf/grass at all, you can easily use the bounce and it makes it safer not harder.

 

[BiggErn]

Alien

[Lancj1]

just bought the Glide stealth 60 TS for the same purpose - hard ground green side. Good purchase I feel and would suit your needs

[sirparalot]

I am a Central Florida golfer like you and the Glide ES wedges in 56 and 60 have been great for me. Along with firm green side areas most bunkers also play on the firm side in this area (I am on the other side of town near the other Tavistock course ;) ) I use a more square faced style and regularly play shots with lower lofted wedges to overcome the tight conditions. Several of my playing partners(all single digit caps) putt from these tightly mown areas on a regular basis and do quite well. Playing the shots differently has been the best advice you received in this thread given my experience in this area.

[glenk69]

I find that v-soles work the best in Florida. Standard wide soles can bounce and thin soles dig into the sand. The v-soles stay right at ground level. So Cleveland RTX3 in the MG grind or LG grind. In Taylor Made the ATV grind. All the Hogan wedges have it. If you can get your hands on SCOR4161 on ebay, they are cheap and quite amazing. When I visit my sister in Florida every year I chip perfectly with my SCOR4161's. Play a little back in my stance, don't try to hit it too high. Just hit it solid and it'll spin like crazy.

[glenk69]

Also, with v-soles they are easy to hit out of sand, you don't need to open the face way up - just play it straight and let the v-sole go into the sand 1/5 to 2 inches behind the ball. The v-sole won't dig too much and will go underneath the ball just right.

[blazman11]

Hardest thing to adjust for me when I moved to Florida was the tight lies around the greens. Here’s the thing about florida.....it’s all sand. Everywhere.

 

I’ve learned to play a variety of shots depending upon lie and what’s in front of me. In NY I always hit my 60 around the greens. Now it’s fairly evenly split between a 9 iron chip and a 60.

 

Also learn how to play bunker explosion shots from tight lies if need be. The ground looks firm but it’s all sand. Takes some courage to do but it can be a game saver.

 

As for wedges, Ping TS and Edel driver grind work best for me. Opposite ends of spectrum there but oh well. Technique is everything though. Can’t flip or release early and absolutely cannot let that toe hit first.

[DShark1]

 Bermuda grass presents a different challenge. Hitting with the grain you can hit great shots and look like a player,  hitting into the grain you can look like a Hack. Playing Florida grass all my life you have to pay attention to grain. Several tips, into the grain less loft low bounce. Shots I would hit using a SW or LW going with the grain I will use a 7,8,9,PW and open it up 1 or 2 degrees to lift the leading edge and sweep the ball. Chipping with a FW or Hybrid is also a great option. If you need to go over a bunker or water on a shorter pitch or chip open up the SW or LW and blast it like a bunker shot. I also carry a 50-08 F grind I use a lot around the greens shallow attack and hit it a little harder then you think ball first contact. Open it a little to lift leading edge. 

[PGizzle]

Just focus hard on how you are gonna strike the ball and don't get quick on you stroke. Having good tempo when hitting off of tight lies where the margin for error is all but gone will help you put the club into the ball much more accurately 

[quickbd642]

in all honesty, the clarity provided at the end of this convo is the exact difference maker. 

 

Bermuda all depends on grain direction. 

 

I feel the most reliable shot (aka - highest chance of poor contact w/ best result) for into the grain, soft bermuda (i.e. after the rain stuart/hobe sound just received the past several days), is the "move much closer to the ball, raise your hands so only the toe edge of the club is making contact with the ground at address, and essentially make a slight more exaggerated putting stroke".

 

Hard to describe by typing it out but i tried my best. I use M grind for versatility and found that my 58-08M was digging with slightly poor contact and the poor contact gets hyper-exaggerrated when the grain is growing into you.

 

After doing a bunch of trial and error, I found the shot above is the most consistent.

 

Now, that being said, if you  have the same lie and need to elevate one quickly, then a V grind wedge seems to be the play, or something with higher bounce and wide sole (i.e. 12 degrees)

 

Hope this helps. Good topic to discuss and heres a video of rory explaining the shot above:

 

 

[hammergolf]

For me into the grain on Bermuda I always find it easier to take your widest sole wedge slightly open the face and keep the clubhead lower on the takeaway to discourage a downward strike. The cheat code for tight Bermuda was to use a low bounce wedge with a wider sole. For me the one I found that worked the best for me was a Macgregor MT Pro DW 60/08. It was magic.

Edited November 19, 2023 by hammergolf

[Mobert19]

2 hours ago, hammergolf said:

For me into the grain on Bermuda I always find it easier to take your widest sole wedge slightly open the face and keep the clubhead lower on the takeaway to discourage a downward strike. The cheat code for on tight Bermuda was to use a low bounce wedge with a wider sole. For me the one I found that worked the best for me was a Macgregor MT Pro DW 60/08. It was magic.

Agree. The Vokey LBK is just perfect for this reason for me. I live in S Fla

[Jmccas]

The Edison wedge is great for Bermuda. V sole design helps get it through the grain.

[Louis_Posture]

Cleveland Smart Sole 58*

[brutus27]

Recently put a Cally Raw Jaws 58 deg, 8 deg bounce, Z grind in the bag. Great for chipping and pitching on tight Bermuda lies (central Texas) but must open face a tad although it has leading edge relief. Rarely hit full shots but overall great wedge!