WEDGE GAME QUESTION -- ONLY for (current of former) PLAYING PROS and (current of former) TOURNAMENT-TESTED, LEGIT AMS

[Obee]

Question for anyone who has played professionally, or at a high level as an amateur (frequently making cuts/contending at regional and/or national-level stuff):

 

How many of you (when you were playing at/near your best) consider(ed) your "80 to 130" game to be the best (or maybe second best?) part of your game relative to other, elite players of your caliber?

 

Questions forthcoming depending on how people respond....

Edited July 28, 2021 by Obee

[b.helts]

Now or when I was playing?

 

I’ll still put my short game up against anyone. But from 80-130 I’m merely average, I think. 
 

When I was playing, among the top. Had a knack for hitting the ball pin high from just about anywhere. It’s pretty easy to hit a wedge online. It’s the distance that most have more trouble with. 

[Obee]

15 minutes ago, b.helts said:

Now or when I was playing?

 

I’ll still put my short game up against anyone. But from 80-130 I’m merely average, I think. 
 

When I was playing, among the top. Had a knack for hitting the ball pin high from just about anywhere. It’s pretty easy to hit a wedge online. It’s the distance that most have more trouble with. 

 

Interesting, as I think the opposite might be true for a lot of "decent players." They can compress the ball and get the distance close to correct, but they have the "pull/pushes" with their wedges. My son, for instance, struggles with the "wedge pulls."

[b.helts]

3 minutes ago, Obee said:

 

Interesting, as I think the opposite might be true for a lot of "decent players." They can compress the ball and get the distance close to correct, but they have the "pull/pushes" with their wedges. My son, for instance, struggles with the "wedge pulls."

how much offline are we talking?

[Obee]

Just now, b.helts said:

how much offline are we talking?

 

18 to 25 feet from 100 yards?

[b.helts]

6 minutes ago, Obee said:

 

18 to 25 feet from 100 yards?

In my experience, both myself and guys I played with, it would have been much more common to be 6-8 yards short or long than 6-8 yards left or right. 
 

But maybe I’m off my rocker? It’s possible. 

Edited July 28, 2021 by b.helts
Typo

[Obee]

Just now, b.helts said:

I’m my experience, both myself and guys I played with, it would have been much more coming to be 6-8 yards short or long than 6-8 yards left or right. 
 

But maybe I’m off my rocker? It’s possible. 

Yeah, certainly don't have any real data.

[Obee]

27 minutes ago, b.helts said:

Now or when I was playing?

 

I’ll still put my short game up against anyone. But from 80-130 I’m merely average, I think. 
 

When I was playing, among the top. Had a knack for hitting the ball pin high from just about anywhere. It’s pretty easy to hit a wedge online. It’s the distance that most have more trouble with. 

 

And the question is more about when you were playing.

[b.helts]

Just now, Obee said:

 

And the question is more about when you were playing.

That’s good because now I suck Hahaha

[cwilk]

7 minutes ago, Obee said:

 

18 to 25 feet from 100 yards?

The tour average from 100 yards is 18.5 feet. 

[b.helts]

2 minutes ago, cwilk said:

The tour average from 100 yards is 18.5 feet. 

 

I asked him how far offline, not how far from the hole. These two things are not the same. 

[cwilk]

1 minute ago, b.helts said:

 

I asked him how far offline, not how far from the hole. These two things are not the same. 

It’s irrelevant. Those proximity averages are taken from any/all directions. 

[b.helts]

1 minute ago, cwilk said:

It’s irrelevant. Those proximity averages are taken from any/all directions. 

 

no dude. If Joe Pro hits it to 18 feet and is 6 yards short he hit it 0 feet offline. 
 

If I hit it to 18 feet and I’m dead pin high, I hit it 18 feet offline. 

[Obee]

16 minutes ago, cwilk said:

The tour average from 100 yards is 18.5 feet. 

 

Yup. Already well aware of all this stuff. Basically, Tour Average is always ~6% to 7% of the given distance. 150 yards x .065 = 9.5 yards, so 29 to 30 feet average from 150 yards, for example.

[GolfTurkey]

Pretty sure I read somewhere that pro's have a greater left/right dispersion on wedges than front/back but I can't remember where

[cwilk]

8 minutes ago, b.helts said:

 

no dude. If Joe Pro hits it to 18 feet and is 6 yards short he hit it 0 feet offline. 
 

If I hit it to 18 feet and I’m dead pin high, I hit it 18 feet offline. 

Yes dude. Because Joe Pro hits 18 feet short sometimes, 18 feet long sometimes, etc. This is no longer a question with ShotLink.  Every single player, including pros have the same elongated circular shot pattern. 

[b.helts]

Just now, GolfTurkey said:

Pretty sure I read somewhere that pro's have a greater left/right dispersion on wedges than front/back but I can't remember where

 I would be very interested to see data on this. As stated before, it’s totally possible I’m looking up at my chair instead of sitting in it. 

[Obee]

1 minute ago, cwilk said:

Yes dude. Because Joe Pro hits 18 feet short sometimes, 18 feet long sometimes, etc. This is no longer a question with ShotLink.  Every single player, including pros have the same elongated circular shot pattern. 

 

You are answering a question that has NOT been asked.

[b.helts]

1 minute ago, cwilk said:

Yes dude. Because Joe Pro hits 18 feet short sometimes, 18 feet long sometimes, etc. This is no longer a question with ShotLink.  Every single player, including pros have the same elongated circular shot pattern. 

hey @cwilk

you're arguing with yourself. I’m not arguing again shotlink data. I get it.

 

But the points you’re trying to make aren’t germane to the question asked by Obes nor the back and forth he and I had about his son having the pulls with his wedges. 

[GolfTurkey]

4 minutes ago, b.helts said:

 I would be very interested to see data on this. As stated before, it’s totally possible I’m looking up at my chair instead of sitting in it. 

 

I'm guessing that it was either in Every Stroke Counts or the Pelz Short Game Bible. I'll have a flick through them when I get back home 

[Obee]

2 minutes ago, GolfTurkey said:

 

I'm guessing that it was either in Every Stroke Counts or the Pelz Short Game Bible. I'll have a flick through them when I get back home 

 

I am 98.347% sure this is correct.

[otto6457]

I never felt 80-130 yard shots were the best part of my game.  I wasn't particularly bad from that distance, but it wasn't where I felt like I "knew" I was going to be close.   Honestly, I practiced a lot more from 60 yards and in.  As far as being weaker in distance control or line, the cop out answer would be both.  But distance probably hurt me more in tournaments.

[Obee]

5 minutes ago, otto6457 said:

I never felt 80-130 yard shots were the best part of my game.  I wasn't particularly bad from that distance, but it wasn't where I felt like I "knew" I was going to be close.   Honestly, I practiced a lot more from 60 yards and in.  As far as being weaker in distance control or line, the cop out answer would be both.  But distance probably hurt me more in tournaments.

 

Thank you.

[cwilk]

14 minutes ago, b.helts said:

hey @cwilk

you're arguing with yourself. I’m not arguing again shotlink data. I get it.

 

But the points you’re trying to make aren’t germane to the question asked by Obes nor the back and forth he and I had about his son having the pulls with his wedges. 

I wasn’t answering his question. Just posting data showing that worrying about “wedge pulls” when the proximity is almost to the tour average is in vain. 
 

You decided to argue the difference between offline and distance to the hole. And again, it’s irrelevant. You, as well as every other golfer - even tour pros, don’t always hit long/short and not offline. 

[dmecca2]

Currently haven’t played much individual tournament golf due to a job change, but I’ve played some high level member guest events where my partners do not help and have shot under par in all except 1 final round (I don’t wanna talk about it). 

Can’t say my wedges are the best part of my current game. I would actually say that 100-130 is currently my weak point. 
 

During my college days, I had a stretch where I was VERY strong in that range, but I can’t say my results in those tournaments were significantly better (they certainly weren’t bad, though). 

[dmecca2]

As for aim, I remember a good stretch of wedge play a couple years ago where I felt like I could physically not miss left. 

[dmecca2]

7 minutes ago, cwilk said:

I wasn’t answering his question. Just posting data showing that worrying about “wedge pulls” when the proximity is almost to the tour average is in vain. 
 

You decided to argue the difference between offline and distance to the hole. And again, it’s irrelevant. You, as well as every other golfer - even tour pros, don’t always hit long/short and not offline. 

Nah you’re not getting it man. If you are consistently hitting 100 yard wedges 20 feet offline, you are not going to be hitting that tour average because you aren’t gonna be hitting the perfect distance every time. 

[cwilk]

9 minutes ago, dmecca2 said:

Nah you’re not getting it man. If you are consistently hitting 100 yard wedges 20 feet offline, you are not going to be hitting that tour average because you aren’t gonna be hitting the perfect distance every time. 

Take a shot 20 ft offline pin high, but trace that line short of the hole. It is not 20 ft from the pin there because it’s less offline when it lands short. It’s more offline when it’s long. The average of the dispersion between the short and long on that same line would still be 20 ft. 

[Obee]

9 minutes ago, dmecca2 said:

Nah you’re not getting it man. If you are consistently hitting 100 yard wedges 20 feet offline, you are not going to be hitting that tour average because you aren’t gonna be hitting the perfect distance every time. 

Good wedge players who are below scratch, on their home courses, with receptive greens, and generally non-tucked pins, should definitely use Tour Average as their barometer.

 

That's how you get better. Shoot for the stars and you may hit the moon. 🙂

[Obee]

1 minute ago, cwilk said:

Take a shot 20 ft offline pin high, but trace that line short of the hole. It is not 20 ft from the pin there because it’s less offline when it lands short. It’s more offline when it’s long. The average of the dispersion between the short and long on that same line would still be 20 ft. 

Dude. We are not even remotely discussing this.