Easy Wedges?

elwhippy · September 15, 2023

Wide flanges are your friends. As mentioned CBXs are brilliant. As are Pings and the GI Cally wedges. Feet together, soft hands, 3 - 9 swing.

Lobby · September 15, 2023

Kevin Kisner has a good video on chipping / pitching technique. To me, his key teaching was keeping your elbows close to your sides, and executing the swing with your chest / body.

It might be interesting to you.

Jayjay_theweim_guy · September 15, 2023

17 hours ago, akronswitness said:

It really feels like these wedges dig with the edge into the ground, almost like its not really made to hit anything but tight lies.

Not my experience with them, but that's why they make chocolate and vanilla.

Do you take deep divots with your partial shots? You did mention difficulty with them digging. Both lead me to suggest a different grind than the S-grind I'm pretty sure the 50/54 have, and a lot more bounce than the 10° I'm also fairly sure they have. Cavity or not, I wouldn't think would matter, but if it feels better, why not?

So CBX2 or ish, 12-14° bounce, and a more digging resistant grind. Also, TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. On grass. Lots of it.

Plus get some lessons. A lot of your issues sound technique based, and are probably easy to fix with some setup tinkering and explanation about what the club is supposed to do. I like Monte's "Use the Bounce," series too.

Jayjay_theweim_guy · September 15, 2023

13 hours ago, akronswitness said:

Sure sure Im looking for a little bit more distance than a bump + run. Im talking like the shots where you kicked right/left of the green and your probably 10-15ft off the side and you need to pitch the ball back up on the green from the rough--usually requiring to give it some sort of loft to get it up and on or stop it if the pin is close side

That sounds like less distance than a bump and run to me, but w/e.

Learn the Rule of 12 (ratio of ball carry to run with chips) then practice it to see how applicable is it to you. I expect a chip to run a little.

If I'm truly short-sided, I use a more lofted technique than chipping, involving ball a touch forward, opening the face, weight much more on my left foot, choking down, quite a bit of wrist movement over chipping's braced wrists, and a feel that I'm sliding the club front edge underneath the ball. Chipping's a putt with a lofted club, including grip in the middle of my palms, forward press, glove-less, rocking shoulder motion back amd through.

The pop-up's not as easy as chipping, but it will pop the ball up gently, hopefully hit the fringe, and obediently roll a little to the hole.

Anyway, lessons. Then practice what you were taught.

akronswitness · September 15, 2023

4 hours ago, HGLucky13 said:

Unless you are trying to go over a bunker to a short sided pin it is sooo much easier to bump and run with a lower lofted club. from any distance. Don't think of it only as a short shot from 15'. It works all the way out to full swing distances. Ive done bump and run from 100 yds out with my hybrid cause I had to go under trees.

It is, but Im not talking about situations that you can bump and run--im more talking about when your off the side of the green and you have 10-20 ft of rough in-between you and the green that needs cleared.

A chip/pitch (i might have been confusing people by calling this a chip) like this is where Im finding my struggle:

If that was me, there is a 1/5 chance that ball gets on the green within 10ft of the pin. Its either being chunked into the slope on the side of the green because my blade wedges dig too much or Im hitting it thin and its going off the back behind the pin then I have to chip again. 😭

Edited September 15, 2023 by akronswitness

HGLucky13 · September 15, 2023

1 hour ago, akronswitness said:

It is, but Im not talking about situations that you can bump and run--im more talking about when your off the side of the green and you have 10-20 ft of rough in-between you and the green that needs cleared.

A chip/pitch (i might have been confusing people by calling this a chip) like this is where Im finding my struggle:

If that was me, there is a 1/5 chance that ball gets on the green within 10ft of the pin. Its either being chunked into the slope on the side of the green because my blade wedges dig too much or Im hitting it thin and its going off the back behind the pin then I have to chip again. 😭

I'd say practice is more important than equipment in this position. Last year I would have felt the same way about this shot. I've only been playing for a couple of years, I don't keep a handicap, but my best round is an 84 and I usually shoot upper 80's. So I am guessing its a similar handicap to you. I practice at least 2 hrs a week on just from edge of green out to about 50 yds. It has made my confidence on these type of shots soar. If this was a standard shot for me I would practice just this shot a hundred balls a few times a week till it felt normal. I also took a few lessons focusing on this aspect of my game. Through those lessons I learned to get rid of my 60* and do all my chipping with my GW or lesser *. I took my 54* and 60* out of my bag for 3-4 months. It helped alot! Scores went from middle 90's to upper 80's. Now I have put my 54* back in the bag and split between the GW and SW depending on needs. Next I have to worry about getting my driver in line...and my brain...

If I was in your spot I might just get the set matched GW to replace your 50*. My set matched GW gave me more confidence chipping in this situation and it would likely fill in your distance gaps better because of the matching tech. For me this shot would be with my matched set GW (49.5*). Bump it just to the edge of the fringe with like a quarter swing and let it roll out to the pin. If the pin was tighter I'd be trying to use my 54* (which has 14* of bounce), open the face a little and do the same thing, hoping it wouldn't roll out as much.

Klubster · September 16, 2023

In further support if the bump and run. Tonight I played in our 9 hole league and on the first hole was about 15 feet short of the green and another 35 feet to the pin. Grabbed the 8 iron and holed it for a birdie.

akronswitness · September 16, 2023

3 hours ago, HGLucky13 said:

I'd say practice is more important than equipment in this position. Last year I would have felt the same way about this shot. I've only been playing for a couple of years, I don't keep a handicap, but my best round is an 84 and I usually shoot upper 80's. So I am guessing its a similar handicap to you. I practice at least 2 hrs a week on just from edge of green out to about 50 yds. It has made my confidence on these type of shots soar. If this was a standard shot for me I would practice just this shot a hundred balls a few times a week till it felt normal. I also took a few lessons focusing on this aspect of my game. Through those lessons I learned to get rid of my 60* and do all my chipping with my GW or lesser *. I took my 54* and 60* out of my bag for 3-4 months. It helped alot! Scores went from middle 90's to upper 80's. Now I have put my 54* back in the bag and split between the GW and SW depending on needs. Next I have to worry about getting my driver in line...and my brain...

If I was in your spot I might just get the set matched GW to replace your 50*. My set matched GW gave me more confidence chipping in this situation and it would likely fill in your distance gaps better because of the matching tech. For me this shot would be with my matched set GW (49.5*). Bump it just to the edge of the fringe with like a quarter swing and let it roll out to the pin. If the pin was tighter I'd be trying to use my 54* (which has 14* of bounce), open the face a little and do the same thing, hoping it wouldn't roll out as much.

Good advice. From the sounds of things in this thread the biggest mistake I have is chipping with a 54/58 and not a 50/52.

My PW that came with my set is 47* -- Imight just remove the 58 out of my bag and roll with the 47*, 50* (chipping/pitching) and 54* (sand) and call it a day. The 50* I have is actually a 52* that I got bent to be a 50* for gapping so I might even have them bend it back so it's a 52* again

I'll go out next time and try all of these 15-20 ft pitches with the 50* and see if that unlocks something that the 58* didnt

Edited September 16, 2023 by akronswitness

HGLucky13 · September 16, 2023

52 minutes ago, akronswitness said:

Good advice. From the sounds of things in this thread the biggest mistake I have is chipping with a 54/58 and not a 50/52.

My PW that came with my set is 47* -- Imight just remove the 58 out of my bag and roll with the 47*, 50* (chipping/pitching) and 54* (sand) and call it a day. The 50* I have is actually a 52* that I got bent to be a 50* for gapping so I might even have them bend it back so it's a 52* again

I'll go out next time and try all of these 15-20 ft pitches with the 50* and see if that unlocks something that the 58* didnt

Changing that 52 to a 50 also decreased its bounce by 2*, that probably didn't help digging the leading edge. But I don't know how much that matters.

golf-RN · September 17, 2023

On 9/15/2023 at 12:31 PM, ShortGolfer said:

I find my clunky SGI 9 iron works great for bump and runs of tight lies. A little hop to reach the green then a nice roll.

You may want to find a practice chipping green and experiment with the clubs already in your bag.

That's because that 9 iron has the loft of a traditional 7 iron lol When I played Radspeed irons last year, I always chipped with my 9 iron cause it had the same loft as the TM Tour Preferred 7 iron I had chipped with for years 🙂