Range balls and wedge practice

zenchili · February 6, 2009

I want to tune up my wedge game but I don't have a really good short game practice area near me (that I know of) where I can hit shots from 120 and in. I also don't belong to a private club where I could get on the course off hours when it would be empty.

I know for long game range balls are off in comparison to using good balls (I play Tour I or TaylorMade Black LDP). How much of a distance difference could I expect with Rangeballs vs. the balls I typically play with?

The reason I'm asking is I'm thinking of getting a Zeolocity PureContact (with the new firmware so that it can handle wedges and partial wedges) and I'd hit my wedges on the range. I'm really only interested in the carry distance. But I definitely want to get dialed in with all my wedges.

xtremeinaz · February 6, 2009

I have seen some guys using wedges at the park, when there is very few people around.

harold baines · February 6, 2009

I find the distance variation from range balls to good balls to be smaller on shorter clubs, and gets worse as the irons get longer

on wedge shots I doubt it makes much difference

dlygrisse · February 6, 2009

I find the distance variation from range balls to good balls to be smaller on shorter clubs, and gets worse as the irons get longer

on wedge shots I doubt it makes much difference

I tend to agree with that statement, except for the fact that range balls will not spin as much, so if you are just talking about pure carry, there should not be too much difference, the trajectory may be slightly different, IMO higher lauch but lower spin with the range ball, and of course they wont stop as quick upon landing.

zenchili · February 6, 2009

That's what I figured. The park solution is ok, but the grass is not like the fairway, fine if I'm practicing shots from the rough though. I do think the PureContact will be a good investment for me though.

Now for a new question...How much of a difference do you think cold weather makes to wedge shots in terms of distance?

Wenz · February 21, 2009

I have a park right next to where I live, it's approximately 120m long.

It has 3 trees perked up on a mound and i just take all my previous rounds balls in a bucket and hit away!

If I want to figure out how far I hit my wedges to low irons, I usually go down to my local football (AFL in Australia) club and they usually have 50m markings.