60 degree wedge

i have one of these in my bag because i got it for free last year and ive never really learned how to hit it.

usually i just use my gap wedge, but this year when ive tried to use my 60 degree, WHEN i hit it good it goes right where i want it and it doesnt even roll

but only about 40-50% of the time i hit it good

i either get too far under and it goes 5 feet, or i i dont get under it enough and it goes 20 yards past the green

to fix this problem, is it as simple as just hitting more balls with it?

If you're not confident with it, you won't be able to hit it when you need. I've got a 58 degree wedge, play it with great confidence because I know I can hit it and I know what it takes to hit it. Use it inside 70 yards, for chipping, flopping and bunkers.

My points of focus are ball at middle or further back in the stance, 3/4 backswing, keeping the pressure on the left foot, hitting the ball first and taking a good divot. It's the same as with any iron really. Not trying to scoop the ball, keeping the wrist hinge and letting it happen.

If you hit your other wedges well, you can hit this one too, it's just a matter of practice and confidence. Spend some hours now and then only practicing the club. If you have a 50-60 yard area you can hit balls at, grab 10 shag bag balls and just hit them back and forth, working on good contact and bottoming out the swing in front of the ball.

agree with zeph on these comments. when i first got my 60* i was the same as you. most of my shots went sculling straight right, embarrassing as hell. so whenever i was on the course and was about 50yds and in, i would pull out the 60* and hit as many as i could until the next group came up behind me. 3/4 swing, accelerate through the ball, follow through. practice with it and you'll be more confident then you'll be just fine...stick with it, you'll enjoy the club in the bag.

Exactly, if you think you're going to shank it you probably will.

You have to make sure the bounce on the wedge is right, too much and you'll thin most of your shots, too little and you'll be digging holes in the course. Practice with it and it'll become one of your favourite clubs. I know it's mine.

I made the mistake of throwing a lob wedge in the bag and not giving it the proper respect due and practice with it.

They are different animals and take some serious familiarization.

Great clubs, though. Make sure you get one with enough bounce.

The 60 is just as easy to hit as any wedge you have. but if you need to build up your confidence try the following below:

1) play the ball back of your stance
2) use a slight forward press before you start the backswing
3) extend your arm so that the wedge is slightly pressure down on the ground
4) start your back swing with the shaft in line with your target and the toe pointing up in the air and experiment with different distance from your body for solid contact.
5) practice hitting 60 degree wedges with the shaft only at hip high and forward hip high
6) you can hit the wedge with the face closed square to square or square to open club face
7) if you want to have some fun try chips with the club face slightly open and watch the ball bounce slightly right and check up with the 60 wedge
8) after practicing with hip high solid contact shots work on 3 to 9 oclock arm shots and practice making solid contact
9) after the 3 to 9 oclock backswing and forward swing for your way to 3/4 and full swing with your 60
10) practice with your 60 everyday and from 10 yards to 60 - 80 yards.

Bounce doesn't come into play on regular shots and chipping. It only does on a high pitch or flop shot.

Bounce comes into play every time your club touches the ground. Everytime.

True, but on a full shot, the club touches the ground after it has struck the ball, so the ball won't behave differently.

get one with loads of bounce and hit down steeply at the back of the ball, focusing on hitting the blades of grass under the ball with a downward motion

Doesn't the more bounce it have the more distance you lose? My 60 has 6 bounce i think and i can hit it up to 105.

I dont like my wedges with too much bounce. My 54 has 9 and my 58 had 10. I took to the 58 with a belt and took some bounce off. I can hit it off very tight lies now. It took some adjusting to hit it out of the sand, but I have changed the way I hit out of the sand and love it now. Personally, a 60 degree wedge should be left out of the bags of most players, with no disrespect. And unless you have to go over something or you have a very forward flag, IMO, you should be reaching for a wedge with less loft.

I"m in the same boat with the 60.     No confidence with it, but when it works, it's great, it's just that it doesn't work more than it works (I find it amazing how much tougher it is to hit reliably than the 54).     I use a 58 when I need a lob wedge & like it alot better - that 2 degrees makes a big difference in forgiveness...

You just need to practice with it.  Due to the extreme loft, the sweet spot on a 60* is smaller than on other clubs, so you have to be more precise with it.  Its not a scary club, you just need to work with it.

You can't over practice with a lob wedge. My opinion is it'll probably be worn out when you finally master it. Your second lob wedge will have a nice consistent wear pattern though. It also might have a different grind because you'll have a better idea what type of player you are (or want to be).

I like the high bounce because i feel i can be aggressive and go down after it without it digging

Read a Golf Digest article where they were interviewing 4 instructors - Haney, Harmon, Leadbetter and MacLean ( I think) - and asked them if most golfers should use a 60 degree. They were unanimous in their opinion - no. Mainly for same reasons already noted here. Tough to hit consistently well without serious practice time dedicated to the 60. I definitely don't practice enough with mine to get consistent results :~(