Do You Have a "Go To" Club Around the Green?

[Wanzo]

 

Do you have a club that you default to around the green, say 40 yards and in?  I've typically leaned towards the strategy of using the same club and practicing different types of shots with it.  It's usually my lob wedge.  I've tried to transition to using my sand wedge, but would always go back to my lob wedge.  I've also tried getting used to a less lofted iron (8 or 9) when hitting a shot with a lot of green to work with that runs, but find when I do that I'm just not as confident since i haven't practiced and done it as often as just hitting my lob wedge.

 

Edited November 25, 2020 by Wanzo

[dennyjones]

My golf instructor has suggested this for me but for some reason, I like to use different clubs and try to keep the swing length the same.   I still struggle with this part of my game. 

[Piz]

I use a 42,46,50,or 54.  Most of the time I use the 54...but not 90% of the time.  Had the question been "Is there a club you use 70% of the time, etc..."  I'd have answered in the affirmative.

[Club Rat]

My club/shot selection will vary with the conditions and difficulty which is presented.
I always try to execute the least difficult attempt which gives me the best possible result. 

My vote - NO

[Edsland]

I do best when I use my 50

[mcanadiens]

Its always the SW for me, unless I'm seriously short-sided in which case I might use my 60-degree. I'll just adjust my stance to hit the pitch or chip shot. Lately, I've been trying to hit a flop shot with it and have occasionally been successful.

Periodically, I'll mess around with lower-lofted clubs in practice, but they never feel comfortable and I can't trust them in a round.  

 

[klineka]

I don't, I use my 58 (high shots),54 (medium shots), or PW (bump and runs) around the green. I find it easier to have one stock shot for each club, then grab the club that gives me the desired trajectory, although I do know how to alter trajectories with the 54 and 58 and I do that occasionally as well if the situation calls for it. 

One friend I play with who is a decent player, probably a 7-10 handicap, uses his 50 degree exclusively inside 100 yards. It's pretty impressive how he can manipulate the club around the greens and add loft when needed, his touch with that single club is outstanding.

[TN94z]

From that distance, I normally use my 58. I can hit low, medium, high with it and it has high bounce so it just works for me and keeps it consistent. If we were talking about closer to the green and chipping, then it all changes.

[Bonvivant]

52 for most chipping strokes, 56 for most pitching strokes. Will go a club up or down for either of these types of shots, but these are my most comfortable clubs for these shots. 

[Big C]

2 hours ago, Wanzo said:

 

Do you have a club that you default to around the green, say 40 yards and in?  I've typically leaned towards the strategy of using the same club and practicing different types of shots with it.  It's usually my lob wedge.  I've tried to transition to using my sand wedge, but would always go back to my lob wedge.  I've also tried getting used to a less lofted iron (8 or 9) when hitting a shot with a lot of green to work with that runs, but find when I do that I'm just not as confident since i haven't practiced and done it as often as just hitting my lob wedge.

 

Like you, I use the lob wedge for almost every stock shot around the green - mine is a 58. There are occasions when I might deviate to a lower lofted wedge. Facing a lie that is sloped uphill or a bunker shot where the flag is on the far other side are the green are two examples that come to mind. Otherwise, the 58 is my choice the vast majority of the time.

[iacas]

2 hours ago, Piz said:

I use a 42,46,50,or 54.  Most of the time I use the 54...but not 90% of the time.  Had the question been "Is there a club you use 70% of the time, etc..."  I'd have answered in the affirmative.

Pretty similar here.

90% is way too high of a bar. I might use one club 70% of the time… but 90%? Inside 40 yards? That's a LOT. That's using another club once every two rounds, maybe.

[Groucho Valentine]

90%? No. 

I generally select a club 50 yards and in based on the combination of the lie and the trajectory of the shot i want to hit. That could be anything from my 58 SW to a 9i. But if i have a gnarly lie, ill usually always go for the 58 so i can get some help from the bounce. For a typical 15-30 foot green side chip from a clean lie i usually use a PW or 9i. 

[DeadMan]

I use my 54 degree sand wedge probably right around 90% of the time. It's the club I practice my short game with most, and thus feel most comfortable with. I can hit a variety of shots with it, including a bump and run, flop, sand shot, etc. It has the most bounce of my wedges, too. I will grab other clubs when I need something different like a really high flop shot or a really low bump and run. But that doesn't happen all that often - probably every other round or so.

[phillyk]

I used to use my 60 close to 90%. Now, I use my 56 and 52 a lot more right next to the green, because I have a lot more confidence controlling spin and bump n runs.  Then I’ll start using my 60 for longer carry shots around the green. 

Edited November 25, 2020 by phillyk

[coachjimsc]

After checking my Arccos numbers from my last 49 rounds:

60 shots from 11-40 yards

LW(58) - 30 shots

SW(54) - 22 shots

GW(50) - 8 shots

[colin007]

Yeah, my fiddy6

[Wanzo]

3 hours ago, Club Rat said:

My club/shot selection will vary with the conditions and difficulty which is presented.
I always try to execute the least difficult attempt which gives me the best possible result.

Makes sense, I just find myself grabbing the same club even if another club should be easier in theory because it's what I've practiced more.  I do occasionally bump a hybrid with a putting motion when I'm on the fringe.  

 

1 hour ago, iacas said:

3 hours ago, Piz said:

I use a 42,46,50,or 54.  Most of the time I use the 54...but not 90% of the time.  Had the question been "Is there a club you use 70% of the time, etc..."  I'd have answered in the affirmative.

Pretty similar here.

90% is way too high of a bar. I might use one club 70% of the time… but 90%? Inside 40 yards? That's a LOT. That's using another club once every two rounds, maybe.

that's fair, 90% was probably an exaggeration.  I should probably look at actual stats like @coachjimsc

[coachjimsc]

12 minutes ago, Wanzo said:

I should probably look at actual stats like @coachjimsc

Yeah I was going to say 90% then I checked my actual numbers.

Like most things in golf, what you think you are doing and what you are actually doing are usually different. 😉