Lowering Wedge Ball Flight

[boogielicious]

44 minutes ago, billchao said:

If it was windy and you controlled it well, doesn’t that actually tell you quite a bit?

Very gusty, 15-30. So I wasn’t able to gauge one shot to the next very well. 

[TourSpoon]

I am also trying to lower wedge flight and bought the Mevo specifically to dial it in and start launching in the low 30s and to get out of the 40s (58* LW) and so far its been really helpful.  Last Saturday, I warmed up and pulled the Mevo out for some wedge shots at 70 yards and hit 6/9 of them in the acceptable range (carry and launch). I am not doing anything really different other than being aware of ball flight, taking a 3/4 smooth swing (my feel), and monitoring the results. What I think is happening is I am taking that little hit out of my wedge game and that the ability to monitor the data in real time is giving me some trust in what I am doing. 

[Typhoon92]

Darkfrog, did you get out with them yet?

[Darkfrog]

3 hours ago, Typhoon92 said:

Darkfrog, did you get out with them yet?

I took my 54 degree tiger stepped wedge out with my regular 55 degree wedge. Both are the same Edel trapper head, just 1 degree loft difference, and the same Pure pro standard size grip. The tiger stepped wedge has a KBS C-taper X-flex 8-iron shaft (130g), and the other wedge has a KBS Tour S-flex wedge shaft (120g). The tiger stepped wedge feels noticeably heavier and stiffer, but not in a bad way.

My observation was that the tiger stepped wedge was flying lower based on 8 shots between 50-100 yards with the wedges, but I'll throw in some caveats:

• My observation is probably biased since I built the wedge and lower ball flight is what I want to see.
• My home course has quite a bit of elevation change, so sometimes ball flight is hard to judge with an approach shot 20-30 feet above or below the hole.
• I don't strike the ball perfectly every time, so what I might perceive as a lower flight could just be a slightly thin strike.
• I was really sore from a workout the day before the round, so I wasn't swinging very well at all.

I am planning to schedule some time on a launch monitor at my indoor lesson facility  and hit a bunch of balls with both wedges and get some data to compare, but that probably won't happen until after Christmas.

[boogielicious]

I have some data from a couple of MEVO sessions. All swings are 3/4 or trying to be 3/4 partial wedge shots. This is my more common shot with these clubs. Not sure if the launch is accurate as I was hitting off a mat. But the mat was pretty nice one and the hits felt solid. I think some of the higher launches could be from a bit of a head bounce off the mat.

Thoughts?

[iacas]

What kind of balls?

Harder (range) balls will launch higher than balls with softer covers (premium balls, urethane covers).

[boogielicious]

30 minutes ago, iacas said:

What kind of balls?

Harder (range) balls will launch higher than balls with softer covers (premium balls, urethane covers).

These were range balls. This range has supposedly true flight balls,  but it’s the end of the year. I assume they are launching a bit higher. I don’t really have a place to hit my Snell MTB X balls with the MEVO at the moment. My net is closer than 8 feet. If I move back to 8 feet, they hit too high on the net and ricochet all over the place. It’s rather comical.

I may try to engineer something.

[Typhoon92]

19 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

These were range balls. This range has supposedly true flight balls,  but it’s the end of the year. I assume they are launching a bit higher. I don’t really have a place to hit my Snell MTB X balls with the MEVO at the moment. My net is closer than 8 feet. If I move back to 8 feet, they hit too high on the net and ricochet all over the place. It’s rather comical.

I may try to engineer something.

Ahhh, just wear a helmet....😎

[boogielicious]

12 hours ago, Typhoon92 said:

Ahhh, just wear a helmet....😎

[TourSpoon]

16 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I have some data from a couple of MEVO sessions. All swings are 3/4 or trying to be 3/4 partial wedge shots. This is my more common shot with these clubs. Not sure if the launch is accurate as I was hitting off a mat. But the mat was pretty nice one and the hits felt solid. I think some of the higher launches could be from a bit of a head bounce off the mat.

Thoughts?

This makes sense as your higher launches are coming with the higher lofts so its consistent. I have been working on (being more aware is step one) keeping an eye on the launch angle and my last session has been LW58 @38, SW54 @35, gap @30ish, and pw just under 30.  I particularly notice that a pw over 30 starts coming up short and under 30 greatly enhances consistency. I am getting more consistent in keeping those numbers down and is my goal going forward with Mevo. The PGA Trackman data has pw at 24.2 (pga)25.6 (lpga) but my impact position needs a lot more work to hit those numbers. Getting your launch down a few degrees makes a difference. 

[boogielicious]

2 hours ago, TourSpoon said:

This makes sense as your higher launches are coming with the higher lofts so its consistent. I have been working on (being more aware is step one) keeping an eye on the launch angle and my last session has been LW58 @38, SW54 @35, gap @30ish, and pw just under 30.  I particularly notice that a pw over 30 starts coming up short and under 30 greatly enhances consistency. I am getting more consistent in keeping those numbers down and is my goal going forward with Mevo. The PGA Trackman data has pw at 24.2 (pga)25.6 (lpga) but my impact position needs a lot more work to hit those numbers. Getting your launch down a few degrees makes a difference. 

Are you doing anything different at set up to get lower launch? I had the ball just forward of center and have a little forward shaft lean and higher hands per my instructor. 

[TourSpoon]

3 hours ago, boogielicious said:

Are you doing anything different at set up to get lower launch? I had the ball just forward of center and have a little forward shaft lean and higher hands per my instructor. 

Nothing different at setup, just not trying to kill it. Ball position is center or slightly forward and I am keeping solid through impact. Honestly, I read this thread and just thought that I needed to work on it and just took some effort out of the swing. I am also a bit of a sweeper so I almost feel like I am driving the ball forward more than dropping it on the back of the ball if that makes sense. When I do it correctly the divots are more like bacon strips versus pork chops just flying through the air. 

[colin007]

Question, what does having the hands higher do?