Altering wedge shot distances...

[svchiefs19]

is it better/easier to control wedge distances by altering the length of your backswing or to open/close the club face? or is it just personal preference?

[DaveLeeNC]

Opening the face will also have a big effect on trajectory. And as part of this process of increasing effective loft, you will also dramatically increase the error caused by hitting the ball thin. And the risk of this is increased because opening the face also increases the effective bounce of the club.

Other than maybe a few finesse shots around the green I usually go the altered backswing/downswing route.

dave

[Crafty]

Opening the face will also have a big effect on trajectory. And as part of this process of increasing effective loft, you will also dramatically increase the error caused by hitting the ball thin. And the risk of this is increased because opening the face also increases the effective bounce of the club.

Well said. i also find correct alignment very tough when you are opening/closing the club face.

[bruce]

For me its definitely shortening my back-swing.

[anthonykim3]

Shortening the back swing will be the easier way. or you can just not swing as hard on the way down. But opening and closing the club face is the hardest way of doing it because if you ever need a shot to spin or to release that will be hard cause if you add loft to the club from 80 yards and you want it to roll it will spin and one hop and stop the opposite from 110 yards when you de loft the club it will roll and if you need to spin it into a tight pin location that just wont work.

[Guinness23]

No question that length of backswing is easy to do. Pelz talks about using a clock as an analogy for your swings, i.e. 9 o'clock swing has arms parrallell to the ground, 10:30 is half way between 9 and full. You add just those two backswings to 3 wedges and you have 6 predictable distances. It's certainly not for a feel type player but it does work nicely.

[ks8829]

It's easier for me to open the club face, aim left of the target and make the same swing and the ball will go less distance. Hubert Green use to do this with his wedges.

I can judge the distance by how much I open the club face and how much I aim left of the target.

[glbrum]

I found a tip for wedge shots [probably 50-60 yards and in] while watching one of those "playing tips from the pros" or whatever it's called. It was with David Toms and Samuel L Jackson. I'll try to describe it...

So let's say you're 50 yards out. Do a practice swing with your wedge as if you would hit a putt from that distance [no hip-turn; try and be as close to your putt stroke as you can]. Then work in the hip-turn to generate the power necessary to get the ball to the hole. The swing will a grow a bit with the hip-turn. Then, hit the ball.

It's kind of weird to explain, but it really is just like hitting a putt [big swing in putting terms] with some hip-turn. I tried it today and got it pin high [although I pulled it; that's a whole different story]. I've been having getting the right distance on my 50-60 yd shots and this really helped.

[PiKapp23]

For me I have always changed the length of my backswing (and sometimes through swing as well) for less than full wedge shots. For my PW, GW and SW I have 3 shots like this that I can pretty well rely on to fly a certain distance with a certain trajectory (full swing, 3/4 swing and 1/2 swing). With my LW it's more of a true 'feel' thing for me. I alter the length of my backswing, but it's not like with the others where I have those distances for each swing length - rather, I just sort of go with what looks and feels right. As far as opening and closing the face to control distances I will sometimes do it with LW and occasionally SW, but I try to avoid doing that much. The only time I really do that is to hit the ball either a little higher or out of rough so that I can swing harder (less chance of decelerating when taking a full swing). I almost never open the clubface with any other club in my bag. I don't even open clubface in bunker unless there is a high lip I need to hit over.

[ProfessorGAC]

Yep!!!

That's what i do. And it works. My 10:30 swing goes 80%, my 9 o'clock swing (left arm parallel to the ground) goes 60%, and my 7:30 swing goes around 45%.

I bought his Short Game Bible. It's a great book. My handicap went from a 7 to a 4 using that technique. (Well, that and i improved my putting a little.)

But, having that ability to hit those abbreviated wedges by altering the swing shaved one or two shots off my game and i was already shooting in the high 70's.

I admit i'm a Pelz disciple.
GAC

[Sir Hack a-lot]

It's easier for me to open the club face, aim left of the target and make the same swing and the ball will go less distance. Hubert Green use to do this with his wedges.

+1 to that. That is EXACTLY what I do. I open the club face and swing a little harder to pop the ball over an obstacle.....It does open you up to hitting the ball thin....its a must practice shot, but if you have it in your bag it could be extremely helpful..........

[ebough]

In almost all instances, changing the length of the backswing is the more consistent method. The one situation in which opening the club face is useful is when you are forced to swing hard (ie deep rough) but don't want to hit the ball very far. Once saw Tiger Woods take a full boar swing in tall deep rough and hit the ball 10 yards!

[Eeryck]

While I play by changing the length of the backswing via Pelz, David Leadbetter seems to be promoting a 1/2 backswing with a swing speed change to vary distance.

My personal opinion is that keeping the same tempo with varying backswing length is the best, however the open or closing the clubface or changing swing speed may work better for others.

-E

[hamletsdead]

I don't really like opening my clubface for anything except sand shots. I tried it a couple rounds and ended up skulling too many shots, and even caught the hosel a time or two. I find dialing in the backswing to be far easier -- 1/4 swing for 25 yards, 1/2 swing for 50 yards with my 56 degree wedge. Intermediate distances I sort of go by feel and swing a little harder or easier.

My big trouble area is 60-65 yards in -- can never seem to decide what to hit. I guess it would be a full 60 degree wedge, but since I don't carry one it's a moot point. Lately I've just been chipping with a 7 iron and rolling it up if there's no trouble in the way. Saw Daniel Chopra do it a couple times and it seemed like such an easy, smart shot it was a no-brainer to give it a try.

[flybub]

I also vary my distances by decreasing/increasing my backswing. Changing the position of the clubface can create more problems than one wants to deal with.

[golfdad]

i do not recommend altering club face to gauge distance, for reasons already discussed earlier in the thread.

here is what i do with my kids, acknowledging that wedge shot game is THE most important part of the entire game. to me, it is as important, if not more important than good putting. with good wedge shots, there will not be challenging putts left.

with my kids, i have developed a system with them, essentially going over this routine, everyday. in winter months, we do it in basement.

1. landing spots.

it is my opinion that with wedge shots, the first step is to be able to land where you desire (where the ball eventually goes is of secondary concern). the key is to be able to land accurately first. there are about 10 targets, each about 3 feet further from where the kids stand. the kids just go through the balls trying to land on the 10 targets one after another. with emphasis and attention to setup, contact and tempo. tempo is extremely important because it affect trajectory and therefore final roll. in other words, 2 shots may land on the same spot with different tempo shots and eventually stop at different distances. with wedge, it is quite easy to develop a system in terms of ratio of bump and run, that is, air vs ground. on each new course, on the practice green, one can quickly get some sense of that ratio. may be 55 vs 45, or whatever. with slopes, grass condition, etc, you vary a little. still, landing spots is essential no matter where you go. often, my kids walk the distance on the green quickly and determine where the landing is. by now, with this system, they rarely 2 putts after a chip around the green. the ball usually sit around 2 feet around the hole.

2. make a dial system,,,with longer pitch shots.
different gurus on the market talk about using clock numbers for different backswing lengths. makes sense, something grandma can also suggest if given the proposal for solution. i have asked my kid to fine tune it further.

with club strainght back, parallel to the ground, we call it level 1.
with club and arm forming a V shape, we call it 3.
in between 1 and 3, by feel, we call it 2.
4 is past V
5 is L
6 is over L.
7 is full shot.

sounds complicated. but once you try to stick to it for a week, you mentally acquire a system, it is yours and you can modify from there. my opinion is that without a fundamental system, the so called "feel" development is not reliable. by now, if my kid wants to do a pitch at 5, the worst is 4 or 5 or 6. with time, the variance becomes smaller and the accuracy becomes better.

the kids find the system helpful because prior to these, their partial backswing is totally unpredictable. they are so concerned about the target that they literally forget about the backswing. the tendencies are overswing and then decelerate or underswing and then overswing downward, in both cases, poor contact. a system is like knowing abc, doremi. instead of saying,,,more or less which can be quite confusing. a system can be simply stupid but everyone needs to go through a similar routine first to become more effective later.

i am sure there are other systems out there but imo, one needs to make a committment to stick to something. often, with so many things to try, it is easy to get disoriented and end up doing nothing well in particular.

my kid doing a 7 on her wedge here:
http://www.swingacademy.com/swingana...l.aspx?id=2196

[Stacey_E]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned gripping down on the club to alter distances. But in reality it will shorten your swing, which seems to be the general idea anyway. I personally have problems when I choke down on a club, but a lot of people I've seen will do this.

I'm on the side of the guys who say shorten the back swing, with the disclaimer that I have to make a conscious effort not to shorten the through swing. It's OK to swing 3/4 to 3/4 IF you plan on it. But if you fail to accelerate on those shorter swings you are looking at dump city. And you know it as soon as you hit it without even looking up.

I do sometimes close the face on a wedge to get more out of it. For example, in the summer time when the fairway is hard panned, I might find myself at a sand wedge distance. If I feel like I might bounce into the shot I take my low bounce 60* (which I took out for the winter months) put it back a little in my stance. Then I'll aim a little right and pound on the ball with a closed face. I can add about 10-15 yards this way, but I only do it if the lie is hard and the SW makes me nervous.

[wedge player]

is it better/easier to control wedge distances by altering the length of your backswing or to open/close the club face? or is it just personal preference?

well for full wedges tiger uses trajectory control like where to stop follow through he done it on tee it up with tiger thats how it does it if thats what you were askin