Altering wedge shot distances...

[GaijinGolfer]

I find it easier to alter the distance of my wedge shots by shortening my swing. Im yet to master the open-faced wedge shot.

[HansMoleman]

I am still having trouble with my wedges

[ebough]

Dave Peltz suggests 3 different backswing lengths for 3 different wedges, a total of 9 different distances--although in practice some may overlap. I personally use the lob wedge, sand wedge, A-wedge, choked pitching wedge, and choked 9-iron with 2 backswing lengths for each. This easily covers all distances from 35 to 100 yards with easily controlled swings as opposed to full swings.

[golfire6]

Ben Hogan suggested opening one's stance as a way of altering the distance of a wedge shot . You maintain the feeling of a full shot but you end up making a shorter swing . The more your body gets in the way as you open your stance , the shorter your shot will travel . It takes some practice to get a feel for it , but it works very well IMO ... -- K.

[lumpuckeroo]

IMO, altering backswing lenght but not tempo. For a 1/2 shot, swing back 1/2 way but then don't swing forward at 1/2 the pace. Be sure to accelerate thru the ball, it will give you consistent distance, trajectory, and results.

[handlez42]

Im an avid wedge guy...and it was probably only because of me finally getting the hang of it recently...i tlregripped my old wedges and added an inch extender to help my 6'4" long legged-self become more contact consistent...i found myself sitting into the shot and straitening my legs and topping the ball...in short wedges were my enemy...now im hitting lower, consistent, "trapped" wedge shots. Im a feel guy so hitting the proper shot is like a work of art to me

I think the biggest thing to controlling wedge distance not only is feel, and the length of your backswing...i think more so it's how committed you are through the ball. If Im on the course and hit a wedge just off the back end of the green on a back pin placement...(i say this because generally middle-front pin placements are a generally easier to hit especially if your local course marks distances from the center of the green like my course) i usually will drop another ball and hit again....usually the first thought is length of back swing but it actually is more so abbreviating your finish..shortening it up...i see it as "softening" your finish...hold that wrist angle but allow your arms to stop more smoothly and slow

Ive been having an issue with how i should flight the ball..generally wedges are for attacking purposes...so does anybody looking for a particular flight or try to work thr ball with wedges? In my mind at most it could only be from shooting right at the pin to playing a slight fade...trying to avoid a natural soft draw...so what is considered "textbook tip" for a stock wedge flight? Fade, or straight at it?????

its funny how golf works...how you finish is affect of how the ball flights with height and distance...but if you think about it the finish is after the ball has left the club? Haha its interesting and the more you think about it...the more it makes sense...how a player finishes the swing is just a byproduct of what happened prior to that..meaning at contact..

[GaijinGolfer]

Id say swing length.  Opening the face greatly reduces the margin of error, so its a high-risk shot.  Wedgeplay is a feel thing and its just something that you need to work on and practice to be good at it.

[WUTiger]

The Pelz clock method, or similar 1/4 - 1/2 - 3/4 method, has worked for me in the past (like 2010, when I shot in the 80s). Standard advice for Pelz-style says vary backswing length, and then followthough with about 80% of normal power - be sure to accelerate. If you are between GW and a SW for a partial shot, you can shave off couple of yards if you choke up on the GW (shortening the shaft a tad).

As for clubface position, most people can open up a couple of degrees for a little extra spin, or close down a couple to get more release. Just make sure you're aware of turf and bounce situation for the shot. But if you're doing greenside magic tricks with a tour-grind sole wedges, you need to practice a lot to be reliable.

Caution on AnthonyKim3 (+1.5 HDCP) ".. don't swing as hard coming down.." and Eeryck, relaying Ledbetter's slowdown advice:

This may work for AK3 at +1.5, but could be troublesome if you can't practice a lot. Basically, you're decelerating on your short wedges, rather than accelerating through the ball like with all other shots.

Lots of HDCP golfers already have trouble on short shots when they take too big a backswing, and then decelerate and miss the shot. Most pros have people practicing to accelerate So, unless you can practice enough to develop the Accel-Decel toggle switch in your brain, this might be a tactic to avoid.

[saevel25]

Work on technique till you can get something consistant down, then work on feel. You can't get feel if your chip shot has 3 different variations intent on hitting one type of shot. If your hitting toe, maybe a bit behind. You got to hit the same stop on the clubface, the same way to develop feel.

[handlez42]

probably the biggest question is on choosing particular lofts.. I recently bought Mac VIP forged wedges in 54 and 58 degree lofts...58 because my 60* ram Watson wedged not only had too much bounce (14*) but also was an older wedge so there wasn't any heel or toe relief for opening the face or manufacturing shots...and the 54 only because I was using a 55* ram BeCu watson wedge  i realize that right around 105ish yards i need to get a wedge to gap between my pitch and 54 mostly because my pitch (47* loft) has a 95g steel shaft which is more for speed throughout my irons. Just because my 58 is easier to hit full shots as well as my 54 I'd probably get a 50 to equal the degree gap and 3 degrees between the gap wedge and pitch is just about perfect.

So actually my question is two parts. Equipment and swing thoughts.

I see those Cleveland commercials for their CG wedges and I hear 48 or 47 as one of the more common wedges for gap...do tour pros bend lofts up in their irons (or maybe just from PW-mid iron) in order to use lower lofted wedge for gapping purposes? My irons are FG Tours by Wilson staff and I found out elsewhere and in my own forum that due to the weight of the FGs..which is heavier than most forgings ..that they hit a bit higher than Mizuno mps or anything comparable. So im considering bending (on top of a  re-shaft fitting for my irons) the lofts to create a slightly lower trajectory.

Anybody use a wedge with a 48 or a wedge lower than 50 as a gap?

Also on those pitch shots I notice pros try to compress steeply and keep the ball lower making it check and stop abruptly on the third shot...i guess im just curious on what people use on a fairly straightforward 35-45 yard pitch shot? pitch, gap, mid, or high loft? or even a shot that isn't traditional or "textbook" that you guys feel comfortable with?

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by WUTiger

The Pelz clock method, or similar 1/4 - 1/2 - 3/4 method, has worked for me in the past (like 2010, when I shot in the 80s). Standard advice for Pelz-style says vary backswing length, and then followthough with about 80% of normal power - be sure to accelerate. If you are between GW and a SW for a partial shot, you can shave off couple of yards if you choke up on the GW (shortening the shaft a tad).

As for clubface position, most people can open up a couple of degrees for a little extra spin, or close down a couple to get more release. Just make sure you're aware of turf and bounce situation for the shot. But if you're doing greenside magic tricks with a tour-grind sole wedges, you need to practice a lot to be reliable.

Caution on AnthonyKim3 (+1.5 HDCP) ".. don't swing as hard coming down.." and Eeryck, relaying Ledbetter's slowdown advice:

This may work for AK3 at +1.5, but could be troublesome if you can't practice a lot. Basically, you're decelerating on your short wedges, rather than accelerating through the ball like with all other shots.

Lots of HDCP golfers already have trouble on short shots when they take too big a backswing, and then decelerate and miss the shot. Most pros have people practicing to accelerate So, unless you can practice enough to develop the Accel-Decel toggle switch in your brain, this might be a tactic to avoid.

I didn't see the piece where AnthonyKim3 discussed not swinging as hard coming down, but I doubt he was advocating deceleration. Probably more of a slightly slower swing. I picture watching a video in Media Player with the speed set to less than 1.0 speed. Looks the same. Sounds the same. Just slower. When a full wedge is 100 yards and I need to hit it 90 yards (without changing the trajectory or shot type) I picture the same swing at 0.9 and just think "90 yard swing". Takes practice of course.

[B-Con]

In general I just adjust the backswing. Opening the clubface has advantages, but I'm more comfortable just changing the backswing distance. I'll only open the clubface if I want to change the ball's trajectory.

[mdl]

Originally Posted by 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!

This is my feeling.  There are some low HC guys who've responded they like opening the face and aiming left, but I've found that much harder to dial in than simply figuring out, vaguely Pelz style, how far my wedges go with different degrees of backswing.

Note that the changing the backswing style still requires practice and feel.  One of my best in between distance shots (ie, not a full stock swing but further away than little <30 yard green side shots) is a 50 yard shot with my 54˚ where I only bring the club back to parallel to the ground (ie, P2 (?), not top of the backswing parallel).  But with that shot even with the very abbreviated back swing I'm still going for the feel of getting some load in my wrists and torso and attacking the ball.  With my stock pitch style shot, I can take the club back the same distance but I've got a different setup and I'm trying to smoothly and easily flow through the ball, rather than attack it, and that shot flies more like 20-25 yards.

But I generally am a straight hitter and am not very good at controlling all three of distance, trajectory, and aim with shaped shots, so perhaps it's no surprise that I find backswing changes easier to control than hitting more or less of a cut to control distance, which is essentially what the OP is suggesting as the alternative.

[Leftygolfer]

For me its a combination of power, length of backswing, open face.  You have to be really confident and good with a wedge to be able to open the face and hit a good shot consistantly.  I've practiced my wedges for years and feel confortable doing that.  I rarely try to hit a wedge really hard.  It seems to go just as far at 80%

[The Recreational Golfer]

Originally Posted by glbrum

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.

Yes. I do this, but think of it as a giant chip. Works just the same, though.

[par4me]

I have heard several vriations on this subject.  Most commonly slow down your swing or shorten your swing.  The local pro that I used to play with, and take occasional lessons from, engrained in my head "Shorten your swing, never slow it down"  If you change the tempo of your swing, you introduce the possibility of making other mistakes along the way.

[handlez42]

Originally Posted by par4me

I have heard several vriations on this subject.  Most commonly slow down your swing or shorten your swing.  The local pro that I used to play with, and take occasional lessons from, engrained in my head "Shorten your swing, never slow it down"  If you change the tempo of your swing, you introduce the possibility of making other mistakes along the way.

ive noticed in most cases ive tried shortening up my backswing but end up swinging too fast still (almost like when you hit a bad shot, or a shot farther than you wanted so you drop another one to see if what you thought was the issue was, in fact, the issue) i usually will take the club back about the same length or height but make my transition more smoothly...im not sure why but anytime i shorten the backswing, i come through the ball the same speed as the shot i just sent over the green. usually when im in a position to take a bit off of my full wedge shot, i try more to get a bit steeper on my attack, but more so try to release the club much later to keep the ball lower and land a bit shorter relying on the spin to keep the ball short and stop on a dime vs. bringing it back.

i'll have to practice shortening up mostly because when i release the clubis generally earlier than a full swing. and im just now getting used to wedge shots being all in the arms where before i would line up like a normal full shot and get my hips more involved...wedges are my favorite shot but certain aspects have become difficult to learn

[ohiolefty]

I'm suprised that nobody has mentioned that it doesn't have to be an 'either-or' thing. You have many options in terms of attack, face angle, length, ball position, etc. that are going to create different results in different combinations. That's why short game practice is so vital. I hope this was a productive non-answering of the question :-)