Inside 100 yards

[shamsone]

This is a weakness i can never seem to figure out. How do you guys control your distances say you have a 65 yard pitch shot? or any distance inside a full swing. Right now all i carry is a 56 and 52 degree wedge. 56 goes 110 and 52 goes 120 yards. I'm familiar with the dave pelz 3x4 method and kinda use that to control distance but some days i'll fly a green and other days i'll hit it short 10-20 yards short. Anyways how do you guys hit these shots?

[thr33]

I currently use a 50, 54, and 60 degree set of wedges. I use them from 120 yards and the situation determines which wedge i'll hit for that particular shot. For a 65 yard pin with no severe wind and a decent lie i'll hit a half swing sand wedge. I spend most of my time at the range getting down my distances for my wedges. Assuming I make good contact, I might be over/under by ~5 yards, but that's really good enough for me.

[wrx_junki]

I have a 52 that goes 80 yards, a 56 that goes 60 yard, and a 60 that goes 40 yards. Maybe be like Phil and carry a 64? I don't hit it long like you so I don't have the huge gaps.

[Comeback City]

I have a 47, 56 and 60 and I typically practice a full and 1/2 swing and derive my distances from that.

[ks8829]

If you practice 1/4, 1/2 & 3/4 shots with your different wedges you will be able to judge the distance within 100 yards for each of your wedges and partial swings.

Watch this video that I found very useful for Pitches and chips shots





after you master the pitch and chip shots the next short game shot you should practice is the flop shot with the lob wedge.

Simply open the club face and place it forward in your stance with your weight forward on your front foot and with a slight forward press take a full swing and watch the ball fly high in the air and drop softly.

[Blades4me]

This is a weakness i can never seem to figure out. How do you guys control your distances say you have a 65 yard pitch shot? or any distance inside a full swing. Right now all i carry is a 56 and 52 degree wedge. 56 goes 110 and 52 goes 120 yards. I'm familiar with the dave pelz 3x4 method and kinda use that to control distance but some days i'll fly a green and other days i'll hit it short 10-20 yards short. Anyways how do you guys hit these shots?

IMO these are very tough shots. They are ALL feel so you need to practice them. It probably wouldn't hurt to take a short game lesson.

[Dub]

Full wedge shots....cool.....all is well and confidence abounds.....shorten the distance to partial shots.......the pucker factor rises for me. This is why I've left room in the bag for another wedge and some time and $$$ for some short game lessons.

My current set is 46 PW, 50 GW and 54 SW....all with 11-14 degrees of bounce.

Last week I played a course that runs along the InterCoastal Waterway near Atlantic Beach, NC. It is usually windy there anyway....but last week was unreal. My normal iron shot shape for the week was a high draw. Both days I played this one particular par three had a strong 40mph wind blowing right to left...wind coming directly off the ICW...unchecked for miles.

Needless to say it was intimidating....didn't want to aim dead right off the hole entirely so I'd show the right fringe. High draw resultant...wind blew me well left, just beyond a greenside tree.

Both days I opened up the 54 a bit....played it near the middle...maybe a tad forward and swung fully through the shot. The ball lept up and over the tree and stalled in the wind but made the green each time....usually short of the hole even though I hit it hard.

I had confidence that the wind would stall it out. For some reason I don't under "normal" playing conditions.

Like I said.....I'm getting some short game help very soon and will most likely ad another wedge.

[David in FL]

110 yds with a 56* wedge?

I carry a 52* and 56* as well. My 52* is 100 yds and my 56* is 75 yds. Now, I'm not the longest guy out there, but I've got to wonder if you might be either over-swinging, or delofting your wedges through impact. Either way you'll lose consistency and likely struggle with anything other than a "stock" shot.

[lumpuckeroo]

I hit my 52 100 yards, I have figured out that if I go shoulder high it is about 75 yards and waist high 50 yards so somewere inbetween is 65 yards.

I saw Nick Faldo on TGC show The Fix and he talked about swing to 9 o'clock, 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock to figure out distance, which makes good sense. The other factor is to keep you swing tempo the same for a partial swing as you would for a full swing. Don't swing back shoulder high and then make an easy downswing, you won't get the distance you desire.

When I make my swing to waist high, I go at the ball at the same pace I would if I were making a full swing with a 7 iron. This way you get good contact and consistent spin.

[DavidFehertysBike]

50-60 yard pitches are hard and arkward for all players not just ametuers. I dont think their is a specific club that you should hit for that yardage. Ive used everything from a 58 to an 8iron from that distance.

some players and teachers get into the mechanical aspects of it 1/4 swing 1/2 etc..but i dont think that works. It all comes down to you and the awareness of the clubhead and the feel that you have. You cant teach or learn being consistantly good from that distance. Its one of those things you have or you dont, IMO.

[goblue107501]

50-60 yard pitches are hard and arkward

Agree 100%. Especially the last couple of statements. You just have to figure it out.

[shamsone]

110 yds with a 56* wedge?

yeah im actually going to get my irons checked cause i think they have gotten stronger. but one of my problems is over swinging and tyring to kill the ball on every shot. also i took a lesson and the pro was just teaching me little tricks on putting spin on the ball and controlling distances. i think i took too much advice and started trying to put spin on every shot which gives me no feel on pitch shots. i'm going to experiment more with doing the 9 o clock, 1030 and 730 half swing. my guess is my main problem is my tempo.

[alcorn]

I think most people over complicate this. To me I'll play my 52 100 yards and in to about 20yd because I know how far a full, 3/4, and half swing are going to go and generally have better luck controlling distance and getting the right roll on the ball with this club. But I've also learned over the years to play the knock down 8 irons - PW, and Flop and afew other shots that I'll use when I need to. My advice is learn where you hit your wedges at full, half and 3/4 swings and then work on some other shots that can come in useful.

[TheNatural]

I want a 64*!!!!

[kafka01]

110 yds with a 56* wedge?

David, that seems like a rather large gap? I carry 50/54. My 50 is around 115 and my 54 105-100 and my 60 around 85 if i would actually use it for a full swing - we are talking standard full swings right?

BTW - thanks for the vids - really like this guy...

[David in FL]

David, that seems like a rather large gap? I carry 50/54. My 50 is around 115 and my 54 105-100 and my 60 around 85 if i would actually use it for a full swing - we are talking standard full swings right?

With a higher lofted wedge like the 56* my "full" swing is prob something a little shy of a "full" swing with the 52*. Call it 90% or so......and very controlled. FWIW, I find it much easier to take just a little off the 52* than to really go after a 56* or 58*.

[wedge player]

This is a weakness i can never seem to figure out. How do you guys control your distances say you have a 65 yard pitch shot? or any distance inside a full swing. Right now all i carry is a 56 and 52 degree wedge. 56 goes 110 and 52 goes 120 yards. I'm familiar with the dave pelz 3x4 method and kinda use that to control distance but some days i'll fly a green and other days i'll hit it short 10-20 yards short. Anyways how do you guys hit these shots?

my 56 is good for 125 and 60 is 105 so all i can say is practice,practice,practice

[Neco]

Those videos were GREAT! Thanks a lot.