Its time to hone my wedges in...

[Lemay427]

What has everyone done to hone their wedge game in? Do you hit different yardages by feel or by mechanics (shortening the backswing)? Any good articles or books on this?

I have been a feel player my entire time playing (13yrs) but I think its time to get more accurate with these clubs and start scoring.

Thanks

[David in FL]

You play to a 3.2 and don't score well with your wedges?

Seems to me that whatever you're doing is working pretty well.

[Lemay427]

Yes I actually im playing to a 2.9 right now with a horrible wedge game. When I say horrible, I mean I do not get it as close as I would like. 20 feet is unacceptable from 100 yards and in to me. Distance control is my biggest problem.

[Bump-n-MI]

I seem to spend more time practicing shots inside 110 yds then anything else. My home track is short (6400 yds) and I have quite a few approach shots inside 110. I usually spend a minimum of 1-2 hours a week just hitting my 53-60* wedges. Pick a hole, grab a 100 balls, and go to work! GIR % has increased this year (still not where I want to be but I am slowly improving) and my total putts per round is dropping….which I can obviously attribute to closer approach shots.

[goblue107501]

I just figured out the distances with each wedge by choking down and adjusting the backswing. Mostly just trial and error over the years. Nothing magical about it, you just have to remember the feel for each distance and how far the ball goes with a particular grip and backswing combination.

For me, having a rangefinder really helped. I know on the course if I am 78 yards from the flag, so if I am short or long, I can adjust my swing/grip combination the next time I am in that same range. I wold say once I figured out the regular distances, I can be +/- 4-5 yards on a wedge shot. All of my distance control issuse were cleaned up once I knew how far I actually hit each club.

[CG031]

Yes I actually im playing to a 2.9 right now with a horrible wedge game. When I say horrible, I mean I do not get it as close as I would like. 20 feet is unacceptable from 100 yards and in to me. Distance control is my biggest problem.

So basically you feel your not getting enough legitimate birdie chances?

I seem to spend more time practicing shots inside 110 yds then anything else. My home track is short (6400 yds) and I have quite a few approach shots inside 110. I usually spend a minimum of 1-2 hours a week just hitting my 53-60* wedges. Pick a hole, grab a 100 balls, and go to work! GIR % has increased this year (still not where I want to be but I am slowly improving) and my total putts per round is dropping….which I can obviously attribute to closer approach shots.

Yeah, this is what I do as well. Usually spend a ton of time practice my scoring irons and wedges.

Granted, I'm really in no place to tell you to improve your game as your far ahead of me being a 2.9 handicap and me a 10.3...but this is one way I improved my wedge game is just by spending a ton of time practicing at the range. Also like GoBlue said, you can get very accurate and feel how far each club goes by taking a shorter swing/choking down.

[iacas]

You play to a 3.2 and don't score well with your wedges?

Since taking lessons my handicap has dropped to 1.7, but my wedge game is currently horrible. All the 3/4, 1/2, and 1/4 yardages I had on my wedges before are now off by about 15-20 yards. So yeah, I can see how he feels the way he feels about his wedge game. I've missed the green from 70 yards in the past week because I wasn't sure of the yardage and my swing.

That said, now that I feel I'm hitting the ball consistent distances, I plan to go re-calibrate my own wedges pretty soon here. Tournament is in a month, and I'll need to be confident in them by then.

[Lemay427]

Ya I guess I was hoping to find something I could read or try without spending the countless hours on the practice range....

I am going to ask the guy at the driving range where I have my range pass if I can put some more flags out at different yardages and write down my thoughts for each yardage.

This weekend really made me realize where my strong points are in my game. We played a relative short track with most of the par 4's around 400, some shorter. I hit very nice drives and good irons into par 3's but didnt give myself enough close putts on the 50-100 yard approach shots.

[Zeph]

I never got exact measurement of how far I'm from the green within 100 yards. I can't see myself checking how long backswing I take and I definately will have a hard time being consistant with the speed. I'm feel all the way. Like someone said, if you can pick up the ball and throw it close to the flag you've got the feel to hit it close also if you got the mechanics in place. Even if you're good with different swing length, how do you judge the distance and what about if you're between two lengths?

[Bump-n-MI]

Since taking lessons my handicap has dropped to 1.7, but my wedge game is currently horrible. All the 3/4, 1/2, and 1/4 yardages I had on my wedges before are now off by about 15-20 yards. So yeah, I can see how he feels the way he feels about his wedge game. I've missed the green from 70 yards in the past week because I wasn't sure of the yardage and my swing.

Have you ever though about adding another wedge? Seems like your 17* 909H may overlap with your 3 iron. Starting this year I dropped my 3 iron, 54*, and 58* wedges. Now I use 53, 56, and 60* wedges which helped my short yardage distance control immensely.

This weekend really made me realize where my strong points are in my game. We played a relative short track with most of the par 4's around 400, some shorter. I hit very nice drives and good irons into par 3's but didnt give myself enough close putts on the 50-100 yard approach shots.

See above..

Not sure what bounce your 56* is but I found it difficult to scale back when using my SW from tight lies (way too many thin shots). I use to have a 56-14 now I have a 56-10. Definitely has helped me make more solid contact from the fairway.

[billm408]

What has everyone done to hone their wedge game in? Do you hit different yardages by feel or by mechanics (shortening the backswing)? Any good articles or books on this?

While a lot depends on the kind of shot I want to hit, I use a combination of both. I know from measured swings how far I hit my wedges. It's the in between distances that require more feel on the course.

For me, my wedge game improved by leaving myself full shots in. Playing from hole to tee probably saved me 2-3 strokes round. YMMV.