Less than a full swing

[jschen]

I learned a bit of golf many years ago, but only a few months ago bought my first ever set of clubs and started really trying to learn the game. I'm taking some lessons off and on, but as my current instructor (a staff member at my parents' golf course) is 110 miles away, I'm only getting about one lesson per month. So I was hoping to get some insights here for a question that I have.

One of my bigger problems now is the total lack of clue on distances inside of a full wedge. What does one actually change on a "3/4 swing" or "1/2 swing"? Is it simply a shorter backswing, but then powering through the ball just as hard as in a full swing? Should leg/torso action be reduced, too? What about once quite close to the green? Say, on a 20 foot pitch?

Thanks for any help.

[wedstuntpuller]

anything inside of 100 yards (a full gap wedge for me) has little hip action involved... and definitely isnt a full hard follow-through. You are just going to have to get a feel for how hard YOU need to hit those shots with practice. One out of every few times I go to the range, I will just use a wedge for about half a bucket and try to hit shots 30/40/50/etc yds on the nose to see how it feels.

[WUTiger]

AboutGolf has a segment on the 7, 8 and 9 O'clock partial shots scheme for wedges. A 9 O'clock shot means that you bring your hands back to waist level - 9 on the clockface - and then follow through.

Here's the site:
http://golf.about.com/od/golftips/ss/7_8_9_pitching.htm

(I got 7 and 9 down with my old clubs, but wasn't precise enough to bring in 8 O'Clock. Need to try it again this spring with my new clubs.)

[granitegolf]

AboutGolf has a segment on the

Should be no reason for the 8 o'clock position for most players. If you hit at 7, 9 and full swing positions with your wedges you will have a ton of distances. I play with four wedges. Pitching, 50, 56, and a 60 and that makes 12 distances inside of 140 yards for me. My full Pitching is 140 and my 1/2 60 degree is about 45. I carry a little chart and refer to that on the course.

[jschen]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll try it out the next time I get to the range.

[ks8829]

Its funny you ask this question, because just the other day, I was practicing partial swings. What I discovered is that you can take a slow backswing with your hands at hip high on the backswing with a smooth but unhurried acceleration.

The most important aspect of this shorten swing is the initial set up that will make the swing much easier to perform.

Watch the video on You Tube by Mark Crossfield on "improve your short game" below and this has helped my short game more than any other video.



This second video helps with distance control

[golfdad]

one thing i would suggest is to stand in front of a larger mirror at home to get an idea what your desired partial swing looks like, before going onto the wild wild west, i mean the range. often, to get where you want to go consistently, you need a reliable, repeatable tempo . that is, you backswing a little fast, you tend to overshoot. and often, you won't realize that until you see a video playback. so look into the mirror, swing back at a good tempo that works for you and see if you can control how far to take back each time...

i have my kids working on 5 different lengths with wedges. so we call it 1,2,3,4,5

1. when the shaft parallels the ground.

2. when left arm and shaft forms a V

3. when left arm and shaft forms a L

4. pass L but short of full

5. full.

often, i challenge them by asking them to close their eyes and give me a V or L or something, to see if they can control the different settings by feel. yes, you can hit partial wedges with eyes closed

one earlier post indicates that for partial there is min hip involvement. i just want to point out that it is not misunderstood. clearly, the hip does not need to move and clear as aggressively as a driver hit, but good wedge shots, aka downward strike at the ball, no matter how small, is always based on mechanics of hip pivot. on partial shots, i insist on using no hands, wrists, arms, even shoulders (think of glove under the armpits). stand with weight mostly on leading leg and let the hips lead the chest turn. trigger with a little right knee bump toward the ball. large muscles are much more reliable than smaller ones,,,