Inside 100 Yards

[wrx_junki]

How do you approach shots that are inside 100 yards?

I shoot about the same regardless if the couse is shorter or not since sometimes I am left with pitch shots around 50-80 yards where I am not accurate. Occasional duffs here and there as well on those shots trying to baby them. I was wondering how people practice these shots. I would put myself in the category of a feel player and mostly use my gap wedge in the distances around 50-100 yards. This I believe has been holding back my game as well as putts after GIR.

[acegolfer]

If you go to a range and hit 30 balls, how many do you practice shots less than 100 yds?

[Keep It Simple]

Never try to "baby" a shot in your short game. We do this out of instinct and fear of hitting the ball too far. The secret is to learn how to adjust your set-up depending on your lie and distance from the green. Then trust that set-up and swing with good speed accelerating through the ball. What changes the most depending on the situation is the clubface loft. We can open the face, move the ball forward and back, whatever needs to be done so we can swing through the ball without having to baby the shot.

I have seen tour players warming up around the practice green hitting wedge shots with a full swing at full speed hitting the ball literally only 10 yards. The ball pops straight up in the air and plops straight down on the green with a little bounce and no roll.

[bogeyhitter25]

Inside of 100 yards is where I'm best. I practice these shots (including puttin) about 80%. My crazy uncle is trying to make his own 5-hole golf course where the longest hole is 120 yards, so that's where I'm going to be spending a lot of my time this summer.

[Harmonious]

You have to be aggressive with your short shots. Vary the length of your backswing to adjust for carry distance, but never "baby" the forward swing.

From Dave Pelz' Short Game Bible, I gleaned the following great information::

Learn how far you hit a 1/4 swing (leading arm only goes back to 7:30 on a clock face) pitching wedge, sand wedge and lob wedge. For example, for me those distances are 55, 43 and 29 yards. Learn how far you hit a 1/2 swing (leading arm just goes back to parallel, or 9:00) pitching, sand and lob wedge. Again, for me, it's 75, 60 and 45 yards. Learn how far you hit a 3/4 swing (leading arm goes up to about 10:30) for those clubs. Again for me, it's 100, 80 and 65 yards. Armed with that info, I can take the appropriate club based on the situation, such as pin position, length of rollout needed, etc.

[James_Black]

100 yards is a 54* for me.
inside of 80 yards and it's a 60*

if your course has a practice hole then practice wedge shots inside of 100 yards.
If not try and find a pitch and putt course in your area. They're fun and are cheap.

[martytilma]

You have to be aggressive with your short shots. Vary the length of your backswing to adjust for carry distance, but never "baby" the forward swing.

I use this same system. I have I have 1/2, 3/4 and full swing distances with all of my wedges. I made a little cheat sheet that I carry in my pocket for quick reference when I'm out on the course. I carry 4 wedges so that gives me a wide range of distances to use from. For examply: if I have 75 yards I can use anything from a 1/2 PW, 3/4 SW or a full LW. I make my decision based on my lie and how much green I have to work with.

[Jonnydanger81]

I love playing inside 100 yards, but I only use my sand wedge with various swings. I carry a 56* wedge, but it's really just for flopping the ball close to the green if I need to carry a bunker or have no green to work with. I grew up just carrying a PW and SW so I've always stuck with just those 2 and PW is closer to 120 to 130. I'm not a huge fan of using so many different wedges, it seems like it gives people some excuses not to hit a good shot, saying they should have used their 56 instead of their 60 or something.

[GolfBear]

If you practice enough with your wedges you'll get them dialed in. I'd recommend you carry at least three wedges. PW, Gap Wedge and a 56 degree sand wedge. If you can stay under 14 and add a LW that's even better but if you're not going to practice A LOT with it don't bother. I've seen a lot of players get into trouble trying to overuse a lob wedge and they spend a lot of time sliding the clubhead under the ball or chunking shots in the fairway.

Practice your 3 or 4 wedges with 1/2, 3/4 and full swings. You never should be swinging out of your shoes with a wedge in your hand, think "smooth" not "hard". Once you've got your distances dialed in then you'll actually look forward to hitting them. I saw a tip once where the guy (it may have been Pelz) suggested that you write your distances on the shaft so you'll know what your 1/2, 3/4 and full distances are with each club. I'm not sure if that's legal though so I wrote them in my yardage book.

When you spend enough time hitting wedges on the range you'll be able to feel where the shot is going. Way back when I had a lot more time for golf I used to go to a local range after it closed and hit 4-5 shag bags full with just my SW. Not only was my short game formidable but it helped my tempo in my long game.

[WUTiger]

Dave Pelz idea of charting different length swings with different wedges is the ideal way to do it. But, you have to work on this once you get your chart made.

Suggestion from several teaching pros: On days when your partial wedges simply aren't working, stay out of the 40-100 yard range. That way, you'll only have to deal with short pitches or full wedges.

[ComebacKid]

I take my 100 yard club which is my lob wedge. It's actually more like 92 yards, but good enough. Then for a 25 yard shot swing to your knees and make sure you accelerate and follow through, 50 yards is waist, and 75 is half way between the top of your back swing and waist.

[CalBoomer]

Read Dave Pelz.

[acegolfer]

For examply: if I have 75 yards I can use anything from a 1/2 PW, 3/4 SW or a full LW. I make my decision based on my lie and how much green I have to work with.

Can you elaborate the last sentence? When to use 1/2 PW, 3/4 SW and a full LW?

[James_Black]

Can you elaborate the last sentence? When to use 1/2 PW, 3/4 SW and a full LW?

A 1/2 PW will go lower and run out more so I guess he uses it if he's into the wind or has a lot of green to work with.

A 3/4 SW will go mid height (I'd say that's what he uses most of the time) and run out less than the PW. The LW will go into the air stay there and drop straight down onto the green. Learning how to hit those shots will take a long time to hit them reliably.

[DavidFehertysBike]

I practice most of the time with wedges inside 100 yards. When im working on mechanics at the range im usally hitting to a target 70 yards in front of me. Over time, you build a muscle memory of how to hit those distances with different clubs without even knowing it.

[saevel25]

Go to the short game area at a local golf course

Hit 50 shots with irons 7-LW from intervals out from the green, at all 4 sides. Get a feel at which club works best. You will find that more than likely its the least lofted club

[Breaking 80]

Dave Pelz idea of charting different length swings with different wedges is the ideal way to do it. But, you have to work on this once you get your

I just started using this suggestion a couple of weeks ago and it has worked wellf or me. I used to think I needed to try and hit the ball as close the green as possible every time. Now I know that I'm very confident when swinging a full PW or 9-iron so if I'm having a day where I just can't seem to get my partial wedges working, I'll club down to leave myself a full PW or 9-iron into the green.

[snowman0157]

Seems like I recall reading some research that for mid-high handicappers, the best strategy is to get the ball as close to the green as possible rather than necessarily laying up to full wedge distance.... better probability to get up and down. This is usually how I play although yes, you can get some uncomfortable distances; that's when you need to know and use your Pelz chart.