Anyone out there use one wedge for 50y and in?

[enis750]

  sean_miller said:

btw - don cherry called - he wants his putter cover back.

ba-zing! !! !! !!

[B-Con]

I use my 52* for basically everything inside of 50 yards, even bunkers. My 60* only comes out for special requirements. I will chip with a high iron only if it's a short chip and I think I have a reasonable chance of holing out.

[aloharb]

With a 14 handicap and so proficient from 80 yards in you must be all over the place off the tee, or putt real poor.

[ERdiesel]

  aloharb said:

With a 14 handicap and so proficient from 80 yards in you must be all over the place off the tee, or putt real poor.

I'm pretty sure that was directed at me. But yes, i'm a pretty crappy putter and my ball striking for approach shots has been pretty inconsistent leading to a lot of missed GIR's (though according to my Golfplan iphone app, the average # of GIR's that I get per round is slightly better than my handicap level....go figure) and forcing me to scramble. Unfortunately due to my crappy putting, i wind up two putting or worse on the green. I keep extensive stats on my game and to illustrate how bad my putting is, i actually average a higher #of putts per GIR than i do for non GIR. This is because I am usually aiming for the biggest part of the green with my approach shots as opposed to getting it close to the pin. So the average distance for putts from a GIR is much longer than for non GIR's when i'm chipping/pitching onto the green. And i struggle enough with 4+ footers, let alone 10 footers or longer. I tend to leave short or blow by the hole. Something i'm working on fixing!!!

[sean_miller]

  ERdiesel said:

. . . i actually average a higher #of putts per GIR than i do for non GIR . .

Doesn't everybody?

[MSchott]

It makes no sense to use the same club exclusively from inside 50 yards. Lets say you are 10 yards short of the green and the pin is in the back. The correct and best play is something like an 8 or 9 iron chipped to a point on the green. It then rolls like a putt towards the hole. I know there are a lot of low handicap golfers here but with practice you will get up and down more often with a low chip than a high lob.

If the pin was up front however a 60 degree wedge might be a better choice. All the books I've read say to use a variety of clubs depending on the lie, distance from the green and pin position.

[ERdiesel]

  sean_miller said:

Doesn't everybody?

Come to think of it, you're right. I don't know what I was thinking. Speaking of which.........does putting off the fringe, fairway, or short rough around the green as putting....technically? Or is putting technically when you're putting on the green and not off?

  MSchott said:

All the books I've read say to use a variety of clubs depending on the lie, distance from the green and pin position.

I guess you haven't read Stan Utley's "The Art of the Short Game". He recommends using one club for the short game.

[sean_miller]

  ERdiesel said:

Come to think of it, you're right. I don't know what I was thinking. Speaking of which.........does putting off the fringe, fairway, or short rough around the green as putting....technically? Or is putting technically when you're putting on the green and not off?

On the green only, unless maybe you putt one past the hole then right off the green, then putt it from the fringe.

Try an exaggerated putting stroke with a mid iron from the fringe or fairway - just try it.

[ERdiesel]

  sean_miller said:

On the green only, unless maybe you putt one past the hole then right off the green, then putt it from the fringe.

I actually started this spring using a variety of clubs such as the 7, 8, 9, even PW from the fringe and fairway to chip up. It got to the point where i would walk up with multiple clubs in my hands and a good single handicap player i played with frequently just told me that I should try to use one wedge, a SW or LW and take the decision making out of the process (I would take a while debating which of the clubs in my hands i would use) as well as get as much practice time and experience with a single club for those type of shots. At the range I would even practice chipping with a variety of irons but i just felt like i was splitting way too much time between way too many clubs and was becoming the master of "none" So i went with my buddy's advice and since then I haven't looked back. I can control my trajectory of chips by placing the ball forward or back (back for lower trajectory and more roll). In fact yesterday, I hit my approach shot over the green (too much club with the wind against my back) and it landed in an area with low hanging tree branches hanging out in front of my line back to the green (which was elevated with a steep slope from the back of the green) and i thought perhaps i should use a lower lofted club to keep it below the branches and catch the top of the slope and have it pop on the green, but then also knew i've practiced a more low flying chip with my 60* many times before and thought i should go with what i've practiced. And I pulled it off, where I caught the top of the slope and rolled it onto the greenside fringe on the other side (it was a downhill slope on the green from back to front so i couldn't really hope for better from where i was) without getting caught up in the branches. My goal was to chip it low enough where i would not hit one of the low hanging branches and i did do it. I guess different strokes for different folks. As I get better and get more play time in, i do believe that the natural evolution will be to use more irons and become more creative in my shot making. I just feel that right now with my limited play time, i would rather be the master of one, than the master of none.

[Gerald]

  MJP said:

I'm so comfortable with my 60 degree that I use it on every short game shot. Except the bunkers I use my 56 because it has double the bounce (14 degrees). But I open it up to at least 60 degrees so I basically only use the 60 degree.

It sounds like my game .... I went from 4 wedges, to 3 wedges, to my set's 47/06 PW plus a 58/12 Bob Vokey SM and apart from using my 8 or 9 iron for some longer bumb-n-runs I use the 58 for all green side shots up to about 40 yds. The 12 degr. bounce makes it very versatile, from hardpan to fluffy sand.

I like to carry and mostly I can play about any shot with my set of only 10-12 clubs

[TourSpoon]

  sean_miller said:

On the green only, unless maybe you putt one past the hole then right off the green, then putt it from the fringe.

The last lesson I took my guy told me that I needed to get more action on the ball. I had been using this "putting" type stroke with too many of my chips including the 54. I have been working on more of what I feel is a "handsier" type mini-swing which really helps in getting more spin on the ball which allows a little more authority in hitting an aggressive chip. The putting type stroke has served me well, but it is time to add to my repetoire.

[Kieran123]

52 degree for bump and runs or 60 for flops or shots that need to land then use the slope of the green to release towards the hole.

[sean_miller]

  TourSpoon said:

The last lesson I took my guy told me that I needed to get more action on the ball. I had been using this "putting" type stroke with too many of my chips including the 54. I have been working on more of what I feel is a "handsier" type mini-swing which really helps in getting more spin on the ball which allows a little more authority in hitting an aggressive chip. The putting type stroke has served me well, but it is time to add to my repetoire.

I my mind, "exaggerated putting stroke" is a bit wristy/handsy compared to one from the green. Think of Bobby Locke or guys like that - "ye olde school".

[MSchott]

  ERdiesel said:

Come to think of it, you're right. I don't know what I was thinking. Speaking of which.........does putting off the fringe, fairway, or short rough around the green as putting....technically? Or is putting technically when you're putting on the green and not off?

No I haven't. However I have read "Getting Up and Down" by Tom Watson who knows a little about the short game who says otherwise.

[TourSpoon]

  sean_miller said:

I my mind, "exaggerated putting stroke" is a bit wristy/handsy compared to one from the green. Think of Bobby Locke or guys like that - "ye olde school".

OK, but the putting type stroke tends to get the ball rolling more freely and the one I am trying to describe gives you that checking type action.

[ERdiesel]

  MSchott said:

No I haven't. However I have read "Getting Up and Down" by Tom Watson who knows a little about the short game who says otherwise.

as you can tell from this thread, different strokes for different folks. there is no right or wrong. it's all about what you feel most comfortable with.

[sean_miller]

  TourSpoon said:

OK, but the putting type stroke tends to get the ball rolling more freely and the one I am trying to describe gives you that checking type action.

Like an armsy punch shot with a sand wedge?

[Paradox]

  sean_miller said:

Like an armsy punch shot with a sand wedge?

I only use it when I'm short sided but what I do is use a lot of wrists and kind of pop the ball by dropping the club on the back of it. Provides a lot of check and little release. The clubhead barely moves past the original ball position for me.

I think that the biggest lesson to be learned from this thread is to let creativity happen in the short game. Don't get stuck hitting one kind of shot and "living with it". let your mind work and remember that all that matters is the result. As with all shots in golf, its 1 stroke no matter how you do it and never any more nor any less.