How do you hit your wedges different lengths (outside of 80 yards)?

[rustyredcab]

Gioguy21 -- no offense taken.  My guess is that your ball striking consistency is the key to your scores more than your strategy of opening the face to change distances. I'll bet you're also good off of hard-pan and sandless bunkers. I envy great ball striking and know it is a key toward dropping a few more points off my handicap. I just look for the easiest way to hit the ball consistently. For me, the less that changes from swing to swing the better. That's why, when I can, I choke up to shorten the distance. I find it the easiest way for me to take a few yards off a shot. On my home course, I get a lot of approach shots from 80-135 yards. This affords lots of club options based on how much I wish to choke up the club and how high I wish yo hit the ball. I can choke up on a 9-iron and flight it lower than a full swinging sand wedge. Even on full swings at normal length, I find that I can be "a groove" low or a touch fat on many shots. I worry about the additional negative impact of adding loft and being a little off. Again, for those of you who strike the ball that consistently, I tip my hat to you. Maybe I'll get there.

[Gioguy21]

Originally Posted by rustyredcab

Gioguy21 -- no offense taken.  My guess is that your ball striking consistency is the key to your scores more than your strategy of opening the face to change distances. I'll bet you're also good off of hard-pan and sandless bunkers. I envy great ball striking and know it is a key toward dropping a few more points off my handicap. I just look for the easiest way to hit the ball consistently. For me, the less that changes from swing to swing the better. That's why, when I can, I choke up to shorten the distance. I find it the easiest way for me to take a few yards off a shot. On my home course, I get a lot of approach shots from 80-135 yards. This affords lots of club options based on how much I wish to choke up the club and how high I wish yo hit the ball. I can choke up on a 9-iron and flight it lower than a full swinging sand wedge. Even on full swings at normal length, I find that I can be "a groove" low or a touch fat on many shots. I worry about the additional negative impact of adding loft and being a little off. Again, for those of you who strike the ball that consistently, I tip my hat to you. Maybe I'll get there.

try this to help with ball striking...pick up a set of paveway markers or alignment sticks and lay them parallel pointing towards your target line, about an inch wider than the head of your club...then, take a towel and place it (unfolded and flat) about 6-8 inches behind the ball...take shorter swings and focus on trying to hit the center of the clubface everytime..missing the sticks and the towel. work up to hitting full shots...i promise you, it WILL help...after your ballstriking improves and you're comfortable/confident (the hardest part of all of this) then work on using one wedge...hitting 50 balls and saying to yourself, "ok, the first 10 are going to be straight pitch shots, ball back in stance, etc" ...'the next 10 are going to be pitches'...'the next 10 are going to be lobs, open the club face to 2 oclock, open stance so my feet are at a 45* angle to my target...'...and do this until you find a specific shot you have trouble with, and sprinkle it in more than the others.

you can get there alot faster than you think...don't say 'maybe i'll get there', i have faith you can get there without a doubt. best of luck on wearin that quarter sized mark on your irons ;)

-Paul G

[delav]

I understand your dilemma, and it's these types of shots and skills that will really help your game progress.  Learning to hit shots that float and sit, versus those that stay down and spin will benefit your skills from any distance.

I'd grab a few large buckets of range balls and dedicate a few days to learning how to play a variety of shots with your current wedges.  Pick a target short of your full shot, and develop confidence hitting different wedges high and low, as well as left-to-right and right-to-left into these distances.  If you want to save some money, grab a shag bag and find a practice area where you can do this for free, using a bucket as your target and pacing these distance.

[Kieran123]

PW 45 145-155y club

GW 48 100-140y club

SW 54 sand only, sometimes chipping

LW 60 flops, high chips and some pitching

Hardest thing in all of ti is judging distance. That all comes down to feel for me and and very rarely changing ball position 9 only in sand and with 60* ) but I will just swing softer but still accelerate through the ball. If you do not accelerate through, you will probably chunk it or thin it.