Low Spinning Wedge

[BugDude]

Low spinning wedge shots are my favorite shots in golf.  I use a pitching wedge and a 54 degree sand wedge and pull this shot off with both of them.  Back pin and plenty of green, low spinning pitching wedge takes a big skip and hits the brakes, and rolls out slowly to a stop.  Tight tuck and it is a sand wedge.  I have actually fallen so in love with them that I hit them on little chip shots around the green...which isn't always the best choice.  I've actually fallen in love with the low punch shot with all of my irons.  Handy in the wind.

I pull it off by

1)  open my stance

2)  ball positioned in middle of stance

3)  choke down on club (depending on length of shot, my index finger may actually be on the shaft not the grip)

4)  I take a abbreviated backswing low and inside with my weight staying forward

5)  focus on trying to hit back left quadrant of the golf ball

6)  zip through the ball fast

7)  swing like you are trying to hook the shot

8)  keep the forward press through the swing and the club low on follow through

A couple of keys to the shot:

1)  Good irons with good CLEAN grooves.  El cheapo irons don't do it.  I use forged Golden Ram irons and a Titleist Vokey 54 sand wedge.  I clean my grooves before every shot.

2)  Good golf ball!!!!  I can pull this shot off easily with a Titleist Pro V 1 or similar soft cover golf ball.  Try it with a Top Flite or some other hard cheap ball and it will NEVER happen.

I hope this helps.  I've been using the low punch spinner for 20 years.  It works great on little pitch and chip shots around the green too.

[Old1964]

Originally Posted by iacas

For the incredibly low wedge with a ton of spin you can actually open the stance, swing left HARD, and use the bounce a little. The ball will come out low because the grooves grab it so much and it'll have crazy spin. Swing with zippy speed. Tough shot to pull off, though.

The trick is that shifting path left increases angle of attack quite a bit.

Pardon my lack of "golf science" talk, but the jist of what a teacher told me is that it had to do with the rate of acceleration at impact.  Does that make any sense or is that just pga mumbo jumbo?  Conversely, he said that the ball would roll out more on a wedge that had less acceleration through the impact zone.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Old1964

Pardon my lack of "golf science" talk, but the jist of what a teacher told me is that it had to do with the rate of acceleration at impact.  Does that make any sense or is that just pga mumbo jumbo?  Conversely, he said that the ball would roll out more on a wedge that had less acceleration through the impact zone.

That makes no sense. The ball is on the face for so little time that there's nowhere near enough time for the clubhead to "accelerate" or decelerate during that time (nor is there enough time for the clubface to close appreciably). The speed you hit the ball at is the speed you hit the ball at. If two shots are hit with the same impact conditions and alignments and the same instantaneous clubhead speed, but one is accelerating and one is decelerating, the ball will react identically (to within about 0.0001%).

[Old1964]

Thanks for your repsonse. It makes sense to me, I couldn't see how what he was saying could work. I sometimes wonder how many of the "teachers" could pass your "proficiency test".

Originally Posted by iacas

That makes no sense. The ball is on the face for so little time that there's nowhere near enough time for the clubhead to "accelerate" or decelerate during that time (nor is there enough time for the clubface to close appreciably). The speed you hit the ball at is the speed you hit the ball at. If two shots are hit with the same impact conditions and alignments and the same instantaneous clubhead speed, but one is accelerating and one is decelerating, the ball will react identically (to within about 0.0001%).

[tpoz777]

The shot quite simple after you learn to hit it. I am most successful when i play it back in my stance and hold the finish a little bit which causes the low trajectory and the spin factor all depends on if the ground is hard, soft, long grass, short grass but yeah thats how i hit it.

[mdl]

This is one of my go to shots (depending on how things are feeling that day) from 40-50 yards with my 54˚ for mid/back pin on a back to front or flat green.  I hit it essentially like a hard chip.  Stance slightly closed, ball just in front of rear foot, hands well in front of the ball, then take a shortish back swing and really attack the ball, DOWN, while keeping the hands well in front.  On a back to front green I can get a full hop and stop with good contact, and on a flat green it'll be more like hop, check, soft roll.

In fact, I use a similar shot sometimes on a front pin when I'm 115-120 from the center of the green.  That's in between clubs for me, so I either have to go after my 54˚ or hit a touchy 85% shot with my 46˚ PW.  I'm better at the delofted aggressive 54˚, which I hit with a slightly closed stance, ball back in stance, hands in front, then take a full, steep swing with a big divot, making sure you come along your stance line (so from the inside).  Sometimes this even overdoes the spin.  This weekend I hit it a yard or two too far, into the steep slope between two tiers in the green, and sucked it all the way back past the front pin and off the front of the green.  Easy up and down from there though at least...

[bunkerputt]

You hit it low the same way you work the ball.  Once the ball contacts the face and while it is being compressed, deloft the club the desired amount.

[norrenorre]

Change your shafts in your wedges, DG Spinner, you'll get a much lower trajectory. Also make sure that you grooves are in the best condition. Wedges turn old pretty quick.

[WUTiger]

Originally Posted by norrenorre

Change your shafts in your wedges, DG Spinner, you'll get a much lower trajectory. ...

Recent Cleveland wedge models come standard with the TRAction shaft, which give the same results as a DG Spinner. TRAction wedge flex shafts have stiff butt section to keep ball lower, but flexible tip to create more spin on partial shots.

[norrenorre]

Didn't know that about Cleveland wedges. I'm partial to Vokeys, but Cleveland makes som VERY good wedges.

[inthecup]

I get that with a well struck 3/4 wedge shot. It either stops one skip or backs up a few feet.  Inside out, hands ahead of the club face, moderate pace.  The divot is larger then a dollar bill.

I think wanting it to spin back and planning for it is marginal.  The average person does not play enough to get that kind of action consistently.