Full Swing With A Wedge?

[KyleAnthony]

ok so lately i have not been taking full swings with my wedges, except PW. my PW goes 135 so anything below that i use a 3/4 swing (ex. 3/4 9 iron = 120, 3/4 50* = 95 yards, etc…) how many of you guys out there take full swings with wedges. like your 56* or 50* or any other wedge? are you consistent with it?

[boogielicious]

I do depending on the shot.  I will take a full shot with my 58 if I need all carry to the hole at about 85 yards.  My 54 is 100 yards and 50 is 110.  Late in the fall I switched to a 52 instead of the 50/54.  Below 85, I will use either the 52 or 58 depending on the trajectory I want.

[Golfingdad]

I will take full swings with my wedges, sure.

If we assume no wind or elevation or any other outside forces, then my usual distances are about 150 for a 9 iron, 135-140 for a PW, and 125 for my UW (50*).  Then it drops down to about 110 for my sand wedge ... and that is maxed out, full 100% swing.  I'd prefer not to take that type of swing with my sand wedge, but for now, it's a little more reliable than an 80% UW.  So, where I can get into trouble is with a 115 yard shot.  My SW won't reach that far and I've not practiced the 80% UW enough to be comfortable with it, so I'll usually let the situation dictate that shot.  If a pin in the back, I'll go SW and at least assure myself I'm not going long.  If its in the front, then missing a little long won't hurt me, so I'll try the UW.

Anything less than 110 still usually is a SW - I rarely take full swings with my 59*, heck I barely use my 59* at all for that matter - with partial swings all the way down to 40-45 yards.  From that point in, I'm pitching it ... with the same 54.5* SW.

[MS256]

When I'm playing my best I hit all of the clubs in my bag with "full swings" although (regrettably) I do have to make adjustments on the fly for the distances my "full swing" shots are going on any given day. When I get inside of the yardage of my shortest club I take something off of whatever club I think fits for the trajectory I want and the lie I have.

When I'm not playing my best golf I do better if I consider almost every shot a "feel shot" and pick a club in the neighborhood and swing it only as hard as it takes to go the distance I'm trying to hit it. Sort of like hitting a pop fly to an infielder or a pop fly to the center fielder using the same bat.

The 3/4 thing doesn't work well for me at all because I can hit the ball just as far with a 3/4 swing as I can with a full swing. Didn't take me long trying that method and seeing balls fly 20 yards over the green to figure out it might work well for others but not for me.

Edit: And for the record "full swings" to me don't mean 100% all out effort (for any club). Feels more like around 90%.

[GaijinGolfer]

I never take a full swing with my wedges.  Wedges are all about control, not power; so I take a little off it for more control.

[RayG]

If I'm at the yardage for the various wedges, then it's a full swing. That may change depending on wind, lie, and other factors.

[KyleAnthony]

so for everyone who takes full swings with their wedges. are you very consistent with them? how does the higher rate of spin effect your shots?

[Tee2Trees]

I play golf for fun, not competition, so for me I'd rather hit full shots whenever possible as it gives me more of a sense of satisfaction.  That said, my wedge shots are fairly reliable but they go super high and not very far, probably 85 +/- 3 yds for my 55 degree.  Of course this makes sticking the green a non-issue, but an occasional mis-hit is a possibility.

[KyleAnthony]

i know when i was hitting my 56* and my 60* full i wasn't very consistent with them. maybe 80% with my 56* and 65% with my 60* i would tend to hit them thin on my misses due to how short they are

[RayG]

That's why I take a full swing- The yardages are consistent. If, for example, I am 120 out, a full PW should put me close. If it's 115, then a half inch choke down and take a full swing. It is much easier to adjust with choking down with a full swing than adjusting the "power" of the swing. Yes, there are times when a half swing comes in handy, bu those would be for specific situations.

[boogielicious]

so for everyone who takes full swings with their wedges. are you very consistent with them? how does the higher rate of spin effect your shots?

My wedge shots will hop and stop when I hit them correctly with a full swing.  I will only get spin back on a decent slope and then only a foot or two unless it is a steep slope.  They are the best clubs in my bag currently.

[LuciusWooding]

I find that I don't need to take a full length swing, but I do need to complete my swing. Last year I would hit really bad shots with my short clubs whenever I didn't use some power and set up like an iron, and I thought it was best to just use the shortest club possible or choke up but use the same full swing. Now I take a partial backswing with controlled wrist set, and then swing my arms all the way through to the top and rotate my body to the same follow through as I would from hitting a tee shot. I almost never choke up anymore unless I'm hitting a ball above my feet or my backswing is restricted.

I'm getting a lot better distance control as a result, though I do better from 80-150 yards because I haven't honed my touch as well from inside that range. On most courses when I play strategic tee shots, I'm in the 80-150 yard range a lot, but the 20-60 range not so much, so I spend a lot less time preparing for the latter.

I have been hitting my PW from a wide range of distances lately because it matches the iron set which I like very much, in terms of being able to aim the face, its similar feel, and its forgiveness. The 54 and 60 are blades with a bit more of a round profile and I also need to be wary of hitting them hard because it's harder to control the flight and spin than the PW. The blades are more versatile in terms of the lie, and they also open up nicer than the rest of the set.

[jbishop15]

I take full swings with all my wedges (I carry a 60*, a gap, and a pitching wedge; 120, 140, and 150 yards distance) about two-thirds the time. I try to play to distances like that so I can take full swings. I trust it more.

[Ernest Jones]

I full swing my wedges all the time.

[Dave2512]

so for everyone who takes full swings with their wedges. are you very consistent with them? how does the higher rate of spin effect your shots?

For me if I am far enough out to take a full swing, not a pitch etc. it depends on more on how successful I am getting my weight forward. If I don't make good contact and hit even a little behind the ball it comes off the face high distance is inconsistent. But really the lie, hole placement and risk all factor into it. Only one course I play has greens where spin happens everywhere else the ball practically sticks in the green. Inside 75 yards I'm playing it safe and pitching it.

[Lihu]

I recently had the opportunity of hitting wedges out of deep rough. That is, deep enough that I could not see the ball until I was directly on top of it. Lost three balls in the stuff, yesterday. There was no way I could take a partial swing and cut through the grass. So, I guess it depends upon the situation. On a fringe or approach, partial swings work great. From deep rough, full swing possibly 3/4 swing. I would rather change the loft through setup and make a full swing from deep rough.

[Truegolf]

If I take a full swing with my wedges I will hook it everytime. I like practicing my wedge starting from 60 yards Use half swing and move back to 90 yards and take club 3/4 Experiment with three wedges with different loft and I have everything covered to the 140 yard without having to hit a full swing