Texas Wedge

[Dave2512]

Yeah all about the condition of the grass in front of the ball. I've gotten to the point where I chip mostly everything just because the fringe is so bad but that could change in summer conditions.

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strandly

I putt from off the green all the time if it's a tight lie.  20-30 yards is silly though.

There are lots of silly people playing the British Open.

British Open courses are set up for that sort of shot too, unlike most US courses.

[Pretzel]

I have no issues putting from off the green, provided that the fringe is mown relatively short and it isn't beat up. Most of the courses I play don't fit that bill, and a putt ends up being completely inaccurate due to how much it bounces if you're even a yard off the green. On the nicer courses though it's a very viable play just because a putt will usually, or almost always, end up being more consistent than a chip.

[turtleback]

British Open courses are set up for that sort of shot too, unlike most US courses.

Yes.  Point being that it is silly to call a shot silly when the best players in the world will do it under the right circumstances.  Just because a shot can only be played when the circumstances allow it doesn't make it a silly shot.

[ChrisWev]

I wouldn't dream of putting when 20-30 yards from the green, no matter how well mown it was. I couldn't handle the comments from my mates and they would be in my head before I even went to hit it. The chat in the bar would be relentless.

Not being able to chip or pitch from 20-30 yards will hurt you when there's an obsticle or rough in the way.

Personally I also wouldn't want to either, I'd rather tryand be a better all round player (ie can at least play most shots to a half decent level) rather than relying on the putter as it's least likely to fail. Saying that I don't play smart golf, I play to enjoy my golf, but because I enjoy it more I play more, so I get better quicker.

[Rick Martin]

I used to play with a guy back when I was in the military that putted anytime he was, I would say 20-30 yards from the green if he didn't have to get it in the air.  He was around a 9 handicap at the time.

I haven't seen any one do that since, that I can remember.

Anyone else do that?

that might have been me - where were you stationed?

that's how you handle a case of the full blow chipping yips

[jsgolfer]

that might have been me - where were you stationed?

that's how you handle a case of the full blow chipping yips

Clark AB, Philippines - Sep 85-Feb 86

Subic Bay, Philippines - Feb 86 - Mar 88 (I was on an Air Force Detachment to the Naval Base)

[dkolo]

I wouldn't dream of putting when 20-30 yards from the green, no matter how well mown it was. I couldn't handle the comments from my mates and they would be in my head before I even went to hit it. The chat in the bar would be relentless.

Not being able to chip or pitch from 20-30 yards will hurt you when there's an obsticle or rough in the way.

Personally I also wouldn't want to either, I'd rather tryand be a better all round player (ie can at least play most shots to a half decent level) rather than relying on the putter as it's least likely to fail. Saying that I don't play smart golf, I play to enjoy my golf, but because I enjoy it more I play more, so I get better quicker.

It really depends on the situation. I agree, I hate putting from even the fringe, but sometimes it's the right play. Pinehurst last year for the Open, for instance. Or sometimes you have a short pin or a big downslope and a chip doesn't make as much sense. It does unreasonably drive me nuts though when I see high handicappers putting from 3 inch rough 10 feet off the green (and I really shouldn't care, it's just the same reaction I get when I see Adam Scott's long putter, haha).

[RFKFREAK]

I've never heard of the term, "Texas Wedge," before, haha.

That said, I'll put off the fringe if I think it's the right play.

My problem is most of the time, I think something is the right play when the complete opposite is the right play.

[anthony]

Putt from 30 yards? Never. I mean, why? I guess if your wedge game is that bad, do what you have to. That just seems crazy to me. I won't even putt from the fringe in morning rounds due to condensation slowing the ball down.

[rkim291968]

Putt from 30 yards? Never. I mean, why? I guess if your wedge game is that bad, do what you have to. That just seems crazy to me. I won't even putt from the fringe in morning rounds due to condensation slowing the ball down.

I don't but I have seen this when I play the Bandon Dunes courses this spring.   Fairways were very tight.  On number of holes, it was hard to tell where fairway ends and green begins.   I wasn't used to chipping from such tight lies and had lot of trouble with my short game.   After awhile, I listened to my caddy and putt from everywhere.

[dbuck]

There are many very good golfers ams and pros alike who will use that shot when it is appropriate.

Personally, I don't often use it more than 10-12 feet off the green, but maybe I should. There are really good chippers like Floyd in his day who were more likely to chip.

The old adage is that your best chip will be as good as your worst putt, given appropriate conditions.

[ChrisWev]

Or sometimes you have a short pin or a big downslope

Nobody mentioned tight pins and downslope, lol!

Saying that I've had rounds/ holes where I've already admitted defeat or not been playing competitively and I've opened the face on my 64 degree from a ridiculous position behind a bunker with a very tight pin on a down downhill slope then thinned it through the green or straight into the bunker wall, trying to get very close. But also it's trying things like that which have got me out of some deep trouble to win holes and save par from ridiculous positions. You look like a clown when you mess up, but the hole/ round is over anyway so no problem. Get one right though and it's makes you love the game more and it's something to talk about in the bar, one way or another . Seems to me out of four that I'll get up and down with one, I'll thin one and it's game over and the other two will end up in a crappy position on the green (2 putt) where I would have been if I had taken my medicine anyway. Obviosuly they would have been impossible for someone to use a putter, but they're obviosuly not confident with a wendge so it's going to be three shots for them anyway.

[David in FL]

I'll putt off the fringe, but rarely ever further out. My father in law putts out of green side bunkers, true story, it's hilarious and he gets the ball into the middle of the green the majority of the time.

There are a lot of golfers that don't get out and onto the green from green side bunkers the majority of the time. Some should take note. ;-)

[Jakester23]

There are a lot of golfers that don't get out and onto the green from green side bunkers the majority of the time. Some should take note. ;-)

Are you sure I thought it's easier to get up and down from the sand than it is from the middle of the green

[DaveP043]

Its interesting to read some of the comments that link the use of a putter from well off the green to an inability to chip properly.  In my mind, the putt from well off the green is simply another tool to be considered when choosing the best shot to try.

Consider a green with a dip in the fairway just in front.  The turf is very tight, and the ground is firm, and you've just reached the beginning of the dip, so you have a downhill lie.  The pin is near the front.  What are your choices?  Lob wedge to carry the dip, and hope the ball stops.....chip into the face of the dip, hope the ball bumps up and stops....putter through the dip, and hope the ball stops.  In this situation, the putt has the best chance of getting the ball close, at least for me, and the lob wedge has the least chance for success.  Like I said before, I really don't see the appropriate turf conditions around home, but when I've traveled to the NC sandhills, or to Scotland, I expect form fairways and very tight turf. Take a look below, and tell me how you're going to get close to this pin.

[ghalfaire]

I will use a putter if I am just a few feet (2-3) off the green.  But if more than that and a tight lie I use my 5 hybrid with a putting grip out to about 30 feet off.  Of course depending up lie and an open line to the pin.

[Mac62]

I'd be putting that with a 3H.  Chipping/pitching from a tight lie like that (and a downhill lie to boot) leaves a good chance of hitting it thin, and I don't have the confidence that I could stop a chip/pitch close to the pin.  It's virtually 100% certainty that I could get it closer with a putt.  IMO there's not only one good answer, though - it comes down to what part of one's game they're more confident in.