How to "Flight" Your Wedges and Short Irons

[Ernest Jones]

Of course it was.

Not sure I would defer to @saevel25 when it comes to typos. :-$

[saevel25]

Of course it was.

Ooops, my mind read, "feel ain't real". You see it enough times, and you just assume that it was typed that way.

Not sure I would defer to @saevel25 when it comes to typos.

There is no way I can defend myself on this.

[Golfingdad]

Ooops, my mind read, "feel ain't real". You see it enough times, and you just assume that it was typed that way. :whistle: There is no way I can defend myself on this. :-D

To be fair ... My first thought was EXACTLY the same as yours ... But then I caught it before I posted anything, Ist kndia lkie toshe wreid stnences wehre as lnog as smoe of teh ltertes are sitll in teh rhgit pacle tehn you can slitl raed it jsut fnie.

[WatchOutLeft]

So if one were to try these "flighted" shots do you have to relearn your distances or is it fairly easy to guess? Do you just figure one club more? Or do you really just have to practice this shot with all your irons and wedges and see where they come out?

[isukgolf]

I tried this a couple of times today ... work well ... for some reason there is a macho thing, to say I hit a PW (or other clubs) xx yards, ... but I like it, because I get in trouble when I try to "hit it hard"

[dkolo]

Played around with these today on the range. Tiny sample, but I literally hit the 150 and 100 yard sign posts I was aiming at. So it at least seems to help with accuracy, haha.

Curious: I'd been playing some knockdown shots in the past. Is flighting synonymous with that? I'd used slightly different technique, but I'm curious if they're different ideas or different names for the same thing.

[mvmac]

Of course it was.

Fixed.

So if one were to try these "flighted" shots do you have to relearn your distances or is it fairly easy to guess? Do you just figure one club more? Or do you really just have to practice this shot with all your irons and wedges and see where they come out?

Kind of all the above. Certainly practice it a bit on the range, figure on playing a half to a full club more. Sometimes it can even be two clubs more, Erik mentioned he might sometimes hit an 8 iron from 130 yards. Just depends on how far you take it back, if you're hitting into a lot of wind, etc.

Curious: I'd been playing some knockdown shots in the past. Is flighting synonymous with that? I'd used slightly different technique, but I'm curious if they're different ideas or different names for the same thing.

Others may have a different definition but I think of the knockdown as basically the same thing as a punch or stinger shot. Similar kind of swing as I'm talking about in this thread, just with the ball further back, close to the right foot and the followthrough is even shorter. To me the knockdown/punch/stinger shots are more specialty shots that you might only use when you have to hit it into a strong wind or under some tree limbs. I make flighted type swings every time I play, not the case with the knockdown shot.

[dkolo]

Others may have a different definition but I think of the knockdown as basically the same thing as a punch or stinger shot. Similar kind of swing as I'm talking about in this thread, just with the ball further back, close to the right foot and the followthrough is even shorter. To me the knockdown/punch/stinger shots are more specialty shots that you might only use when you have to hit it into a strong wind or under some tree limbs. I make flighted type swings every time I play, not the case with the knockdown shot.

Ok, fair enough. I'd heard in various course vlogs people saying things like "I'm going to hit a knockdown 8 iron into this green." As I've been using the term based on that as hitting an iron in lower than normal versus a punch shot which I think of a low long iron shot. Good to know.

[natureboy]

Others may have a different definition but I think of the knockdown as basically the same thing as a punch or stinger shot. Similar kind of swing as I'm talking about in this thread, just with the ball further back, close to the right foot and the followthrough is even shorter. To me the knockdown/punch/stinger shots are more specialty shots that you might only use when you have to hit it into a strong wind or under some tree limbs. I make flighted type swings every time I play, not the case with the knockdown shot.

Ok, fair enough. I'd heard in various course vlogs people saying things like "I'm going to hit a knockdown 8 iron into this green." As I've been using the term based on that as hitting an iron in lower than normal versus a punch shot which I think of a low long iron shot. Good to know.

Terminology does seem to shift. I've seen some descriptions call that a 'knockdown', with the 'punch' / 'stinger' having a similar 'held off', but very short & low follow-through with hands very ahead at impact, But some 'knockdown' versions emphasize less wrist hinge on backswing to intentionally take spin off for a low running shot into strong wind to limit ballooning.

Whatever you call it, good shot to have. Well explained.

[westcyderydin]

Great thread.

Between everything in mvmac's OP and iacas's post...lots of good stuff.

I have been noticing a lot of people that I play with hitting 1 or 2 irons lower than what I have been playing lately...lots of wind from the north lately in SW Michigan.  They try to nut their 9 iron 140 into a strong wind and I take a 7 iron, choke down on it and feel much more comfortable.

I need to start doing this more with my wedges though....with or without wind.  I think I'm getting too comfortable with taking full swings with my SW and GW and am not hitting to ball close enough to where I am aiming.

[joekelly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SavvySwede

1. Slightly reduces clubhead speed

2. You need to stand closer to the ball which equates to a steeper swing and more downward AoA

Steeper swing and more down AoA will also bring an increase in spin.  Agreed?

I can certainly see this in chipping as centered or forward ball brings higher ball flight and very little spin, more of drop and roll.  When ball back, more spin and check-up.  I find the soft dropping ball better on greens sloping away from me towards the hole.

[mvmac]

Ok, fair enough. I'd heard in various course vlogs people saying things like "I'm going to hit a knockdown 8 iron into this green." As I've been using the term based on that as hitting an iron in lower than normal versus a punch shot which I think of a low long iron shot. Good to know.

Terminology does seem to shift. I've seen some descriptions call that a 'knockdown', with the 'punch' / 'stinger' having a similar 'held off', but very short & low follow-through with hands very ahead at impact, But some 'knockdown' versions emphasize less wrist hinge on backswing to intentionally take spin off for a low running shot into strong wind to limit ballooning.

Whatever you call it, good shot to have. Well explained.

Yeah like I said I put the term knockdown in with the punch and stinger shots. If others don't it's not a big deal.

[natureboy]

Yeah like I said I put the term knockdown in with the punch and stinger shots. If others don't it's not a big deal.

I was just distinguishing, because they are all useful shots.

My guess is the Texas / American 'knockdown' is typically equivalent to a 'groove thin & quail high' punch / stinger, while I've seen the 'no wrist hinge' wide-arm swing (while clubbing up) for low spin & lots of run more from European players / instructors.

It's possible that beyond just style the spin is more of an issue for links players who play on courses that traditionally have very low if any brush so there is very little protection from ballooning even on a low-hit ball, where I expect Texas courses on average have a modest brush and tree buffer so they can get away with a bit more spin just on a lower trajectory.

[natureboy]

I was just distinguishing, because they are all useful shots. (while all meaning low)

My guess is the Texas / American 'knockdown' is typically equivalent to a 'groove thin & quail high' punch / stinger, while I've seen the 'no wrist hinge' wide-arm swing (while clubbing up) for low spin & lots of run more from European players / instructors.

It's possible that beyond just style the spin is more of an issue for links players who play on courses that traditionally have very low if any brush so there is very little protection from ballooning even on a low-hit ball, where I expect Texas courses on average have a modest brush and tree buffer so they can get away with a bit more spin just on a lower trajectory.

Got timed out by the time I found these. Some blend of the first video's knockdown description at 1:29 and the second video (talk about shifting terms - I don't think it's really a stinger if you take wrists out) is about what I was trying to describe as a 'links knockdown'. May only be useful with wedges and short irons on very high wind days or on 7th at Pebble Beach.

OT: Not sure I understand Tischler's distinction between the hand action for punch vs covering.

[WatchOutLeft]

So I played 18 today and tried this technique out. Zero practice ahead of time, just figured I would try it out. The result was a consistent 15-20 yard pull. I'm going to practice it into my net tomorrow and hopefully it's just something I need some time with. Definitely didn't see this technique being less accurate but with zero practice I'm not discouraged yet. If it continues to be a problem I might take some video and put it in my swing thread. Any obvious reasons why this would cause pulls? When I try to overcook one I usually get about the same pull and every now and then on full shots so it's not like a totally new problem for me. I was just a little surprised to see it so consistently on these shots.

[mvmac]

So I played 18 today and tried this technique out. Zero practice ahead of time, just figured I would try it out. The result was a consistent 15-20 yard pull. I'm going to practice it into my net tomorrow and hopefully it's just something I need some time with. Definitely didn't see this technique being less accurate but with zero practice I'm not discouraged yet. If it continues to be a problem I might take some video and put it in my swing thread. Any obvious reasons why this would cause pulls?

Not sure, if anything the 3/4 followthrough should help you start the ball more online. Maybe your head was moving too far forward in an effort to "cover it"?

[Jakester23]

Not sure, if anything the 3/4 followthrough should help you start the ball more online. Maybe your head was moving too far forward in an effort to "cover it"?

I sometimes have a problem with pulls as well. I thought it was because rushed my transition. This makes me think I could be moving my head forward. I'll have to get some video and check.

[colin007]

question for @iacas or @mvmac k about pros hitting their short irons lower than youd expect, but theyre taking a full swing/full follow thru and not "flighting" the ball as per this thread, how are they doing that?