How to "Flight" Your Wedges and Short Irons

[Jakester23]

Alright; I'll give it a try at the range. At the moment, 140 yards out to the middle is between a 7- and a 6-iron for me (depending on hazards). But I had a few moments today when I would have liked to take a few yards off a wedge ; I think I could have saved at least a stroke or two (thinking back) off my still-nice 84. So I'll give this a try with a few balls during a few future range sessions. Thanks!

This is a little OT but if your only looking to take a few yards off (especially on a wedge) just choke down 2 inches or so. With my wedges I can take about 10 yards off just by choking down 2 inches or so.

[mvmac]

Alright; I'll give it a try at the range. At the moment, 140 yards out to the middle is between a 7- and a 6-iron for me (depending on hazards). But I had a few moments today when I would have liked to take a few yards off a wedge; I think I could have saved at least a stroke or two (thinking back) off my still-nice 84.

Yeah I was just giving a general yardage, basically short irons to your wedges.

Nice round!

[WatchOutLeft]

I pulled of this shot pretty successfully a few times today. Hit a 9 iron 110 yards with one that worked out well and used it every time I hit my SW on approaches. Was much better at getting on greens from under 80 yards with my SW than usual and my misses were much better for the most part.

I still have a hard time with decelerating on anything other than a stock full shot. I really need to hammer it into my brain before I take my swing not to decelerate, just take a shorter swing. I had a 60 yard shot that I was using my SW for and took some ridiculous slow, decelerating , flippy swing and hit the ball like 30 yards. Not at all a flighted shot even though that was what I was planning on attempting.

I love that about golf. There are so many things to remember and I tend to remember them milliseconds after hitting a shot where I forgot one of those things.

[todgot]

I notice that when I take a less than full shot I get a little out of sequence with my body and will end up pulling it a lot of the time. I wonder it I subconsciously knowing I'm not taking the full shot so try to pull it to get the additional yardage. Something to work on...

[Golfingdad]

I notice that when I take a less than full shot I get a little out of sequence with my body and will end up pulling it a lot of the time. I wonder it I subconsciously knowing I'm not taking the full shot so try to pull it to get the additional yardage. Something to work on...

LOL ...

I've been practicing this week at the range on this shot and while the overall results are overwhelmingly good so far, I have noticed that my most common miss is a fairly severe pull. I imagine that I'm just out of sequence a bit and it'll take some more practice, but I'm optimistic at this point.

Have actually adjusted my practice at the range such that when I'm swinging with my wedges and 9 iron, I'm going at 3/4 exclusively right now.  No more full swings with those clubs for the time being.

[billchao]

I thought about this thread yesterday and hit a perfect flighted 7 iron into a headwind from 130 within 4' of the pin.

Flighting a shot is something I've been doing for a while, but I used to do it primarily with backswing length and downswing speed. I'd occasionally hit a full shot by accident. After reading this thread, I started to choke farther down the grip than I used to and it's giving me much more consistent results.

[Shindig]

Hit a few wedges (and a few with my 9-iron) this style at the range today. It doesn't quite feel comfortable yet, and I hit some bad ones too. I'm going to have to add it to my practice rotation before I'm comfortable pulling this out on the course.

[dchoye]

This is a great thread.

I  been "flight" my PW to 8I inside 140 yards as I feel I can be more precise to the pin.

My full swing PW often goes further than my flighted 8iron.

[jakester]

I get why a pro would and can do it... most guys got shots with little spin and need to hit it high to stop it on the green. as for distance control, I know exactly how far my wedges go with a full swing... when I'm in between and have to use the system you're describing I'm pretty accurate but really like to end up approachin from full swing distances...

[Crazycanuck44]

Great thread I was actually doing this the other day at my courts and it works well. Just have to keep my head from going forward to prevent pulls. Which btw I did not know about till I read this thread. That is why I'm a supporter great site with great info. :)

[Hollister]

Zack Johnson's set-up for a flighted high spinning wedge shot explained.

45 degrees of spin loft maximes the spin - hitting down -3 deg. with a 48 deg. pitching wedge would be optimal. And off to the range we go...

[iacas]

45 degrees of spin loft maximes the spin - hitting down -3 deg. with a 48 deg. pitching wedge would be optimal. And off to the range we go...

That would be 51° spin loft, but he doesn't return the handle at 0° and thus the club at 48°. He probably returns the handle around 38-40° or so.

[32quattro]

Zack Johnson's set-up for a flighted high spinning wedge shot explained.

This specific instruction on the set up and spin/flight by Zach Coach should be a Top 10 Wedge Instruction All Time.

[saevel25]

I wouldn't really advocate putting the ball back in the stance that much. You can still flight your wedges with the ball more towards the middle of your stance. For Zach it works because he's really really good. It takes a lot of precision to hit the ball that solid from that far back in the stance.

[Hollister]

That would be 51° spin loft, but he doesn't return the handle at 0° and thus the club at 48°. He probably returns the handle around 38-40° or so.

Ooops, not that I am currently supposed to do other things... Caught a break, watched a vid, did not think it out... Touche :D

Your remark puzzles me - would that be a 48° loft club head delivered at 38-40° giving it a positive attack angle of 10° to 8°?

If so, what sense does putting the ball back so far in the stance make - wouldn't it move the low point further back and make hitting up harder?

[iacas]

Ooops, not that I am currently supposed to do other things... Caught a break, watched a vid, did not think it out... Touche :D

Your remark puzzles me - would that be a 48° loft club head delivered at 38-40° giving it a positive attack angle of 10° to 8°?

If so, what sense does putting the ball back so far in the stance make - wouldn't it move the low point further back and make hitting up harder?

48° dynamic loft and -3° AoA is 51° spin loft.

If he is delivering 38-40° dynamic loft, his AoA has to be 5-7° in order to get 45° spin loft.

That's all. I think you're confusing spin loft, AoA, dynamic and static loft, etc.

[mvmac]

Going to see some flighted shots this week.

[Hatchman]

Interested in this topic although late to the table. Nice discussion and feedback. Usually play a partial to 3/4 knock down shot due to wind and few obstructions. Also, physical limitations restrict movement so this shot helps the most. I can control this shot nicely and hit it smoothly and accurately but when transitioning now to full shots with longer irons my tempo?? is off as I don't seem to fire correctly. More thin shots than I like as I sit in a my stance. I seem to want to lean back and hit it harder...need to fix. Ideas?? Thanks.