58 Degree SW Issues

[Arthur Dent]

Not hitting down on the ball, it seems.

[Arthur Dent]

Be interesting to know the club he used, distance, and shot flight.  I keep watching this.

[Mr. Desmond]

Now THAT was very interesting!

Yes, most leading edges are off the ground a bit, but if your swing is intact - weight forward and flat left wrist - all should be okay.

I had trouble with high leading edges on finesse shots when I needed to lay the shaft backwards ... it did not work so I had to do something else. Eventually, I purchased a wedge that fit what I wanted to do.

[Golfingdad]

Now THAT was very interesting!

Be interesting to know the club he used, distance, and shot flight.  I keep watching this.

Here's another.  Note the closeups when he's addressing the ball - that leading edge is well off the ground.  He doesn't need to put the ball super far back in his stance to disengage the bounce to be able to hit this shot.  And, unless there is a course out there with a diamond cart path, you're not going to find a tighter lie.

Bounce is definitely your friend ... even off of concrete!

[Tat14]

Agree 100% with @David in FL.   I've stopped using my 58 off the fairway anymore as I've improved on partial wedge shots - thanks to @mvmac 's thread mentioned above - with the "flighted" shot approach.  Now the 58 has been relegated to basically just greenside and bunker play.

I echo this sentiment. I am a much happier player now that I don't always try for a full swing option to the green. Some extra club, choked down and flight-ed is a more controllable way to go.

[Arthur Dent]

Here's another.  Note the closeups when he's addressing the ball - that leading edge is well off the ground.  He doesn't need to put the ball super far back in his stance to disengage the bounce to be able to hit this shot.  And, unless there is a course out there with a diamond cart path, you're not going to find a tighter lie.

Bounce is definitely your friend ... even off of concrete!

This was simply wonderful to watch!

Open stance, definitely hitting a bit down on it. The leading edge was definitely not touching the ground either.

And definitely a shot I will NOT be trying off a cart path.

[mvmac]

This was simply wonderful to watch!

Open stance, definitely hitting a bit down on it. The leading edge was definitely not touching the ground either.

And definitely a shot I will NOT be trying off a cart path.

I posted this earlier but I'm not sure if you looked at the thread. More on technique there and in the Quickie Pitching thread.

[Arthur Dent]

I posted this earlier but I'm not sure if you looked at the thread. More on technique there and in the Quickie Pitching thread.

THANKS!

I'm on it!

[Arthur Dent]

I posted this earlier but I'm not sure if you looked at the thread. More on technique there and in the Quickie Pitching thread.

I'm sure I'm not alone in trying to make it a lot more complicated than this video shows it to be!

Obviously something I will need to practice, which is not a bad thing.

Again, on the plus side, the 58 degree is simply a delight to hit from sand.

Thank you all for all of the information.  It has been very helpful.

[mvmac]

I'm sure I'm not alone in trying to make it a lot more complicated than this video shows it to be!

Obviously something I will need to practice, which is not a bad thing.

Again, on the plus side, the 58 degree is simply a delight to hit from sand.

Thank you all for all of the information.  It has been very helpful.

You're welcome, happy to help.

[iacas]

Be interesting to know the club he used, distance, and shot flight.  I keep watching this.

I hit that with a 60° wedge that has… 22° of bounce on it. Now, it has some heel and toe relief, and the sole isn't SUPER wide, but that's still a lot of bounce or glide. The shot would have gone high (you can see the launch angle in the freeze frame) and would have gone about 30-40 yards.

[Arthur Dent]

I hit that with a 60° wedge that has… 22° of bounce on it. Now, it has some heel and toe relief, and the sole isn't SUPER wide, but that's still a lot of bounce or glide. The shot would have gone high (you can see the launch angle in the freeze frame) and would have gone about 30-40 yards.

Thank you for that!

It makes the video even more instructive for me.

[Arthur Dent]

Interesting description of 'bounce' and how it is used here -

[dave s]

back to the OP's original question:  The reason you're hitting the 58* wedge farther when you 'close-down' the club's face is because by closing the club face you are effectively reducing loft at impact which makes the ball take off on a lower trajectory, fly and roll out farther.

If I played my 58 back in my stance and closed it down (some call this 'hooding' the face) the results would be disastrous.  I can however, push my hands forward and use a slightly abbreviated swing to flight it lower and with more spin.

Frankly, I see absolutely no reason to do what you described with a wedge.  Ever.

dave

[metbid]

I understand that, but without positioning the ball further back in my stance (which removes the bounce), I scull the shot.

Even with a 12º bounce, if you keep your hands slightly ahead of the ball at contact (not close the face) and keep the 2nd rule of Five Easy Keys, Inline or Flat Wrists you should not have any problem with sculling the ball.  The bottom of your swing arc should be at your left shoulder, arm-wrist-club all inline at that point.  If, like mvmac said, you are sculling the ball, you are probably flipping your wrists trying to get loft.

[Arthur Dent]

Even with a 12º bounce, if you keep your hands slightly ahead of the ball at contact (not close the face) and keep the 2nd rule of Five Easy Keys, Inline or Flat Wrists you should not have any problem with sculling the ball.  The bottom of your swing arc should be at your left shoulder, arm-wrist-club all inline at that point.  If, like mvmac said, you are sculling the ball, you are probably flipping your wrists trying to get loft.

Thanks, metbid.

I'm playing on Thursday and will try positioning my hands a bit ahead and keeping flat wrists.  Picturing this, it makes a lot of sense.