Irons/Wedges Help in Wet Conditions

[Vinny Cap]

I was looking for some help with iron play in soggy, wet conditions.  With all the recent rain the weekend round was a bit soggy and I duffed and chunked a bunch of iron shots.

Does anyone have any pointers for playing soggy/wet fairways?

I was also wondering about wedging in the same conditions.  I tried all 3 of my wedges and nothing was great in these conditions.  What do you play and does it work?

I have a 51 with 9 bounce, a 54 with 16 and a 58 with 13.

[Club Rat]

  On 11/2/2016 at 2:20 PM, Vinny Cap said:

pointers for playing soggy/wet fairways?

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Striking the ball first is a essential must. Also, wet conditions do not allow the ball to compress on the club face.
That leads to loss of distance and less spin.

On fairways, use one more club and control the swing. Pick the ball clean will also help.
Playing the ball back in the stance can help strike the ball first, but it also brings the possibility of the shot squirting L or R.
Along with a greater possibility of the chunk and fatty.

Play around the green is very touchy. A big fat chucked lob/pitch shot is messy.
Bump and runs are a safer option when the opportunity allows.

I'm not a big fan of mud golf and typically play those days in humor knowing conditions suck.
A few brewskis also helps keep the attitude positive for the day. 

[DaveP043]

  On 11/2/2016 at 4:06 PM, Club Rat said:

Striking the ball first is a essential must. Also, wet conditions do not allow the ball to compress on the club face.
That leads to loss of distance and less spin.

On fairways, use one more club and control the swing. Pick the ball clean will also help.
Playing the ball back in the stance can help strike the ball first, but it also brings the possibility of the shot squirting L or R.
Along with a greater possibility of the chunk and fatty.

Play around the green is very touchy. A big fat chucked lob/pitch shot is messy.
Bump and runs are a safer option when the opportunity allows.

I'm not a big fan of mud golf and typically play those days in humor knowing conditions suck.
A few brewskis also helps keep the attitude positive for the day. 

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Yuck, mud-golf.  I'm with @Club Rat, the first and foremost thing is to hit the ball first.  Your feet have a greater chance of slipping, to club up and swing easy to decrease that potential.  Your feet may actually sink in a bit, so you might want to grip down a bit.

For pitching, this technique makes even more sense than normal:

Using the bounce will decrease the potential for the leading edge of the club to dig in.

And as @Club Rat says, try to be a little less demanding of yourself when conditions are bad.  Conditions can definitely affect your game, but the effect is exaggerated once you get frustrated.

[Vinny Cap]

Thanks for the info Club Rat & Dave.

I don't exactly like playing in those conditions but once you pay you gotta play.

It wasn't the whole course but a lot of the low spots on the fairways that were very soggy.  With irons you don't have much of a choice as with wedges, irons just have low bounce.  I did seem to get the best results from the 54 with 16 bounce on it... that's why I brought it that day.  Had a feeling it might work as the 51/9 combo can send a beaver pelt flying at the pin under wet situations.  I did manage to get a few out from the slop but most were fatter that fat, chunkier than chunky and just plain ugly!  Picking clean is not always easy and it looks like it is the best option for those spots so I guess it will be added to the items to practice more.

We did do lift clean and place like the pros do but I didn't want to move the ball over to a less soaked spot not closer to the hole.  We probably should have.  I wasn't too hard on myself and did decide at the turn to start drinking some adult beverages.

[DaveP043]

  On 11/2/2016 at 6:33 PM, Vinny Cap said:

We did do lift clean and place like the pros do but I didn't want to move the ball over to a less soaked spot not closer to the hole.  We probably should have.  I wasn't too hard on myself and did decide at the turn to start drinking some adult beverages.

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Remember that if you can see the (casual) water, you can get relief.  Of course, if the whole area is wet, your closest place for complete relief could be a long ways away, in the rough, dozens of yards further from the hole, or some other undesirable place.  Always be sure you know where you'll need to drop it before you decide to lift it.

[Vinny Cap]

  On 11/2/2016 at 6:44 PM, DaveP043 said:

Remember that if you can see the (casual) water, you can get relief.  Of course, if the whole area is wet, your closest place for complete relief could be a long ways away, in the rough, dozens of yards further from the hole, or some other undesirable place.  Always be sure you know where you'll need to drop it before you decide to lift it.

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I always forget about the casual water rule.  2 holes were really bad and I should have had a canoe to get to my shot but the others would have been easier to move to a legit spot.

Thanks again Dave!

I did play it forward a little more than normal as I thought that would help more than playing back in the stance.  Playing back on one wet one was really ugly!

[WUTiger]

A little background on the why of wet golf problems.

If you have a tight lie in the fairway, it's really tight because the grass is matted down by the water.

If you have a bushy lie off the green, take an extra club in your chip or pitch to make up for momentum lost by cutting through the wet grass.

[Vinny Cap]

  On 11/2/2016 at 7:09 PM, WUTiger said:

A little background on the why of wet golf problems.

If you have a tight lie in the fairway, it's really tight because the grass is matted down by the water.

If you have a bushy lie off the green, take an extra club in your chip or pitch to make up for momentum lost by cutting through the wet grass.

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Thanks!  I will keep that in mind.

What about bounce in the wet conditions?  More = better?

[Mr. Desmond]

I just don't play much at all in the wet.

This is what I've heard -

1. Your feet may sink into the ground a bit more, so grip down slightly.

2. Always keep good posture, but especially on the downswing.

This is what I'd experiment on ...

3. Don't know if I'd have much forward lean at address or impact -- anything fat will dig. I need some wet to try this out ... But use the bounce.

4. If really wet, I might try a more controlled swing so I can step on the lead foot early and get the weight forward as much as possible. With me, I'd focus on lower body and less on arms -- the arms will kill you at any time but using them before the lower body will really gut you in the wet.

5. I wonder if moving the ball slightly back will help in the wet -- makes sense to strike the ball first.

6. Experiment.

Edited November 2, 2016 by Mr. Desmond

[Vinny Cap]

  On 11/2/2016 at 7:56 PM, Mr. Desmond said:

I just don't play much at all in the wet.

This is what I've heard -

1. Your feet may sink into the ground a bit more, so grip down slightly.

2. Always keep good posture, but especially on the downswing.

This is what I'd experiment on ...

3. Don't know if I'd have much forward lean at address or impact -- anything fat will dig. I need some wet to try this out ... But use the bounce.

4. If really wet, I might try a more controlled swing so I can step on the lead foot early and get the weight forward as much as possible. With me, I'd focus on lower body and less on arms -- the arms will kill you at any time but using them before the lower body will really gut you in the wet.

5. I wonder if moving the ball slightly back will help in the wet -- makes sense to strike the ball first.

6. Experiment.

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Thanks for the input.  Some good thoughts there.  Hardest part is trying to practice these things.  Do I empty my hot tub at the range to mimic the wet conditions?  Nobody ever thinks to go to the range to practice in the rain for wet/soggy conditions.  I don't play in the rain much either.  This place just has high water table and the lowest spots were really wet!

[Kalnoky]

I've abandoned my home course until next March. I'm just not good enough to play well in those super muddy conditions. Also when it gets real wet they stop cutting the grass and the rough becomes a miniature jungle. 

[Mop Bucket]

I can offer a couple tips that seem to work well for me, it may not hurt to try them.

I usually set up for a shot that I know is laying on soggy turf by choking up maybe a quarter inch on my grip, just to assure I don't catch it fat. When the fairways are spongy, thin misses will always work out better than fat ones.

Next, I try to avoid "compressing" the ball into the ground, or in other words, hitting down on it, if that's what you want to call it. Instead, I try to level off my plane and come at the ball from a pretty shallow angle. This helps me avoid burying the club after impact and allows me follow through balanced.

And if all else fails, or my ball has found a muddy lie, I'll club up by one or two clubs and take a sawed-off swing to just try and advance it to the green. This is a pretty easy shot as long as you avoid closing the face through impact.

 

And to answer your question about bounce... I play almost the same wedge setup as you. When it's wet, I try to stick to either one or two different shots with them.

The first is a knock-down spinner that I play from the back of my stance, I set up with it aligned to my back pants pocket and slap the face on the ball with quite a bit of club lag. This usually produces a low trajectory but oftentimes takes a large divot in the process.

The second is a little more reliable, I club up by one and play it just in front of my belt buckle and really focus on making a nice tempo'd swing where I hit ball first. This usually gets it up quite high with only a little roll out. Once again, just try to keep the face from closing too early.

Edited November 2, 2016 by Mop Bucket

[Kalnoky]

Does the type of ball you choose to play in the wet weather also factor in to the strategy?

I notice a lot of people switch to a 2-pc ball when the ground gets nasty. 

[WUTiger]

  On 11/2/2016 at 7:19 PM, Vinny Cap said:

What about bounce in the wet conditions?  More = better?

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Less likelihood of skip-skulls with high bounce due to softer turf, but low bounce might bite into turf too much.

As others have said, try to hit the ball first. If not crossing a hazard or bunker, a thinnish chip shot might work best around the green.

Unless you have many $$ to buy and lots of practice time to master multiple wedge set-ups, just learn how to play your normal wedges (and 8i chips) in the wet.

[Mr. Desmond]

@Vinny Cap I would go to those places at your course that are wet either very early or late in the day and hit some shots.

[Vinny Cap]

  On 11/2/2016 at 9:09 PM, Mop Bucket said:

I can offer a couple tips that seem to work well for me, it may not hurt to try them.

choking up maybe a quarter inch on my grip

avoid "compressing" the ball into the ground

club up by one or two clubs and take a sawed-off swing to just try and advance it to the green

knock-down spinner that I play from the back of my stance

I club up by one and play it just in front of my belt buckle and really focus on making a nice tempo'd swing where I hit ball first

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Thanks Mop Bucket.  Some good tips outlined from your post.  I do think the worst was when I was hitting down like normal.  On the really wet ones that was an instant beaver pelt.

Nice bag setup as well.  Ping putter and Mizuno irons!

  On 11/2/2016 at 9:23 PM, Kalnoky said:

Does the type of ball you choose to play in the wet weather also factor in to the strategy?

I notice a lot of people switch to a 2-pc ball when the ground gets nasty. 

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In wet and fall conditions I use the cheap ones that I have found as it is real easy to loose the ball, especially in the fairway.  Too many times its just one leaf covering it and you cant seem to find it.

I cant answer the one about 2 pc being better.

  On 11/3/2016 at 3:20 AM, WUTiger said:

Less likelihood of skip-skulls with high bounce due to softer turf, but low bounce might bite into turf too much.

As others have said, try to hit the ball first. If not crossing a hazard or bunker, a thinnish chip shot might work best around the green.

Unless you have many $$ to buy and lots of practice time to master multiple wedge set-ups, just learn how to play your normal wedges (and 8i chips) in the wet.

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I was thinking the higher would be better and thats why I brought it.  I usually just use the 51 and 58 as I am pretty good with them.  I am also a big fan of the 7i bump n run... that shot didnt work too well that day either.

 

  On 11/3/2016 at 5:59 AM, Mr. Desmond said:

@Vinny Cap I would go to those places at your course that are wet either very early or late in the day and hit some shots.

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Good idea and if it was at my home course, I am sure they would have let me out to smash a few but it was a course I only play once or twice a year... not sure what they would have said.

Edited November 3, 2016 by Vinny Cap

[Strat-Pack Rick]

Didnt want to start a new thread, this is close. What is the best way keep your grooves fresh and toothy ? My new clubs are great right now but.....I wore my last set out with range balls, i learned that lesson. Is there a way to give your clubs a tune up?

[Vinny Cap]

  On 11/5/2016 at 8:23 PM, Strat-Pack said:

Didnt want to start a new thread, this is close. What is the best way keep your grooves fresh and toothy ? My new clubs are great right now but.....I wore my last set out with range balls, i learned that lesson. Is there a way to give your clubs a tune up?

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To tune up the grooves on your sticks they make groove sharpeners. I believe you can get them off Ebay.... might have them in local golf store