Two Full Swings with the Orange Whip Wedge

[iacas]

I've been talking with the fine folks at Orange Whip and today it seemed like a coincidence when a student/golfer had an Orange Whip Wedge in his bag. Though it's intended mostly for working on the short game, I filmed two swings in order to demonstrate how the shaft goes into slight forward deflection and how the forces in the golf swing act on the clubhead and to help line up the shaft at impact.

First one was pretty good, second was a bit on the toe. The super whippy shaft (again, the OW Wedge is primarily intended for short game work!) leads to an odd follow through (my left knee stays bent). I think it's because it feels like the clubhead is lagging so far behind that you have to "stay down" on it and NOT "extend/jump" for power or something… but… this provides a good demonstration of how a normal shaft behaves - it's actually in forward deflection (slightly) at impact.

There's no real reason for this video other than the coincidence of messing around with this after talking with the Orange Whip folks. The golfer and I talked briefly about what the video showed and he was intrigued to know. When hit with a full swing (again, not the intended use for the OW Wedge, as I understand it) the ball goes about 2x or more higher. It feels a LOT more flexible when waggling or doing slower, smaller movements than it appears to behave in the golf swing. Look at the bend in the takeaway, for example.

This is why I think the OW Wedge may be a good thing for a short game thing. The forces are slower. They can help a player continue to accelerate so they DON'T flip their hands with a wedge when hitting a chip shot. If I get a chance to review the OW Wedge I think it can really help some perpetual short game "flippers."

P.S. No rolling shutter on this camera.

[saevel25]

7 hours ago, iacas said:

but… this provides a good demonstration of how a normal shaft behaves - it's actually in forward deflection (slightly) at impact.

Interesting to find this actually happens, even slightly. 

7 hours ago, iacas said:

This is why I think the OW Wedge may be a good thing for a short game thing. The forces are slower. They can help a player continue to accelerate so they DON'T flip their hands with a wedge when hitting a chip shot. If I get a chance to review the OW Wedge I think it can really help some perpetual short game "flippers."

It took me a while to get the hang of pivoting correctly and feeling how the club should move through impact on a pitch.

Would the way this club reacts with the pitch motion make the golfer want to pivot better then? You really can't flip with this club or you will probably miss the ball. 

[iacas]

1 minute ago, saevel25 said:

Would the way this club reacts with the pitch motion make the golfer want to pivot better then? You really can't flip with this club or you will probably miss the ball. 

I don't know. The guy had to leave shortly afterward. I'm looking forward to trying it out, though, if I get the chance.

I think it'll be better for chipping, but it's endorsed by Stan Utley, and goodness knows the pitching technique I teach is similar to Phil Rogers, which is similar to Stan Utley, which is similar to James Sieckmann, which is similar to Seve's and thus Mac O'Grady's short game stuff…

[dennyjones]

45 minutes ago, iacas said:

but it's endorsed by Stan Utley, and goodness knows the pitching technique I teach is similar to Phil Rogers, which is similar to Stan Utley, which is similar to James Sieckmann, which is similar to Seve's and thus Mac O'Grady's short game stuff…

How many degrees of separation is this?   

[iacas]

27 minutes ago, dennyjones said:

How many degrees of separation is this?   

As far as I know, Kevin Bacon doesn't know any of them.

[Hardspoon]

This is interesting.

I feel like there are quite a few full-swing training aids that work this way, but not many for short-game feels.

My big problem in the short game (right now) is the transition between "long" chip shots and "short" pitch shots.  If this could actually help work on that, it'd be worth its weight in gold...

[iacas]

35 minutes ago, Hardspoon said:

My big problem in the short game (right now) is the transition between "long" chip shots and "short" pitch shots.  If this could actually help work on that, it'd be worth its weight in gold...

It's pretty heavy. So that's saying something…

[todgot]

On ‎7‎/‎15‎/‎2017 at 3:57 PM, saevel25 said:

Would the way this club reacts with the pitch motion make the golfer want to pivot better then? You really can't flip with this club or you will probably miss the ball

Funny thing was... I watched the video on here of the pitch shot technique and then got swallowed by the YouTube monster.  I ended up watching Orange Whip wedge videos with Stan Utley and he was talking about the pivot... so yes, I think it is intended to help you learn the pivot. 

[todgot]

They also have and Orange Whip Putter. 

[iacas]

1 hour ago, todgot said:

They also have and Orange Whip Putter. 

I have four of them now… a putter, a wedge, a Trainer, and a Junior model.

Of course, you can get them here. This link includes a coupon code for $10 off: https://orangewhipgolf.com/.

Review coming here in a month or so.

[scotth]

Am I correct in assuming this is one of the very few training aids (maybe the only one) I can remember that doesn't matter if you are a lefty? 

The trainer model, not the wedge or putter.....

Edited July 20, 2017 by scotth

[iacas]

2 minutes ago, scotth said:

Am I correct in assuming this is one of the very few training aids (maybe the only one) I can remember that doesn't matter if you are a lefty? 

The trainer model, not the wedge or putter.....

I think they have lefty wedges… and the putter is reversible.

But otherwise… yeah.

[scotth]

Cool.  Have seen the trainer in a few bags as they roll by the house.  Have been curious about how effective they are, or just a gimmick.

Looks like it would be really useful with the long winter off season around here.

[iacas]

I hope to shed some light on the subject. At least a reasonable opinion.