| Title: | Welcome to the Golf Notes Conference! |
| Notice: | FOR SALE notes in Note 69 please! Intros in note 863 or 61. |
| Moderator: | FUNYET::ANDERSON |
| Created: | Tue Feb 15 1994 |
| Last Modified: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 2129 |
| Total number of notes: | 21499 |
Fellow golfers,
Excuse me if this has been covered before.
----
I am having problems with the wedge. In particular choosing the correct
wedge for a particular shot. Chip and run shots are OK, its the ones
from around 75 yards and shorter that requires a slightly higher
trajectory that gives me problems.
I have 3 wedges in my bag. Ths standard PW and SW that come with the
iron set and a 58 degree RAM with very little bounce (3 degree rake), I
only get it cause it was going cheap. Is this the type of club refered
to as a lobber ?
Shots from 75 yards in I usually use the SW, but I have this extra
wedge, and I am not sure when I should be using it. Sometimes I pick
it up for the sake of it (it looks quite sexy) and tend to fluff the
shot, usually by taking a massive divot, with the ball only carrying a
few yards !
On what types of shots should I use this RAM wedge or should I through
it in the bin ?
I know the pros usually use the SW for small pitches, what do the rest
of you use ? I often find the raised leading edge of the SW a little
scary. This does nothing for my confidence (which is all important).
The feeling of having the wrong club in your hands before you play the
shot usually results on disaster.
Thanks in advance.
Raj
| T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1683.1 | Try These Two Shots | CTHQ::OCONNOR | Mon Apr 26 1993 10:33 | 18 | |
Raj
I like to use the lob wedge from bare lies around the green. I play the
ball back in my stance and make sure that my hands are infront of the
ball at address. I then make sure that I keep my left wrist firm
throughout the stroke while keeping my head absolutley still.
I use it for another shot also. The lob shot, of course. This one takes
a lot of practice. The key is that you must take a long and very slow
takeaway and let the club slide under the ball and pop it up. The
downswing (slow, also) should feel as if the club is falling by itself,
being pulled by gravity. The hands should grip the club very lightly.
You can practice this one in the yard. Pick a small shrub, drop a ball
two feet in front of it and pop it over the shrub and have it land
within two feet of the other side. Once you get the knack of this you
can vary the length of the swing and change the ball position to get
slightly different types of results. Let us know how you make out.
Rich
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| 1683.2 | Thanks | METSYS::GAMI | Oversized golf nut | Mon Apr 26 1993 14:09 | 7 |
Thanks for the good advice, I think my main problem was I was using
this lobber for the wrong shots. Its looks so good that I cant help
picking it from my bag and using it !
Now that I know i'll control myself.
Raj
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| 1683.3 | Too many choices = confusion. | WOTVAX::MORRISON | Wed Apr 28 1993 13:51 | 49 | |
IMHO three wedges is two too many to chose from. The key to the short game for me, is to be be consistent. Hit every shot with the same club, so that you can generate a feel for the club and the shot. If you are having difficulty from 75 yards and in, then I would ignore two of the wedges, and concentrate on getting one to work. It doesn't matter which one you use, just keep using it. 75 yards is a long way to hit a 58 degree wedge. That is almost a full shot, even for the big hitting pro's. If it goes much further than that, then I would suggest that you are hooding the club, and turning it into a 9 or even 8 iron. I have a friend who proudly claims that he can hit his Titleist 60 degree wedge 130 yards. This is wrong. These clubs are designed for accuracy and should be played with a slow smooth delibrate swing. Once you are consistant with "A" wedge, then experiment with the other two. I'm sure you know this, but the PW will go low and run, the SW will go high and dribble,and the 58 degree wedge will go orbital and stick. The choice of club, once you have developed a feel, is dependant on the terrain between you and the flag. The more obstacles, the higher the loft on th club. To me the art of good wedge play is to keep the same distance between your forearms during address, backswing and follow-through i.e. the V formed by your hands, wrists and forearms at address should be maintained through-out. Don't let the wrists cross over on the down swing and follow through. Cross over only occurs where you need power. If you need to power a wedge, then you have chosen the wrong club. One final thought on wedge play. You are 20 yards from the flag, and there is a bunker between you and the green. The flag is 6 feet into the green. What do you do ? Panic ? No. THE DELAYED TAKE-AWAY. This is the only time you should do this. Address the ball as before. Instead of the normal one piece take-away, start the backswing with the hands, leaving the club head behind. Do your normal backswing and follow-through, and hey presto the ball will shoot a mile in the air and stop absolutely dead on the green. The first time I was shown this, I couldn't believe it. Watch the PRO's, they all do it and boy does it work. The delayed takeaway. Many people would pay thousands of dollars for that advice. You heard it first in the Golf notes conference. Randall ;-) | |||||
| 1683.4 | Worth some practice and a try. | CTHQ::OCONNOR | Wed Apr 28 1993 16:29 | 6 | |
Randall
Thanks, I will practice this shot then try it out when playing. I
report on the results later on.
Rich
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| 1683.5 | Update | METSYS::GAMI | Oversized golf nut | Tue Jun 15 1993 06:33 | 23 |
Re: .3 -< Too many choices = confusion. >-
Thanks for the good advice there. As a result I have made the following
changes to my bag/game.
1. Scraped the RAM 58 degree wedge (no bounce) for a Cleveland short
pitch wedge 58 degree (medium-high bounce).
2. Use the PW for full/three-quarter shots only.
3. Use the SW for full/three-quarter shots only.
4. Anything under ~60 yard pitches (including bunkers) use the
Cleveland short wedge.
I have now played around 4 rounds (+ practise) with this system and my
short game has really improved. I am much more confident with this
system. As a result I am now playing to my handicap of 20. I also
suspect chipping in the garden most evenings has added to my feel for
the Cleveland short wedge.
Raj
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