Wedges...

Howdy one and all...

A couple of times in my last few rounds I have found myself either short or long with my wedges and now find myself uncertain when reaching for them.

Having checked the Ping web page today, I know my pitching wedge is 47°, however, I am uncertain as to the loft on my Sand Iron and as a result, I "think" I have a little bit of a conundrum about the "gap" in my bag at the moment.

My SI is a Hogan Special SI, and I don't know what loft it is. My best guess is that it may well be at least 55° if not 60°.

Problem being, obviously when I get to somewheres about 80m-100m away, a full Sand Iron will leave me short and my Wedge, which I hit comfortably 110m, will see my fly long.

Thinks I need to find a gap wedge...

Any recommendations that I should hunt for in the bargain bin...???

Cheers

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Every time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make two triple bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe....

Well, you know what's about to follow this sentence...

By going to the PING website, you learned that your PW should be 47°. It may be 46. It may be 48. It may be even further out of spec. Not knowing what your SW is, it's time to get the lofts checked. Then buy (or have something built) that splits the gap. Even if you grab a wedge out of the bargain bin, it needs to be 'loft verified'.

Yes LP, I knew what was to follow...

Suppose I was just looking for some indicators as to why, when I do get to around the 100m mark away, I miss so many greens long or short and this was what came to my mind.

Takes your point about "should be" and "reality" being 2 different things and sees this as an opportunity to perhaps find some time to get to the practice fairway to see for myself just how far full swings for each club go, then grab 2 or 3 wedges from the "bin" in the pro shop and see which one I can comfortably "fill the gap" with...

Double win here, as I see it...

Time on the range is clearly something I need...

Cheers

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Every time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make two triple bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe....

I think you've identified the approach sans hard numbers - hit a few wedges. But you may not have to simply grab a 51, 52, 53 and 54. Pick the ones that fit your eye, first. Then start hitting them. The one to fill the gap is the keeper.

Thinks I've still got my old high school protractor somewhere's put away......

Can I check the loft on each club myself....???

Nah, probably not (second guessing LP's retort ahead of time... )

BTW, I agree, I am so "ghetto"...

But, it's fun while it lasts...

Cheers

Hi Scraggs,

Are you using the three back swing positions "A La Pelz " ? (7:30 - 9:00 and 10:30) for each wedge? I carry 4 wedges, PW - GW - SW - LW and use these different swing lengths to get distances, I also choke down a bit if needed.

Although I have to say that often it does need a degree of feel for the right swing.

I started ghetto - it's the only way to go!

In fact, in all but the absolute most top-end gauges, a protractor is used to measure loft.

The key is to ensure you've got the shaft going straight up and down, and that the face (irons) is square (unless, for some strange reason, you've got closed or open irons). Then you simply lay the protractor on the ground and the face. Read the angle - that's your loft.

So yes, you can do it yourself.

Enjoy!

Is there a similar home-spun way to measure bounce, Lowpost?

Hey Brian...

Where I remember, yes I do use the Pelz position idea, though this only seems to help me from inside 70m or so.

Maybe its just me, but lately, with my "swing easy" approach, I have found that where I swing back to only about 3/4's of the way back, especially with my irons, I don't seem to lose any noticeable distance than if I was to swing all the way back.

And maybe its only lately as well, but I have often over the course of a round found myself somewhere around 90m - 100m away which means I'm between the two wedges I have, given I hit one comfortably 80m and the other 110m

Maybe it is just a confidence thing for me at the moment at that length. And a lack of confidence in trying to adjust the length I hit each club. For the minute I'll stick with the idea of trying to find a wedge I can comfortably hit 95m or so to fill the gap. Only carrying 13 clubs at the moment, so, I have room.

As always, thanks for your thoughts, they are appreciated.

Cheers

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Every time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make two triple bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe....

That is not true, and completely wrong, except for the driver every club has a certain amount of shaft lean to make the lofts correct, so putting shaft straight up/down will give you false reading, more loft then it should be. Wedges have allot of shaft lean up throught the least amount of a 1 iron. You can use a protractor, but you will also need to get a chart for each clubs shaft lean before reading the loft and/or adjust.

Well, that seems barmy. Different players would inevitably have the ball in their stance in diffreent places and therefore the shaft lean would be wildly different from player to player.

Mizuno might suggest that a players should have 8 forward lean on a shaft while Ping think a player should have 10^.

What would be needed would be a way to compare them, which requires a snigle starting point. The only single starting point would be the shaft to be vertical. Besides anything else, it doesn't matter at all what the loft IS, only that it is measured in a consistent way from club to club?

__________________
~_~_~_~_~
Personal bests 2007;
Best 18: 78 (+12)
Best 9: 37 (+4)
Best Stableford: 45 pts
Best total putts: 28
Best total length sunk putts (ft): 54

Club tourney history this year: Captain's Day - 1st; Club foursomes - 2nd; Dimex Stableford - 2nd; Club Championship - 13/28 gross, joint 5/28 nett; Ferebee Shield - 2nd; Sept Medal 2nd; Autumn Stableford - 1st

You have a starting point, it is the sole of the club, all wedges for example have the same lean because it is soled correctly, and thereby has the same loft. This why using a golf loft gauge is preferable to a standard protrator because it takes into account for the shaft lean by measuring from the shaft, not the ground and it checks the sole angle or bounce as well. There is more to club making then simply bending a shaft or clubhead.

This is LP's job so I guess he knows how it works. Here is a picture showing how loft is measured and it looks like the angle is measured from the vertical shaft to the face.


EDIT: Well there was a picture here?

Heres another!

Hi Scraggs,

I use a gap Wedge and find it very useful for the difference between a PW and SW, I also use it for most of my chip shots and when ever I want a nice feely short pitch (I think you know what I mean )

Regarding the distances, Pelz suggests you do not wind up with any pronounced torque in a finesse wedge shot, just turn back and through with your body and keep the hands soft. Doing this does make a difference to the lengths when using differing backswings and the same tempo.

My recent use of the right hand drill has made such a difference to my wedge shots in terms of consistency and precision, it works in well with the Pelz method as both rely on the rotation of the shoulders and hips to generate the shot.

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Best Regards
Brian

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Funny o'l game!

What? How in the world can you even think to possibly compare lofts if you have to be accounting for shaft lean? My friend, I don't think you're correct here for the purpose of measuring a golf club. I haven't seen a gauge where the shaft is oriented anywhere but vertical or horizontal.

Yes, the head needs to be soled properly, but every gauge I've ever seen holds the shaft vertical and allows the head to sole from there.

It's by leaning the shaft forward or back that you change the effective loft for your shot. For spec'ing a club, you need a constant - and this constant is a straight shaft. Otherwise, it could be said that every club is 40° - just lean the shaft more or less to get there.

Now I know you're crazy. All wedges have the same loft? Please tell me you're mistaking loft for some other spec - like lie perhaps? I could see all wedges having the same lie because they're all the same length - that makes sense.

GoNavy, here is the equipment I have in my shop.

The MR3 True Blue. MR3 Golf Designs
When a club is in this device and neither strong nor weak lofted, the club is vertical (as in the pictures).

The Auditor 3D ruler. myOstrich Golf Clubmakers
Again, the shaft is laid horizontally, the loft and lie is measured with a protractor.

The Auditor Loft and Lie Gauge. GolfMechanix,The leading manufacturer of golf club making tools, golf tools, instrumentation and gauges.
Here we have a vertically oriented shaft. Once secure and soled, all measurements are made with the shaft vertical.

The 'Green Machine' GolfMechanix,The leading manufacturer of golf club making tools, golf tools, instrumentation and gauges.
This is not in my shop. But it is in Tom Wishon's shop - and used for his hand select service. Apparently this is 'the' machine for bigger outfits to have. But still, shaft is up and down in regards to loft.

All loft surveying equipment I have supports a vertical (or horizontal). There is no shaft lean. Now, adjusting the face angle will alter the loft (face pointing left or right). Closed decreases loft, open increases it (and the opposite is the effect at impact if square. In other words a 9° head 1° open will be 8° square, 1° closed will be 10° square).





So scrags, lean the shaft on the wall, perpendicular to the floor, ensure the face is square, and measure away.

__________________
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