Fifty yards out

At the range today, I got a bucket of 55 balls and hit them all at the 50 yd target, a circle 10 feet in diameter marked on the ground. I practiced with PW, GW, SW and LW and decided that I was getting the most consistent results with SW. For some reason I found it much harder to control the distance with LW. I'm just curious as to whether others would favor the SW at this distance.

hi todd
50yds out i would always SW with a 9 o'clock swing

Until fairly recently I changed my wedges for varying distances a-la- Dave Pelz, I would have been making a 9:00 backswing with a sand wedge for 50 yards.

I have developed a new style of pitching over the last six months that is working great for me. I use my pitching wedge now for all pitches between 100 yards to 20 yards. I use an early break of the wrists with a simple turning of the shoulders as I take the club back, I bring the club back by maintaining the right cupped wrist as in the RHD and rotating my hips and shoulders through the shot with a fairly high finish.

I can get great precision and ball flight with this and alter the amount of shoulder turn to control the distance. The ball will fly straight and land softly on the green with a predictable short roll. The main advantage over the lob and sand wedge is that the ball flies lower and is less affected by wind, I also do not need to make as much effort in the shot which assists in precision.

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Best Regards
Brian

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Funny o'l game!

Brian, either it's very flat where you play, or you're doing something wrong to get short chips and pitches touched by the wind!

Thanks for the replies. I was really just curious. For a long time I had the odd idea that I should use PW, GW, and SW only with a full swing, so for anything inside a full SW I'd use diminishing swings on a LW. But the LW is a weird club that I find myself using less and less.

Although I don't use the SW for chipping, I do find myself using it for just about all pitches, and getting a feel for the distances, instead of the Pelz system. We don't need, or even think we need, different putters for different length putts; we develop a feel for distance. That's what I'm trying to do, with gradual improvement.

I chip with the 8i, regardless of the length of the chip.

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Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller

A 50 yard shot for me is a full swing LW since I don't normally carry a SW very often. If the shot requires some bounce on the club, I might use a my PW, or 9i with an abbreviated swing. It depends alot on the lie I have dealt myself, and what is between me and the pin 50 yards away. I like to bump, and run the ball up on to the green when ever possible. GJS

Hit a sand wedge with a full shot at 80/90 yards and see how high it flies anywhere. Hit a lob wedge full swing from 40 yards and see how high it carries. I was referring to shots from 100 to 20 yards, not just 50. My point was that I now prefer to use my PW for all these shots, OK I have to vary the shot, some are full swings, some are 3/4 some 1/2 some 1/4 some bump and run some chips. It does require some feel to control but I do not have to think what club to pull out for the shot.

However, I still use my LW,SW and GW for some shots like lobs, shooting over trees, short chips over bunkers and sand traps etc.

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Best Regards
Brian

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Funny o'l game!

[quote=BrianW;10542737]Hit a sand wedge with a full shot at 80/90 yards and see how high it flies anywhere. Hit a lob wedge full swing from 40 yards and see how high it carries. I was referring to shots from 100 to 20 yards, not just 50.


This is a great post and it’s a part of my game that I have been really struggling with. I can get close to the green in two or three and still walk away with an eight.
For chipping, I am a lefty, I usually use a Ping 58 Degree M/B but I find my chips can go way left or I skull it. I just bought a Ben Hogan Apex Riviera 60 Degree with 3 degrees of bounce. Since I can skull shots off of the fairway I thought this club might help. The ball goes pretty high and even a mild wind can get a hold of it and change its course. I tried using my sand wedge and the ball flight is better and when I use my SW around the greens for chipping I don’t have to hit the ball as hard to get a good result – so… what would this 60 degree LW with 3 degrees of bounce be intended for, ideally…. the one I just bought… I think I ought to pull out Pelz again, and study the short game. Brian I have been reviewing Leadbetter’s Greatest Tips, and your approach to chipping seems to be what he, and I am sure many others are advocating. I have trouble with my timing. Hinging my wrist – turning thru my shoulders and unhinging the wrists again, in synch, without being wristy. I am going to work on it again this morning… any tips… my friends suggest that I don’t hinge my wrists, but I can’t generate any distance doing this from 10 yards out or more.
Thanks,
James

I've moved to using a SW for all those - having that extra bit of loft gives me the confidence not to scoop, if that makes sense.

I use a putting grip, to prevent "flicking" and grip down the shaft almost to the metal for the shorter pitches just varying the length of the back swing a little to control distance. For the longer pitches I take a normal grip but still grip down a little with a 3/4 swing; once we reach 90/100 yards then thats a full SW anyhow.

50 yards in, for, me, would be a sand wedge that I leave probably 15 yards short I SO rarely play a 50 yard shot long - go figure..? And it's not, in fairness, the only hole in my game

[quote=jamesh;10542772]My comments were aimed at the way I pitch the ball. Chipping is a different story, I use any club for chipping, 3 wood, hybrid, 5 iron, 8 iron, wedges, all of them. Chipping needs consideration of how long the ball is in the air and how far it has to roll out. Generally you want the ball to land 3 feet on the green then roll from there. Woods are great for chipping out of rough.

James, if you want to take out your wrists when chipping then hold the club more upright so the heel is off the ground, turn your wrists downward to help achieve this, it is also very difficult to bend the wrist when they are turned down like this. A small amount of wrist action is OK when chipping it stops the shot being wooden and stiff.

Feet almost together and very open to target, ball back in line with rear big toe, hands forward, hit down and make the follow through twice as long as the backswing no matter how short or long the chip. use the same smooth tempo in all chips and ensure the back of your left hand faces the target as long as possible in the follow through. Don't rotate your wrists!

Finally, commit to the shot, make a few practice chips until you feel the shot is right, step to the ball and without looking up play the shot exactly the same way.

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Best Regards
Brian

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Funny o'l game!

I know THAT feeling!!!

There may be a genuine scientific reason for that; i.e. its not just your golf ability, but first, as a matter of interest does anyone actually pace out the 40 yards or whatever?

I would put a large proportion of any improvement this part of my game down to literally measuring the distance to my landing spot. I think the technical term for estimating the distance by eye is "depth perception" and I've read that for many people it can be out.

For me I used to consistently read depth (distance) as less than it really was by a significant factor so that even when I hit the shot I intended I left the ball short.

OK you still need to know what your "35 yard" swing is and execute it correctly but a little time pacing takes one variable (your eyesight ) out of the equation.

It needn't take up much time either; I tend to take my bag to the exit for the next tee [where rant rant rant all bags should be left anyway] and walk back with my s/w and putter.

PS This is one reason why it seems easier at the range - you know its a 50 yard swing cos the marker tells you so.

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I firmly believe that we should try to experience all that life affords, except, perhaps, bestiality and of course Morris Dancing.

IMO, Brian’s technique for executing a pitch shot with a PW is a good one. There’s no reason the same technique can’t be used with the LW, SW and/or GW to provide higher ball flights and/or more spin for the same distances, when conditions warrant.

Several people have mentioned hitting a "full" wedge a particular distance. I will hit a "full" PW, but I prefer limiting my more lofted wedge swings to 3/4 maximum when possible. This may mean playing a lower ball flight for a particular distance, but for me it is much more reliable and accurate. The spin from a very pure ball strike will usually compensate for the lower ball flight.

I prefer to play pitch shots from a somewhat open stance. For me, it helps keep these shortened swings from getting too loose or sloppy. It also helps me keep a nice FLW.

As always, JMO.