What else do you use your 56* wedge for?

[Johnny Par]

hello members,

I just started playing golf and been out on a 18 hole course 3 times now.
I am having alot of trouble with short pitches and chips to the green.

At first, I used my Cleveland CG 10 56* standard bounce wedge but found that the ball goes way too high and end up having to chip again to get on the green.

With my Mizuno MX 23 pitching wedge, I am still having trouble making good contact with a 3/4 swing.

I guess my question is, will a gap wedge help?
or do I just need to learn how to hit different shots with my current wedges?

 

[Davebud]

My answer is both, I love my GW, absolutely my favorite club. Practicing lots of different shots with your wedges can do nothing but help your game though, so I can honestly say both.

 

[Johnny Par]

Yeah, guess I'll just have to hit the range some more and practice different shots.

Also, is 52* a gap wedge? or is it 54? or can both be used?

I have noticed though, the range is soooooooooooooooo different from the actual fariway / rough at a golf course. So hard to adjust too.

Hitting the ball on a somewhat flat mat at the range produced great results.

Actually hitting it from deep rough / sand produced atrocious results for me.

 

[Slingblade61]

I have a 60* lob wedge I love!

It gets those wet leaves out of my gutters like nobody's business!! The way it works around pesky those gutter spikes is nothing short of amazing!

So I definitely recommend a lob wedge.

 

[ezra76]

As to the wedge question... The MX-23 PW is a 46*, I have a 47* and use it for longer uphill chips. A GW in a 50,51 or 52* would make a great chipping club.

I'll give you a tip that took me over a year to figure out, once I did my up and down % doubled in weeks. For chipping, keep your weight on your front foot, hinge and hold. That means keep the hands in front of the ball through impact, do not break the wrists. I like to chip with my feet close together and with an open stance. Now to hit a chip with more flight (higher and further into the green) with less run, open the face, swing out to in, cutting across the ball slightly. To hit a chip with more run, close the face slightly and swing more in to out, turn the toe over and point it at the stick (or your line).

Spend some time working on it. I almost always show up 20-30 minutes early to work on chipping.

 

[ezra76]

Oh, and for short pitches... acceleration through the shot is the key. To start out I recommend taking a shorter backswing followed by a longer throughswing. I often still have trouble with this. I just take 4 or 5 practice swings to get rid of any thoughts of decelerating I might get during the downswing. Swing through it and don't give up on it.

 

[Johnny Par]

great advice, thanks guys.

Ezra, I hear ya about the deceleration. A buddy of mine says that the worst thing you can do when hitting that shot.

Mentally though, I just can't seem to break it becuase I feel like if I don't, my ball will end up on the other side of the green.

Will definitely try these shots out at the range on Tuesday. Planning on taking Wednesday off to go play, should be dead at my local course so I can take my time and practice some different shots.

Wish me luck.

 

[ezra76]

I have a lot of trouble with that mental block myself. Take some agressive practice swings, then step up and hit it without giving your mind time to back out of it.

Learn how to handle the chips and short pitches, you'll be telling us how you broke 90 in no time. Good luck and tell us how it goes.

 

[JoshinWA]

Oh, and for short pitches... acceleration through the shot is the key. To start out I recommend taking a shorter backswing followed by a longer throughswing. I often still have trouble with this. I just take 4 or 5 practice swings to get rid of any thoughts of decelerating I might get during the downswing. Swing through it and don't give up on it.

I agree completely. I have taken a tip from the Dave Pelz school of thought. Dial in the length that you want to hit based on backswing length, but always finish with the same follow through length. For example, if you were a clock with arms pointing to 6:00 at address, half swing would be 9:00, three quarters would be ~10-11. For follow through, always end with the shaft pointing straight up. This works for me for PW, GW, and SW. Though there is some overlap (for example, a 3/4 with GW might go the same distance as a 1/2 with PW), the results due to spin are different. And since you are focusing on getting your follow through to a "12:00" position, you have to accelerate through the ball...

 

[DaveE]

I play MX-23s and a 51* is what I use for most chips.

What the others said about acceleration is key. You'll have to practice this to the confidence you'll need in a game.

Have you had lessons? The short game lesson that I took has saved me more strokes than just about anything else I've done.

 

[Johnny Par]

I've took one lesson, the ESPN beginner tour. It's a 1 day lesson covering shipping, putting, iron swinging. very basic.

I am thinking about taking lesson from the pro at my local range as well.