Under 100 meters

[bagfull]

This year I have been focussing on my distance with each club to gain consistancy by using the same tempo and swing for all of the clubs. My sand wedge is good for 60 meters and less. I hit my PW 100 meters and then with each club I gain an extra 10 meters. My problem is the 60 to 100 meter distance. I have tried a shorter stance and 3/4 swings but I never feel comportable. Any suggestions.

[GregJWillis]

Re: Under 100 meters

You are doing the right things so far, but a few more:

1. Choke up about 1/4 inch...er 10mm.
2. Move the ball backwards about 1 ball's width.

Using these 2 can make the ball go a little lower that helps to regulate about 10 meters or so each. So do one or the other or both depending on what you end up liking to do.

[LowPost42]

Re: Under 100 meters

Buy a Gap Wedge or Approach Wedge - I had the same problem with my PW good for 110 yds and my SW good for 80 yds. So I added a Gap Wedge that's good for about 95 yards. To make room, I took the 3 iron out of my bag - I just choke up on my 5 wood if I need a shot between my 5 wood and 4 iron.

[bagfull]

Re: Under 100 meters

Thanks guys

I assume that Choke up means hands lower down the shaft.

[LowPost42]

Re: Under 100 meters

Thanks guys

I assume that Choke up means hands lower down the shaft.

Yep - it's taken from baseball, where choke up means shorten the length of the bat.

[TeachingPro]

Re: Under 100 meters

I'm sure you know this already, but I like to use it as a starting point: 70% of all the shots you play are within 100 meters (yards) of the flag. So, to improve your golf score, focus on that area.

I've never been advocate of messing around with gripping down, taking "soft" swings and the rest of it if my students are not good golfers. A swing is complicated enough, don't make it more complicated!

Ask yourself: how many times to you hit your 3-iron, 4-iron and 5-wood? How many times do you hit from 100, 50 and 30m? I bet you good money you hit more shots from 100/75/50/25 than you do your 3 and4 iron and 5 wood combined!

So, play a 4 wedge system. You have 2 of them (PW/SW) already - all you need to do is add 2 more and get them to fit in together. You already hit you PW 100m, add more loft to you SW (without adding bounce) to hit it 75m. Then buy a 60-degree wedge and change the loft and bounce so you hit it 50 and then buy a 64-degree wedge you can hit 25m.

A good retailer and/or pro with a workshop can help you with the club making aspects.

Get rid of the 3-iron and 1 other club (maybe a 5 wood) and replace them with the 2 wedges.

So, now no matter what distance you are from 100m in you can hit a full, controlled shot into the green without being fancy. The advatanges are more than simply having a club you can make a full swing with: your short shots will have more elevation therefore you can 'throw' the ball right up to the hole, the ball travels slower so it will run less when it hits the green ... there are lots of advantages to it.

Trust me ... it works.

[Mizunoman]

Re: Under 100 meters

I would hold short of taking four wedges out on the course if I were you Bagfull. Let your home course dictate the clubs that are in your bag. For example, my course has a couple of par fours where accuracy is at premium over distance. One of them is a dogleg. Its about a 270 carry over the tall timber to make the green but its a really hard green to land a mid iron on let alone the Big Stick with trouble all around it. I carry a five wood to hit it about 240 to the end of the elbow leaving me a 80 yard pitch (for which I use a the 56° wedge) If your course has similar holes I wouldnt take the higher woods out just yet and if you do maybe compromise and carry a four wood to replace the three and the five. Check the loft of your pitching wedge (there are a few websites that carry that info just put the name of your irons in a search engine and you should find some info on it) and step the wedges up incrementally. For example if your PW is 47° maybe go for a 51° gap wedge and a 55° sand wedge etc etc.

Good Luck

[TeachingPro]

Re: Under 100 meters

Quite corect, Mizunoman, the courses you play does influence the clubs you should carry.

But, if you hit 5-wood 240 yds or meters, you're way longer than average and you'd be faced with far fewer 60-100 yard shot than a short hitter. Bagfull only hits a wedge 100m, gross that up and he'll hit a driver around 210/220m, which in modern terms is short.

So he'll be hitting far more shorter 3rd shot approaches on par 5's and medium and long par 4's. More often than not, he wont reach a par 4 longer than 380 or so and he'll never even sniff a par 5 in 2.

If you struggle to work the ball from 100yds in, you have to hit full shots and do that you need 3 or maybe 4 wedges.

The system works - ask Tom Kite. He carried 4 wedges when the US Open at Pebble Beach. He was a short hitter playing a long course in the wind and he made 100% certain he made a wedge to cover every distance from 120yds in.

[LowPost42]

Re: Under 100 meters

Your name isn't Dave Pelz, is it?

I agree with the 4 wedge system wholeheartedly - and currently carry 48*, 52*, 56* and 61* (the rest of my bag is 1,3 Woods, 22* and 36* hybrids, 4-9 irons.)

[gord962]

Re: Under 100 meters

I agree a 4 wedge system is the way to go. For so reason, I only carry three. Actually, it's quite simple - I have no gap in my clubs to put a GW in. My PW is 48* (which I hit 145 yrds), my SW is 56* (which I hit 120 yards) and my LW is 60* (which I hit 95 yards). Anything under 95 yards requires half shots, which I practice religiously because of my distance. BUT, if I did have more than a 30 yard gap between my PW and SW, I definitely would get a GW.

[bagfull]

Re: Under 100 meters

I would never thought of getting clubs between my PW and SW. Thanks for the advice. I will adjust my list to Santa today.

[Rich8P]

Re: Under 100 meters

Just putting my engineer hat on for a moment, would anybody buy a wedge with a variable head (some kind of ratchet to adjust to set distances). I could imagine a calibrated head with ten stops from 100 meters in 90, 80....

Perhaps someone has already seen it? Would it be rules legal?

Regards


Rich
(not yet a millionaire)!!!

[Ian Hancock]

Re: Under 100 meters

Rich,

Its a good idea,

Unfortunatley you cannot adjust a club during a round it illegal.

Like the new Taylormade R7 you can move the weights around to favour a draw/fade etc, but once you tee off you cannot re-ajust the club.

Could you produce the adjustable wedge cheaper that buying a gap wedge??


Ian.

[Rich8P]

Re: Under 100 meters

It wouldn't be cheaper. You'd probably need a screw through the bottom of the shaft and a spring to work the ratchet. It would mean that you could replace the wedges (or in fact all irons) with one club and thus take all possible woods.

If you are fixed to one angle after the first hit, it rather defeats the object.

Looks like I'll still have to work tomorrow!

[gord962]

Re: Under 100 meters

For the official USGA rules on adjustable clubs, check 4-1, Appendix II, 1-b which states:

Woods and irons must not be designed to be adjustable except for weight. Putters may be designed to be adjustable for weight and some other forms of adjustability are also permitted. All methods of adjustment permitted by the Rules require that:
(i) the adjustment cannot be readily made;
(ii) all adjustable parts are firmly fixed and there is no reasonable likelihood of them working loose during a round; and
(iii) all configurations of adjustment conform with the Rules. The disqualification penalty for purposely changing the playing characteristics of a club during a stipulated round (Rule 4-2a) applies to all clubs including a putter.