As most of you realize by now, I’m a big proponent of the type of short game that Dave Pelz advocates. Not only do I recommend his books, but I enjoy his articles in Golf Magazine each month. In the February 2010 issue, he wrote an article about choosing wedge lofts wisely. It kind of centered around the new wedge groove rule changes and, as usual, was full of great facts and advice. One thing kind of caught my attention, though, and I’m not sure I’m fully on board. Because of the lessened spin resulting from new groove regulations, he points out that players can expect around 50% less spin from the rough and about 20% less spin from the fairway for wedges of comparable lofts. He goes on to point out that to stop shots on the greens as effectively, players will have to adopt higher and softer trajectories than what we’re used to producing. And, he says, there are two ways to do that: either open the faces to current wedges to produce
Dreaded Shots: Delicate Downhill Pitches to Close Pins
The poll in the sidebar asking for your most dreaded shots has been running for a while and as time goes on, I’m getting a much clearer picture of what kinds of golf shots you collectively don’t want to face. Previously, I covered the tee shot on a tight driving hole, and the long carry over water. Since then, the tight tee shot was overtaken by the delicate downhill pitch/chip over a bunker with the pin cut close, moving it to second place. It’s very interesting to me that this shot is in second place behind the long carry over water. The reason being that the delicate pitch or chip over a bunker downhill to a closely cut pin position is a virtually no-win situation. The other two are almost completely mental challenges. I would have expected the no-win situation to be more dreadful, but I suppose the things that cause those kinds of feelings are specific to the individual based on ability, experience, and the like. If you can forget about the water or
Chipping Flaw – Hands too Far Ahead
Most conventional teaching has a player keeping the hands ahead of the ball at address to promote a crisp, descending blow. Unfortunately, many players try to do too much of a good thing and take that bit of advice way too far. I’ve even caught myself doing it. It’s true – when addressing a chip shot, the hands should be ahead of the ball (closer to the target). But how much? I personally use the technique that Dave Pelz describes in his Short Game Bible. He recommends that the hands be aligned with the inside of the left thigh. To recap his chipping address technique: stand with the feet very close together and the ball opposite your right ankle (for right-handers) and your weight slightly more on the left side (about 65%). The feet should be flared about 20 degrees toward the target. It’s helpful to align the ball to your right ankle before turning your feet toward the target, because the change of perspective makes it hard to tell where the ball is really
Do You Have Adequate Wedge Coverage?
I’m not talking about insurance coverage here. What I’m referring to is the number of wedges you carry as well as the gaps in loft between all of them. As I’ve said many times, I’m a fan of Dave Pelz’s 4×3 system, where the idea is to carry four wedges and to groove three distinct swing lengths that give you a total of twelve easily repeatable distances within 100 yards. It’s clear that scoring happens within 100 yards. Your goal on approach shots should be to get the ball close enough to the hole to make the next putt. To do that, you need to take out the guess work. Grooving wedge distances that are easily repeatable makes it much easier to achieve that goal. To do all this effectively, it’s imperative to have the right tools for the job. First, this means carrying four wedges. That will give you maximum coverage within 100 yards. I carried three wedges for a long time and considered getting a fourth, but couldn’t decide which club to ditch.
What’s Your Favorite Chipping Club?
Conventional chipping wisdom says that the best plan of attack in a chipping situation is to use a club that gets the ball on the green rolling like a putt as soon as possible. That means chipping with anything from a pitching wedge to a mid or even long iron. It’s not uncommon to see people chipping with woods when the conditions call for it. Assuming conditions are right for running the ball, you want to land it a yard or so on the green and let it run. So if you’re just off the green, you might choose a longer iron that will carry less and roll more. If you’re a little further off, then you might want to pick a club that carries further and rolls less. I’ve known all this for quite some time. But I have a problem: I’m a sand-wedge-chip-aholic. Whenever I’m in a chipping situation, I automatically reach for my precious 54-degree Cleveland 588 chrome sand wedge. No matter the situation, it’s the first club in my hand. I’ve
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