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 high flop/cut shots, or get wedges with higher lofts.  He adds that it’s easier to hit shots straight and control the distance with a square club face than it is with an open-faced cut shot.

This is where I’m kind of torn.  Believe me, I don’t doubt that Pelz can show that, scientifically, hitting those little cut lob shots is not as reliable as hitting something with a square club face.  But, I also think there’s something to be said for developing the creativity that comes along with hitting all kinds of shots with each wedge.

As you may know, Dave Pelz is a proponent of a 4×3 system, where the goal is to carry 4 wedges, and to groove 3 distinct short game swings with each, thereby giving you twelve absolutely grooved, reliable, distances within wedge range.  I talked a little more about Pelz’s 4×3 system and why it works when I reviewed his Short Game Bible, which you can check out for more background.

When it comes to finesse wedge shots, I can certainly agree with using that system.  I’ll be the first to say that if your 9 o’clock sand wedge swing produces a shot of 50 yards, then trying to open the face of your pitching wedge to hit that distance with the same swing isn’t a great plan.

But let’s talk about shots from within your shortest 4×3 distance.  We’ll say for the sake of argument that we’re talking about shots 25 yards and shorter.  I will agree with Pelz that, all things being equal, hitting a 15-yard pitch with a square face will produce a more consistent shot over numerous attempts than if you have to open the club face of a less lofted wedge some amount to hit a higher, softer shot to produce a shot of the same distance.

Naturally, introducing a second variable (an open club face) adds some degree of inconsistency because the best we can do is make a guess of how much the face is open and it won’t likely be the same each time, whereas we can probably get the club face closer to square each time (even though it usually won’t be perfectly square).

I get all that.

At the same time, I think there is some benefit to being able to take out a single club and produce a nearly infinite number of shots within a certain distance.  And maybe that doesn’t even mean taking those shots to the course.  Maybe on the course, it’s best to just stick with the shots Pelz recommends for maximum consistency.

I believe there is, however, a certain confidence and comfort that comes with being able to take a wedge out of your bag and feel like you can do anything with it, even if your intent is only to produce a vanilla, square-faced, short pitch.

I think I kind of felt that a little last spring as I was putting in my foundational practice green work for the year.  To mix things up, I would spend 20 minutes or so with each of my four wedges.  I would hit all the plain square-face chips that I could, to various targets around the green.  I was working on my basic stance and swing and all that, and getting a feel for how each club reacted for those shots.  How high did the ball fly?  Did the shots check at all?  How far did the ball fly for a given swing length?

I also spent a lot of time with each club hitting shots that I might not normally attempt.  I would find a pin that was only a couple of paces on the green and drop the ball in the fringe and see if I could hit a little lob and stop it close.  I would bury the ball in the rough and try the same shot.  I would drop the ball on the fringe and try to keep the ball lower by de-lofting the club some.  I would address the ball with my hands back some to see if the shot came out higher and more softly.

I believe that spending so much time doing that gave me an extreme comfort with my wedges from just off the greens.  My stats don’t really show me getting up and down a lot last year, but in fairness, I usually wasn’t just off the greens because I was struggling with swing troubles for a while and as the summer wore on, I spent less time working around the practice green and more time on the practice tee.

However, early in the year, my confidence from just off the green was at an all time high, and I can’t help but wonder if that was the result of trading a little art for science around the practice green.

Even though we might practice a wide variety of shots around the practice green, normally, that can’t match the infinite combination of possible situations we face on the course.  I might hit 50 balls from three paces off the green to a pin five paces onto the surface, but did I hit any where I was three paces off the green to a pin that was three paces on?  Maybe not.

What I did, though, was practice all sorts of shots with my wedges so that when I encountered a shot on the course that was a little different from what I might have practiced, I was still very confident because I felt like I could vary what I was doing with hand position, club face, swing length, etc. and not feel totally out of sorts wondering what the result would be.

It could be that all I did was find a way to give myself a little false confidence.  Maybe I would have enjoyed the same confidence and even more success by just sticking with grooving a consistent, repeatable swing and not trying to concern myself with hitting all sorts of wacky shots with my wedges.

What do you all think?  Is there a benefit to mixing in a good bit of art with all of the science?  Or do you think that keeping it consistent and repeatable is better in the long run?  I’d love to hear how you all approach that segment of the game.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

Trading Science for Art Around the Greens

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 the trouble on the hole with OB, woods, water, etc. coming in to play on the tee shot, the shots themselves are completely routine.  If you have the ability to hit the ball to a reasonably sized target and carry it a reasonable distance most of the time, then those shots are psychological barriers.

In fact, in the delicate pitch/chip scenario, the bunker is really a mental challenge, as well.  I just threw that in there to add to the anxiety.  I know that many of us have trouble hitting delicate short game shots.  Some players have real trouble with skulling or chunking pitches and chips.  In that case, the bunker does come into play.  However, if you have a reasonably decent pitching or chipping stroke, the bunker shouldn’t even be a factor.

The real issue is, this shot is very difficult, even for a tour pro.

We need to consider our expectations around the greens.  As you probably know, our objective, when the ball is somewhere around the green, is to get the ball on the green and make the putt to save par.  To do that, we need to get our pitch or chip to stop reasonably close to the hole.  Dave Pelz calls that the “Golden Eight Feet”.  If we can get the ball to stop within 8-10 feet of the pin (or closer, obviously) we give ourselves the best chance to make the putt.  Further out, and the odds are heavily in favor of missing, even for a tour pro.

If you have to pitch the ball to a pin that is cut close to you with a severely downhill slope in the way, then the shot is nearly impossible, even if you manage to hit the hole or pin.  It doesn’t matter how much spin you can put on the ball or how adept you are at hitting the flop shot.  When the ball lands and its spin is expended, gravity will simply carry it well past the hole.  And, don’t forget the fact that if you’re forced to land the ball on the slope, the angle will propel the ball forward, giving the it zero chance of landing softly and rolling out.

Prevention is the Answer

Prevention is really why this shot is an issue of course management.  You should be doing everything in your power to manage your misses.  Don’t think for a second that the pros don’t know where the best miss is on every green they hit a shot at.  If their natural shot shape will have them flirting with disaster like that, you can bet that they’re either going to shape the shot differently to keep the ball in a safer area (which you may or may not have the ability to do), or they’re going to aim their shot at a spot that takes the danger out of play if they miss it (which we all have the ability to do).

If you hit the ball for the fattest part of the green, you have a good shot at getting down in two putts or maybe even making a long putt.  Even if you miss the green, you have a good chance of getting up and down.  If you get into a spot where you have that nasty downhill shot, you’re almost definitely looking at the pitch and two putts, and if you hit your pitch poorly and fail to get on, the outcome will be worse.

I Hate to Say “I Told Ya So”

OK, I did, but we both know that we’re all going to end up with shots like that at some point, despite the fact that we know we should try really hard to avoid it.  Even tour pros will find themselves in a spot like that on occasion.

The key is to manage your expectations at that point.  When I’m in that spot, I forget about making the shot or even getting it close.  My number one goal is to get it on the green.

When you start thinking about making it, the first instinct is to try and get cute and feather the ball up there and let it run out as slowly as possible to try and stop it close.  In some cases, if you can just barely get the ball started, you might be able to stop it close.  But I’ve been in situations where I could just set the ball down on the edge of the green and it would roll 10-15 feet past because of the severity of the slope.

When you get in that mindset of feathering it, you run the risk of forgetting your fundamentals and decelerating through the shot and hitting it fat (or just simply not hard enough).  Do that and you may not even reach the green.  That wastes a stroke and leaves you in essentially the exact same predicament.

The conservative  play is to just get the ball on the green so remember your chipping or pitching fundamentals and be sure to land the ball on the green and suffer with the run-out.

Depending on the area where the pin is located, you might want to consider the riskier cut lob (flop) shot.  If the spot around the pin gives you a fairly flat landing area, you might have success flying the ball to, or just past, the flag.  If you practice the flop shot and the lie is suitable, then it can be a decent option.  If you don’t practice the shot or the lie isn’t suitable, then you’re primed to either skull the ball over the opposite side of the green or to barely advance it.

Take YOUR Game into Consideration

The basic idea here is that this shot is nearly impossible to get close to the hole.  You need to give your own skill level realistic consideration and try your best to avoid it, and to limit the damage when you end up putting yourself in that difficult position.  Pick your shot carefully and play within your own comfort zone.  If that means accepting that the ball will have to be played well past the flag and that you’ll likely be two-putting, then so be it.  In the long run, accepting a little pain will prevent the big blowups that can come from situations like this.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

Dreaded Shots: Delicate Downhill Pitches to Close Pins

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 aligned, at least until you’ve had time to practice. You should be standing close to the ball, enough to get the heel of the club slightly off the turf and you should be aligned parallel left of the target.

When considering how far ahead the hands should be, the key thing to consider is that the feet should be very close together. This means that even with the ball aligned with your back ankle, the hands aren’t all that far ahead of the ball.

Try an experiment: address a chip shot as I described above, and set your hands so that they’re aligned with the inside of your left thigh. They’re not all that far ahead, are they? Now, move your front foot toward the target maybe a foot or so so your stance is about as wide as you’d use for a finesse wedge shot. Make sure your hands are still aligned with the inside of your left thigh and your weight is still favoring your left side (about 65%).

See how much different that is? Your hands are waaaaaaay ahead of the ball now. I see players fairly regularly chipping like that. They take a much wider stance than necessary and set their hands too far ahead. Or, some will take a narrow stance but still set their hands much further forward, toward the middle or even the outside of the left thigh.

So what happens when you do that?

That will cause a much steeper angle of attack and you run the risk of bringing the club right down on top of the ball. Or, even worse, you may start to incorporate some body sway when you make a chipping stroke because your subconscious is astute enough to realize that you’re going to bring your wedge down on top of the ball and it doesn’t want that to happen, so you end up stubbing it into the turf. Either way, you’ll probably experience some inconsistency.

Remember that the club should hit the ball with a slightly descending blow. Address the ball as I described above and don’t let those hands get too far ahead and you’ll be on your way to making a much more consistent chipping stroke.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

Chipping Flaw – Hands too Far Ahead

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. After a lot of consideration, I realized that I almost never use my 4-iron. I mean never. Coming to that realization meant that I then had an open slot for that fourth wedge.

Second, it’s important that the wedges have fairly even gaps in loft to them. This allows you to have an even distribution of grooved yardages within 100 yards.

After dropping my 4-iron, I picked up three new Cleveland 588 chrome wedges. I now have a 49° pitching wedge, a 56° sand wedge, a 60° lob wedge, and a 64° extra lofted wedge. Having a fairly even distribution of loft between each wedge ensures that my distances within 100 yards will be somewhat evenly distributed.

Something to consider: I play Callaway X-16 Pro irons. The pitching wedge that came with those irons is 46°. However, I replaced it with a pitching wedge that’s three degrees more lofted. That means that I now have a significant gap between my 9-iron and pitching wedge.

I’m planning on getting new irons for next season, so I’ll be sure that I consider the lofts to give me more even coverage. In the meantime, I’ll get my 9-iron bent to add a degree or two of loft and I’ll have about a degree added to my 8-iron. This will even out the coverage some until I get new irons. Of course, that means I now have three new clubs and will have two clubs with different lofts to get used to.

You may notice that I have a somewhat larger gap between my 49° and 56° wedges at 7°, whereas it’s 4° between the others. The main reason is that I wanted to keep my 60° wedge. This was mostly due to the cost of buying 4 wedges instead of 3 (my 54° sand wedge needed to go because it was getting too worn).

Why did I choose the larger gap where I did? The reason for that is that I wanted more precision from the shorter clubs. That means that the yardage gaps get smaller as I get closer to the hole. My preference was to have that extra level of distance control closer to the greens.

Another thing to consider when outfitting yourself with wedges is the bounce of each club. Having a variety of bounces will make your wedges more suited for a variety of situations.

For instance, you’ll want more bounce on your sand wedge because it’s more appropriate for hitting from the sand. However, if the sand is excessively wet or packed down, a club with less bounce might be more effective. Also, from a tight or hardpan lie, a club with less bounce will be more effective, while from deeper rough, more bounce is helpful.

For my 56° wedge, I chose the most bounce, for use in the sand. My 60° wedge has the least amount of bounce for hardpan lies. My other two wedges have moderate bounce for a large variety of situations.

If you’re really looking to score, look to do it within 100 yards. Putting is arguably the most important skill, but even the best putters start to quickly lose effectiveness outside of 8-10 feet. That means it’s imperative to put your approaches close. Get the right clubs for the job, and you’ll have a better shot of doing that.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

Do You Have Adequate Wedge Coverage?

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 been that way forever.

I’ve read Dave Pelz’s Short Game Bible cover to cover probably four times (I’m on my fifth read). I’ve read pages upon pages of analysis as to why it’s better to keep the ball as low as possible when chipping for accuracy.

Yet, I feel so much more comfortable chipping with my sand wedge.

It’s something I’ve been trying to change this year. I’ve found that when I use a pitching wedge or other club, my distance control is just abysmal. That’s obviously because my go-to club for years has been my sand wedge and I haven’t practiced any other way.

Tiger Woods, the enabler that he is, says in his book How I Play Golf that it’s OK to favor a certain chipping club. He says that short game artists vary their club to the situation, but that leaning toward a certain club is acceptable. That only feeds my disorder.

Decisions, decisions. Do I listen to possibly the greatest player ever and stick with my sand wedge (ignoring that he also said that the club should be varied when the situation calls for it), or do I listen to a man that I believe to be the best short-game expert ever?

Fine. I’ll listen to the experts and start working on chipping with other clubs right away.

What’s your favorite chipping club?

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

What’s Your Favorite Chipping Club?

According to Pelz, the best way to control wedge distances within 100 yards is to groove a set of three pre-defined swing lengths: 7:30, 9:00, and 10:30, where you imagine swinging within the face of a giant imaginary clock and where the player’s left shoulder is at the center of the dial, and the position of the left arm at the end of the back swing gives the “time” reading (left arm parallel to the ground is 9:00).

Couple those three swings with four different wedges and you have 12 different shot lengths that are easily repeatable from around 100 yards down to about 30. This is the basis of his 3×4 system.

But what happens when you’re between wedges or within 30 yards?

One option is to “take a little off” of one of your standard distances by varying the back back swing length slightly. While this is doable, it’s a little more prone to error.

The other possibility is to choke down a little on the club to shorten the distance some. Because of the laws of physics, the same exact swing using a shorter club (the same club, gripped down) produces a shorter shot.

This is a much more consistent approach than trying to rely on feel to accomplish the shot. If you’re using the same swing you’ve practiced over and over and over, then your chance of success is much higher. The only thing you have to figure out is how much distance is affected by gripping down. You can easily find that out on the practice range.

Recently, I was faced with a 30 yard or so pitch from off a green, over a bunker, to a pin that was on the back tucked onto a tier. The ball was settled down in the rough some.

The swing required for a pitch shot from 30 yards and in is a little different than a swing for a 3×4 wedge shot, but the principle is the same. In this situation, I needed to fly the ball high and land it softly with no hope of getting any spin out of the rough. Unfortunately, it was a little shorter than my standard grooved pitch swing with my 60 degree wedge.

My solution was to grip down and take my normal swing. I knew that if I tried to take a little off by using feel, I was likely to have an inconsistent result because my confidence in that shot isn’t as high as I’d like it to be (yet). In that situation, the tendency is to either take too short a back swing and then compensate by getting handsy, or to take too long a back swing and compensate by not properly accelerating through the shot.

I gripped down almost to the end of the grip, took several preview swings to get the feel of bending over a little more. When it felt right, I stepped up and pulled the trigger. The result was a well-struck shot that flew the right distance, landed softly, and gave me a chance to make a putt. Because I used the same swing mechanics that I practice and only varied my setup, I was able to execute a swing that I was confident in.

Next time you practice your wedge game, get a feel for how gripping down can affect distance. I think you’ll find it to be a good way to make subtle changes to your standard distances that you can execute with confidence and reliability.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

Using a Shorter Club for Precision

The purpose of the flop shot is to get the ball in the air very quickly, have it carry a minimum distance, and stop very close to where it lands. This is a perfect shot when you’re close to the green hitting to a pin that’s close to the edge and you have to fly the ball over a bunker or keep it from running away. It’s not a tough shot to learn, but it requires practice, so you won’t want to unveil this on the course for the first time without getting the hang of it on the range.

I like to follow Tiger Woods’ basic flop shot technique. At address, the stance is relatively wide, promoting a quiet lower body and is aligned well left of the target. The ball is played somewhat forward, off the left heel. You definitely want to use a high-lofted club, 60 degrees or more. the face is laid open at address.

The swing is very long. The club is picked up steeply in the back swing. Tiger recommends having a cupped left wrist at the top, opening the club face even more. Then just accelerate through impact, trying to visualize sliding the club under the ball. The follow through should be long. Tiger mentions that he likes to aim for impact on the toe of the club, because it deadens the impact some.

You need to be selective of the lie before attempting a flop shot. Hard pan lies, or lies settled down in the rough are not good candidates. Fluffy lies are ok, but you have to be a little more precise or you run the risk of getting too far under the ball and sending it only a couple of feet.

Next time you’re at the range (avoid the practice green with this one, at first) give the flop shot a try. It’s a useful shot that can be picked up with a little practice. When you encounter a situation on the course that calls for a flop shot, it can be a valuable stroke-saver, if executed properly.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

The Flop Shot

It was a great technique for getting out of thick green-side rough. Often, if you try to make a normal pitch or chip shot in that situation, the club head can get hung up and any number of things can happen, including the possibility of hitting it fat or thin, skulling it, or flubbing it a few yards. The rough will tend to grab the hosel and turn the face closed causing problems with shot trajectory, direction, and distance.

What you can do in that situation is use a sand wedge and open the face and play it sort of like a little splash shot out of the sand. When you lay the face open a bit, the bounce of the club gets the leading edge moving through the grass better with less chance of the rough grabbing the hosel and shutting the face down. There’s also less chance of the club just digging into the rough and staying there.

As you swing through the ball, resist letting the face close as you would for a normal shot. Keep the face open through impact, like you would for a sand shot. Remember to aim a little left to compensate for the open club face, and prepare for the shot to splash out and run more than it would from the fairway at the same distance, due to the lessened spin.

Above all, be sure to take several practice swings in similar rough near your ball to get a good idea of how the shot is going to feel as the club passes through the rough.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

Splash It Out Of The Rough

My chipping has improved a lot this year after I made two improvements that were causing me trouble. First, I was standing too far from the ball. This kept me from being able to just let my arms move freely back and through. I was having to guide the club head at the ball which caused inconsistency. The second thing I did was narrow my stance considerably. I now play chips with my feet almost together (but not all the way), where before I was playing them with my feet several inches apart. With the ball played off the back foot it was difficult to make a nice, crisp, descending blow and I was catching them fat a lot.

My basic chipping technique comes from Dave Pelz’s Short Game Bible. I play the shot standing relatively tall (not hunched over) with my feet almost together and my toes flared about 20 degrees toward the target. Pelz says that about 65% of my weight should be on my left foot, but I think I prefer just a little more. I choke down on the grip and employ the “dead hands grip”. Essentially, I’m using just enough grip pressure to hold on to the club. The ball is fairly close to my feet and about even with my right ankle (it helps to line up the ball before flaring the toes toward the target for a more accurate ball position). My hands start ahead of the ball. From there, I just swing the club back and through using a nice, even tempo, making sure to accelerate through the ball and strike it with a slightly descending blow. My wrists are quiet and firm but not tense.

I typically use a 54 degree sand wedge around the greens in most chipping situations because I feel more comfortable with it. It’s more common, and frankly better practice, to get the ball on the green and rolling as soon as possible, so it’s normal to chip with anything from a wedge up to a 5-iron, depending on how far the ball needs to carry and then how far it needs to roll. With a wedge, there will be more carry and less roll, and the opposite will be true for longer clubs.

If you have trouble with chipping, give this technique a try and I think you’ll see some improvement. Practice with different clubs in different situations to see how the ball reacts and you’ll get a better feel for how to play the shot when the pressure is on.

© 2007-2011 Life in the Rough. All Rights Reserved.

Keep Those Chips Crisp