golfrewind.com

Had a shot like this yesterday and played it like you said. Right on the green with a chance to birdie the hole.....

Mahalo, Shade!

For me it IS a very slightly weak PW, but I'm so short with my irons that you'd think I was 90 years old.

I do think that you have a rather large gap if you don't have anything between your PW and a 56° SW. I have those (47° PW and 56° SW), plus a 52° GW. I don't carry anything higher than the SW.

Hawaii. If your PW is 47* and your SW is 56*, than get a 51* Gap wedge, NOT a 52*. 51*'s is exactly half way, so your distance should also be half way between the two. As for me, I'd hit my standard SW wedge shot, as my carry with a SW is 105 yards. Since your SW came up short, I'd think a 51* GW should be pretty close to perfect for you.

Mahalo nui, kakou!

Your suggestions have me wondering: Does it matter much if your wedges are not the same brand/series?

I have a Nike CPR PW, a Nike 56, and a Cobra SW that's 60* (says SW 60* on the sole).

Would the ideal thing be get a 51, 56, and 60 of all the same kind?

Should I be playing sand shots with the 56? I really like the 60... It's the oldest club in the bag...

Thanks again, in advance!

Shade

If I were you, I'd never ask how far anyone else hit a given club. You only have to know how far you hit your clubs. It's easy to get hung up on what other players are doing but they still keep score the way they always have. You clearly have a gap, fill it with a 52 degree - they're easier to find.

If there's one thing I've learned in the few short months that I've been playing, trying to muscle a club to a longer distances generally makes for a nasty scramble afterwards! As many have stated, club up one & take a light swing or adjust your grip (choke down on the club) to shave a few yards off your shot, that way you don't get into the same issues that I have! I'm just now starting to understand what is meant by 'finesse' when it comes to golf.

You're right.

I wasn't asking so I could compare distances. I was asking to find out how one would play the shot (and I wanted to provide some kind of context).

But thanks for the reminder...

I use my pitching wedge from 105.

There was a made for tv golf challenge thing on the tube a couple of years ago...various pro athletes competing in a skills challenge with PGA, LPGA and Senior tour stars...


Dan Marino (scratch) hit a 56* wedge to a hole that was 104 from the tee...he took a nice rip at it, spun the ball back a good 10' and was 15' from the hole...the PGA player hit a 9 iron that stopped dead 3 ft from the hole with no spinback...looked like he was hitting a greenside pitch...that he was capable of hitting the 9 140-150 is beside the point...

That is all that needs to be said about this topic. When it comes to the irons, it's not how far you hit them, it's how well you hit them.

use an approack wedge, i beleive the angle is a 54 degree, it should let u hit the green dead on

With your current set makeup, The posts above suggesting a choked down pw and/or 3/4 swing are good advice. Let me suggest, though, two things:
1. Practice with your wedges to find your average carry distances with full and 3/4 shots, then the same while choking down. Knowing your distances and trajectories will inspire confidence.
2. Experiment with gap wedges. Ideally you want a spread of 4* between clubs, so if you pw is 48* and your sw is 56*, try gap wedges in the 52* range.
I like having a club that I know will fly 100 yards under average conditions, then calculate my club selection from there given terrain and climate conditions.

I personally don't think it matters if there the same brand or not. Its whats comfortable to you that matters. If you like the look, feel and playability of a cobra 60* over the nike but vice versa for your 56 so be it. Having matching brand names means very little in my opinion.

If your 60* is getting old but you still like it I recommend a groove sharpner, not a cleaner but sharpner. You can pick one up for $10 to $15 and use it on all your clubs.

Mahalo nui!