Wedge Shots in Fall & Winter—Changing Ground Conditions
USE YOUR IMAGINATION
Think hands AHEAD
Minding Your V's & U's
The Long Iron Dillema

Wedge Shots in Fall & Winter—Changing Ground Conditions

Fall weather is one of the most beautiful times of the year. However, it brings a challenge to our golf games as the playing conditions begin to change. The cooling temperatures will quickly bring us harder fairways and tighter lies. Understanding how to make proper alterations to your setup and swing will enable you to enjoy golf year round.

This short shot seems like it should be so easy, but it is to blame for lost strokes and unneeded frustration. Spend the time to learn this shot and your scores will go down (mostly from getting on the green and having closer putts resulting in more up & downs) and you will enjoy the game more (less embarrassment from chunking the ball three or four feet and less apologies for blading the ball into the group on the next tee box).

It is important to understand that this shot IS NOT hit the same as a full shot. So many have wanted to play golf by having the same swing for every shot. When this shot is attempted using the mechanics of a full swing the downswing is typically decelerating into impact and the left wrist breaks down at impact in an attempt to pick up the ball resulting in poor contact and fat or bladed shots.

Here are some tips for your setup and your swing to hit the 30-40-50 yard pitch shots. In closing I will give you some tips for chipping around the green.

Address the ball with a slightly open stance and the shoulders slightly aimed left	Ball should be slightly back in your stance with the handle ahead of the ball.
SPECIAL NOTE: When the ball is positioned too far forward in your stance it is more difficult to make solid contact.

Keep the triangle in your arms on the takeaway and hinge your wrists so the club points at the target line.	You want to return to your setup position at impact. This is very important to make solid contact.
The finish is accomplished by turning the shoulders and chest towards the target.

The greatest challenge with changing ground conditions is the tendency to hit the ball fat or thin. To ensure solid contact make sure that your weight is on your left side at impact. In fact, you can setup with 60-70% of your weight on the left side and keep it there throughout your swing.

A great way to control the distance of these pitch shots is to swing your on hands to a position on a clock. For example, a 30 yard shot can be produced by going to 8 o’clock on the backswing and 4 o’clock on the finish. Likewise, 9 to 3 for 40 yards and 10 to 2 for 50 yards.

Here is the position at 9 o’clock in the backswing.

Here is the 3 o’clock finish position that should produce a 40 yard shot.

For those shots that are right around the green it is beneficial to use a less lofted club such as a 7, 8 or 9 iron to bump and run the ball rather than trying to get it into the air. This eliminates the risk of blading and chunking the ball. This shot is very effective when conditions are plush as well. Here are a few tips to hit this shot:

1. Use the same setup as above, but your stroke will be more like a putting stroke. Your hands will travel from 7 o’clock to 5 o’clock.
2. Keep the left wrist firm through impact. DO NOT LET IT FLIP.
3. Use only your upper body. Your knees and legs should be “quiet”.
4. Choke down to the end of your grip
5. Move closer to the ball so that the heel of the club is slightly off the ground.

Here is a general guideline for how far the ball flies in the air vs. how far it rolls:
7-iron: 1/4 air – 3/4 roll
9-iron: 1/3 air – 2/3 roll
PW: 1/2 air – 1/2 roll
SW: 2/3 air – 1/3 roll
LW: 3/4 air – 1/4 roll

Practice with these clubs and you will learn your exact yardages and percentages. Enjoy!

Ty Thompson

PGA Apprentice

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USE YOUR IMAGINATION

Great short game players have great imaginations. So much of the game of golf is based on our state of mind, that if we simply change the way we see a pitch or chip shot, we may gain instant improvement.

When we think about why we take practice swings, it is to get the mind and body ready to execute a shot. Well, most people can relate to the physical part of the practice swing, but how many actually use that time to imagine or create the shot they want to hit?

Next time you practice your pitching, use your practice swing to see where you want the ball to land, how far you want it to roll, and how high in the air you want to hit it. Keep taking practice swings until your mind sees the perfect execution. Then, step up to the ball and execute. You will be amazed at how much the mind influences the results of a golf shot.

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Think hands AHEAD for better pitches & chips! Most golfers I play with have their own way of approaching their shots in pitching and chipping situations. Invariably, however, someone will chili dip or skull a shot and wonder what happened. The key to consistency in these shots is to keep your hands ahead of the ball through impact. This means you will be more likely to strike the ball first rather than the ground behind the ball. If the clubhead leads the hands, the clubhead is actually going up at impact. This will cause you to either flip the ball in the air and land far short of your target, or catch the ball going upward with the sole of the club and skull it way long. Again, think hands AHEAD during setup and the stroke to get more consistency in your chipping and pitching.

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Minding your V's and U's

Ask any tour player to rate on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the most difficult) the difficulty of getting out of a greenside bunker. You will get 9's and 10's from this crowd. Amateurs, on the other hand will rate bunkers as some evil force in which they try to avoid at all costs. Why the difference?

If you can successfully hit a pitch shot, then you can successfully get out of a bunker. Practice at first with no ball, work on “splashing” sand to your landing area. In order to get a splash effect a few things must occur: 1. Always check your ball position (the placement of the ball in your stance). If it is a relatively shallow bunker with no lip and you want more release from the ball place the ball in the center, if it is a deeper bunker and you want the ball to land soft, place the ball slightly forward of center. 2. Be conscious of back-swing length and shape. The length of the back-swing is directly related to distance control. The shape of the back-swing is related to the trajectory. For a shorter, softer shot, take a shorter back-swing in the shape of the letter V. For a longer shot with more roll, take a longer back-swing in the shape of the letter U. 3. Last, but DEFINITELY not least, always, always accelerate through the ball. If you think about how you are going to splash sand out of a bunker, you must always have the club moving through the hitting area.

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The Long Iron Dilemma
By: Erin Diegel, PGA Professional

Do you feel pretty confident with a mid or low iron? Is the trajectory nice and high allowing the ball to stop on the green? Good, now do you have that same confidence with a 4, 3 or 2 iron? Chances are, NO.

Modern clubs have lower lofts: The average golfer has more difficulty hitting long irons for several reasons. First of all, in order to hit a long iron with the trajectory needed to stop a ball on the green, you have to generate more clubhead speed. This is because the loft of today’s 4 iron is the same as a 2 iron of 15 years ago. The lower the loft of the club, the higher the clubhead speed necessary to get the ball in the air.

Hybrid clubs: Rather than invest gazillions of dollars learning how to generate more clubhead speed, invest in a hybrid club, a.k.a. an “ironwood”, or higher numbered fairway woods ( 7 woods and 9 woods). These hybrid clubs are a nice mix between a high-lofted iron at the length of a wood, resulting in more clubhead speed (length) and extreme forgiveness (loft). There are also more forgiving irons that players have known to combine with their existing set. For example, the MacGregor 455 irons are a very forgiving forged iron that has the look of and iron and a hybrid. Aaron Baddelly replaced his 2 iron with a M-455 and is having trouble adjusting because he hits it farther than his 3 wood! Wouldn’t you like to have these problems?

Ball position is key: The next thing you can do to adjust to your long irons is to check your ball position. Ball position with a 4, 3, or 2 iron should be slightly forward of center. This allows optimum contact for the added length of these irons.

Hit long irons in your practice routine: Last, but certainly not least is a practice routine. I bet most golfers have a favorite iron, usually the 7 iron, that they practice with. About 65% of the range balls are hit with this iron (especially if you are working on a particular swing technique). In order to gain confidence with any club, make sure you practice with it. It is a wise idea to alternate between a 7 iron and a 3 iron. Hit a shot with the 7, then hit a shot with the 3 and keep doing this until you have built up some confidence.

Fear the long irons no more. If you have a slower clubhead speed, think about a hybrid like the Infinity Hot Shot or Taylor Made Rescue. If your clubhead speed is a little faster, think about a more forgiving iron head like the MacGregor 455. And in any event, check ball position and PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

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