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Herbie's One-Putt Wedge - THP Review

SuperStroke
I finally got a chance to take Herbie out for a spin this past weekend. Work and life has been crazy lately, so I didn't get a chance to practice with it. I just literally took mine straight to the course and played with it over a couple of rounds.

The first day I had mixed results. I think the very first shot was actually fat. Uh oh. The last shot of the day with it, I chipped uphill and it just kind of stuck and didn't roll out. In between though, I used it to splash out of fluffy sand with zero issues. I also had a nice down hill chip shot where I landed it pretty much where I wanted and let it roll around the slope of the green to where the hole was. The latter was quite a tough shot.

Day two was better. I had a little short game lesson on day one and started dialing in my 56 for pitching. I routinely popped the 56 over bunkers and up to elevated greens, so one of my use cases for Herbie sort of went away. I actually think that is probably a bit easier than the ball forward position with Herbie. This let me focus on using Herbie just as a chipper and it performed very well for that purpose. When the ball is placed back in the stance, you've automatically got the proper hands forward position. Given that you do not have to worry about shanking, it really is just an exercise in distance control. It's sort of like an easier to use Niblick 42. I left several long chips up close enough to one putt, which had the added benefit of shaving strokes off of my putting total. Had my tee game not been an utter disaster, I'd have smashed my personal best.

I went home and tried Herbie out on some 30 yard pitches using the pendulum motion. This was out of the grass, so not exactly course conditions. I was a little bit inconsistent distance wise, but noticed that the balls were really straight. I could almost play golf ball boccie with respect to the line. I need to practice this a bit more to get the distance down.

I did not have the courage to try for a full swing. I'll have to try this out on a grass range and report back. I'm getting fairly comfortable with my approach wedge and SW on full swings, so I am not sure whether I actually need the club to do this. Right now it appears that Herbie might be reserved for pitching and chipping.
 
I thought that you might be having driving issues with the LT2W back in the bag and the 4 hybrid out. So do you think herbie has a place in your bag or is it more of a practice tool like OG sort of used it?
I hate to see someone pull niblicks out of their bag, but whatever works.

Do you think you would have had a personal best if you had hit your 4-wood or 7-wood off the tee?
I am just curious how bad your driving was and how many strokes it cost you?
 
majBC said:
I thought that you might be having driving issues with the LT2W back in the bag and the 4 hybrid out. So do you think herbie has a place in your bag or is it more of a practice tool like OG sort of used it?
I hate to see someone pull niblicks out of their bag, but whatever works.

Do you think you would have had a personal best if you had hit your 4-wood or 7-wood off the tee?
I am just curious how bad your driving was and how many strokes it cost you?
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majBC: It was bad. I probably hit provisionals on 6-7 holes, which just ate me up. It was my worst driving day in 6 months.

My issue with the driver was introduced based on some swing tips that I read and tried to implement a couple of months ago. I've picked up distance, but it has introduced the pull. I just need to get back out to the range and fix it. I've got to stop reading those and just go with the swing that feels natural.

The LT2W is back into the bag due to some holes on a couple of courses that I play. There are a couple of holes that I need to be able to hit a high tee shot about 195-200, all carry. I'm not a big hitter, so the LT2W sort of fits this distance perfectly.

Getting back to a 3 wedge setup (AW/50, 56 and Herbie) has let me add an extra club back to the top of the bag. That's where I need it more than anywhere else.
 
Good luck on getting your driver swing back, I am sure you will get it back in short order. Sometimes it helps to have one guru (one book you use as your swing coach) and only use that swing system at least until you can better separate what can help you and what can't.
 
Due to some choices about club gapping and an attempt to reduce the number of shot types that I try, I no longer carry a club that I either am not comfortable with, or that I know I will not use. That has left me with an extra slot (two really) in my bag, so I can afford to carry a pure chipper.

I played a round with the Herbie this past weekend and used it exclusively for chipping. I probably was in chip position about 6 times during the round and rolled about 4 of them to within 8 feet. Given my handicap, the fact that I was playing a course with some very large greens and was choosing to chip as opposed to putt from the fringe, I was pretty happy. I got quite a number of "nice chips" from playing partners and one asked about the club to potentially purchase one.

The "forced" hands forward position paired with the lack of a hosel really is great for chipping. Just aim for the bottom and back of the ball and it will pop up every time and roll out nicely. Just get the speed down, and you are set.

Now I need to work on the pitching. That's what has been killing my game.
 
I have not been able to duplicate the success I had indoors and in my back yard. A head problem for sure but yesterday was the final attempt. After a few "chips" over the green I went back to my U wedge. I have a Sand wedge with duplicate specs coming. Cool concept produces great results but has given me too much to think about.
 
chasd3: Sorry to hear it.

I've been practicing a bit with the Herbie and have been getting it down. Yesterday I had about 5 chips (including a tough one from on top of about an 8 foot mound feeding into a downhill sloping green) and 4 out of the 5 left me in position to one putt. Now, my putter was ice cold, so that didn't happen, but it wasn't due to the chipping.

This season I'll be using the Niblick 49 for pitching and any shot from the fairway inside of 80 yards. The SW will come out solely for shots out of the sand as there's just too much risk on full swings. Paired with Herbie, this is a wedge combo that pretty much lets me play all the shots that I need to make.

Back on topic with respect to Herbie, if you need chipping help, this is the club for you. It just becomes and exercise in speed and picking the line. It's not that good for full swings, is okay on pitches and can be used in fluffy sand (ball forward position). For chipping though, I've never used anything better.
 
ryebread said:
chasd3: Sorry to hear it.

I've been practicing a bit with the Herbie and have been getting it down. Yesterday I had about 5 chips (including a tough one from on top of about an 8 foot mound feeding into a downhill sloping green) and 4 out of the 5 left me in position to one putt. Now, my putter was ice cold, so that didn't happen, but it wasn't due to the chipping.

This season I'll be using the Niblick 49 for pitching and any shot from the fairway inside of 80 yards. The SW will come out solely for shots out of the sand as there's just too much risk on full swings. Paired with Herbie, this is a wedge combo that pretty much lets me play all the shots that I need to make.

Back on topic with respect to Herbie, if you need chipping help, this is the club for you. It just becomes and exercise in speed and picking the line. It's not that good for full swings, is okay on pitches and can be used in fluffy sand (ball forward position). For chipping though, I've never used anything better.
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Great job RB :clapp:. Herbie is not going to be the cure all or work for everybody. That's like everything else in the market. Different strokes for different folks. Sounds like it works really well for your chipping. Anything that carves strokes off the card is worth it's money!
 
I used Herbie two weeks ago on a really wet course, and how really good luck with the club. My first pitch wasn't good as I had not played with it much, but after that it went really well for me. I hit probably a 30 yard pitch shot to about 10 feet with it over a bunker and another from just behind the green to about three feet for par. I love this club it will be in my bag for a long time. Thanks again Ole Gray for the nice toy.
 
woody_74 said:
I used Herbie two weeks ago on a really wet course, and how really good luck with the club. My first pitch wasn't good as I had not played with it much, but after that it went really well for me. I hit probably a 30 yard pitch shot to about 10 feet with it over a bunker and another from just behind the green to about three feet for par. I love this club it will be in my bag for a long time. Thanks again Ole Gray for the nice toy.
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Good job woody and I'm happy it's working out for ya. No shanks yet huh? :D
 
Ole Gray said:
Great job RB :clapp:. Herbie is not going to be the cure all or work for everybody. That's like everything else in the market. Different strokes for different folks. Sounds like it works really well for your chipping. Anything that carves strokes off the card is worth it's money!
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Thanks OG. That pretty much sums it up.

I do think the OPW is helping me shave strokes as I set a personal best round on Sunday. Now the score itself wasn't all that great because I'm just not that good, but it did feel nice to do better than I have before. My short game at least looked like it belonged to a golfer.
 
Keep practicing with this at the house with great results. Bring it to range or course and not so much. Really perplexed as to why I can't make this thing work for me. Anyone else blown away with how easy it was only to mentally lock up with it?
 
chasd3 said:
Keep practicing with this at the house with great results. Bring it to range or course and not so much. Really perplexed as to why I can't make this thing work for me. Anyone else blown away with how easy it was only to mentally lock up with it?
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chasd3: I see you are trying to sell yours. That's a shame. If I didn't have one, I'd buy yours in a second.

Really, for chipping it is a no brainer for me. Every once in a while I blade one on a really thin lie, but that's more of a break down in mechanics (don't have the ball far enough back). Other than that, it's been a breeze on the course. Do I get down in 2 every time? No, but that's more of a function of my skill level and some historically bad putting.

Where I practice, I've been kind of manufacturing different scenarios. The hardest is shot to a close pin that needs to come out of deep grass. My 56 may be what I need to use there. Also, if the ball is buried in the rough between the higher grass (sort of like a stepped on lie), then it can be tough. Regardless of club, that's a tough shot.
 
Just purchased chasd3's one putt. Also looking into some wedges. I really need Jesus on this part of my game. From 80-100yrds in I am atrocious. :(

Chris
 
NA&CH said:
Just purchased chasd3's one putt. Also looking into some wedges. I really need Jesus on this part of my game. From 80-100yrds in I am atrocious. :(

Chris
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Why not try Stan Utley's methods in his books either "The Art of Scoring" or "The Art of the Short Game" I favor his methods. Some here prefer Dave Pelz's methods and his are good as well. His book "Pelz short game Bible" is very informative also.
 
Chris: Find something you feel visually confident in and just practice. If you spend 20 minutes chipping for every 20 minutes on the range, you will be surprised how quickly a weakness will become a strength.

On the course, if you stink from 100 yards in, don't leave yourself that shot. MajBC had to beat that through my thick skull, but he is correct.
 
I told myself instead of smashing the ball at the range I need to practice my short game. I dont have a soild set of wedges. So I picked a set up from a member.

It is true Practice make decent hahaha

Chris

ryebread said:
Chris: Find something you feel visually confident in and just practice. If you spend 20 minutes chipping for every 20 minutes on the range, you will be surprised how quickly a weakness will become a strength.

On the course, if you stink from 100 yards in, don't leave yourself that shot. MajBC had to beat that through my thick skull, but he is correct.
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Chris: It's amazing how quickly you can get the Herbie down. My last 3 practice chips the other night were from about 75 feet out, and I was down in two all three times (i.e. chip with Herbie and then one putt). Granted, this is the practice green where I know the read, and not with all the things that come into the mind on the course, but I was still happy.

I personally don't consider 75 footers a high percentage to get down in two. I'm not to the point where that's effectively a gimmie, but it is improving.

I think the best practice strategy is 40 minutes on the range, 20 minutes of chipping and 20 minutes of putting. Dial out some range time or chipping time if you can practice pitching or getting out of the sand. You can work on almost all of your game in 1.5 hours.
 
For people who have used this club, is it pretty much the easiest club from off the fringe to maybe 30-40 yards out? I've been using a number of different wedges and clubs but haven't found any consistency. Even though I practice several hours a week, it's just not clicking.

I'm thinking something with a large, flat sole and more upright so you can swing more like a pendulum would be ideal. That way the bottom of the club can't catch on the turf and twist it off line. You could basically line up like a putt and just try to get the distance and read the breaks on the green correctly.

I'm debating between this and the Acer chipper/flipper clubs. They have a similar sole and upright lie but are only $30. Is the Herbie significantly a better club?

FWIW I don't use a full set of clubs as I can't hit the driver or woods straight yet so I have a lot of room in my bag.
 
I'd say that's exactly where it excels Jarick. Great chipping club since it sort of forces your hands ahead of the ball.
 
Hawk said:
I'd say that's exactly where it excels Jarick. Great chipping club since it sort of forces your hands ahead of the ball.
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I concur 100%. It's a great club to help you feel a good follow through motion. The impact zone is where it all happens anyway so use something that teaches you to accelerate through the bottom of the swing.
 
Ole Gray said:
I concur 100%. It's a great club to help you feel a good follow through motion. The impact zone is where it all happens anyway so use something that teaches you to accelerate through the bottom of the swing.
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For sure. It was a fine pitching club too. I just couldn't get as high a trajectory as I prefer all the time.
 
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