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Dialing back, what is easier?

Tadashi70

Tadashi70

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In the course of play we all come across those in between yardages. You know the time when you can either stretch an iron or ease off a seven. Or choke down on your hybrid to hit a feathered cut vs stepping on a 4iron.
this isn't about swinging easy or choosing the right club. What I want to know is what do you find easier, dialing back the top end of the bag, middle or bottom. Some carry three wedges to cover distances at the bottom, others make sure the top of the bag covers all distance. What do you do? Where do you feel more comfortable dialing back?

i learn to play golf by hitting half shots through out the whole bag so I'm comfy from top to bottom, especially on the bottom end.
 
I struggle the most dialing back the middle of the bag. I am pretty one-dimentional with a 5-8i in my hands unfortunately. I can hit all sorts of different yardages with my wedges (except 70 yards) and I can dial back my hybo or 5 wood with relative ease.

Hope I answered the question properly.
 
Wedges for sure...longer clubs are harder.. When I dial back on longer, I snap hook it off the planet.:act-up:
 
For me the easiest is dialing back my short irons/wedges. I am pretty comfortable taking 1/2 and 3/4 swings with them. With my driver/3W I don't think I would ever do it
 
I'm comfortable dialing it back or stretching the irons from the top of my bag down through my 9. My PW I do have difficulty in the 115-125 range because I struggle with GW and SW I usually dial them back and can hit decent shots with both clubs. but I do have difficulty in the 115-125 range because I struggle with dialing my PW back to about 80-85% which is where it would need to be to hit that... Part of my problem though is my loft spacing from my PW to my GW (45 to 53).
 
3 wedges???...4 wedges FTW! I do find it easiest to lay off with my medium 7-9
 
I used to think it was impossible for me to lay off of a 5 iron the way I could lay off of a 9 iron. But as I have taken lessons and practiced more in the last few years than I ever have before I find it to not be the case. I still can't take off of a 3 or 5 wood, but with irons and hybrids I feel pretty confident in doing so. Really working on the Pelz system and then moving it down the bag has made a huge difference for me.
 
I have to step on it. I think the key to 3/4 shots is practice and I just don't have enough time to devote to those type of shots.
 
I really struggle if I dial back at any spot in the bag. Gets my timing and confidence all messed up. With the wedges irons and hybrid I tend to choke down and let that take away my distance for me.
 
When I dial back, I am much better with the shorter clubs. I would rather hit harder than softer, and it seems like whenever I try to hit an easy 3, 4 or 5 or whatever, I usually come up short.
 
I'm similar to you Freddie, some of the best tips I've ever gotten were to hit 100 yd 9 irons and 150 yd 5 irons. It has transferred throughout my bag with the exception of the driver and I have learned to be a better ball striker because of it. I Remember standing next to Faxon at Avenel and someone in the pro am asked him about carrying 2 or 3 wedges and his response was you should start with one and learn to hit every shot with it like Hogan did, then put a second in the bag, get to know your clubs intimately. It still sticks with me like it was yesterday.
 
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This is something I am still working on, but getting a little better with. I just need to spend more time with it. I've gotten a lot better with the wedges on this, but haven't spent the time throughout the bag to be comfortable all the way yet. It will get done though.
 
This is actually what I'm working on right now. I've been terrible at playing half shots or dialing back a bit, and I really think I need to be much better at it to take my game to the next level.

Right now, bottom of the bag is much easier to dial back, mostly because that is what I've been practicing. I can also dial back the driver when needed off of the tee. Everything else is a cheap shoot right now.
 
Much more comfortable dialing back with the wedges than anything else. I carry a 50 deg PW, and a 56deg wedge. Much easier for me to cut back a bit on a swing to hit the distance I want.

I tend to have a difficult time dialing back with my long and mid irons. I mainly tend to hit full shots, a bit uncomfortable with dialing them back, but mainly because I don't get a lot of practice time in with it to have the confidence in it.
 
Rarely if ever find myself dialing back in the middle of bag.
4-6 dial it downs are usually trouble/punch shots from under trees and such and I'm ok with those.
Wedges probably easiest to just ease up/choke down for me.
 
It's probably easiest for me to take something off a wedge, because I've practiced that shot fairly frequently. Next easiest is probably the longer clubs, because I hit choked down 2 hybrids in order to cover the gap between that club and my 4 hybrid. Probably least confident in the longer irons (longest one I carry is a 5), but I have been able to do it on occasion when necessary, usually by choking down slightly.
 
The clubs I am best at dialing back with are my 9i, PW and GW. I really feel with those clubs I can control my distance when I do so. The middle of my bag is a bit more of a crap shoot. I'm comfortable doing it with the 7 and 8 irons, but less consistent. I have a tendency to pull them. I don't really try it very often with the 4i, 5i or 6i unless I'm escaping from trouble and have to keep my ball flight down. Honestly, at the top end I try to feel a bit like I'm dialing it back every time. Or maybe I should say that I never really try to step on any of them any more. With those clubs I have to mind my tempo and particularly my transition to the downswing. When I try and hit them too hard the wheels usually fly off and the results are poor.
 
I struggle mightily with my wedges and dialing down. I learned to have a better takeaway by hitting only half shots, and lots of them, so I have a better feel for those shots with my irons.


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OITW said:
I'm comfortable dialing it back or stretching the irons from the top of my bag down through my 9. My PW I do have difficulty in the 115-125 range because I struggle with GW and SW I usually dial them back and can hit decent shots with both clubs. but I do have difficulty in the 115-125 range because I struggle with dialing my PW back to about 80-85% which is where it would need to be to hit that... Part of my problem though is my loft spacing from my PW to my GW (45 to 53).
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the key I found to leave the weight on the left side and be sure to fire those hips before you drop the club onto the ball. If you get the hands to shoulder height and fore the hips and swing the arms you'll hit crisp shots with the PW

Jugger18 said:
3 wedges???...4 wedges FTW! I do find it easiest to lay off with my medium 7-9
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I love half shots with my 7i

Sir Swingsalot said:
I really struggle if I dial back at any spot in the bag. Gets my timing and confidence all messed up. With the wedges irons and hybrid I tend to choke down and let that take away my distance for me.
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At the end of you next range session, set a side a few balls and work on half shots. The key is accelerate through theshot with your arms. But the hips still have to release
hopnstop said:
Rarely if ever find myself dialing back in the middle of bag.
4-6 dial it downs are usually trouble/punch shots from under trees and such and I'm ok with those.
Wedges probably easiest to just ease up/choke down for me.
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4i punch shots are great shots in the wind from middle of fairways.

Easy8 said:
The clubs I am best at dialing back with are my 9i, PW and GW. I really feel with those clubs I can control my distance when I do so. The middle of my bag is a bit more of a crap shoot. I'm comfortable doing it with the 7 and 8 irons, but less consistent. I have a tendency to pull them. I don't really try it very often with the 4i, 5i or 6i unless I'm escaping from trouble and have to keep my ball flight down. Honestly, at the top end I try to feel a bit like I'm dialing it back every time. Or maybe I should say that I never really try to step on any of them any more. With those clubs I have to mind my tempo and particularly my transition to the downswing. When I try and hit them too hard the wheels usually fly off and the results are poor.
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I do this as well. You have to keep those hips moving through the shot. Dialing back usually means more arms and we tend to forget to rotate the lower body. Pay attention to this next time you have a half or 3/4 shot.
 
Lots of great tips Freddie, thanks. I know in the last year I started to work half wedges at the end of every range session, and it's done wonders for my confidence with them. I've started doing it every so often with the 2h as well, ever since I restructured the top of my bag a bit.
 
For me, I find it easier to dial back the middle of my bag, usually just by choking up a hair and focusing on taking a good swing. When I get into the wedges area and try to get in between clubs, I tend to lose form and take beaver pelts out of the ground and the ball going shorter than if I lit into a higher lofted club. The higher I get in my bag I tend to pull the ball and distance is unpredictable because I don't even try it except a few on the range. Maybe it's the shafts in my irons right now, but I can't really lay into them as I lose the ball right, so I have become accustomed to getting the distance between a 7 and 8 iron quickly.
 
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Tadashi70 said:
In the course of play we all come across those in between yardages. You know the time when you can either stretch an iron or ease off a seven. Or choke down on your hybrid to hit a feathered cut vs stepping on a 4iron.
this isn't about swinging easy or choosing the right club. What I want to know is what do you find easier, dialing back the top end of the bag, middle or bottom. Some carry three wedges to cover distances at the bottom, others make sure the top of the bag covers all distance. What do you do? Where do you feel more comfortable dialing back?

i learn to play golf by hitting half shots through out the whole bag so I'm comfy from top to bottom, especially on the bottom end.
Click to expand...

Great question Freddie. In my case I will dial back the longer club almost every time. The only time I won't is when there is MAJOR trouble long (in case I hit that well known 25 yards too long pured half shot :) ) and the front is somewhat unguarded. Then I'll step on the shorter club if warranted.

JM
 
I really struggle when I try to step on it with any of my clubs so I tend to dial everything but more to the point definitely my wedges. I am comfortable hitting 1/2 and 3/4 shots.
 
As someone that swings easy to start with (probably too easy), I find it fairly easy to dial back on most every club as I'm just not that comfortable trying to put a little extra on shots. That is one of the things that I intend to work on this coming year, because I know that it's costing me a considerable amount of yardage that could help my game.
As for dialing back... I do more of that with my wedges than anything, but will dial back a long iron, hybrid or fairway when needed. The best shot that I hit last year was a dialed back 3 hybrid for an ace on a 181 yard par 3.
 
I struggle dialing back because when I try...I tend to fall off and leave the club face open pushing the ball weakly out to the right. Definitely something I have to work on.
 
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