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75 Yard Approach

3/4 58° or a soft 54°. Depends on conditions and hazards.
 
greg19 said:
It's funny you mention your wedge play at #THPAmbition. I've mentioned in a few of my followup posts that whenever you needed to make a shot, you did. Those wedge shots were the ones I was talking about. After seeing this I now know why. My inability to hit a short chip hurt me both days of #THPAmbition. On both days I just needed to chip it close to to set up a short putt for par and failed every time. When I got back home I called up my PGA Pro and set up a lesson for chipping and putting.

I'm now happy to say that from 80 yards in I confidently grab my 58 degree wedge and more than 75% chance of the time leave myself with an honest and makeable putt. Depending on the lie and if I have to clear a bunker or a hill I will open or close the club to adjust the height.
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I think you're being a little hard on yourself. You hit some real quality chips and pitches on the Saturday round.

Your scoring has been real solid post-Ambition so it looks like the added emphasis has really helped. I don't remember you being bad at all from that distance. It may be one of those things were you are just much more comfortable now, and that confidence has carried over. Regardless, I'm real happy to see how good your game is now. Can't wait to tee it up again with you, Alex and the rest of the gang. Seeing the Live thread makes me real jealous
 
Nate said:
I'm actually quite shocked at how many posts say they love this distance and how accurate and consistent they are with it. Also seeing lots of post saying they have 3 or 4 ways of doing it. Most guys I play with really struggle with this distance, anything from 90 yards and in. They are much better at the 110-120 yard shot than the closer, half swing shot. Personally I am much much better with full swing shots than half. Just don't practice 'em enough to be confident. So this is 60 degree wedge almost full swing as my full 60 goes 80-85 yards. I'm not getting cute with a half swing unless the wind is a factor.
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Short game was all I used to have to shoot a score sometimes still is. I struggled and occasionally still do to keep it in play for a easy approach off the tee, so that meant recovery shots to get close to the green as possible which led to lots of short (inside 100) wedges.

Had a couple short game lessons on flighting the ball and sliding it in to the pin from both directions.

When the long game is crap you need a good short game to score.


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I really hate this number and I try to avoid it as much as possible. I'd much rather be 100 to 115 out. But if faced with this shot I'll use 3/4 58 or 12 54
 
Pitch shot with a pitching wedge.
 
3/4 58 degree wedge in the middle of my stance.

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I use my 58* grip down , 3/4 swing and the ball on the middle of the stance.

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From 75 yards 99% of the time I'm hitting a 56* wedge. I can flight a 52* down and get to that number or go with a full swing 60*, but the success rate is much higher for me going with the 56*. Flighting it down, I've got to really concentrate on face angle and more than likely I'm going to lose it to the right. A full 60* has a real chance of being caught fat or thin. I'd rather just play it straight up with my most comfortable shot.
 
I like this shot and practice it often. I go between two clubs, a 50 and a 56. I like to pop it up high and let it drop onto the green. I feel comfortable at this distance to play it that way.
 
I really like that yardage. Choked down 52* and it's a perfect number


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I use on club inside a hundred yards (unless a hazard dictates otherwise). There are too many clubs I could use and not enough time to practice all. With the one club at 75 yrds to the pin, My goal is still just to give myself a chance and make sure it gets to the green. Its not a full club so it makes it a difficult shot.

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Learning to hit that shot by flying it, dropping it on the flag, bump and run is the essence of short game. To me the green being flat or undulating does not matter. Having a shot I can play well that day and get close matters most.
 
For me it is a 56° with backswing to about 9:00. I've practiced that shot a lot so it is comfortable and usually works out well.
 
Had this distance or close to it a couple times today and executed them ok but to fully to my liking other than from 72 in a bunker just behind the lip. Hit it to pin high just in the fringe and got no release.
 
Usually it is a 56 PM grind tasty I try to flight medium height and hope that it holds the green, but I used my 58 MD3 on Saturday in this exact scenario. I hit it high and was able land it just beyond the pin where it only rolled out a couple feet. Now am reconsidering the club and how I approach the shot. It is good to know that I know have options on how I can play it.

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I practice this shot a lot. I'm trying to get these shots inside 10 feet more often. (Not there yet consistently, but getting better.) Taking one more club and hitting a knockdown is my preference. It's just a more controlled shot. If I need to go high, I'm still taking the extra club and taking a 3/4 swing with the ball in the middle of my stance. That allows me some margin for error by using the bounce on the club.
 
From 75yrds I have two shots:

Shot 1 (Preferred) - 50* gap wedge medium to low shot with plenty of check-spin; love this shot.

Shot 2 - If there is something between me and the green/pin (tree, bunker, etc.) I'll use a 58* for, basically, a long flop shot.
 
I had this shot yesterday on 18, witha little pond between me and the green.

I pulled out my 54* wedge
duffed my first attempt in the lake
shanked my second shot in the woods
duffed the third one in the lake
pulled my 50* wedge
play a nice low spinner on the geen, 25 yards left of the pin.
proceeded to 3 putt for a 12


that's how I play that shot :banghead:
 
It depends.....if I need to fly it all the way to the pin and stop it then it's a 54* SW played back in the stance, ...using the Pelz method I take it back to about 10 o'clock and give it a nice crisp swing with a high follow through.

If I want to land it short and skip it to the pin and have it check then it's a 50* wedge back in the stance, take it back to 7:30 then accelerate through the ball stopping the follow through parallel to the ground to produce a low spinning shot.
 
75 yards is my favorite for wedges.
For this shot I take a 80% swing with my 55 degree.
I don't mind going for the flag.


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Depending on the type of grass I'm comfortable with a low spinner, low runner,high soft, and mid flight check. 95% of the time I will play a fade on these types of shots to make sure my hands are quiet (easier for me to feel). I will use any club. If I have 50ft of green I will use a 9 iron, if I have a few paces I will play a 58*. I feel comfortable playing almost any shot with a good lie from inside 100 yards. I would try to avoid a high draw at all costs however. It's so easy for me to chunk those for some reason.
 
I basically had this shot eight different times yesterday and was sometimes very successful, sometimes not so much. (sposey#s invited my wallet to join his money game group at Millwood so the 35 or so THPers to attend our recent Branson/Fireball gatherings might still be familiar with some of these approaches so I'll go into detail on each).

#4) After a good drive I had 81 yards left from a nice level fairway lie to a pin cut about 2/3 of the way back on a fairly level green. I had mishit some gawd ugly short irons on holes 1-3 so I opted to try a safe low running 50* GW, hoping to skip and roll out the last 25 feet to the hole as there were no hazards in my direct line. The shot came off pretty much how I ‘saw’ it but I should’ve carried it a couple more yards. I didn’t realize it was soaking wet right at the front of that green and my ball just plugged where it hit, 40 feet short; 3 putt bogey.

#6) Had to punch out of the trees right leaving me 70 yards from a fairly steep downhill lie in the fairway to an uphill green that slopes severely. Pin front center. Played my 56* PM grind SW, ball back, shoulders aligned to downhill slope trying to fly it to the hole and stop it. Played the shot well (for me) leaving a curling 15 footer; 2 putt bogey.

#7) Very long ,left to right par 4 straight into the wind, Millwood’s toughest hole IMO. After playing 3 from the tee – OOB, I laid up my 4th to the left side of the fairway and ended up near the top of a little swale with a very steep uphill lie and the ball above my feet. The pin was cut about 2/3 back, 74 yards away. I opted to play a dead wristed 45* PW with my shoulders mimicking the slope, hoping to carry it about 15 feet short. I ended up with an uphill 20 foot putt; 2 putt triple – ouch).

#11) Decent drive but I duffed my initial approach leaving me 63 yards from a hanging fairway lie (ball way above feet) to a severe uphill green. Pin was just over the ridge fronting the green and I could only see the top 3 feet of the flagstick because of the terrain. Tried that same dead wristed 45* PW shot and wish I could’ve seen it land. My playing partners (up on the green) thought it was in. Ticked off the flag stick leaving an easy 6 inch par putt.

#12) My other 3 off the tee-OOB mistake yesterday. My 5th into this par 5 was about 60 yards from a shallow fairway bunker to a big, relatively flat green. Took just a little sand with my 50* GW and pulled it to 12 feet left of the hole pin high; 2 putt double.

#13) Big drive to left side of fairway. Flat lie, pin tucked near front right, 69 yards out. Attempted to fly my 56* PM grind nice and high and just on and left of the hole so it would spin down near the hole. Shot came off perfect but I missed the 5 foot birdie; 2 putt par.

#16) MONSTER drive (for me) left me just 83 yards out in the fairway on this very hard par 4 into a strong wind. Pin was cut left front on a green that slopes severely off the front and right, falling off into a deep swale. My ball was below my feet and the green was slightly uphill. Punched a low 9 iron to keep my approach under the 2 club wind and hit it about perfect. The ball spun back and to the right off the backstop I had planned to use and curled to about 10 feet right of the hole. I still don’t know how that slippery right to left birdie putt didn’t fall? 2 putt par.

#17) Downhill par 3 playing just 89 yards into a quartering left to right wind. From my angle there was a large oak fronting the right 1/3 of the green. I needed to carry the oak to get it close to the back right pin. Decide to play nice high 50* GW as I feared going after my *56 PM would impart too much backspin. I hit the GW too pure and while it hit the green about 15 feet short, dead online, it spun back about 25 feet to the front fringe. 3 putt bogey.
 
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I like this shot played a few different ways. 50* low, check & stop shot if the pin is middle or back. 56* high soft shot if front pin or tucked over bunker. I have no issues playing it whatever the shot calls for. But my low, drop & stop shot is my favorite that I have a lot of confidence in.
 
golfinnut said:
I like this shot played a few different ways. 50* low, check & stop shot if the pin is middle or back. 56* high soft shot if front pin or tucked over bunker. I have no issues playing it whatever the shot calls for. But my low, drop & stop shot is my favorite that I have a lot of confidence in.
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I remember this exact shot from Raspberry in the late Summer. It lead to a tap in birdie I believe....Should have been an eagle if I remember correctly.
 
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