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How do I hit a low Wedge shot in to the wind?

ShotScope
AK jr.

AK jr.

d2 college player
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i will be the first to ask a question. by the way great to have you on here andy. ok. so today i played and shot 77 after being even through 13. things seemed to start going wrong after i hit an approach shot on a par 5. i was 80 yards out and it was into the wind, so i hit like a 95% lob wedge. i ended up short cuz i hit the ball so high that the wind just knocked it down. i know that a lot of the tour pros have a really low trajectory on their wedge shots. just wondering how to accomplish that trajectory without losing distance. thanks
 
The key to controlling the trajectory with wedges in the wind does require some practice. The way to hit this shot is fairly easy once you know what you need to do. First you want to start with the ball a little farther back in your stance (closer to the right foot for right handed players). This will help you set your hands slightly in front of the ball at address. The key to playing this shot is to keep your hands ahead of the ball through impact. Don't swing any different just work on keeping the hands in front and this should produce a lower shot with more back spin!
 
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thanks. i play the ball way back in my stance already, but it think keeping my hands in front is where im losing it cuz i am realizing that i tend to let them fall back a little bit during my swing. btw im in tampa right now!!!
 
Digging deep into THP back corners here on a snowy day, but lots of fun. Not sure the question was fully addressed- the shot can almost be like a bump, not the thread, the shot. Hitting harder into the wind flights it up higher and shorter, especially using a soup ladle 60. This will drive it lower with hold.

 
MacTourney said:
Digging deep into THP back corners here on a snowy day, but lots of fun. Not sure the question was fully addressed- the shot can almost be like a bump, not the thread, the shot. Hitting harder into the wind flights it up higher and shorter, especially using a soup ladle 60. This will drive it lower with hold.

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OP has had 15+ years to practice the shot. If that didn’t work, watching smooth swinging Elk might. 👍
 
80 into, yeeahhh lob wedge ain’t the club if it’s any sorts of stout.

You just take one more, put it back in your stance, and you think like a 9-3 length swing. You’re just punching it.

It takes practice, and it’s a lot of fun when you get the hang of it
 
Simplest solution use less loft, swing easier. You will spin the ball less so ballooning is not as much of an issue either. Yet if it's a good breeze, the ball will settle pretty well.
 
Depending on how hard the wind is blowing. I'll go up 1 maybe 2 clubs and hit a knockdown. 3/4 swing choked up ball slightly back in stance. Into wind no concern for stopping it on green as wind will
 
You could play that shot with a dead-hands PW and get good results. Less speed and less loft is the easiest way to lower the ball flight, and with a headwind, you don't have to worry about the ball releasing too far.

If you want to hit a LW in that situation, you can put it back in your stance and hit a bit of a trap draw. Again, you're decreasing loft and trying not to swing with too much speed here.
 
Just watched an insta reel with Phil talking about using a mid iron and the Dave Pell clock technique to get a low shot to run to a tough pin location.

Seems like an equally useful shot in the OP’s situation.
 
Quit forcing the lob wedge.
Use a stronger lofted club, choke down and swing smooth.
It's called shotmaking.... be creative
 
I seldom ever use a wedge into the wind even when I had great distance with my clubs. Back when I could hit a 60* wedge 85 yards.

No, for me, it was always using a less lofted club, choking down as needed, and just using a a nice, easy swing.

The less lofted club, and easier (slower) swing kept the ball's spin lower, which prevented the ball from ballooning up in the air.
 
WLG1952 said:
I seldom ever use a wedge into the wind even when I had great distance with my clubs. Back when I could hit a 60* wedge 85 yards.

No, for me, it was always using a less lofted club, choking down as needed, and just using a a nice, easy swing.

The less lofted club, and easier (slower) swing kept the ball's spin lower, which prevented the ball from ballooning up in the air.
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This
 
Use less loft..
 
Lot of good advice above. Another little tweak can be shoulder angle. When I want to hit a high lob wedge, I literally look up at the clouds to set my shoulder angle, then maintain that "level". When hitting a knockdown, I'll level off my shoulders a bit more and look more straight ahead when setting the shoulder level. Try not to let that level change during the swing. It feels like the difference between setting up to smash a home run verses slapping a single between short and second base. Definitely something to play with when practicing and as Harvey Penick would say "Take just a little medicine at a time, not the whole bottle".
 
My way to do it- actually change the grip to a stronger grip particularly the right hand, and this is weird but i actually like to stand with my weight on the trail foot at address, and then in transition three things, i try to turn the knuckle down and really get the knuckle as low to the ground behind my trail foot As Possible and then try keeping my back to the target thru the entire strike, its essentially like hitting a pulled shot in terms of feel. I can get the wedge coming out low low lol
 
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Less loft, swing easier.
 
Divot starts 2" on the target side of the ball. Contact is on the 2nd groove directly under the sweet spot (club face COG ). Easy to say but really difficult for amateur golfers to execute.
 
A good drill is to get shaft parallel bow the crap out of your lead wrist crouch low get the hands low and throw the clubhead at the ball
 
I just wanted to note.... I was a freshman in high school when this thread was started and would of only been golfing for about 1 year.

but agree with most everyone.. club up and dont swing as hard.
 
Probably would want to hit like a 1/2 PW instead of a lob wedge and put it maybe a ball back in your stance. That produces a nice heavy low flying ball for me.
 
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