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Convince me why I shouldn’t swing hard at wedges

I’m not sure why it’s better or not, IMO it comes down to each player and their comfort level swing fully with a wedge.

For me the harder I️ go with a wedge for some reason the worse the swing. I️ do better with a 3/4 motion and hitting my numbers with whatever wedge I’m using
 
I have no touch so more bad has come from partial wedges than good. Comparing my game to how pros do it does not apply to me.


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mikedean441 said:
I have no touch so more bad has come from partial wedges than good. Comparing my game to how pros do it does not apply to me.


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Honest Q though, how much do you go out and practice partial or touch shots?
 
mikedean441 said:
I have no touch so more bad has come from partial wedges than good. Comparing my game to how pros do it does not apply to me.


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Last year when I was rebuilding my swing I was the same way. I spent so much time working on full shots I lost all feeling for the partial wedge touch shots. Took quite a bit of practice to get that back.
 
Swing your swing. Figure out what work and work it. But if you’re short game is suffering get some lessons and find more ways to get the ball in the hole. Golf is like anything else to be proficient it takes effort.


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I used to swing 100% on about half of my shots, but since age 30, I rarely swing above 85% with any club. I might take a full swipe at a driver once every few rounds or if I’m trying to carry a large tree with an open faced wedge once in a blue moon.
 
Also, I think my posts have said it, but I'll be more plain about it before anyone gets their feelings hurt.

Play the way you play. If its full swings? Own it. If its partial? Own it.

Its good conversation though IMO, and something I enjoy.
 
JohnSinVA said:
I can only offer my perspective and experience. For me, when I go after a wedge it tends to fly too high and wind up short. In my case the problem is I typically end up flipping when I go after it, introduce a bunch more spin, and get ballooning.

WRT why 3/4 swings on other clubs might not be such a good idea - my thinking is it comes down to spin. If you take a longer club, say 7 iron, and take something off it, it'll generally spin less and roll out more. Useful if you need to fight some wind but it may not necessarily be optimal if you're trying to stick it close.
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I'm thinking you're probably right on the 2nd point: Lower lofted clubs tend to spin less on full shots, so you don't get as big of an improvement in direction/dispersion using 3/4 shots; unless you need to play them low intentionally.



Jman said:
I used to full swing wedges. I thought it was funny/awesome that I could carry a 58/60 about 120. @Canadan has bared witness to that shenanigans before.

But, then I realized that was pretty piss ignorant. Wedges for me now are precision instruments. Swing less, dial in more. I'll still go all in on my 50, but its my true gap wedge and played form 135 and down. The 56 and 60 though, they are never full swings, and my scores have dropped because of that. Precision.
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I started noticing last year how many players hit their wedges with less than a full swing (Zach Johnson is one who stands out). But especially the top LPGA players who were getting the majority of the camera time. So many of them use a shorter swing to stuff those ball in tight to the pin, so I started working on that shot. I'm still not great though.


Jman said:
I play the GW as an extension of my irons, and just because I can full swing it out to 135, its all situationally dependent and more oft than not I elect for a 3/4 PW, I do play those shots through the bag. I'm not in the camp that partial swings with irons are more difficult like some have been in here, I think its more because people a) dont practice them, b) ego says irons are full swing clubs, and c) overthink the situation.

Many in these situations suffer form paralysis by overanalysis. At some point, its golf, and you go play and trust the feel. As for practicing more, maybe, maybe not. You mention from inside 30-50 yard struggles, most who struggle from there have limited themselves to a single "must" club from those numbers as well, rather than working with a variety of clubs, and a variety of shots. 30-50 for me is probably 75% 60*, but its because I can flight the piss out of that club, I'll also take a 56, 50, PW, or even 9i depending on the situation. Too many box themselves in to this club MUST be this distance. Golf to me as a player and coach, boxes you in enough without us making the walls even taller.
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What Jman said makes a lot of sense to me. I need to work on a variety of clubs to hit the same distance shots - I imagine this would really help to improve someone's feel & confidence with scoring clubs.
 
This is something I have been wondering about a lot lately. Particularly how far should I be able to hit my 56º on a full shot. I'm sure it is user error but it seems like there is a huge distance gap between my 56º and my 51º on full swings. My gap wedge fits into the regular distance gaps with the rest of my irons where the 56&60 don't seem to.
 
GolfFest said:
This is something I have been wondering about a lot lately. Particularly how far should I be able to hit my 56º on a full shot. I'm sure it is user error but it seems like there is a huge distance gap between my 56º and my 51º on full swings. My gap wedge fits into the regular distance gaps with the rest of my irons where the 56&60 don't seem to.
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set aw probably has very different design and performance elements than a "specialty" blade wedge. it's something i've run into with my previous two sets, but my current set seems to have gotten it right.
 
I don't swing hard with any club except maybe my driver.
I'm a big fan of a nice easy take back and follow through, I take full swings with all clubs.
With wedges though, I feel like I have more control with 3/4 - 1/2 swings, and to be honest I feel like I get the same distance with a 3/4 compared to a full with a wedge anyways..
I feel like people try different things with wedges, thinking they might get more spin or whatever the case may be.
 
all of this is starting to remind me of an anecdote i heard about johnny miller. he was on the range warming up, and a fellow pro came by and asked him, "johnny, what club do you hit from 100 yards?" johnny responded without looking up, "all of them." the pro, a bit miffed, said, "i don't think you understood my question." to which johnny replied, "no, i don't think you understood my answer." he then proceeded to pepper the 100 yard flag with each club in his bag. the moral of the story is that johnny miller once shot 63 at oakmont. but that is or at least should be the moral to every story.
 
I know my full swing distances with each wedge. If I have close that distance I have no problem going for the full swing. I don't think it's any easier/harder than a partial swing. If I have a shorter distance I may club up and go with a partial swing depending on the yardage.
 
"Full swing" to me these days is about 85%. As someone else also noted, I just don't take full-power swings with any clubs any more. Once I backed off a few years ago, my accuracy got way better. I'm more interested in keeping the ball in play than in how far I can make it go. This has been the secret to my vastly improved wedge play, I think, and has rippled through the rest of my bag, too.
 
I guess I am weird because I will use full and partial swings with wedges. Just depends on distance and what I may need to carry over. I play with guys who are a good bit older than me and have learned a lot about short game by watching and getting good tips.
I think you need to know what the distances are for your wedges on full swings though.
 
Do what ever gets you lower scores. 1000 ways to play this game. I personally find I do both quite often during a round.
 
For my wedges I have a 3/4 and 1/2 swing so each wedge has 2 yardages...
No full swings.

60* = 60 yds/ 80 yds high
54* = 80 yds low/100 yards high
50* = 100 yds low/110-15 yards

I choke down 1" and/or open the club face to hit tweener yardage
using the same swings.

inside 60 yds I rely most on feel with my 60*


FULL SWING AND 3/4 SWING
PW = 150/130
9I = 160/140
8I = 170/150
7I/ = 180/160
6I = 190/170
5I = 200/180

The 3/4 swing with my irons typically is a lower trajectory with more bite.

Figuring out this system has dropped my handicap 7 strokes in two years.
It took quite a bit of range time, really focusing on set up, and focusing more on the target then the mechanics.
 
Whichever is the most consistent is the one I'd play. Not everyone hits it high so a full swing my get the ball up more for them. Not everyone spins the ball a lot so full shot may help with the spin. You're full shot my only generate the same power as my 1/2 shot so who's to say you shouldn't swing full =).

On the flip side, I find the distances easier to control when not going full out.
 
I think some of us are on a different page as far as full, 1/2, and 3/4 swings.
When I say 75% swing, it's still a full turn swing.
75% is my feeling of power and acceleration on the downswing.
My driver swing is 100% power and full turn.
On all 3/4, I have 75% acceleration on downswing.
On 1/2 wedge swings, I take the club back so that the head is pointing straight up.
1/4 swings, the club is parallel to the ground.
I'm sure others are diferent, but there seems to be different interpretations on here.
 
Sox Fan said:
I personally will not try to convince you because full wedge shots are my bread and butter. If I did not set up and execute so many during my rounds, I would be willing to bet that my index would be at least 2 shots higher.
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This is me as well. I hit a lot of full wedge shots. I need em full to get the spin I want.
 
I would never say do it one way or the other...do you.

For me, I rarely swing full past my 50, and even then only the occasional 56 based on the situation. Weird things just tend to happen for me if I do.

At the same time while I'm comfortable playing partial swings to my 9i, once I get to the 8i my contact and results seem to loose consistency with anything less than a full go. But that's just me and where my game is currently at.
 
I don't think I ever hit a "full" wedge. 1 ... it increases spin 2 ... you can't control how far it's going to back up if you impart that much spin. You can however control it much better if you 3/4 the shot, by taking off some spin, it will then "hop & stop" much easier than "expecting" it to back up.
I play a lot of partial swing shots. Take 1 more club, choke down a bit & swing easy. It will bore through the wind & it's a hell of a lot easier to control the distance.

My father always said "it's not how, it's how many." If you hit a 7-iron & I hit a 5-iron ... big deal. That's why I never ask anyone what iron they hit ... just give me the distance. (a bit off topic but still) LOL
 
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