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Convince me why I shouldn’t swing hard at wedges

McLovin

McLovin

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Better players will say not to make a full swing with a wedge. Why not?

If it’s control, then why make a full swing with any shot into a green? Wouldn’t the goal always be for control, regardless of whether you’re 75 yards or 175 yards?

I hear it all the time, I just don’t understand why it’s “better” to make a partial swing with a wedge. So, please to explain!


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c.a.eleric said:
Better players will say not to make a full swing with a wedge. Why not?

If it’s control, then why make a full swing with any shot into a green? Wouldn’t the goal always be for control, regardless of whether you’re 75 yards or 175 yards?

I hear it all the time, I just don’t understand why it’s “better” to make a partial swing with a wedge. So, please to explain!


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I am far from an expert (You witnessed my swing in Orlando) but I asked the same thing to my instructor when taking lessons specifically on my wedges. What I found through hitting on a launch monitor was that my 3/4 swing with a wedge went as far as my full swing. It launched a little lower and had less spin but was an easier swing and I put shots closer to the pin. My instructor told me that there are many golfers whose 3/4 swing goes farther than their full swing because on full shots they spin up, get higher, and lose distance. For me, a full shot brings in a lot more opportunity for mistake in hitting it thin/fat or pulling it offline. A smooth, 3/4 swing almost always yields better results for me. As for your second question about other irons, I have tried recently to club up and hit 3/4 swings with my scoring irons. So far it has been mixed results so I'm not seeing the same advantage that I am with my wedges but it could certainly be technique that needs improvement for me.

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Edited.. didn't realize this was swing tips for Freddie.
 
WMac19 said:
Edited.. didn't realize this was swing tips for Freddie.
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I didn't realize this was in the forum for Freddie either.. Probably best if I'm not writing when it's 1am and I'm rocking my daughter to sleep! Chris, you can ignore my post above. I'm going to subscribe to this as I'm interested in the answer as well.

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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.
 
Hmm the title is confusing because I actually have to remind myself to swing hard with my wedges. I swing full with my wedges and when I do not think swing hard then I get all cute with it and that leads to inconsistent results.
 
i was curious about everybody’s thoughts but freddie is my swing guru so i posted it here. if it’s better to be in another forum, mods please move it.


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93civiccpe said:
A smooth, 3/4 swing almost always yields better results for me. As for your second question about other irons, I have tried recently to club up and hit 3/4 swings with my scoring irons. So far it has been mixed results so I'm not seeing the same advantage that I am with my wedges but it could certainly be technique that needs improvement for me.

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there’s the rub for me. logically i don’t understand why one would see better results with 3/4 wedge swings but worse results with 3/4 everything else swings.


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I’m a huge advocate of the partial swing with the wedges. I feel it offers more control and you can control the spin. Full shots can be unpredictable from a distance (carry) standpoint as well the amount of spin one place on the ball.

I’m also a fan of doing what works, I stress works, for you. If full is what you like then have at it. If partial works then do that. What ever you do, do it well.
 
c.a.eleric said:
there’s the rub for me. logically i don’t understand why one would see better results with 3/4 wedge swings but worse results with 3/4 everything else swings.


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+1 here, Im SOOOOO confident in the full swing wedges nowadays. Downside is if I get anywhere from 40-90 yards it gets dicey.

Guess the goal should be to avoid those numbers lol
 
I can't tell you why not, all I can tell you is since I stopped playing to a number and swinging full at wedges my wedge came has improved. What did it for me was twofold. First was noticing the harder I swing the higher the ball goes with not much more distance. Second was playing on a windy day and I was playing from a number I liked a full wedge at. I don't think I hit the green once that day and a friend said to me you need to learn to hit a knockdown shot.

Ever since then the only wedge I hit full is my PW and I have found much better success at hitting greens, thus improving my scores.
 
I can't convince you because I swing hard at everything, well at least it's hard for me!
 
Good topic and I just ran into this last week on two separate occasions.

1. 105 yards to a middle pin tucked left I took a full swing on an AW and pulled the hell out of it. Left of the green, left of the bunker, left of the cart path! This was my 4th shot into a Par 5.

My playing partner told me to grab PW and take a 3/4 swing and aim for the center of the green. I struck it good and it went past the flag with a much lower ball flight than I'm accustomed to doing but most importantly it was on the green.

2. 92 yards to the pin I hit a full 54*. Nice high flight but right of the green missed. I was then asked to hit a 3/4 PW and I landed short of the green but in a much better spot to miss.

The consensus from both of these people is that it is much easier to control a 3/4 swing and the goal is to get the ball on the green quicker as opposed to it getting lost in the wind or not fully judging the correct distance.

It was definitely an adjustment and I see the difference, it's just a little bit of a process to not launch the ball high. I like hitting it high, but I also would rather hit more greens haha.
 
Honestly I don't think it's good advice for everyone, but it is for a lot of people. A lot of people get a little long in their swing anyway and when they feel they're taking a 3/4 swing it's probably what they should be playing with every club. Long gets loose and hard to control without a TON of practice.
 
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.
 
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.
 
I still take quite a few full swings with my wedges. But I've dialed back what I consider "full" with the 56 and 60. It's a little more of a compact swing for me now and it's working well. The pw and 50 I still take full rips with most of the time.
 
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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Dang dude!!! Lay off the juice! :D
 
Jman said:
But, then I realized that was pretty piss ignorant. Precision.
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not asking in a snarky way, i love the discussion here: why is it not piss ignorant to make a full swing with the gap wedge? or 6i? wouldn't we want just as much precision? i recognize over a longer distance to travel the margin for error increases dramatically, but if we can manage that dispersion with a lesser and more precise swing, why not implement that throughout the bag?

and while i know this isn't necessarily the question in the op, i also struggle with the logic that a feel shot is more precise. wouldn't that take more practice and more reps to dial in those exacting distances? golf is a game of managing misses, and misses can be managed by trying to account for and maybe even control variables. if i can repeat with relative consistency the mechanics of one full swing, i can lock in that "swing" variable. then, the only variable i am manipulating is which club i pick. one swing, different clubs. inside a certain distance that goes out the window because we are limited to 14 clubs. and how many people struggle with those 30-50 yard touch shots? it seems those struggles would pour over into "touch shots" from longer distances too.

i'm enjoying everyone's responses!
 
I agree with jman, I still take full rips with my 52*, but the 56* and 60* will never get a full swing (well maybe not never but time and place) as much as I love getting the ball 200 ft in the air (you always accuse me I need more height on my wedges ca) the 56/60 are designed for me to hit precise distances, not full swings.


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The best players in the world don't always full swing every club in their bag. It's about control of distance, spin, trajectory. I'm with Freddie that one should do whatever one wants and works for that individual but tempo and speed control usually helps with better swing and contact.
 
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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I'm a full wedge swing guy also know my distances the only time I use partial swings is flighting them lower or trying to take spin off of them.


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c.a.eleric said:
not asking in a snarky way, i love the discussion here: why is it not piss ignorant to make a full swing with the gap wedge? or 6i? wouldn't we want just as much precision? i recognize over a longer distance to travel the margin for error increases dramatically, but if we can manage that dispersion with a lesser and more precise swing, why not implement that throughout the bag?

and while i know this isn't necessarily the question in the op, i also struggle with the logic that a feel shot is more precise. wouldn't that take more practice and more reps to dial in those exacting distances? golf is a game of managing misses, and misses can be managed by trying to account for and maybe even control variables. if i can repeat with relative consistency the mechanics of one full swing, i can lock in that "swing" variable. then, the only variable i am manipulating is which club i pick. one swing, different clubs. inside a certain distance that goes out the window because we are limited to 14 clubs. and how many people struggle with those 30-50 yard touch shots? it seems those struggles would pour over into "touch shots" from longer distances too.

i'm enjoying everyone's responses!
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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.
 
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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Therein lies another part to the puzzle though, having played with you before I know you will play to a number so as to have that full swing, rather than just bombing and hoping, that is another mindset, and one that can make full swings applicaple as the go to, but that too takes practice just as partial swings do.
 
I play both, and won't tell you not to swing full at wedges. I find that I get more consistent distance with my 1/4 swing wedges than I do with any other shot, but after that it is full swing then probably half swings and finally 3/4 swings.

But that order is also reflected in how much I practice (1/4 swings quite a bit, same with full swings, then 1/2 finally 3/4 swings). There is a time and a place for all types of shots so I would rather hit a longer LW into a front pin location than a shorter swing PW that might go the same distance, but the opposite into a back pin.
 
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