TwoStepsUp
Member
Greetings, first post here after lurking for a few weeks ....
I am an improving hacker who just got kind of serious about the game about a year ago, taking it up after a 15 year layoff to run marathons and start a family. I wasn't any good before the layoff, so it actually probably helped (except for getting 15 years older). I'm still not any good, but I have improved to a 17 handicap, breaking 90 from time to time.
In December I got fitted and bought new irons - Ping G, one inch long and three degrees upright. The standard set was 4-gap wedge. Last week I went back and got the matching sand wedge. And there the questions begin.
I play mostly Munis in central Texas, and don't see many bunkers with good sand. My opportunities to play a traditional sand shot are almost none. Usually there is 0 to 1/2 inch of pretty coarse sand on top of hardpan, and I would be asking for trouble trying to hit an explosion shot. So I developed a Texas bunker shot where I take my 60 degree wedge and slice just under the ball with a pendulum swing and no wrist break. I got pretty good at this, and probably get out of the bunker in one shot 4 times out of 5. And the munis don't have that many bunkers, so this strategy is usually good enough. I carried a sand wedge, but almost never used it.
So you might be wondering what drove me to buy a matching SW for my new set. I was looking for a club that I could hit 60-80 yards without relying totally on feel. Up to now I have pretty much used my gap wedge for everything between 20 and 100. I never got comfortable with my previous SW, which was a different brand and type. I couldn't tell if it was going to go 40 yards or 90 yards.
So I picked up the new SW on Friday and played three rounds this weekend. So far it looks like a keeper for normal fairway shots. I was able to hit it accurately and consistently about 75 yards. (I'm not a long hitter, and I wasn't trying to swing hard). As it turned out, on Saturday I played in Houston at a friend's country club, where they do have real bunkers. Before the round, I went down to the practice bunkers and went 10/10 on explosion shots, despite knowing very little about what I was doing. I did screw one up during the round, but that's me.
If you are interested (or bored) enough to still be reading, I am getting closer to the question. The issue I have with this SW is one that I have also had with others. It seems like I do OK hitting it with a full swing, but if I try to hit a 3/4 or 1/2 shot, I get an unacceptable percentage of shots where the club digs into the ground behind the ball. A much higher percentage than with my gap wedge (which is 50 degrees, versus 54 for the SW).
So now the dumb questions:
Is this due to the SW having a different shape (more bounce)? Should I worry about trying to develop a distance range for the SW, or just go back to the gap wedge for the shorter shots?
If the bounce is that much different, how will the lob wedge of the same set (58 degrees) compare? Is a SW different because it has sand in the name, or will a lob wedge also have lots of bounce?
My current 60 degree wedge is a no-name I got for 10 bucks, and it seems to have a much narrower, more knife-like profile. It's very easy to slide under the ball (see the Texas bunker shot above). Is it going to be harder for me to do this sort of shot with a 58 degree Ping G wedge?
One other point that I forgot - I expected the Ping G set to feel and act differently due to the lower COG and other game-improvement technology. My previous set was Ping G2, same idea, but 10-12 years back. I expected the difference on full shots, but what I didn't think about was the impact on chipping. With a wedge or an 8 irons, I find it easier to get a clean impact (love that sound) with a higher ball flight and softer landing.
Thanks for your time, and I will go back to lurking and learning.
I am an improving hacker who just got kind of serious about the game about a year ago, taking it up after a 15 year layoff to run marathons and start a family. I wasn't any good before the layoff, so it actually probably helped (except for getting 15 years older). I'm still not any good, but I have improved to a 17 handicap, breaking 90 from time to time.
In December I got fitted and bought new irons - Ping G, one inch long and three degrees upright. The standard set was 4-gap wedge. Last week I went back and got the matching sand wedge. And there the questions begin.
I play mostly Munis in central Texas, and don't see many bunkers with good sand. My opportunities to play a traditional sand shot are almost none. Usually there is 0 to 1/2 inch of pretty coarse sand on top of hardpan, and I would be asking for trouble trying to hit an explosion shot. So I developed a Texas bunker shot where I take my 60 degree wedge and slice just under the ball with a pendulum swing and no wrist break. I got pretty good at this, and probably get out of the bunker in one shot 4 times out of 5. And the munis don't have that many bunkers, so this strategy is usually good enough. I carried a sand wedge, but almost never used it.
So you might be wondering what drove me to buy a matching SW for my new set. I was looking for a club that I could hit 60-80 yards without relying totally on feel. Up to now I have pretty much used my gap wedge for everything between 20 and 100. I never got comfortable with my previous SW, which was a different brand and type. I couldn't tell if it was going to go 40 yards or 90 yards.
So I picked up the new SW on Friday and played three rounds this weekend. So far it looks like a keeper for normal fairway shots. I was able to hit it accurately and consistently about 75 yards. (I'm not a long hitter, and I wasn't trying to swing hard). As it turned out, on Saturday I played in Houston at a friend's country club, where they do have real bunkers. Before the round, I went down to the practice bunkers and went 10/10 on explosion shots, despite knowing very little about what I was doing. I did screw one up during the round, but that's me.
If you are interested (or bored) enough to still be reading, I am getting closer to the question. The issue I have with this SW is one that I have also had with others. It seems like I do OK hitting it with a full swing, but if I try to hit a 3/4 or 1/2 shot, I get an unacceptable percentage of shots where the club digs into the ground behind the ball. A much higher percentage than with my gap wedge (which is 50 degrees, versus 54 for the SW).
So now the dumb questions:
Is this due to the SW having a different shape (more bounce)? Should I worry about trying to develop a distance range for the SW, or just go back to the gap wedge for the shorter shots?
If the bounce is that much different, how will the lob wedge of the same set (58 degrees) compare? Is a SW different because it has sand in the name, or will a lob wedge also have lots of bounce?
My current 60 degree wedge is a no-name I got for 10 bucks, and it seems to have a much narrower, more knife-like profile. It's very easy to slide under the ball (see the Texas bunker shot above). Is it going to be harder for me to do this sort of shot with a 58 degree Ping G wedge?
One other point that I forgot - I expected the Ping G set to feel and act differently due to the lower COG and other game-improvement technology. My previous set was Ping G2, same idea, but 10-12 years back. I expected the difference on full shots, but what I didn't think about was the impact on chipping. With a wedge or an 8 irons, I find it easier to get a clean impact (love that sound) with a higher ball flight and softer landing.
Thanks for your time, and I will go back to lurking and learning.