Struggling With Short Wedge Shots In My Golf Game

June 2nd, 2009 • Related • Filed Under

Golf Nut,   I am a relative beginner at golf.  I shoot between 105 and 113 or so.  But I love the game and am working to get better.  One thing that I am really struggling with is my chips around the green.  I can’t seem to get these short shorts with my pitching or sand wedge to work.  I either end up way short or knock far off the other side of the green.  Any  help would be appreciated.

Thank you for the question.  I have written about this before, but it is something that a lot of golfers struggle with so it is worth talking about again.  I will talk about three things that can help with this golf shot.

First,  if you are just off the green and have a great lie in just the first cut off the green, consider putting.  Most of us golfers are much more accurate with the putter than with a wedge of any sort.  You need to allow for the golf ball moving slower until it hits the green, but with a little practice, you can get very consistent with this.




Second, you should look at using more of a “bump and run” golf shot for this.  And depending on your comfort with woods versus irons, you may want to use a 5, 7, or 9 wood to do this.  Sometimes for these short chips just off the green you can sweep the ball smoothly with your fairway woods.

Now the third option involves your irons.  Instead of using a sand or pitching wedge for this golf shot and then trying to control the distance with back swing and club head speed, you can use different irons from your 6 iron all the way down to your wedge.  You use the same backswing and just control the distance with which club you use.  You can see more about this in a previous article I wrote at:  http://www.the-golf-nut.com/help_with_chipping_consistency.html.

Try these and see if you don’t cut some strokes right away from your scores.




There Are 3 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by joo bee khoh on 10 June 2009:

    I too have the same problem. For the time being I sacrificed my 5-wood for a chipper in order to be more consistent. However, I also regularly practice with my wedges and short irons in the hope soon I shall be able to give up the chipper.

    khoh

  2. Comment by John O on 19 August 2009:

    Good question. I don’t score much better than that, and I’m trying to figure out my wedges. Two problems you may have: the PW these days is really just a 10-iron, probably 45 degrees loft and not ideal for delicate shots. Meanwhile the SW is 56 or 55 degrees with lots of bounce. So we need a 52 or 50 degree Approach Wedge or Gap Wedge with only moderate bounce. I rely on this a lot.

    My question now is whether to add a 60 or 62 degree lob wedge with less bounce than the SW to be used to jump bunkers or on packed wet sand. Problem then is one of the woods or low irons has to go.

  3. Comment by Dan C on 30 October 2009:

    You’re probably decelerating through the ball. The wedge chip seems like a big swing for such a small shot, and golfers often get nervous and don’t commit to it. Practice with wedge chips. Make your normal chip swing, keep your lower body still, and hit down on the back of the ball, making sure you accelerate smoothly (without turning it into a stab). Trust the loft of the wedge to both get the ball in the air and control the distance and roll. The ball may fly farther than you expect at first; you will get better distance control with practice.
    If you still have a hard time with wedges, try chipping with a 8 or 9 iron and letting the ball roll more.

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