Shorter backswing better wedge shots. Anyone else?

[404yds]

I have four wedges in my bag (46,50,54 and 58), and I have tried to practice so that I dial in on each one of them, but I have noticed that I do not feel comfortable hitting 3/4 swings or full swings with my 58 degree. I rather hit a 1/2 swing with my 54 degree instead of the 3/4 swing (with 58), and a 1/2 swing with the 50 degree instead of full swing (with 58).

Not only is the distance control so much better, but also consistently more on target. Anyone else feel the same way, or is this a typical mid handicapper issue? 

[cnosil]

I have four wedges in my bag (46,50,54 and 58), and I have tried to practice so that I dial in on each one of them, but I have noticed that I do not feel comfortable hitting 3/4 swings or full swings with my 58 degree. I rather hit a 1/2 swing with my 54 degree instead of the 3/4 swing (with 58), and a 1/2 swing with the 50 degree instead of full swing (with 58).
Not only is the distance control so much better, but also consistently more on target. Anyone else feel the same way, or is this a typical mid handicapper issue? 

Why do you think it is an issue? Shorter swings are typically easier to control. You need to execute in a way that works best for you.

[GolfSpy_APH]

2 hours ago, 404yds said:

I have four wedges in my bag (46,50,54 and 58), and I have tried to practice so that I dial in on each one of them, but I have noticed that I do not feel comfortable hitting 3/4 swings or full swings with my 58 degree. I rather hit a 1/2 swing with my 54 degree instead of the 3/4 swing (with 58), and a 1/2 swing with the 50 degree instead of full swing (with 58).

Not only is the distance control so much better, but also consistently more on target. Anyone else feel the same way, or is this a typical mid handicapper issue? 

I could say I am a bit in the same boat. I much prefer my 54 or 50 in a lot of situations vs my 58. However I also if I can like to play for a bit of roll out and feel I have more predictable control with those clubs vs the 58. This means that I have a variety of different swings (lengths) with those clubs. I still use my 58 fairly often, however rarely ever on full shots. Its mainly out of bunkers and that sort of play where it gets the majority of its use. 

[GolfSpy TCB]

One of the handful of things I have focused on this season is controlling my distances on wedges from 100 in.  That equates to using a 3/4 and 1/2 shoulders only swings.  I am amazed at how accurate that swing is at 100, 85, 70, 55 compared to a full swing with less club.  I have more consistet contact with the ball, better face angle and stop dead spin... it has really worked for me to shave some strokes this year.  Things start getting a little dicey when I try to pull back on my 58* - especially if I'm trying to hit like a 50% shot... I have stuck a few of those leading edges in the groung behind the ball - but I believe tht has more to do with setup and not trusting my swing to deliver the clubface to the ball.   I have also hit several supremely nipped shots that dance around the pin... So - yes... very much agree with your comment and what you are seeing!  

[GolfSpy_BOS]

Count me in too, I rarely hit a "full" swing with my wedges.  This year I forced myself to use a decision tree that basically started with my 52* then moved to the 56* only if needed, and then to the 60* only if needed for anything inside of 80 yards or so.  According to Arccos I've improved my short game by 2 strokes this season doing so.

 

[sirchunksalot]

I'm part of the group that will use more wedge for a shorter shot, especially one over 50 yards. Most of the time the decision starts with the 52 degree and I'll move either up or down the wedges depending on the height of the shot I want to hit. 

I also really enjoy hitting those shots with my set GW, which comes in at 50 degrees and that will probably play in my decision to go 54, 58 with my next set of wedges. 

 

[Kenny B]

My PW is 48º and I use it as my 100y club; I can take a little off it with arms only swing to get around 80-90y.  My 54º sand wedge is maxed out at 80y, but I rarely do that; again only arms only.  I try to leave the wrists out of it similar to Steve Stricker.  I've tried this method compared to full swings with wrists and it's much more controlled with predictable distance.  I use my 60º from greenside up to 50-60y and it's never a full swing.  

I can't say whether my swings are 3/4 or 1/2 as I've never played golf that way; actually my swing is so short anyway, I don't know what is 3/4 or 1/2.    I play all shots inside 100y the same way I judge distance for putts; by feel.

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I tried something different this season with good sucess. I have the Sub-70 699 Pro's sets PW and Gap wedge. The GW is 50*, then I drop down to 55* with the Sub-70 JB wedge and then to a Cleveland CBX in 56*

Why a 1* difference you ask! Well the CBX has a wide sole and makes it very reliable out of the sand. Its only purpose is greenside bunkers. The JB has a totally different sole and grind. Better out of the fairway and it can be opened up without raising the sole off the ground. I had a CBX 60* in the bag but it could only be used in lush grass. Tight lies or eventight fairways resulted in skulls due to the leading edge sitting  up higher.  So I put it in time out. 

The GW will see full swings but the others not more than 3/4. GW is my 100 yard club down to 50 yards and the JB 55* is 80 down to 30. The club selected in the overlap range is dependant on how high I need to hit the shot. All chipping is usually with the 50* 

But everything is feel. I'm  like Kenny,, not mechanical in regard to 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 swing distances.

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

This seems like a good thread to jump into after a week hiatus. I could probably use the reminder that my best golf played this years was non-full swings 8 iron down.

i love my 52* with all different kinds of swings. Same with the 48* the 2 most versatile clubs in the bag.

[GolfSpy TCB]

2 minutes ago, Lacassem said:

This seems like a good thread to jump into after a week hiatus. I could probably use the reminder that my best golf played this years was non-full swings 8 iron down.

i love my 52* with all different kinds of swings. Same with the 48* the 2 most versatile clubs in the bag.

For whatever reason... when I get past the PW, I start trying to manipulate the club, like I need to help it more with a 9/8/7 iron.  Then I get this weird yank pull shot.  It is mental I realize, and I haven't spent a lot of dedicated time on it - especially compared to my set PW and 3 Vokeys.  But your simple little post there @Lacassem, has me thinking about working on that middle section of irons.  I would love to be as consistent at 130 as I am at 100 with that partial swing.  It would open up a new world to me on the course for sure... Thanks for the prompt!!!

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

1 hour ago, Golfspy_TCB said:

For whatever reason... when I get past the PW, I start trying to manipulate the club, like I need to help it more with a 9/8/7 iron.  Then I get this weird yank pull shot.  It is mental I realize, and I haven't spent a lot of dedicated time on it - especially compared to my set PW and 3 Vokeys.  But your simple little post there @Lacassem, has me thinking about working on that middle section of irons.  I would love to be as consistent at 130 as I am at 100 with that partial swing.  It would open up a new world to me on the course for sure... Thanks for the prompt!!!

Tiger woods said it best, irons aren’t distance clubs. I took that this year and it helped a lot.

as of late not so much but like I said my best rounds I was swinging easy and looking to get height out of the club. Give me the 150 yard easy 8 iron dart. And like you’re saying maybe as those easy swings get better and better, the full swings transition to.

[Caddie1966]

I like the Tiger quote and need to heed that advice more.  Hitting 165 yd 8 irons hasn’t done much for me this season as my scoring avg is up about 1/2 a stroke from last year.  Mostly due to missing more greens.  I need to dial it back and focus on accuracy and consistency.  My approach is to use Ping Glide 60 from green side bunkers only.  I use my Ping Glide 56 for everything from 95 yds to the green side.  52 is my club from 96-110.  I try to use the 56 with a torso turn and dead hands from 65 and closer but feel like it’s a feel swing and not a mechanical 9 o’clock, 1030 etc.  The mechanics of the shorter easy swing will hopefully translate to better swings thru the bag.

[chisag]

9 hours ago, GolfSpy_BOS said:

Count me in too, I rarely hit a "full" swing with my wedges. 

 

... Here is the thing. A full swing with a gap or lob wedge IS a 3/4 swing. With more loft on the club the more you want to drive down and through the ball producing a lower flight and more predictable distance. You don't want a full shoulder turn and parallel to the ground shaft unless you are trying to do something special like get over a tree or drop a ball just on the other side of a bunker. I think many will find they hit the ball more accurately and (some also farther) with a 3/4 wedge swing. A 1/2 can be very useful as long as you are accelerating through impact. I cringe anytime I hear someone hit a bad shot and say " I was trying to take something off and tried to hit an easy 8 iron". 

Glengarry Glen Golf: A-B-A

A ... Always
B ... Be 
A ... Accelerating. 

[404yds]

So many good comments. I've learned more just reading these posts than anything else.

2 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Here is the thing. A full swing with a gap or lob wedge IS a 3/4 swing.

I never thought about it this way, but it is so obvious when I think about it.

 

It has also gotten me to start thinking about finding one more partial swing lengths to use between 1/2 and 3/4 (call it a 3/5 if you like), and then find the club for the distance to get more control for anything 120 yards and closer.

[GaryF]

8 hours ago, chisag said:

 

... Here is the thing. A full swing with a gap or lob wedge IS a 3/4 swing. With more loft on the club the more you want to drive down and through the ball producing a lower flight and more predictable distance. You don't want a full shoulder turn and parallel to the ground shaft unless you are trying to do something special like get over a tree or drop a ball just on the other side of a bunker. I think many will find they hit the ball more accurately and (some also farther) with a 3/4 wedge swing. A 1/2 can be very useful as long as you are accelerating through impact. I cringe anytime I hear someone hit a bad shot and say " I was trying to take something off and tried to hit an easy 8 iron". 

Glengarry Glen Golf: A-B-A

A ... Always
B ... Be 
A ... Accelerating. 

It’s been the last 6 weeks or so that I’ve been getting my driver far enough back/around to get it to parallel to the ground, with a lot of success.  That has led to the realization that my irons, including wedges, which don’t achieve parallel, is a different swing, or maybe as you characterize, a 3/4 swing.  

With my wedges, I have ‘that’ swing, but then a more relaxed (perhaps 3/4 of the aforementioned), less shoulder turn swing, which I am the most consistent with.  I guess it must be a 9/16 swing. Id like to get that full turn with the rest of my other irons, but just isn’t there, and forcing it seems counterproductive. 
 

 

[russtopherb]

11 hours ago, Lacassem said:

Tiger woods said it best, irons aren’t distance clubs. I took that this year and it helped a lot.

as of late not so much but like I said my best rounds I was swinging easy and looking to get height out of the club. Give me the 150 yard easy 8 iron dart. And like you’re saying maybe as those easy swings get better and better, the full swings transition to.

My irons got so much better from 7i up when I started taking what felt like a 3/4 swing with a straight arm follow through. Distance and height actually increased and my dispersion went way down. Short irons and wedges IMO should never be full out swings for most golfers. Control over distance every time.

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

Just now, russtopherb said:

My irons got so much better from 7i up when I started taking what felt like a 3/4 swing with a straight arm follow through. Distance and height actually increased and my dispersion went way down. Short irons and wedges IMO should never be full out swings for most golfers. Control over distance every time.

Try telling that to 28 YO me . It is really true though, the contact is so much better and that translates to all the good stuff with height, distance and dispersion.

[Shapotomous]

Plus 1000% on the comment by  @chisag regarding acceleration.  Sooo many times i see a bad "half" swing by somebody because they take a full swing length and decelerate at impact causing poor results.  Its not 1/2 swing speed its half swing length and accelerate through impact.

 

[TR1PTIK]

Not much to add here other than saying I don't take full swings beyond PW (which is still around a 3/4 swing most of the time as mentioned by @chisag). I can certainly take bigger swings with any of my wedges, but I really need a good reason to do it. I also only carry a PW, SW, and LW. I've learned I can easily dial back a PW and even dial up a SW when warranted. 

[404yds]

Does anyone have a training aid they recommend for getting better control of partial swings? Let's say I want to really be consistent on my 1/2 swing, my 3/5 swing and my 3/4 swing - what are the best aids for this?

[cnosil]

48 minutes ago, 404yds said:

Does anyone have a training aid they recommend for getting better control of partial swings? Let's say I want to really be consistent on my 1/2 swing, my 3/5 swing and my 3/4 swing - what are the best aids for this?

I am guessing you want to go more mechanical based than feel based since you are looking for aids to inhibit swing length?   

The TGT trainer might have drills to help you with partial swings so you could look there.   Otherwise you could look at setting up some kind of station with alignment rods set to a certain height that you hit when you get to a certain length.   You could also simply swing back to waist, chest, shoulders, or whatever in front of a mirror and stop when you think you are in the right position and check in the mirror.  
 

the best option might simply be to get a launch monitor and practice hitting specific distances.  Generate random numbers inside 125 yards and you have to hit that number on the launch monitor.  People will say that the inexpensive PLMs are not that accurate and they probably aren’t, but it will give you practice hitting distance wedge shots within a window that is acceptable for on course play.  

[GolfSpy_BOS]

2 hours ago, 404yds said:

Does anyone have a training aid they recommend for getting better control of partial swings? Let's say I want to really be consistent on my 1/2 swing, my 3/5 swing and my 3/4 swing - what are the best aids for this?

I love the Planemate for this.  I use mine almost exclusively for those chip/pitch swings and for feels on my 3/4 wedge shots.  I feel much more compact and connected on those swings after doing some training with it.

[NM01]

Best training aid is your feel and your eyes. Also a camera.

 

[cnosil]

Just now, RickyBobby_PR said:

Best training aid is your feel and your eyes. Also a camera.

 

Can you explain more thoroughly?   We know feel doesn’t necessarily translate to what is actually happening. We have seen several member discuss that they take what “feels” like a short backswing but is in reality a full swing.  How would you setup the station and is it recorded video that you are reviewing or live video that mimics a mirror?   

[TR1PTIK]

2 hours ago, 404yds said:

Does anyone have a training aid they recommend for getting better control of partial swings? Let's say I want to really be consistent on my 1/2 swing, my 3/5 swing and my 3/4 swing - what are the best aids for this?

Depends on what you need to help you gain control. If you're looking for something to help you with wrist angles or something, then I'm sure there's a gadget out there but I wouldn't know what that is. If, however, you just need a little assistance in gauging what a 1/4, 1/2, & 3/4 swing is and ingrain that, I agree with @RickyBobby_PR in that a camera and some mirror work is most beneficial. I'd also recommend an alignment stick or two which can be placed in or on the ground and on your body to help you as well.

One final recommendation is to simply get on the range and develop some feel using one of Tiger's short game drills. Pitch a ball onto the range and try to get every ball after it to either land or finish next to it. This also works as a great warm up before playing a round.

[Tom the Golf Nut]

When I was working with my wife on her game, I would say take a half swing with her wedge. The results were far from a half swing. She would insist she was at a half swing position but was more like 7/8ths. Then sail one over the green. I would have to tell her to get to 1/2 swing and stop there. Then I would have to grab the club and bring it down to position and say this is half. In many cases golfers do not have a good handle on what a 1/2 or 3/4 swing position is. The best bet is to practice in front of a mirror until it is second nature. Once you have the position down then you can hit balls to see how far the ball travels at that position. 

[GolfSpy TCB]

3 hours ago, 404yds said:

Does anyone have a training aid they recommend for getting better control of partial swings? Let's say I want to really be consistent on my 1/2 swing, my 3/5 swing and my 3/4 swing - what are the best aids for this?

Controlling the follow through has helped for me.  Not really a training aid, but I find if I commit to the same back and through (1/2 - 3/4 - whatever) and practice until you can be consistent with contact and flight..   

[chisag]

15 minutes ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

When I was working with my wife on her game, I would say take a half swing with her wedge. The results were far from a half swing. She would insist she was at a half swing position but was more like 7/8ths. Then sail one over the green. I would have to tell her to get to 1/2 swing and stop there. Then I would have to grab the club and bring it down to position and say this is half. In many cases golfers do not have a good handle on what a 1/2 or 3/4 swing position is. The best bet is to practice in front of a mirror until it is second nature. Once you have the position down then you can hit balls to see how far the ball travels at that position. 

 

... Dayum, I was a full time instructor and I knew better than to help my ex wife with her game. And the last thing I would say is she isn't doing what she thinks she is doing.    Yet with my students I would find the same. I stood in front of them and had them take their club back 1/2 way with me extending a shaft so they would touch the grip with their shaft at that point. Then have them take a full speed 1/2 swing and they would hit my shaft so hard it would come out of my hands if I wasn't holding it so tight knowing what was coming. They were always amazed as they swore they were cutting their swing in half. Like your Mrs, they were much closer to 7.5/8ths but felt like 1/2. As with most things when learning something new, you have to really exaggerate the movement or lack thereof. 

[funkyjudge]

1 minute ago, chisag said:

 

... Dayum, I was a full time instructor and I knew better than to help my ex wife with her game. And the last thing I would say is she isn't doing what she thinks she is doing.    Yet with my students I would find the same. I stood in front of them and had them take their club back 1/2 way with me extending a shaft so they would touch the grip with their shaft at that point. Then have them take a full speed 1/2 swing and they would hit my shaft so hard it would come out of my hands if I wasn't holding it so tight knowing what was coming. They were always amazed as they swore they were cutting their swing in half. Like your Mrs, they were much closer to 7.5/8ths but felt like 1/2. As with most things when learning something new, you have to really exaggerate the movement or lack thereof. 

Yep, #1 rule with a golfing spouse = no advice or lessons unless specifically requested by said spouse, and even then, advise with great care and caution!

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I was lucky. My wife took advice well and executed the advice well. I was actually impressed once we got past the knowing where your club is part. She became a decent golfer and actually won some events at our club. Eventually she just stopped playing once the kids needed more chauffeuring around between different sports. We each gave up something. I gave up bowling and she gave up golf. She continued to bowl for her "ME" time and I watched the kids. I played golf for my "ME" time then she watched them.