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The Wedge Guy: Maybe it’s time to rethink your short irons

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In today’s post, I’m going to put on my “respectful irreverence” hat and challenge the notion of “matched” sets of irons that have been promoted to us since Bobby Jones and Spalding created the concept in the early 1920s. My question is simple: Should iron sets really be “matched”?

I’m going out on a limb and say “NO.”

Here’s why.

When cavity-back, perimeter-weighted irons became popular in the 1970s, long and middle irons immediately became easier to hit. But manufacturers followed industry tradition and continued to make all the irons look alike–3 through PW. Because the short irons had the same cavity as the long and middle irons, the result was excessively high ball flight and reduced spin. That’s when the absurd notion of strengthening lofts began.

Over my many years in the equipment industry, I’ve seen Iron Byron prove time and again that perimeter weighting is increasingly less influential as the loft of an iron increases. In fact, while a low center of gravity and thin face is certainly helpful with a middle or long iron in your hands, most golfers seem to have the exact opposite problem as irons approach the high 30s and 40s in loft – they hit them too high and cannot control their distances.

Most golfers will be surprised by the shotmaking performance of blade short irons, even if you play to a double-digit handicap. The reason is that the more even distribution of mass across the back of the clubhead on a blade short iron of 40 degrees or more greatly equalizes the smash factor – or efficiency of impact – vertically up and down the face. And the simple fact is that most golfers miss their short irons vertically, while long-club misses tend to run heel to toe.

What’s really always baffled me is that the design of almost all wedges exacerbates this issue for golfers, because all the mass is so low in the clubhead. Iron Byron repeatedly proves that misses even a half-inch up the face can reduce smash factor by as much as 20-22 percent on any top-brand wedges. That’s why your high-face misses come up short.

But back to the short iron—here’s what might become an eye-opening experiment for you. Talk to your club fitter or pro about trying out a set of blade demos–just the short irons–for a round or two. Choose some that have a shaft that is reasonably matched to your current irons. Hit some shots side-by-side with your short irons and the blade short irons and see if you don’t notice a measurable trajectory improvement.

Yes, you’ll notice some feel difference when you miss out toward the toe, but my bet is that you will find much more consistent distance control and accuracy.

But remember, the numbers on the bottom of irons have become essentially meaningless. That blade 9-iron might have the same loft as your “tech” pitching wedge. So keep that in mind as you do this evaluation.

Let me know how your experiments play out.

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Terry Koehler is a fourth generation Texan and a graduate of Texas A&M University. Over his 40-year career in the golf industry, he has created over 100 putter designs, sets of irons and drivers, and in 2014, he put together the team that reintroduced the Ben Hogan brand to the golf equipment industry. Since the early 2000s, Terry has been a prolific writer, sharing his knowledge as “The Wedge Guy”.   But his most compelling work is in the wedge category. Since he first patented his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” reflected in ‘tour design’ wedges. The performance of his wedge designs have stimulated other companies to move slightly more mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges, but none approach the dramatic design of his Edison Forged wedges, which have been robotically proven to significantly raise the bar for wedge performance. Terry serves as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf – check it out at www.EdisonWedges.com.

24 Comments

24 Comments

  1. matt

    Feb 5, 2021 at 8:21 am

    good read, just found it. there’s another factor making these clubs even harder to control. Since the advent of the ProV1 the cover of a premium ball has been getting harder and harder. They manage to keep spin reasonable with other tech but launch wants to go higher and higher (driver distance is obviously the force here). The wedge makers are on to this, they’re all driving CG higher and higher because these balls want to launch so dang high. But if your pitching wedge/ 9 iron doesn’t have an adequately high CG you’re almost surely going to see some control issues with it IMO.

  2. Osnola Kinnard

    Sep 8, 2020 at 8:58 am

    What you espouse is what Edel Golf does with their SLS01 irons amd they also tske it a step further with different shaft profiles in the long, mid, short iron/wedges.

  3. Speedy

    Aug 11, 2020 at 12:20 pm

    Thought Dave Pelz was The Wedge Guy. Retired (80)?

  4. geohogan

    Aug 2, 2020 at 3:14 pm

    IMO increased offset in cavity backed irons creates inconsistency as much as perimeter weighting.

    Bend your cavity back irons to have much less offset; consistency and accuracy will increase.

    Note: bending less offset will increase effective loft. ie closer to loft of comparable muscle back irons.

  5. Bladehunter.

    Jul 25, 2020 at 3:17 pm

    And some of us have been telling you this forever. For all handicaps. Blades in the short irons. Hybrids up top. Done.

  6. Par

    Jul 25, 2020 at 6:53 am

    I am a mid handicapper, about 12 and in my late 60’s. I fiddle around with hitting various irons. Do see better accuracy and distance with forged or pro series cast iron. Yet over much better consistency and comfort with matched clubs and cast set.

  7. Tokyo Bob

    Jul 24, 2020 at 12:54 pm

    I happened onto this just by chance/trial and error, The end result was I carry two 9 irons and two 8 irons, with 8-PW being Miura blades and the other 6-9 being PRGR GI irons , which are essentially 4-7 lofts. Numbers on the bottom just are meaningful in a general sense or reference in a single set. I like the Hogan clubs just printing the loft, not the number on the club. Useful.

    People may hate on this. But it works for me. MiHLM, mid handicap lives matter, too.

    Liked the article and learned some things on the vertical miss on wedges, etc.

  8. Shallowface

    Jul 23, 2020 at 7:55 pm

    Terry, your comment about how toe hits might feel with a blade is interesting. For a long time I’ve been of the opinion that what people interpret as “forgiveness” is actually just a reduction in vibration due to how it is distributed when a cavity back iron is mis-hit. In my experience, the actual performance differences on mis-hits between blades and cavity backs is not nearly as signifcant as has been sold to the buying public. We just feel them more with a blade. Of course, that vibration reduction may well result in a more enjoyable experience for players, even if it means very little in actual results.

    • geohogan

      Aug 10, 2020 at 12:37 pm

      Most golfers have probably not experienced the sweet feel of pure contact on the sweet spot of a soft carbon muscle back iron.
      If a golfer never knows that sweet feel, he or she will never have the opportunity to learn to repeat that proper clubface to ball contact.

      ie It may be that the lack of reward(sweet feeling) in order to learn, conditioned response restricts learning?

  9. Mike

    Jul 23, 2020 at 12:47 pm

    I’ve learned to ignore the number on the bottom of the club and just build my set based on loft. What’s the point difference in carrying 6i to gap wedge as I do or carrying a 7i to the second gap wedge. It’s still the same number of irons I’m carrying. The markings on the clothes have gotten idiotic. Always remember the TM commercial with Nick Faldo 10 years ago where he said “Wow, I’m hitting this 7i as far as my old 6i”. Duh, Nick, the loft on that 7 iron you tested was definitely stronger than your old one and it was 1/2″ longer.

  10. Osnola Kinnard

    Jul 22, 2020 at 9:30 pm

    I was fitted for a set of Edel SLS01 irons 2 years ago and have not looked back. Not only is the weighting of their irons progressive for the long middle and short irons, the Paderson shafts really do help optimize ball flight, spin, and trajectory.

    Granted I am taller and the longer short irons feel way more comfortable to me, the Edels seem to take your advice to heart in the short irons and wedges.

  11. JD Masur

    Jul 22, 2020 at 5:20 pm

    For that matter, I have a gripe with grips being identical. For the LW, GW and SW, I use reverse taper grips, for the PW-6 iron, I use 2 layers of tennis racquet white hand wrapped grips, for 4-iron hybrid and “Ginty” no taper rubber grips, and for the metal 7, 3 and driver, a tacky white tour wrap.
    The reverse taper gives me versatile options for distance control, and the white tennis wraps/no taper grips make it easier to hold the clubs in my fingers. All white grips give a visual signal on when to change them.

  12. James

    Jul 22, 2020 at 5:08 pm

    My son is a scratch junior player and just got fitted into new irons. Iron fitting by a top fitter took almost 3 hours. Ended up in cavity backs 3-6 and blades 7-PW. Accuracy and distance control is far better. This is good advice Wedge Guy.

  13. Brandon

    Jul 22, 2020 at 4:09 pm

    Wait, haven’t we been told that we can’t even look at blades if we aren’t scratch?

    • Shallowface

      Jul 23, 2020 at 7:46 pm

      The lesson here is, don’t believe everything you are told. About anything.

  14. Douglas Spensley

    Jul 22, 2020 at 2:54 pm

    I agree. I recently got new cavity back irons, and love the 4 to 6, but can’t control distance and spin under 150 yards or so. I’ve put my old blades wedge and 9 back in the bag, still experimenting with 7 and 8.

  15. Acemandrake

    Jul 22, 2020 at 12:16 pm

    The turf interaction of a blade may shock some non-blade players.

    Is there such a thing as a wide-soled blade? Is there a need/demand for this?

  16. Stan The Man

    Jul 22, 2020 at 10:56 am

    Couldn’t agree more with this notion. In fact, I was fitted at a top club fitter a few years ago and to get the consistency, dispersion we needed, we ended up fitting me into a mixed set of Srixon blades to cavity back to game improvement irons throughout the set. Love them and most importantly, I trust them.

  17. juststeve

    Jul 22, 2020 at 10:25 am

    Seems that most of the OEMs are already producing sets with long irons designed to be easier to hit, whether by moving the center of gravity, by use of progressive off-set, etc., whether the design is cavity back or blade. A number have designed their clubs to be compatible as parts of split sets. Good ideas all but sort of yesterdy.

  18. drkviol801

    Jul 22, 2020 at 10:13 am

    Care to explain why a significant number of PGA tour players play with a pw that matches irons? Easily 35-40% do.

    • Roy

      Jul 22, 2020 at 11:39 am

      Doesnt that mean 60-65% don’t??? Remember, not everyone switched from persimmon to metal at the same time as well.

      But to answer your question, I would say they are far less prone to “vertical misses” as a 5 handicap is

    • MakoShark

      Jul 24, 2020 at 10:07 am

      That means 65-70% do not.

    • Terry Koehler

      Jul 24, 2020 at 10:51 am

      That’s a pretty easy question, drkviol801. That’s because most tour players are not playing a severe game improvement iron, and their 9-iron and PW are actually more accurate and more forgiving than ‘tour design’ wedges. That is another whole topic I might have to dive into in a future article.

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Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: What really makes a wedge work? Part 1

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Of all the clubs in our bags, wedges are almost always the simplest in construction and, therefore, the easiest to analyze what might make one work differently from another if you know what to look for.

Wedges are a lot less mysterious than drivers, of course, as the major brands are working with a lot of “pixie dust” inside these modern marvels. That’s carrying over more to irons now, with so many new models featuring internal multi-material technologies, and almost all of them having a “badge” or insert in the back to allow more complex graphics while hiding the actual distribution of mass.

But when it comes to wedges, most on the market today are still single pieces of molded steel, either cast or forged into that shape. So, if you look closely at where the mass is distributed, it’s pretty clear how that wedge is going to perform.

To start, because of their wider soles, the majority of the mass of almost any wedge is along the bottom third of the clubhead. So, the best wedge shots are always those hit between the 2nd and 5th grooves so that more mass is directly behind that impact. Elite tour professionals practice incessantly to learn to do that consistently, wearing out a spot about the size of a penny right there. If impact moves higher than that, the face is dramatically thinner, so smash factor is compromised significantly, which reduces the overall distance the ball will fly.

Every one of us, tour players included, knows that maddening shot that we feel a bit high on the face and it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s not your fault.

If your wedges show a wear pattern the size of a silver dollar, and centered above the 3rd or 4th groove, you are not getting anywhere near the same performance from shot to shot. Robot testing proves impact even two to three grooves higher in the face can cause distance loss of up to 35 to 55 feet with modern ‘tour design’ wedges.

In addition, as impact moves above the center of mass, the golf club principle of gear effect causes the ball to fly higher with less spin. Think of modern drivers for a minute. The “holy grail” of driving is high launch and low spin, and the driver engineers are pulling out all stops to get the mass as low in the clubhead as possible to optimize this combination.

Where is all the mass in your wedges? Low. So, disregarding the higher lofts, wedges “want” to launch the ball high with low spin – exactly the opposite of what good wedge play requires penetrating ball flight with high spin.

While almost all major brand wedges have begun putting a tiny bit more thickness in the top portion of the clubhead, conventional and modern ‘tour design’ wedges perform pretty much like they always have. Elite players learn to hit those crisp, spinny penetrating wedge shots by spending lots of practice time learning to consistently make contact low in the face.

So, what about grooves and face texture?

Grooves on any club can only do so much, and no one has any material advantage here. The USGA tightly defines what we manufacturers can do with grooves and face texture, and modern manufacturing techniques allow all of us to push those limits ever closer. And we all do. End of story.

Then there’s the topic of bounce and grinds, the most complex and confusing part of the wedge formula. Many top brands offer a complex array of sole configurations, all of them admittedly specialized to a particular kind of lie or turf conditions, and/or a particular divot pattern.

But if you don’t play the same turf all the time, and make the same size divot on every swing, how would you ever figure this out?

The only way is to take any wedge you are considering and play it a few rounds, hitting all the shots you face and observing the results. There’s simply no other way.

So, hopefully this will inspire a lively conversation in our comments section, and I’ll chime in to answer any questions you might have.

And next week, I’ll dive into the rest of the wedge formula. Yes, shafts, grips and specifications are essential, too.

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Golf's Perfect Imperfections

Golf’s Perfect Imperfections: Amazing Session with Performance Coach Savannah Meyer-Clement

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In this week’s episode, we spent some time with performance coach Savannah Meyer-Clement who provides many useful insights that you’ll be able to implement on the golf course.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 RBC Heritage betting preview: Patrick Cantlay ready to get back inside winner’s circle

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Just a two-hour drive from Augusta National, the PGA TOUR heads to Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Hilton Head Island is a golfer’s paradise and Harbour Town is one of the most beautiful and scenic courses on the PGA TOUR.

Harbour Town Golf Links is a par-71 that measures 7,121 yards and features Bermuda grass greens. A Pete Dye design, the course is heavily tree lined and features small greens and many dog legs, protecting it from “bomb-and-gauge” type golfers.

The field is loaded this week with 69 golfers with no cut. Last year was quite possibly the best field in RBC Heritage history and the event this week is yet another designated event, meaning there is a $20 million prize pool.

Most of the big names on the PGA Tour will be in attendance this week with the exceptions of Hideki Matsuyama and Viktor Hovland. Additionally, Webb Simpson, Shane Lowry, Gary Woodland and Kevin Kisner have been granted sponsors exemptions. 

Past Winners at Harbour Town

  • 2023: Matt Fitzpatrick (-17)
  • 2022: Jordan Spieth (-13)
  • 2021: Stewart Cink (-19)
  • 2020: Webb Simpson (-22)
  • 2019: CT Pan (-12)
  • 2018: Sotoshi Kodaira (-12)
  • 2017: Wesley Bryan (-13)
  • 2016: Branden Grace (-9)
  • 2015: Jim Furyk (-18)

In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value).

Key Stats For Harbour Town

Let’s take a look at key metrics for Harbour Town Golf Links to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their past 24 rounds.

Strokes Gained: Approach

Strokes Gained: Approach is exceedingly important this week. The greens at Harbour Town are about half the size of PGA TOUR average and feature the second-smallest greens on the tour. Typical of a Pete Dye design, golfers will pay the price for missed greens.

Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Scottie Scheffler (+1.27)
  2. Tom Hoge (+1.27)
  3. Corey Conners (+1.16)
  4. Austin Eckroat (+0.95)
  5. Cameron Young (+0.93)

Good Drive %

The fairways at Harbour Town are tree lined and feature many dog legs. Bombers tend to struggle at the course because it forces layups and doesn’t allow long drivers to overpower it. Accuracy is far more important than power.

Good Drive % Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Brice Garnett (88.8%)
  2. Shane Lowry (+87.2%)
  3. Akshay Bhatia (+86.0%)
  4. Si Woo Kim (+85.8%)
  5. Sepp Straka (+85.1%)

Strokes Gained: Total at Pete Dye Designs

Pete Dye specialists tend to play very well at Harbour Town. Si Woo Kim, Matt Kuchar, Jim Furyk and Webb Simpson are all Pete Dye specialists who have had great success here. It is likely we see some more specialists near the top of the leaderboard this week.

SG: TOT Pete Dye per round over past 36 rounds:

  1. Xander Schauffele (+2.27)
  2. Scottie Scheffler (+2.24)
  3. Ludvig Aberg (+2.11)
  4. Brian Harman (+1.89)
  5. Sungjae Im (+1.58)

4. Strokes Gained: Short Game (Bermuda)

Strokes Gained: Short Game factors in both around the green and putting. With many green-side bunkers and tricky green complexes, both statistics will be important. Past winners — such as Jim Furyk, Wes Bryan and Webb Simpson — highlight how crucial the short game skill set is around Harbour Town.

SG: SG Over Past 24 Rounds

  1. Jordan Spieth (+1.11)
  2. Taylor Moore (+1.02)
  3. Wyndham Clark (+0.98)
  4. Mackenzie Hughes (+0.86)
  5. Andrew Putnam (+0.83)

5. Greens in Regulation %

The recipe for success at Harbour Town Golf Links is hitting fairways and greens. Missing either will prove to be consequential — golfers must be in total control of the ball to win.

Greens in Regulation % over past 24 rounds:

  1. Brice Garnett (+75.0%)
  2. Scottie Scheffler (+69.9%)
  3. Corey Conners (+69.0%)
  4. Shane Lowry (+68.3%)
  5. Patrick Rodgers (+67.6%)

6. Course History

Harbour Town is a course where players who have strong past results at the course always tend to pop up. 

Course History over past 24 rounds:

  1. Patrick Cantlay (+2.34)
  2. Cam Davis (+2.05)
  3. J.T. Poston (+1.69)
  4. Justin Rose (+1.68)
  5. Tommy Fleetwood (+1.59)

The RBC Heritage Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (24%), Good Drives (20%), SG: SG (14%), SG: Pete Dye (14%), GIR (14%), and Course History (14%)

  1. Shane Lowry
  2. Russell Henley
  3. Scottie Scheffler
  4. Xander Schauffele
  5. Corey Conners 
  6. Wyndham Clark
  7. Christiaan Bezuidenhout
  8. Matt Fitzpatrick
  9. Cameron Young
  10. Ludvig Aberg 

2024 RBC Heritage Picks

Patrick Cantlay +2000 (FanDuel)

With the exception of Scottie Scheffler, the PGA Tour has yet to have any of their star players show peak form during the 2024 season. Last week, Patrick Cantlay, who I believe is a top-5 players on the PGA Tour, took one step closer to regaining the form that’s helped him win eight events on Tour since 2017.

Cantlay limped into the Masters in poor form, but figured it out at Augusta National, finishing in a tie for 20th and ranking 17th for the week in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. The former FedEx Cup champion will now head to one of his favorite golf courses in Harbour Town, where he’s had immaculate results over the years. In his six trips to the course, he’s only finished worse than 7th one time. The other finishes include three third places (2017, 2019, 2023) and one runner-up finish (2022). In his past 36 rounds at Harbour Town, Cantlay ranks 1st in Strokes Gained: Total per round at the course by a wide margin (+2.36).

Cantlay is winless since the 2022 BMW Championship, which is far too long for a player of his caliber. With signs pointing to the 32-year-old returning to form, a “signature event” at Harbour Town is just what he needs to get back on the winning track.

Tommy Fleetwood +3000 (FanDuel)

I truly believe Tommy Fleetwood will figure out a way to win on American soil in 2024. It’s certainly been a bugaboo for him throughout his career, but he is simply too talented to go another season without winning a PGA Tour event.

At last week’s Masters Tournament, Fleetwood made a Sunday charge and ended up finishing T3 in the event, which was his best ever finish at The Masters. For the week, the Englishman ranked 8th in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, 10th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking and 16th in Strokes Gained: Putting.

Harbour Town is a perfect layout for Fleetwood, and he’s had relative success at this Pete Dye design in the past.  In his four trips to the course, he’s finished inside of the top 25 three times, with his best finish, T10, coming in 2022. The course is pretty short and can’t be overpowered, which gives an advantage to more accurate players such as Fleetwood. Tommy ranks 8th in the field in Good Drive % and should be able to plot his way along this golf course.

The win is coming for Tommy lad. I believe there’s a chance this treasure of a golf course may be the perfect one for him to finally break through on Tour.

Cameron Young +3300 (FanDuel)

Cameron Young had a solid Masters Tournament last week, which is exactly what I’m looking for in players who I anticipate playing well this week at the RBC Heritage. He finished in a tie for 9th, but never felt the pressure of contending in the event. For the week, Young ranked 6th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 6th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.

Despite being one of the longest players off the tee on the PGA Tour, Young has actually played some really good golf on shorter tracks. He finished T3 at Harbour Town in 2023 and ranks 20th in the field in Good Drive% and 16th in Greens in Regulation in his past 24 rounds. He also has strong finishes at other shorter courses that can take driver out of a players hand such as Copperhead and PGA National.

Young is simply one of the best players on the PGA Tour in 2024, and I strongly believe has what it takes to win a PGA Tour event in the very near future.

Corey Conners +5500 (FanDuel)

Corey Conners has had a disappointing year thus far on the PGA Tour, but absolutely loves Harbour Town.

At last week’s Masters Tournament, the Canadian finished T30 but ranked 20th in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach. In his past 24 rounds, Conners ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, 3rd in Greens in Regulation % and 24th in Good Drive %.

In Conners’ last four trips to Harbour Town, his worst finish was T31, last season. He finished T4 in 2021, T12 in 2022 and ranks 8th in Strokes Gained: Total at the course over his past 36 rounds.

Conners hasn’t been contending, but his recent finishes have been encouraging as he has finished in the top-25 in each of his past three starts prior to The Masters, including an impressive T13 at The PLAYERS. His recent improvement in ball striking as well as his suitability for Harbour Town makes Conners a high upside bet this week.

Shane Lowry (+7500) (FanDuel)

When these odds were posted after Lowry was announced in the field, I have to admit I was pretty stunned. Despite not offering much win equity on the PGA Tour over the last handful of years, Shane Lowry is still a top caliber player who has the ability to rise to the top of a signature event.

Lowry struggled to score at The Masters last week, but he actually hit the ball really well. The Irishman ranked 1st for Strokes Gained: Approach on the week and 7th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. As usual, it was the putter that let him down, as he ranked 60th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting.

Harbour Town is most definitely one of Lowry’s favorite courses on the PGA Tour. In his six starts there, he’s finished in the top 10 three times, including third twice. Lowry is sensational at Pete Dye designs and ranks 7th in Strokes Gained: Total in his past 36 rounds on Dye tracks. 

Lowry is perfect for Harbour Town. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 5th in Strokes Gained: Approach, 2nd in Good Drive% and 5th in Green in Regulation %. If he figures it out on the greens, Shane could have his first win in America since 2015.

Lucas Glover +12000 (FanDuel)

This is one of my weekly “bet the number” plays as I strongly believe the odds are just too long for a player of Glover’s caliber. The odds have been too long on Glover for a few weeks now, but this is the first event that I can get behind the veteran being able to actually contend at. 

Glover is quietly playing good golf and returning to the form he had after the understandable regression after his two massive victories at the end of 2023. He finished T20 at The Masters, which was his best ever finish at Augusta National. For the week, Lucas ranked 18th for Strokes Gained: Approach and 20th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.

Over his past 24 rounds, Glover ranks 9th in Strokes Gained: Approach and 13th in Good Drive %. Harbour Town is a short course that the 44-year-old will be able to keep up with the top players on Tour off the tee. He’s played the course more than 20 times, with mixed results. His best finishes at Harbour Town include a T7 in 2008, but recently has a finish of T21 in 2020.

Glover has proven he can contend with the stars of the Tour on any given week, and this number is flat out disrespectful.

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