27 replies to this topic

[Slanman]

I’m sick of watching golf and seeing the pros hit a 56 120 yards. How in the world do they hit their wedges so far? I have 50/54/58 wedges, and I can’t hit them to save my life. I can barely get my 54 to go 80 yards. I make good contact, I can take a divot in front of the ball, but I just feel like the harder I swing, the higher and shorter it goes. Watching the pros on tv, they all have a nice smooth swing that doesn’t look overly fast but it goes so far! What gives

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[vanillafunk616]

If it makes you feel better I think 100 yards on a 56 would be closer to tour average.

It's just swing speed, plus delofting through impact, plus center strike.

[rcb1586]

It may look smooth but that doesn't mean they still aren't swinging fast.
Also, dynamic loft likely has a big impact.

[LYG]

One continuous motion -- back and then through all the way to the finish. The "smooth" look, as someone said above, does not mean they are not generating clubbed speed.

[ChristopherMcDonald]

Like a little girly man.

[Slanman]

 vanillafunk616, on 13 April 2018 - 03:53 PM, said:

If it makes you feel better I think 100 yards on a 56 would be closer to tour average.

It's just swing speed, plus delofting through impact, plus center strike.

Hah not exactly. I think the loft is my issue. Would that be lag?  I tend to hit all of my clubs really high, so when it gets to the more lofted clubs it’s exaggerated. I can’t tell you how many times over the past few weeks I’m 70-80 yards from the flag... I’ll grab my 54, make a solid swing that hits center of the club face and I’m short of the green.

[1Mordrid1]

 Slanman, on 13 April 2018 - 03:33 PM, said:

I’m sick of watching golf and seeing the pros hit a 56 120 yards. How in the world do they hit their wedges so far? I have 50/54/58 wedges, and I can’t hit them to save my life. I can barely get my 54 to go 80 yards. I make good contact, I can take a divot in front of the ball, but I just feel like the harder I swing, the higher and shorter it goes. Watching the pros on tv, they all have a nice smooth swing that doesn’t look overly fast but it goes so far! What gives

Where in your stance is the ball when you are hitting your 54? I can consistently hit 3 different shots with my 56 by moving the ball in my stance. A 75 yard moonshot with the ball slightly forward and by keeping more of my weight back throughout the swing. A normal full 56 that goes 90 yards, and a closed face back in the stance shot that is good for 100 yds. For my swing I know that with a high lofted club and the ball forward in my stance, the harder I swing my gains tend to be more height than distance.

[doublehans]

I used to do this, would outdrive most guys I played with, might be 50y ahead of a guy off the tee and we still are almost using the same the same club into the green. Took a couple lessons and while I still hit my wedges too high, they now go more “normal” distance. It’s been so long I can’t say exactly what was the difference other than I had a big flip in my swing which worked fine for my driver but not my wedges. and I now just kind of naturally don’t do it as much. I do remember the pro having me lots of punch shots to get the feel of keeping the hands ahead more and to keep weight from falling back. It was more about learning a different feel for me. With sthg that extreme, you should be able to find a pro that can help you, but if not, post a swing.

[Slanman]

 doublehans, on 14 April 2018 - 07:12 AM, said:

I used to do this, would outdrive most guys I played with, might be 50y ahead of a guy off the tee and we still are almost using the same the same club into the green. Took a couple lessons and while I still hit my wedges too high, they now go more “normal” distance. It’s been so long I can’t say exactly what was the difference other than I had a big flip in my swing which worked fine for my driver but not my wedges. and I now just kind of naturally don’t do it as much. I do remember the pro having me lots of punch shots to get the feel of keeping the hands ahead more and to keep weight from falling back. It was more about learning a different feel for me. With sthg that extreme, you should be able to find a pro that can help you, but if not, post a swing.

See, that sounds exactly like me! I’ve been considering some lessons, but I’m on a golfing budget and it’s so expensive around here. There aren’t many real instructors so they charge a ton...like 60$/half hour. Right now I find that hard to justify. So yeah, I’ll go to the range and get some videos and see what people think. I bet you it’s that wrist flip thing you were talking about

[oikos1]

 Slanman, on 14 April 2018 - 10:13 AM, said:

 doublehans, on 14 April 2018 - 07:12 AM, said:

I used to do this, would outdrive most guys I played with, might be 50y ahead of a guy off the tee and we still are almost using the same the same club into the green. Took a couple lessons and while I still hit my wedges too high, they now go more “normal” distance. It’s been so long I can’t say exactly what was the difference other than I had a big flip in my swing which worked fine for my driver but not my wedges. and I now just kind of naturally don’t do it as much. I do remember the pro having me lots of punch shots to get the feel of keeping the hands ahead more and to keep weight from falling back. It was more about learning a different feel for me. With sthg that extreme, you should be able to find a pro that can help you, but if not, post a swing.

See, that sounds exactly like me! I’ve been considering some lessons, but I’m on a golfing budget and it’s so expensive around here. There aren’t many real instructors so they charge a ton...like 60$/half hour. Right now I find that hard to justify. So yeah, I’ll go to the range and get some videos and see what people think. I bet you it’s that wrist flip thing you were talking about

In 1/2 an hour, a good instructor should be able to identify what's going on and provide a solution.  In the big picture, $60 bucks to solve the problem is a pretty good deal.  You'll just have to practice to maintain the solution.

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[Santiago Golf]

THESE GUYS ARE GOOD! Id say avg tour sand wedge is going 110ish. Thats about how far my stock one is. Alot golfers i teach dont carry a driver 200 yards and they "try" to hit sand wedge 100 yards. Something doesnt add up!

Most golfers should do

56* 40 and in
52* 60 and in
Gw 80 and in
Pw 100 and in
9 iron 120

[Slanman]

Santiago Golf, on 14 April 2018 - 04:11 PM, said:

THESE GUYS ARE GOOD! Id say avg tour sand wedge is going 110ish. Thats about how far my stock one is. Alot golfers i teach dont carry a driver 200 yards and they "try" to hit sand wedge 100 yards. Something doesnt add up!

Most golfers should do

56* 40 and in
52* 60 and in
Gw 80 and in
Pw 100 and in
9 iron 120

How do you not hit a driver more than 200 unless you’re like 70+?

[ayan]

Slanman, on 16 April 2018 - 09:23 AM, said:

Santiago Golf, on 14 April 2018 - 04:11 PM, said:

THESE GUYS ARE GOOD! Id say avg tour sand wedge is going 110ish. Thats about how far my stock one is. Alot golfers i teach dont carry a driver 200 yards and they "try" to hit sand wedge 100 yards. Something doesnt add up!

Most golfers should do

56* 40 and in
52* 60 and in
Gw 80 and in
Pw 100 and in
9 iron 120

How do you not hit a driver more than 200 unless you’re like 70+?

For starters, Santiago is talking about 200 yards carry, which would require a swing speed of about 85 mph and a well struck shot.  I suspect 85 mph would be above amateur average.  Added to that, there are inefficiencies that stem from not having a good launch angle, a sweet spot strike, from having too much backspin on the ball, etc.

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by ayan, 16 April 2018 - 12:42 PM.

[RattlesnakeRon]

ayan, on 16 April 2018 - 12:39 PM, said:

Slanman, on 16 April 2018 - 09:23 AM, said:

Santiago Golf, on 14 April 2018 - 04:11 PM, said:

THESE GUYS ARE GOOD! Id say avg tour sand wedge is going 110ish. Thats about how far my stock one is. Alot golfers i teach dont carry a driver 200 yards and they "try" to hit sand wedge 100 yards. Something doesnt add up!

Most golfers should do

56* 40 and in
52* 60 and in
Gw 80 and in
Pw 100 and in
9 iron 120

How do you not hit a driver more than 200 unless you’re like 70+?

For starters, Santiago is talking about 200 yards carry, which would require a swing speed of about 85 mph and a well struck shot.  I suspect 85 mph would be above amateur average.  Added to that, there are inefficiencies that stem from not having a good launch angle, a sweet spot strike, from having too much backspin on the ball, etc.

I have an SSR and forgot about that little chart. Just took a fresh look at it, and it gives low carry numbers across the board as compared to https://flightscope....tory-optimizer/ and good launch numbers.

e.g. Flightscope says 150 ball speed (around 100-102 ch speed) at 1,000 ft msl, 14 VLA and 2800 rpm carries 258, while the SSR chart shows just over 220. Guess SSR is being conservative with launch numbers and smash.

[TLUBulldogGolf]

A 56 going 120 is a big hit, conditions will play a large factor in the yardages you see, I would guess most won't hit a stock 56 close to this far. Basically they have very good impact conditions and can maintain them even when trying to hit one hard, but most won't look like they are trying to kill a wedge.

[ShortGameJunkie]

This thread has helped me lol. I was getting 100-105 last year in the summer when I was really tuned in. 100-105 tops SS btw. I’ve been trying to get that same yardage this year and have been frustrated not being able to. This helps me put things in perspective. In 50-60* weather I’ve been able to top out at around 92 if I go after it with a full iron swing, but am now ok with 87-90 with a full smooth wedge swing.

[andrue]

Could it be backspin related? I struggle to generate decent backspin and that seems to work against me with longer clubs. I barely drive beyond 200 yards including roll. My 7i goes around 140, maybe 150 on a good strike, again including roll. But my SW goes 90 yards at the moment (winter conditions) and will increase to 100 or even 110 over summer.  I have a 64 degree club that I typically hit at least 70 yards over summer.

But few of my shots get particularly high and even my SW usually rolls a yard or two when it comes down. Only my 64 degree reliably has zero roll and only very occasionally actually comes back.

I did get serious backspin on Sunday with my 8i though. Wish I knew where that swing came from. 150 yards to the pin and it screamed off into the sky and I thought it was going to overshoot. I'd planned for my normal landing on the apron then bump and roll to the middle of the green. Instead it came down and stopped dead, a yard from the pin. That green was one of the drier ones and it didn't leave much of a pitch mark so must have had serious backspin on it.

Edited by andrue, 16 April 2018 - 02:28 PM.

[ray9898]

I have many of the same problems detailed here.  My driver is respectable usually totaling in the 250y range.  However, the shorter the club the more I hit moon balls.  A 52 is probably 80y and my 48 is around 100y.  The rest of my short irons rarely have any roll out usually stopping with a couple of feet of the ball mark.

[vanillafunk616]

I mean in as much as you can diagnose someone on the internet, if you aren't getting wedge distances that are proportional to your driver distances, you're almost certainly adding loft and hitting a weak scoop fade.  You need to get the face square with your hands ahead and delofting through impact.  Im going off the top of my head and you can Google it, but I think pros will deloft their wedges by at least 6 degrees on average.

[RattlesnakeRon]

Here’s some pics and video I shot of DJ delofting a 90 yd wedge shot:

http://www.golfwrx.c...ay-at-dell-wgc/

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[davep043]

 RattlesnakeRon, on 17 April 2018 - 11:25 AM, said:

Here's some pics and video I shot of DJ delofting a 90 yd wedge shot:

http://www.golfwrx.c...ay-at-dell-wgc/

When I've been at PGA events, I've noticed that most of the players hit relatively low wedges, so delofting must be the norm.  For the OP, the way to achieve this is to ensure that your hands keep moving through and past the ball  You're not necessarily trying to come in steep and take a deep divot, you can maintain that shaft lean and still almost sweep the shot.  As others have mentioned, its likely that your hands almost stop  and you flip the club AT the ball, increasing loft and decreasing distance.

[jdang307]

Saw a video of Monte saying your 9 iron should go 50% of your driver. Then gap up from there. 240 driver, 120 9. 110 PW? 100 Approach. 80-90 sandy, etc. etc. whatever your gaps are. When I don't bend over enough at address, backswing gets super flat (like below my nipple) I end up flipping and scooping the ball into the sky.

[andrue]

 jdang307, on 17 April 2018 - 12:07 PM, said:

Saw a video of Monte saying your 9 iron should go 50% of your driver.

That sounds reasonable. Unsurprisingly I fail on that measure. In summer my 9i is 130 yards, but my driver is usually 210 or maybe 220. Not that it bothers me too much - would just be nice to get my fairway accuracy back up. I used to drive 170 (very flat back swing) but was in the fairway over 75% of the time.

[Slanman]

Well I went to dicks sporting goods Monday and hit some golf balls on the launch monitor. I was hitting the 54 about 85 carry, and the 58 about 70 carry. Full swing rough averages. I’m not seeing those same distances on the course though. Maybe I’m just afraid of hitting it too far so I slow up a little bit.

[Pepperturbo]

 Slanman, on 13 April 2018 - 03:33 PM, said:

I’m sick of watching golf and seeing the pros hit a 56 120 yards. How in the world do they hit their wedges so far? I have 50/54/58 wedges, and I can’t hit them to save my life. I can barely get my 54 to go 80 yards. I make good contact, I can take a divot in front of the ball, but I just feel like the harder I swing, the higher and shorter it goes. Watching the pros on tv, they all have a nice smooth swing that doesn’t look overly fast but it goes so far! What gives

You may think you're correctly impacting the ball, but I am here to say probably not.  The divot in front doesn't equate to long, really hard swing with shafts that may not withstand really hard swing, goes higher and comes up short, not longer.  Good strong swing with proper tempo is the best you should seek.

I am in my late 60's still hit 58* - 80-90yds, 52* 100-106* and PW 110+yds.  When I was younger, I hit each club further however, never equal to longer touring Pros.  Though I used touring pro distances to guage my distances I never thought for a moment I should hit them as far.

[Slanman]

 Pepperturbo, on 17 April 2018 - 01:54 PM, said:

 Slanman, on 13 April 2018 - 03:33 PM, said:

I’m sick of watching golf and seeing the pros hit a 56 120 yards. How in the world do they hit their wedges so far? I have 50/54/58 wedges, and I can’t hit them to save my life. I can barely get my 54 to go 80 yards. I make good contact, I can take a divot in front of the ball, but I just feel like the harder I swing, the higher and shorter it goes. Watching the pros on tv, they all have a nice smooth swing that doesn’t look overly fast but it goes so far! What gives

You may think you're correctly impacting the ball, but I am here to say probably not.  The divot in front doesn't equate to long, really hard swing with shafts that may not withstand really hard swing, goes higher and comes up short, not longer.  Good strong swing with proper tempo is the best you should seek.

I am in my late 60's still hit 58* - 80-90yds, 52* 100-106* and PW 110+yds.  When I was younger, I hit each club further however, never equal to longer touring Pros.  Though I used touring pro distances to guage my distances I never thought for a moment I should hit them as far.

See my pw is about 115-120, 9 is 130, 8 is 140, and so on... give or take 5 yards. But when I get to the really lofted clubs - anything over 50 degree- that’s when it starts getting all crazy. I can carry driver at least 260 and my 3 hybrid about 220. It’s those stupid short clubs!

[gatorMD]

 Slanman, on 13 April 2018 - 04:15 PM, said:

 vanillafunk616, on 13 April 2018 - 03:53 PM, said:

If it makes you feel better I think 100 yards on a 56 would be closer to tour average.

It's just swing speed, plus delofting through impact, plus center strike.

Hah not exactly. I think the loft is my issue. Would that be lag?  I tend to hit all of my clubs really high, so when it gets to the more lofted clubs it’s exaggerated. I can’t tell you how many times over the past few weeks I’m 70-80 yards from the flag... I’ll grab my 54, make a solid swing that hits center of the club face and I’m short of the green.

yes, u likely are not delofting at impact.  play ball back-middle of and work on exaggerated shaft lean.

[Lefthook]

How hard you hit the wedges matters less than how you well you hit them. If you can keep the ball somewhat down and not take a very steep divot you're onto something.

Quality of impact is more of a factor with wedges than with longer clubs. When I hit my wedges well, the 52 - 56 - 60 goes 110-100-85 respectively. Same effort with not so good ball striking flies 10 yards shorter.