One Club Around The Greens?

I was wondering what most people do. I use a 56* Cleveland sand wedge around the greens for chipping and pitching within about 40 yards. I will go to a lob wedge on certain pitches, but chipping is always with the sandy. Anybody have a different theory? I heard tiger and most pros use one club that they know very well for all their shots around the greens.

I think you will find that the trend of the past 5-10 years is in the opposite direction.

Most of the Wedge Posts here will see discussion of golfers using between 3 and 4 wedges for a variety of situations from 115 yards and in. I think if you looked back to 20 years ago - you'd see two wedges in the bag of the touring pros and today you'd see 3-4 depending on the course....

I think the types of situations you encounter are so varied that one club cannot do it all.

Just my two cents worth..

[QUOTE=Frogger71]I was wondering what most people do. I use a 56* Cleveland sand wedge around the greens for chipping and pitching within about 40 yards. I will go to a lob wedge on certain pitches, but chipping is always with the sandy. Anybody have a different theory? I heard tiger and most pros use one club that they know very well for all their shots around the greens.[/QUOTE]

I'm a newbie myself at golf, but I can say that I just had my first chipping lesson with a club pro and she suggested using my 8 iron for chips close to the green. In fact, when I told her I chipped with my sand wedge always, she shook her head disapprovingly. :)

I use 56 degree cleveland RTG around the greens. I used to sometimes hit the low 8 iron that you are referring to, but now I prefer to simply shut down the 56 and bump it in low that way if I need to

i carry 4 wedges in my bag and try to use different clubs for differnt situations. but my favorite club around the green is my 60 degrees because i feel more comfortable lobbing it close with miminal roll. i don't like to or just can't judge how the ball will react sometimes.
i think just go the the club you're most comfortable with and go from there. just my 2 cents. anyone else have a "go to club" around the greens?

My "go to" club around the green is my 50 degree gap wedge. If I have enough green to work with, I can hit it just short of the target, and let it release just a bit. If I'm in taller grass or the turf is mushy, then the 55 degree sand wedge with more bounce is my choice. If I have very little green to work with and need to stop it fast, and have a good lie, my 60 degree lob wedge comes in really handy. From a risk-reward standpoint, the 50 degree really shines for most applications.

On the contrary I've been using a single club(53 degree Hogan special) for 40 years. Never had a problem and I'd gladly match my short game.

I understand why they started promoting using various clubs. It makes it easier to just have one basic ball position and change your club as opposed to moving the club around in your stance, changing your grip and learning a multiude of techniques. Personally I find it more enjoyable to figure out all the things I can do with a single wedge.

[QUOTE=Frogger71]I was wondering what most people do. I use a 56* Cleveland sand wedge around the greens for chipping and pitching within about 40 yards. I will go to a lob wedge on certain pitches, but chipping is always with the sandy. Anybody have a different theory? I heard tiger and most pros use one club that they know very well for all their shots around the greens.[/QUOTE]

Have tried it both ways (one club or many clubs) in chipping and now tend to go with the one-club approach, a 55-degree sand wedge (X-14). What I like about the sand wedge is that it has enough bounce to keep me from chunking those little chips short, and it's certainly amenable to playing wide open (flop shot) or hooded to around 9-iron loft. The trouble with using everything from 5-iron on up for different chip and pitch shots is that if you actually hit some greens in regulation and don't log some frequent chipping practice with different clubs and different lies, you don't get enough opportunities to use the multiple clubs to really get skilled and confident. Yes, there are situations that cry out for a running 6-iron or a cut lob wedge, and I will occasionally use those clubs. But if I have 6 "saving" pitch or chip shots a round and can reasonably use the sand wedge on each one, I'm building skill and confidence with that one club. It's all about visualization anyway: see the shot, perform the shot as visualized. :cool:

[QUOTE=Frogger71]I was wondering what most people do. I use a 56* Cleveland sand wedge around the greens for chipping and pitching within about 40 yards. I will go to a lob wedge on certain pitches, but chipping is always with the sandy. Anybody have a different theory? I heard tiger and most pros use one club that they know very well for all their shots around the greens.[/QUOTE]

I also use my 56 Cleveland the most, not all the time, but most. It's the "Go to" club for me in most situations. I carry a 52-56-60. It just depends on the shot.

I believe you are correct about the pros. I think it was in an interview with Annika Sorenstam where she said something like "I used to use all kinds of clubs around the green but when I played on the PGA Tour I noticed Tiger and all the other pros used the same club around the green." I have heard both ways from teaching pros and have asked a few why they say to use more than one club when good golfers that I talk to only use, say, a 60 degree wedge (which is what I use mostly). And, most say it's because when you're good you can hit a low runner with a 60, a flop, a regular shot and whatever else you may need, but with someone who isn't as good, it's easier to hit the ball low and run it with an 8 iron or something than to "deloft" a 60 degree wedge, play it off your back foot and get it to roll that way. So, basically, if you aren't good enough to control your shots around the green...the trajectory and what not...using a variety of wedges could help you. But, if you're a good golfer, using only one comfort wedge will eliminate variables of "how hard do I need to hit this 8 iron to run it up there" because you are used to that one club and should know how it will react. Hope that made sense.

When chipping, I usually pick a point to land the ball 1-3 feet on the green and let the ball roll the rest of the way. I have been working on this and letting the ball roll a lot more and have been getting better results then flying the ball to the hole. With this in mind, I use anything from a 60* wedge to a 6 iron depending on how far I am away. But in reading the rest of the posts, it looks like people go with what works for them, I don't know if there is one "correct" way.

I'm with fred3 on this one i enjoy using one club and trying various shots with it. The club i use on all pitches/chips is my pitching wedge. I have holed 8 pitches/chips from various distances already this year using my trusty Tm super steel pw. i can probably count on one hand the # of times my gap wedge or lob wedge have found there way out of my bag this season. In my opinion it is more enjoyable to learn the different shots and techniques of one club.

L8r
Frog

I recently switched to a 52 degree and 58 degree setup from a single 56 degree wedge. I have noticed that my chipping and overall wedge play has gotten worse this year since the switch. My next rounds, I am going back to the 56 degree only. With me, I don't think I play enough to get used to both the 52 and 58 used together in different circumstances. Overall, I think that I have more confidence in one wedge and I think that confidence in a club is the key.

..because of the different weights of my 60 degree mizuno and my pitching wedge in my case. I still use the lob wedge for a nice easy 50 yard sticker, ( I mean trying to drop it right onto the pin) but for everything else except short hops over sand or other trouble, I'm sticking with my pitching wedge. I would rather learn to hood it for a chip type shot than try to use a 7 or 8 iron for example. Once again, the weight and difference in club length are too hard for me to adjust to until such time as I can really practice the bejesus out of it.. All this may change as I gain experience. My short game needs plenty of work, so I'm sure I'll tinker !

Happy Golfing

[QUOTE=#1philfan]I recently switched to a 52 degree and 58 degree setup from a single 56 degree wedge. I have noticed that my chipping and overall wedge play has gotten worse this year since the switch. My next rounds, I am going back to the 56 degree only. With me, I don't think I play enough to get used to both the 52 and 58 used together in different circumstances. Overall, I think that I have more confidence in one wedge and I think that confidence in a club is the key.[/QUOTE]


Ya, i'm with you. I have a 52deg. and 56deg. wedge and i pitch and chip almost exclusivley with the 56. Around the green i will sometimes hit a chip a little fat with my 52 but very rarely with the 56.

I guess a person just has to use what they have confidence in and use the club that puts the ball in hole.

It's hard enough mastering 1 club, likely 3 or 4, lol.

stagday :)

up until a week or two ago i believed in one club from 80 in, then one of my friends introduced me to the bump and run w/ the pw and now i have fallen in love w/ it but i still use my sand wedge for short chips that need minimal roll...yesterday i used it about 10 times and 9 of those times i put w/ 4-5 feet

Two clubs. 58 degree for pitches, and anything out of high grass. For chips, always the 8 iron for bump and run. It's more like a putt - a much easier stroke to me than trying to fly the wedge close with less roll. And, it's less affected by break - if you land the wedge on a slope, strange things can happen. I've never tried the hooding the wedge thing, but that seems like it just makes it difficult. I agree that it would be fun to learn how to play all shots with a single club, though. It just seems harder.