My local club has no range but it also not very busy. We have a par 5 that has about 150yd section of fairway that is pretty flat. I will go out and hit to and from the yardage markers in the fairway. If I’m at the 250 I can hit to the 200, 150 and 100. If I need to work on a 40 yd shot I will just move 10 yds closer. A range finder helps but is not totally necessary. With that said, a range finder on the range is absolutely necessary. You can shoot distances to a lot of imperfections like hills, drains etc to give you some distances other than where there are flags.
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I can’t wait for my PRGR (and hope it picks up my ball flight with wedges) to lock in on distances. I feel like I already have pretty good control from 50-100 but excited to see how good I am vs what I think I’m doing and how I can get better.
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There are definitely variances - eg. you’re at a nice club hitting Titleist Practice vs ya gotta see it to believe it get outta here what they give you at Crab Meadow (my local muni)…
But in any case… it’s helpful and useful to pick out at a target on the ground at the range on your own and try hitting a few balls with a few different clubs to that same spot!
Love it! That’s why I really like Par 3s for approach and wedge practice!!
And on the course one of my goals is just as @Gisclairj said - down in 3 from 150 and in … eg. hit the green and 2 putt, or get up & down👍
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It’s such good practice. Not to mention, he always puts us in really difficult positions, so it’s never just easy straight up and down shots. Makes you really have to think about what we’re doing.
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Was at the range today working on some wedge stuff. What I got to realizing is, see the shot, set-up, take a practice swing for the pace of said shot. The thinking is down, move immediately behind the ball, replicate the practice swing without thinking about it. Seemed to work really well. Instead of standing over the ball and thinking about how I am going to make the shot work, all of that was done prior. Seems to be a lot faster too.
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Hi everybody. Through a newsletter that I get from TaylorMade I got a link to a YouTube video what Tiger, Rory, and Jason Day talking about wedge play and it’s about 35 minutes of fascinating chat about how each player approaches shots (to hear that they change wedges every week or two I didn’t want to hear). Some good insight to how 3 great wedge players think with a wedge in their hands and I hope you enjoy it.
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Finally getting to put the Sieckmann midrange wedge swing into play… Really like it…
Basically, narrow stance and focus on “pulling” your hands through the ball to create a lower ball flight with a ton of spin… Still a mixed bag for me and I really have to continue to practice the technique… should be a good thing to practice in simulators this winter, really hoping to get it down… Right now miss seems to be a big pull left.
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Utley is worth reading too. I read both and it opened my eyes to different approaches to the short game and while I’m still in the middle of the changes I’m trying to make, I think ultimately it will help me improve
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I love Stockton’s advice in Unconscious Scoring about amateurs only really focusing on two types of shots to score around the greens…low or high…and when and how to hit both.
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^^ Second that!
Early on I spent too much time thinking about all the different types of short game shots that could be applied in the situation I was looking at … but … none of which were applicable to me as I did not have the requisite short game skills to pull off any of them…
It really pays to have one - two, if you can - “stock” dependable short game shots that give you the best chance to get the ball into the green (and hopefully heading towards and stopping near to the flag 
).
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I’m working on adding the low, high spin shot to my bag… it’s been going decent! I’d really like to get it down for my go to wedge shot… it’s one of my goals this winter on the simulator.
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That is a great weapon to have … as long as you get the distance control right. Good luck with your practice!!
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Thanks! I’d been working on it last season but didn’t get the mechanics until this season… it worked decently this week on the course but plenty of work to be done!
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Finally back to practicing this… but I’m not sure it works off of mats. I felt like the technique was decent, but I’m worried the mediocre range mats I was hitting on forced the ball up higher…
Anyone have thoughts on grass vs mats for wedge practice?
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I use mats all the time at the range and have spent a decent amount of time to dial in my wedges. IMHO, you do have to worry a bit about the bounce off the mats vs grass if you hit down on the ball but you get used to it and most of the wedge instruction these days is focused more on using the bounce anyway (as opposed to the monstrous divots I used to take).
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Thinking about using the doormats made of “coir?” That have the bristles standing up. Not sure how they would stand up to repeated use…
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Off season practice here in Buffalo is via domes. Allowing for range balls <> real balls and hitting off Astro Turf and everything is sub 100 yd…
I focus on the swing (rhythm, tempo) and ball positions for various shots. It’s a bit of kinestetic training to prime me for game time
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Interestingly, I was hitting over the back of greens with my stock wedge shots… need to get them dialed in for real world distances.
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Sounds like time well spent for you. I used to go divot-diving with my wedges, but changed my approach, so to speak, two years ago. For shortish (inside 40 yards) I’ve gone more firm wristed to let ball slide up the face to pick up more friction/spin. My challenge is to body-release with quick enough, full rotation that the ball actually gets to the green. When I do it correctly, it’s a thing of beauty. When I half-ass it, I get to do the shot again…
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