I play mainly muni courses in North Texas where fairways for the most part are hard/concrete like for most of the year. Last weekend I had 4 situations where I had a tight lie around the green where I would have to hit a hit shot over sand and stop it immediately. My sand and lob wedges both have 12 degrees of bounce because bounce is supposed to be my friend. I ended up fat or thin every time. This is obviously a tought shot but I'm curious how you guys would take this on? I normally use a Gap wedge for most shots around the green (part of my iron set) which has less bounce but there would be no way to stop it. Do any of you use a lower bounce wedge (4-8 degrees?) I have thought about changing out to that in my lob wedge for firmer conditions but I feel like you need to be a better golfer to pull that off. Curious if any of you who play in hot climates like Texas/Arizona deal with hard pan lies of Hell.
top of page
bottom of page
That's a very difficult shot, Matt. If you didn't have to carry a bunker I would say grab your putter (or a hybrid or other wood). I would likely play this shot by choking way down on a high-lofted wedge, getting closer to the ball, and addressing the ball with the toe of the club down and the heel raised up off the ground. Then make a little shoulder-driven "pop" stroke - almost like a putting stroke.
The toe-down setup is a good one for producing clean contact in tough lines - thin and thick. Don't expect a high ball flight or much spin, but it should produce sufficient height to carry the trap, and with a little practice you can quickly learn how the ball will behave.
My 60 degree is has 7 bounce and my 56 has 10. The less bounce would help but that is still a very difficult shot. You have to hit it just right to get it very high. The ball should have some spin but still tough to get it to stop on hard greens.
Bummer you had 4 tough shots like that in one round. Good luck!