Golf Loopy all about Wedges, Fades and Draws. Flashcards
How do you hit a Fade with wedge or any club?
Summary
- Normal setup, but with ball slightly forwards in stance.
- Cupped left wrist at the top.
- Hold off the release, the back of your left hand, and the club face, facing more towards the sky in the follow-through.
- At impact, club face points halfway between swing path and target.
- Avoid swinging too far from the outside, aim left and hold off the release more for a bigger fade.
- Never land the ball right of the target.
How do you hit a draw on a wedge or any other club?
Summary
- Normal setup, but with ball slightly back in stance.
- Bowed left wrist at the top.
- Assertive release, rolling left hand over into the follow-through.
- At impact, club face points halfway between swing path and target.
- Avoid swinging too far from the inside, aim right and release more for a bigger draw.
- Never land the ball left of the target.
How do you hit a 10 yard draw? Where do you aim?
On any fade or draw, you always setup and aim for the target, the pin. The fade or draw is controlled by clubface angle and path of the swing.
Figure 7. Wedge Play Technique: Technique for a 10 Yard Draw
For example, to hit a shot that moves about 10 yards right-to-left through the air, aim 8 yards to the right of the target, tilt your swing path a further 5 yards to the right, and then release the club face a little more aggressively with your left hand in the downswing and follow-through, so that at impact the club face is pointing halfway between your swing path and the target (about 7 yards right of the target, and 1 yard left of your aim line) – see Figure 7. Note that the club face should be square to your aim line at address, but, in this case, slightly closed through impact. The ball will start 10 yards to the right of the flag, swing to the left, and pitch just a little to the right of the pin. Anything that lands to the left of the flag in practice is, in your mind, a lost shot.
Where do you setup and aim for a fade?
The simplest way to think of a basic fade is that, through impact, the club face is pointing half as much to the left as the club path. For example, a swing that is 6 degrees from the outside through impact, with a face angle that is 3 degrees closed to (pointing to the left of) the target, will produce a perfect little fade that lands by the pin – see Figure 1.
That may seem counterintuitive, a closed club face for a fade?! But the club face is open to the path, and the laws of physics mean that this will create a fade – starting the ball left and curving it to the right through the air.
Contrary to popular belief, for a controlled fade, the club face will rarely be open to your aim, and never open to the target! A club face that is open to the target will create a nasty push-slice that is the opposite of controlled.
There are two techniques for wedges. What are they called?
- Regular full shot wedge shots are 100 to 135 yards.
- Pitch and chip wedge shots are 35 to 40 yards.
Wedge play is defined as shots from 35 to 120 yards from the pin.
There are circumstances where you may want to leave yourself a little further from the hole for your approach shot. You may want to avoid any risk of bringing hazards into play, or to leave yourself a more level stance or a better angle into the flag.
What is the Golf Loopy wedge technique?
with a wedge, we are willing to sacrifice maximum distance in return for greater distance control. In order to do that, we make the following key changes:
- A narrow stance promotes a controlled, rhythmic swing.
- Addressing the ball without lateral spine tilt enables you to get your swing center forwards more easily in the downswing.
- Playing the ball in the center of your stance ensures a clean strike with a slightly de-lofted club face, for a more penetrating ball flight and controlled spin.
- Splaying your lead foot out promotes a more assertive body turn through impact.
- Maintaining 60% of your weight on your lead foot throughout the backswing gives you more time to create optimal impact conditions.
- Allowing your trail elbow to fold earlier and cocking your wrists more assertively gives you time to get into a repeatable backswing position, and to time the downswing more precisely.
- Swinging with a consistent 70% effort level ensures balance, rhythm and precise control.
- A fixed, repeatable finish position will enable you to dial in precise distances by only altering the length of your backswing, simplifying the swing and promoting great touch and feel.
Other than providing enhanced control, the main reason for these changes is that, in a shorter swing, you just don’t have time to shift your weight behind the ball in the backswing and then make an aggressive transition back towards the target to get back over the ball through impact, as you would in the full swing. And, because you don’t need raw power, you don’t need to create width and use the transition to generate lag as you initiate the downswing sequence.
The wedge technique Part 1.
Take your normal full swing grip and address the ball with the club face square to the target.
Take a narrow stance, your ankles just outside your hip joints, your feet perpendicular to the target line, and the ball in the center of your stance. Make a “T” with two alignment sticks to practice this – see Figure 1.
Now splay out your left foot, rotating your toes about 30-40 degrees towards the target, while keeping the back of your heels perpendicular to the target line.
Keep your spine vertical, from face on, and your hips and eyes level, your zipper, sternum, nose and the top of your head forming a vertical line (from face on), directly over the center of the golf ball.
Shift about 60% of your weight onto your left foot while remaining centered.
When you address the ball, your arms hanging relaxed directly under your shoulders, your hands in front of your zipper, this position will create a slight shaft lean towards the target.
Figure 2. Wedge Play Technique: Backswing
Staying centered, your head staying still, the tip of your nose level with the ball, swing back to the three-quarter position, your hands level with your chin.
Allow your right elbow to fold naturally and cock your wrists so that the club shaft is at a right-angle to your left arm as you reach the top.
Stay relaxed and keep your wrists as soft as possible.
Keep 60% of your weight on your left foot all the way to the top.
Wedge technique Part 2.
This three-quarter position is your primary reference swing for distance.
Some students prefer to swing back until their left arm is parallel to the ground, what you might call a “9 o’clock” position, that’s fine. Find a similar position that you can repeat reliably by feel, and use this as your reference. Practice swinging back into this position until you can do it every time with just a “gentle awareness” of your hand or arm position.
The downswing is a blend of both lateral and rotary motion.
· In the first phase of the downswing, shift your pelvis about 4-6″ towards the target, shifting most of your weight left and moving your left hip joint over your left ankle.
· Keep your head centered, the tip of your nose level with the ball.
· Your pelvis will begin to turn back towards the target, but keep your chest turned away from the target and your right hip back, away from the ball, as your hands swing down in front of your body – see Figure 3.
· It will feel like you are swinging your hands smoothly but steeply down towards the ball, as if you are going to take a huge divot.
Wedge technique part 3.
The second phase of the downswing is a rotary motion of your body through impact as your arm swing continues.
Impact
Once your left hip socket has shifted over your left ankle, and your hands have swung down in front of your sternum, begin to drive down through your left leg forcefully to rotate your body.
Feel like you are rotating your right side assertively through the shot as your left leg straightens, driving down into the ground as hard as you can through your left heel to pivot around your left hip.
Keep your hips level and your head centered, the tip of your nose level with the ball through impact.
As your left leg thrusts downwards, and your left shoulder begins to rotate up and back around your head, this will lift your hands upwards to shallow out your angle of attack. See “The Golf Swing Has TWO Low Points” in Golf Swing Lag and Release Timing Drill – Part II.
Shifting and pivoting around your left side will shift your swing center towards the target. You will strike the ball with your hands leading the club head through impact – see Figure 4.
You should feel like you are “pinching” the ball off the turf, and then take a small (3-4″ long), shallow divot just after the ball.
This combination of a shallow attack angle and a forward shaft lean will create the optimal impact conditions for a penetrating ball flight with high, controlled spin, for a “one hop and stop” shot that sizzles to a stop on the green at a precise distance.
Wedge technique part 4.
The Follow-Through:
Keep turning through, feeling like you are “covering the ball” with your right side through impact.
The combination of lateral and rotary motion in the downswing should produce a smooth, positive acceleration of the club head all the way down through impact. You should feel like your body is “flowing” towards the target through to the finish.
Extend your hips into the follow-through, moving your pelvis into a more neutral position as you continue to pivot around your left hip.
Feel like you are thrusting your belt buckle towards the target as you reach full extension, your hands and the golf club out in front of your sternum, your chest starting to point up at the sky. At this point, the angle of your shoulders will match the angle of your hips for the first time since address.
Keep your head centered, the tip of your nose level with where the ball was, until you swing through to this position, but then let your head turn so that your eyes can follow the ball.
Wedge play technique Part 5.
The Finish:
Continue to turn and swing through to a balanced finish, with your hands level with (to the left of) your eyes.
All of your weight should now be over your left ankle, your right shoe has lifted onto the toe. You could easily lift your right foot off the ground and stay in balance.
Hold this position until after the ball stops.
This finish position is a key reference point, and it should be the same for every partial wedge shot. By employing the same effort level and the same finish position for every shot, you will be able to hit the ball a precise distance by only changing the length of your backswing.
We want our wedge shots to be controlled, with a penetrating ball flight and high spin. By precisely controlling spin and trajectory, we are able to control distance.
We govern distance by reducing its control down to a single variable for each club, length of backswing, as we describe in detail in Golf Wedge Play 102. Technique: Distance Control.
In order to do this, you will also need to eradicate other swing variables by swinging with the same rhythm and downswing effort level for every partial wedge shot.
Without this consistent rhythm, downswing effort level, and the same finish position for every partial wedge swing, your backswing reference positions won’t have the desired correlation with carry distance, trajectory and spin, so you won’t be able to fully develop your touch and feel.
What are the three different swings and the four different wedges?
What are the total number of known/learned distances with these wedges?
The three different wedge swings are:
- Full swing
- 3/4 swing [0900 hand position backswing to me]
- 1/2 swing [0730 hand position backswing to me]
The four wedges, from longest to shortest are:
- Wedge [Note: you can have both 56 and 60 degree wedges]
- Gap wedge
- Sand wedge
- Lob wedge.
Total number of known/learned distances are 16. This is the three swing types times the possible 5 wedges.
The lowest-spinning, lowest-trajectory wedge shot, of the 16 known shots, will be produced by a half-swing with your pitching wedge.
What is the all important Origin of rotation in wedge play?
Origin of Rotation
In this article we’re going to discuss one of the least understood, yet most important, aspects of a great golf swing – where rotation comes from – and give you a great drill to learn to feel the correct movement. This will work wonders for your wedge play, and for your full swing too!
Slicing the ball, insufficient club head speed through impact, the reverse pivot, loss of balance, poor or inconsistent ball striking… These and many more of the most damaging swing faults are rooted in a basic misunderstanding of how rotation works in the golf swing. It’s a golf “swing” right? You just swing your arms and the club around your body to hit the ball, simple! Dead wrong!
For many amateur golfers we meet, the simple lesson below is enough to transform their swings for the better immediately (sometimes in just one swing!) and set them on a course to astonishing improvement.
The Problem with “Just Swinging the Club Around Your Body”
The concept of swinging the club around your body is an obvious one that most of us adopt intuitively from the first day we start to play this great game. It’s what most of us are taught by well-meaning friends and teachers, and it’s what we’re sure we can see great golfers doing when we watch them on TV.
Yet what is intuitively obvious is grossly misleading! From day one, you’ve set out on a path of golfing frustration and mediocrity.
For most golfers, “swinging the club” intuitively means using your upper body to drive the golf swing – the shoulders rotate and the arms control the club, right? This is incredibly inefficient and difficult to control. You’re doomed to a weak, inconsistent golf swing, probably coming over the top and striking the ball poorly before hollering “fore right!”
As you get better, you might figure out (or be taught) that your hips drive your body rotation, not your shoulders. Things improve, but you still lack consistency. You can’t help “standing up” in the downswing as you thrust your hips forwards in an effort to spin them, your hips stall through impact and the club flips over, spraying the ball wildly around the park. You try to “stay down” but that just makes your ball striking even less consistent and you lose power – to try and “stay down” is to completely misunderstand the golf swing.
Or maybe you “spin out” of the shot, often leaving the golf club stuck behind you and having to try and rescue the shot with your hands. You can do this some of the time with great success, but nobody has enough coordination to do that every time. Your misses are a massive block out right or a lethal hook deep into trouble on the left.
All of this because, from the beginning, you didn’t understand how rotation works in the golf swing.
For many great athletes, the truth is so simple and fundamental, so “natural”, that they might not even realize they’re doing it, and so it remains one of golf’s great “secrets”
So Where Does Rotation Come From?
Great golfers are those fortunate enough to stumble upon, or be taught, something simple yet profound – rotation in the golf swing comes from the ground!
In a great golf swing, wedge play or full swing, you must shift towards the target before you rotate, getting “stacked” over your lead side so that you can pivot powerfully and consistently around your lead hip.
Many golfers know that they need to shift, but they confuse a lateral shift of the pelvis with spinning towards the target. Powerful rotation is not achieved by trying to spin your hips!
Once you are most of the way over your lead hip, you can then drive down into the ground as hard as you can. It is this vertical push into the ground that generates rotation.
Proper rotation happens through a vertical push into the ground!
You don’t spin your body, you use your feet to create proper body rotation in the golf swing. You use ground reaction force (GRF), driving down through your lead leg, the Earth pushing back. The added benefits of this are incredible stability (your glutes, piriformis and abs stabilizing your mid section as you drive downwards), maintained posture, massively increased club head speed, and a shallow, forward swing arc for great ball striking.
This is the very essence of a great golf swing, and once you understand this you are well on your way to massive improvement.
