Great advice from todays Web Street Golf Report: Dave Pelz, who has devoted his life to teaching the short game, says 95% of all practice time is devoted to the power game, meaning the full swing with driver, etc. Only 4% practice putting, which leaves 1 out of 100 that make time to work on the short game. Consider for a moment that the best players in the world, members of the PGA Tour typically hit 12-14 greens in regulation in a round. If the best still miss greens, what is it like for everyone else? “Scratch players will hit 10-12 greens in regulation but high handicap players, 25 or above eventually hit all their greens with a wedge. Some players will use their wedge 20-25 times in a round! The closer you hit your wedges to the hole the better putter you’ll be,” said Pelz. “When I was out on Tour in 1975, no one was practicing their short game. Most players carried a sand wedge, which at the time was 55-degrees. Some would also have a Pitching Wedge at 49-degrees. But most carried one wedge and some would have two. Most players today carry four wedges and Phil Mickelson has five,” Pelz said. At last week’s RBC Heritage, Matt Kuchar’s short game proved to be the difference in winning. “Came up on the front bunker, and there are a lot worse places on 18 to be than the front bunker. I knew it was at least an easy par,” he said afterwards. He ranked 11th in the field for scrambling at 73.68% at the RBC. Jim Furyk was first in the category missing a total of 24 greens for the week. He escaped 23 out of 24 times with par, which helped him finish T7 for the event. Safe to say for both players, their wedges were an important part of their game According to Pelz, fitting is crucial when it comes to wedges. “Its the worst fit club in amateurs bags,” he said. “If you have little bounce and the ground is soft its a tough shot. If you have too much bounce and a tight lie, it’s a killer. Even pros can’t hit a good shot with the wrong wedge,” Pelz said. “The wedge is the most important club in the bag.” Safe to say both Kuchar and Furyk certainly echo those thoughts.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Apr 2014 13:50:30 +0000
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