What shots do you use your 54, 48 and PW for then?

Im in the camp of always hiting a full 56/52/48 with not exactly ideal results so im interested to hear this

54/60 are normally just very small pitches/chips that require a bit of finesse if I was to put a number on it I was say anything under 70 yards,

I take the 48 for anything from like 75 to 95ish this is more like a 80% if I was to put a number on it.

PW I can take from 80-115ish, I correct myself I do swing this club full this is part of my iron set.


Why I do this is because I can't control the strike/flight with my specialist wedges when I go at it. Mainly they go to high and come up short. I'd rather take more club and have a more controlled swing in turn gives me a more predictable flight on it.

Here is a good example of why I do this.

7th at my local Par 3 about 70yards-100yards front to back. Green slopes back to front and is pretty soft. On the weekend the flag was at the back playing about 95 yards. Guys in my group hit a 60 and a 56, Both hit alright shots but both ripped back quite a bit and had a horrible left to right putt that was hard to judge the pace with. Normally I just hit a gap wedge on this hole. However it was slightly into the wind and from what I just saw I thought I'll just hit a PW soft. I hit it to about 10 feet and didn't rip back all that much. I played the next day did the same and landed 6 inches short of a hole in one and spun back to like 4 feet, If I did that with a gap wedge its spinning back to like 12 feet on this green.

No 2 people are the same though so if what you do works for you then keep with it, I'd highly suggest learning this though you'll have way more in your arsenal if you do so. I will say short game is the by far the best part of my game so I'm pretty comfortable with this. Way I practiced this is for every yardage I'd think my normal club and then always take 1 more.

Lastly people always say it's way easier for them to control a full shot where they are always maxing out on the club vs a 3/4 shot with a bigger club. I don't buy this people haven't practiced enough with it. If you think about it what's easier to control, Something that's very speedy or something that's a little slower. I get why people say for them its the speedy shot cause it's just more fluent and you are tunned to the timings but that's just down to not practicing the little slower swing.


Anyway just my 2 cents like I said everybody is different and everybody see's shots differently.

All very helpful, thanks guys.

edit: helpful as in it makes sense. If I can execute is a different story

this used to be me literally until about 20 years ago. So....I started choking down on a 6 or 7 iron and taking a halfish swing. The results were fantastic for me at least. Put the ball in the middle of your stance and make sure you follow all the way thru. obv. u would have to practice to find what your effective range is doing this. I used to dread the 50-90 yd. shots, now they are no big deal.

702guy and RED have some good suggestions. But I will focus on some more specific things that might help and easy to try on the range with just a few balls.

1. (Consistent miss = scud missile) Most likely your ball position is way to far forward in your stance. Thus if the bottom of your swing is only slightly behind the ball, the leading edge of the club is hitting the ball on the up swing = scud missile.

The way to check this is to set up over a shot and have one of your buddies put a club inside your left foot, inside your right foot and one with the ball position. Clubs should be perpendicular to the hole, which also helps with alignment.

I bet you will be surprised to find that your ball position is in the front third of your stance. At minimum it needs to be in the middle of your stance and ideally 2 to 3 inches in the back of your stance. This will help making solid contact with the ball and letting the loft of the club do its work.

2. Set up/hand position. When you address the ball and look down, you should see your hands in front of the ball. Slight forward press. When you swing this should be where you are at impact. My swing thought is push your hands thru the ball before making contact. Very little wrist action is needed. You should be making a divot on the shots, but obviously hitting the ball first. If you're not, you're still breaking your wrists (most likely decelerating at impact) and trying to scoop the ball.

3. Club selection and swing. Trying to find the right lofted club for your full swing is likely not going to work. Start with your PW and take a full swing with the above tips. Note how far it goes. Then choke up on the club and hit full it should be a bit less. Then 75% (keeping your left arm straight, head down, hands thru the ball, accelerate at impact...) then 50% etc. The shorter the shot, the more I play it back in my stance and the more I choke up on the club. This will provide a bit lower trajectory, but will impart much more spin on the ball for that one hop and stop that is so pretty.

4. A bit more on club selection. Most amateur golfers club themselves on how far they hit a nutted shot. For me a perfectly struck PW is about 110 yards. Problem is, that's 1 out of 10 shots. A well hit shot is about 100 yards. For example, if I'm 110 yards to a front pin, and I try to nut a PW, most times I'm short of the green, leaving me with an awkward chip shot to try and save par. I'm much better off taking a 9 iron, choking up a bit, and still taking a full swing. Might be 10 to 20 feet past the flag, but I'm in the middle of the green and have an easy 2 putt for par and a realistic chance at birdie.

A good exercise is to keep a log of how many shots are short of the pin and how many are long. Again, I think you will be surprised how many are woefully short. Try taking an extra club and choking up just a bit and see how it goes.

My 2 cents. Hope it helps.

Had that 2nd match in the league today against my friend.

Was warm but the wind was blowing so much probs about a 2-3 club wind when into.

1st hole into both have about 135ish, He goes long into a bush. I thought I'll take my normal club and at worst I'll be short. I thought I hit it perfect all over the flag in the air. 10 yards long thankfully not in the bush. He was dead in a bush but some how gets it on the green about 20 feet away. I have a bad lie and catch the chip a bit thin and go over chip back to a gimme he hit a good putt but missed gave him his next for a half.

2nd he makes a good birdie to go 1 up.

3rd Par 5 he is up by the green in 2 I have about 90 left. Hit a pitchy gap wedge thankfully big gust of wind carried it over the bunker and I have around 15 feet. He chipped on to about 8 feet. I missed my Birdie he holed his for 2 up.

4th Par 3 195ish right to left wind. He hits 6 goes miles over the back ... I hit 4 and end up pin high just left and off the green. Get up to his ball and he is in a bush again. This time he has to play it left handed. Hits a good shot to the fringe. I hit a 6/10 chip shot and leave myself 10 feet it was a fairly easy one and given the situation I was quite annoyed at myself. He chips onto about 8 feet, I miss my Putt he holes his for a half.

5th Par 3 120ish going back to where we just come from. Right to left wind. He hits long I knew he had a absolute stinker for his next shot to. I come up short but have plenty of green to work with. Hit a crap chip again to about 8 feet. He catches his chip a bit thin and goes where I just chipped from. He decides to putt it and gets it to gimme range. I ended up holing my putt for 1 down.

6th Par 4 420 ish hardest hole. Into that stiff breeze. I get a shot on this hole. I hit it about 200 down the fairway. He hits it like 20 yards further so was quite happy with my drive I have about 220 in now and no way I'm getting there with the wind. So just hit it short of a bunker that was 180 away. He goes for it and ends up in a greenside bunker left of the green which will be a long bunker shot. I hit my pitch to about 20 feet. He had a stinker in the bunker under a lip and could of get it out to leave himself about 35 feet. He has to basically hole his putt for a half he missed, I dribbled my towards the hole for a/s.

7th Par 3 about 110ish. I caught mine a bit thin but I'm about 10 feet away. He fats his but is literally on the same line as me but about a foot closer. I hit a bad putt missed my line and way to much pace on it but catches the bottom side of the hole and goes in for a 2. He missed his putt on the low side. I go 1up.

8th Par 4 about 260, Can go for it but its risky. We both decide to hit Iron off the tee leaving about 90 in. He chunks his wedge shot and I'm think I've got him here but I make a massive mistake. I should be aiming middle of the green and if it fades to the right side then it will get close. However I hit a decent shot in terms of contact but missed it long a right giving me a absolute stinker. He hits to about 8 feet. I wanted to play a semi high floaty shot but with the lie I had just wasn't possible. The only shot I had to get it close was to try and get it to pitch in the fringe and hope it stops close. I've done exactly that but it came out a bit hot it nearly went in but went about 8 feet by also. We had to flip a coin to see who went first I putt 1st and holed it. He missed his and that putt me 2 up and won the match

Puts me 2-0-0 in the league and 2 of the hardest players (on paper) to play. Both comebacks, hopefully soon I can just have a nice easy match

First eagle in several years. Bounced back from a double-double-double start to shoot 90 while walking in roughly 265% humidity. Starting to see fruits of the work I’m putting in. Exciting.

wow, nice one!

37-37-74 +5

1 Birdie - 4 bogeys - 1 double

Double was stupid greenside bunker on a par 3 got out but it was about a 5/10 shot and proceeded to 3 putt from there. Got another Bogey on the front. Then 8/9 and 10 all of my approaches were within like 8 feet and I missed every single one ... get to the 12th and hole like a 30 footer for a birdie.


it was a comp today I finished tied 2nd but would have come like 4th on count back with a bogey bogey finish. It was funny though the guy who is a bit cocky was 1st out today. Steps onto the first tee hits his drive not sure what happened but his managed to hit the tee markers in front of him and see him taking his 2nd shot by the practice green we all gave him a bit of stick


Doing a scramble tomorrow and a match in the league on Monday, Playing a guy I think he is off 32 and over 9 holes I'm going to be giving him 7 shots, Thankfully the normal tees are back in play so should make for a interesting match.

47-42-89 yesterday.

I adjusted and told myself to have a full shot in whenever I could. Now this does lead to some interesting club selections on par 5s. There were a few driver-PW-PW. The first time I did this my partner told me I must have hit the first PW waaaaaaay too high (he assumed it was something like a 6 iron).

I also only skulled one wedge. Hole 9, right after I said "hey, I haven't skulled a wedge yet." Went over green into bunker. Got up and down from there. I was proud of that one.

41-40-81. No birdies, 1 double bogey.

Ball striking good, chipping hit or miss, putting bad. Greens didn't help matters any, they were slow and bumpy. Couldn't tell if it was snow mold or just different grasses, but keeping anything on line was a challenge.

42-44-86

Second round with my new Cobra driver. Hit it pretty well. Irons were going straight but just felt like the contact was off, nothing felt flush.

Tinkering with my swing as usual. Changed grip to a more finger grip, was holding too much in the palms. Also trying to make backswing more upright, was snatching it too much inside and rolling the wrists open. Trying to do a more vertical swing (similar to Malaska or Leadbetter's A swing). When I do it correctly the club feels more in balance and lighter on the downswing. Work in progress.

Lost my match today, Had to give the other guy 7 shots through 9 holes. NGL he is the best 32 HC'er I've seen but saying that I've never played with him before and he has a few cards in which are not that great so I guess I just caught him on a good day and for him the putter was pretty hot.

I didn't play great.

Went 1 up after winning the 2nd,

Halved the 3rd.

4th is a Par 3 about 190ish. This is the hole I'm really annoyed about. I pull my tee shot left of the green. He goes right. He hits first and chunks it. Then I do the same and put it in the bunker. End up making a double and so does he but he wins cause he gets a shot. Put me in that position for my 2nd and I'm making 4 at worse a good amount of the time.

5th Par 3 about 120ish I make a 2 from the fringe about 10 feet away.

6th Par 4 420 slightly into today. Both make the green in 3 and have putts for par his is about 45 feet away. I'm like 12 feet. He leaves his about 10 feet short. I just miss mine. He then makes a cracking putt to win the hole back to A/S

7th Par 3 about 100 yards, He sticks it to about 6 feet and I stick it to about 40 feet. Make a good putt in for 3, he has a stinker but holes it for a 2 he goes 1 up.

8th Short Par 4, Bushes about 190ish down the fairway. He takes 3 wood sort of miss hits it but it's fine. He goes after normally I'm in those bushes at the end of the fairway.... I'm thinking why the f are you taking that club then , I hit 7 iron off the tee, He hits 1st into the green but lands in the bunker with a nasty shot coming up. I hit it to about 12 feet bit of a stinker putt. He gets out of the bunker in 2. I miss my putt but good for Par. He holes his for a 5 and a halve.

9th Short Par 4 reachable if you hit a good one and for me I have to step on it a bit. He chunks a 3 wood down the middle leaving about 100 left as this fairway just rolls. I think well its now or never. I try to hit a hard driver and had a slight draw on it and went OB. Hit another one just in case he messed up pretty bad I end up making a 5 with 3 off the tee. He makes a 4. Winning the hole and the match.

52/9 holes. One par. Temp tee boxes shortened a couple of holes

I'll stop posting ball pics if it's annoying.

keep posting them plz (golf ball pics)

78 +9 today

In a bit of a slump at the moment. Driver isn't going great although not super bad I'm leaking it out right and losing bout 10-20yards, Wedges and Irons are going alright.

Thought I had something going on the back 9 was level par till the 15th pulled approach into the bunker and it was just awkward as I had to get really steep on it because the lip was interfering with the back swing ended up shanking it but got out, Chipped on and 2 putt for a double.

Then 17 hit driver so far right, Had like a 5 iron in and put that one in the bunker to, Hit a 5/10 shot out of the bunker and then 3 putted for a double.


I played with a Doctor and his son today. His son is about the same age as me (33) plays off 18 and the longest club in his bag is a 5 iron and my god does he hit it good basically hits it as far as my driver .... I was like why is this guy a 18 handicap then the short game happened. On the 9th he went over the back of the green and going long is just a big no no, He had a few goes at it and got like a triple. After this he completely lost his head but he could be crazy good the way he compresses his irons is unreal.

Sounds like me!!! I was smoking my 5 iron today. 220 carry. Shot 44-47-91. Was tied with my partner on last hole and made a walk off birdie.

If my putting was even average I would have shot about an 86.

42-46-88. No birdies, 4 double bogeys.

Disappointing. Got off to a good start with a routine par on 1. Second hole is a par 5, hit two good shots to 80 yards in the middle of the fairway. Proceeded to hit a wedge 180 yards. Half-hoseled a wedge from 90 yards on the next hole and the rout was on. The suck infested the rest of the game. Not a good day.

You know what is crazy this guy hardly plays never had a lesson in his life either.

He plays cricket and also plays hockey at a very high level so these sports cross over a lot.

ahaha I know that feeling all to well today, I had a couple of 3 putts but the Doctor over shadowed me today I lost count with the number of 3 putts he had. He actually had a respectable score if he just putted even just worst than average he would of been smashing it. Funny thing happened on 17, up till now he's been missing all the 3-5 footers. He asked me is this straight on this 4 footer. I go no it had to go left at dead speed. He hits a good putt on the line and with the speed I said. It stayed straight and missed.


I had so much fun though even if the golf was a bit of a shambles at times. Weather was perfect also.

Back at it in the morning nothing serious though just a team thing so hopefully I can find something.

First round in a month went exactly as expected.

44-44-88

2 birdies, 4 doubles, 6 3-putts

Irons actually good. I don't think I have 3-putted that much since before I was a teenager.

Yeah that didn't go well very bang average and below.

I feel like I'm just throwing my hands at the ball at the moment. Everything is more of a glance rather than a strike.


Not sure what I shot but wasn't great scoring. Did make a good Birdie on a par 5 about the only putt I holed outside 4 feet.

Slightly better today in 20-30 mph winds.

38-42-80

0 birdies, 3 doubles

They killed the greens for when they dig them up in 2 weeks. When you had a downwind chip it was damn near impossible to stop the ball.

First non-winter 18 of the year today. Very cold spring and work has kept me from playing except 9 twice and a few range session.

Hit it crappy, especially irons which is the strongest part of my game. Short game saved a few knocking a couple of chips dead.

43-40 83 (11.2 diff)

4 fairways, 8 greens, 35 putts (3 3-putts). No birdies one double and lots of loose ball striking which resulted in missed green bogies.

Great to get out tho - men’s league starts Wednesday. I have a partner this year who is a multi-time state mid am champ (who doesn’t really play high level competitive golf anymore) so it’ll be interesting to see how we do.

at least your egg hunt pics resurrect this thread and give me a reason to not pass it over while i eat supper.
hell, send in the calvary (with an extra 'l') because i might get buried for this opinion; but you are passionate and fast to display, in your palm on sunday, the balls another grown man lent you after crossing them off their list.
please don't think some sort of stigma might be associated with that.

45 (par 36). No birdies, 2 double bogeys, 1 triple bogey.

One chunked iron into the water, almost every other dropped shot was with a wedge. Swapped in two different wedges, needless to say they are being immediately swapped back out. Sheeesh.