Which loft do I use and when do I use it?

What’s my best scoring distance for each?

How to manage my in-between “club” approach shot?

First, the most important point is to learn your own wedge swing. A wedge “swing” uses 70-75 percent of your power. Trying to “overcook” a wedge is similar to using a putter as a driver — it is just a bad idea. Never try to POWER a wedge if you want to score — remember, only 75-percent of your full effort. It’s accuracy that counts, not the amateur statement we’ve all heard at one time or another, “Gee whiz, I can hit a 56-degree 130 yards?” The real question is, “Did you score?”

The second point to learn is what distance and accuracy each wedge will give you. I’ve seen Tour players with considerable differences in wedge distance from one player to another, but each will stick to the distance and the accuracy they need. It’s true that many golfers can hit a wedge much farther than this, but

without accuracy, what’s the point? After all, it’s the score that determines whether or not you make the cut. Nowhere on a scorecard does it ask how far you hit the wedge or far the putt was that you made, only the number of shots up and down.

LEARN YOUR WEDGE DISTANCE

Go to a driving range and measure each wedge and its distance accurately. Hit shots to the 125-yard marker. Then try the 100-, 75-, 50-, and all the way down to the 25-yard marker. Make yourself a chart for each wedge. After the full wedge swing at 75 percent and determining the club’s full length and the distance, choke down ½ inch and repeat the entire distance process. After this drill is charted, choke one more inch down again and chart your distance. It is so very important to know how far each wedge will fly with the 75-percent swing.

LOFT

Very seldom will the actual loft on a wedge determine the distance needed for you. Never take a wedge loft as verbatim. The best way is to hit your wedges is to first determine the distance traveled for each and then bend your loft if necessary for your preferred distance. If you’re lucky enough to have a lie/loft machine or know of someone that does, change the loft 1-degree for every 3 to 5 yards needed up or down. Now go hit it until you have your wedges dialed in. Check the final loft and write it down on your chart for future reference.

When changing wedges, use the loft that’s on the club strictly for reference only and start the “dialing-in” process again. Never assume this 56-degree wedge is the same as another 56-degree wedge — it won’t be.

Why do you think Tour players show up days ahead of time for practice rounds? One reason is so they can provide their landing spots in the fairways. Secondly, they can determine their wedge distance and landing spots on the green and finally practice putting from different areas. If you have the luxury, repeat the entire process into the wind and also from downwind.

Once you have this dialed in, now take this knowledge to the course. For example, the truth is most amateurs are ALWAYS short or very long on their approach shot with wedges. Add the spin rates of today’s golf balls and if you land 20-feet short, add the spin and you might be facing a 30- or 40-foot downhill putt.

So, when playing be sure to take into account the distance to the pin, not just to the center of the green. Let’s say you are 80 yards out and your 56-degree flies 80 yards on a calm day. The pin is 15 feet past center, and it is a bit uphill with wind coming at you. That shot is only going to fly maybe 70 yards, so you may be facing a 50- or 60-foot putt! Drop down to the next loft, either 54 or 52 or even a ¾ swing on your pitching wedge, and go for the flag or your predetermined landing spot. Another point to remember is if you have bunkers guarding the front, you should always take one more club. When a bunker is guarding the green, depth perception can be tricky. Take the bunkers out of play — better to go long than short in other words. If you are in between clubs, take the lower loft and choke down just a little bit in order to decrease the distance of the shot. One half-inch should shorten the shot by five yards.

So essentially, a club you can hit 80 yards can easily be adjusted down to 75 by simply choking down on the club without any change in your swing. The point being is that with just a little practice, you can develop the skill to hit each of your wedges three or four different distances by simply choking up or down on the club while using the same swing.

The most important part of the wedge game is having a confident feel for the distance, same as if you’re throwing a ball underhand from one person to another. And it never enters into your mind how far or how hard you must throw the ball for the distance in-between. The mind automatically gauges the distance and can do the same for your wedge game.

For distance control, always refer to the distance to your landing spot onto the green. First, check a yardage marker for distance. Once the yardage is in your mind, simply swing the wedge and let your mind control the needed distance, same as you did when throwing a ball back and forth. Trust your mind to do it correctly and have the confidence to trust that it will.

Practice this with three different “choking down” positions with each wedge loft, and you’ll be surprised how accurate you can become. You should NEVER think mechanics during the wedge swing, or for that matter, any swing unless you’re in the deep dark jungle and trying to escape. If you practice going to these different “choking” positions, you will see better yardage control, scoring and feel in your game, as well as having another 12 clubs or so to score with.

TO SUM UP:

The wedge swing is a free and relaxed arm swing only. Right foot (for right-handed golfers) will come off slightly by itself after impact. There’s very little body involved, as the body will simply follow the swing.

Keep your back to the target during the downswing without any tension and allow your body to simply follow through without any thought. Just swing smoothly and your arms will follow your shoulder line as the ball flies nice and true to your target. (right) To have a good divot, think of the ball as a piece of rope that you can cut into two pieces with one sharp blow. Practice wedge shots with your feet touching. This will give you the feeling of the arm swing only. If you are trying to “hit” the wedge versus swinging the wedge, you’ll go off-balance. The right arm takes the wedge away on full shots, which guarantees being on plane. Always use a lower loft than you think, and if necessary, grip down on the shaft for in-between shots. Wedge lofts should have a distance of 12 yards or so between lofts and by gripping down a half-inch, it takes three to five yards off the shot. So if you have four wedges, you essentially have 12 or more different clubs in your bag. As always, I recommend adding as many wedge lofts as you can fit into your bag and learn to play each. Once this is accomplished, your scores will surely come down. Possible lofts, as suggested in last lesson, include 46-, 52-, 56-, 60-, and a 64-degree wedge, which all allow you to take a full driver swing on each shot.

In this lesson, we will focus on the following points of your golf game:

• How to read the green before your wedge approach shot,

• When to use different wedge lofts,

• When to use a 7- or 8-iron from 75 yards out

• What is the “Sucker Pin”

So you have been to the range, tested your distances and practiced with your feet together with a 75-percent swing. Many Tour players will use this “feet together” drill to establish tempo.

Now, let’s take a look at using your head and your “sticks” to learn how to makesome birdies. But first, let’s talk about the sucker pin! We’ve all heard the word and some even know the drill. You are coming in, and the pin is placed just a few feet beyond a bunker, or on a crown near the edge or perhaps even tucked in a corner near water. You want to be close, but are you willing to risk it?

A SUCKER PIN CAN BE:

a) A pin that’s tucked behind a bunker,

b) A pin that is on a small crown just a couple of paces from the edge, so the ball trickles off the green onto the fringe,

c) A pin on an area around the hole that looks flat but has a subtle double grainbreak or

d) On a fast down-grain, similar to an airplane runaway.

Are amateurs unnecessary risk takers? From my place in the booth, the answer seems to be always YES but should be a resounding NO. Why? The amateur may try the once-in-a-lifetime 10-percent shot versus the 90-percent safe approach. It is simple — why risk a high number when you can hit safely to the middle and get down in two? The likelihood of you getting close enough for a one-putt is just not in the cards, but a bogey or worse is certainly ready to happen as you stand over your shot. The water hazard or bunker is certainly in your mind, and the risk may be more prominent in your thinking than it really is.

As we all know, however, is that what the mind is focused on is most likely to happen. There you go, right into the hazard. Take a drop or two out because you are so mad and bingo — the dreaded double or triple bogey. Never take a double bogey by using poor judgment. In last week’s lesson, we determined that your 56-degree wedge is good for 80 yards. Now, let’s look at the various types of green you may be hitting onto. If it is sloped back to the front, your shot hopefully will not go anywhere after landing if you’ve learned your distance and ball-flight. So you might want to think about going one loft lower (54 or 52 degrees) to take it all the way, or even past, the pin. Or, if you don’t have to navigate any bunkers or rough en route to the pin, you might even consider bumping up to a 7- or 8-iron and let it run up by using an overgrown putting stroke, just like the European players do so well. The object is to ALWAYS keep the ball on the ground if you can.

SOME RULES OF THUMB TO REMEMBER ARE:

a) Chip when you can’t Putt

b) Pitch when you can’t Chip

c) If you’re a couple feet off the green, use a hybrid or fairway wood to putt with, especially if the fringe can grab an iron.

d) As your distance increases away from the green, various iron lofts can be used.

e) The object is to have the ball land on the green as soon as you can and let it run to the hole.

f) Practice with one or two of your wedges, grab the 6- and 7-irons, or even the 4- or 5-irons to see what distance the ball will land barely onto the green.

Now see how far the roll for each will be when just using your putting stroke. You’ll see a much better up-and-down rate and less bogeys. Now take the reverse. You’re facing a shot onto a green that’s sloped from front to the back. For this shot, you need to take it on a high, yet soft-landing trajectory. A bump and run may give it the best chance of stopping since it will check and run only a bit on landing.

You should take into account the way the greens are playing. Take a walk up to the green if you’re not too familiar with the course and check it out. Is it soft, mushy or hard, and which way is the grain running? Is it holding or are shots running away from you? Simply put, you have to think before selecting your club. It is not “just” a distance decision.

A top player in his good “A-Swing” days will have about 10 shots difference from scores on his “B-” or “C-swing” days. Once your wedge game is under control and improving, use the 10-stroke “Rule of Thumb” to gauge your own progress.

So take in these suggestions and apply them to your short game. Once they are understood, you are sure to lower your scores.

Feel Golf Company, a private company owned & operated by PGA Professionals, announced today that it will begin airing 60 and 30 second ad spots of its award winning reverse-taper Full Release™ Performance grips on The Golf Channel and other select sports networks beginning in May.

“We are very excited to be able to further educate golfers on our performance grips - that are more ergonomically and sports science designed for better overall performance in both distance and accuracy – and that are USGA and R&A Conforming”, stated Andy Heffner, VP of Sales. “The Ads are also designed to build brand awareness and further support our established retailers in the US and our distributors internationally.”

Lee Miller, the Company’s CEO and Founder, was primarily involved in the R&D of the grips and the multiple design and utility patents they have received, stated: “We have been slowly building a niche identity within the golf grip market for the past four years. We have received numerous awards, industry testimonials and independent testing validation on our grips superior performance characteristics in distance and accuracy along with their better feel over this time. By doing so, we now have an established customer base of very loyal golfers who having switched over to using our reverse-taper golf grip – over their former traditional tapered golf grips.”

The design of the grips is actually quite simple – try hitting a baseball with a bat that is not reverse tapered – so why do golfers hit their clubs with grips that are harder to hit with? The answer is also simple, no one thought of it before and golf is a very traditional sport – so new ideas – even ones with better science can take a lot longer to filter into the main steam or norm. Stated Lee Miller: “Today, we now have a number of PGA and other Tour players who are now interested in using our performance grips. When we first came out with these grips 4 years ago, that would have been impossible.”

“It’s pretty cool when you receive a call from a customer in England who is actually playing a round of golf when first using our grips and sharing with us they just hit a 6 Iron onto the green - hitting the ball ~25-35 yards further than they’ve ever been able to hit using their 6 Iron before and running up to the green to apologize for the group ahead that was putting!”, stated Nick Miller, a team member of Feel and who happens to hold the “World Amateur Long Drive Record” of 449 yards. “We get unique stories like this all the time and it’s what motivates us to get our story out to more and more golfers.”

About Feel Golf

Feel Golf Company is known for its PGA performance designed golf clubs including its superior line of award winning wedges. The Company is a full-line premium golf club manufacturer with club assembly in the USA whose products are designed, built and backed by PGA Professionals. For over the past 18 years, Feel Golf’s proprietary technology golf clubs have been played by Tour Professionals worldwide - including the PGA, LPGA, European, Asian, Champions and Nationwide Tours, as well as by All-American Collegiate Players.

Feel Golf is the innovator of the Reverse-Taper, Full Release™ & new, Pro Release™ Performance golf grips. These leading, technologically advanced grips with patents in grip design & utility can increase distance, improve accuracy, and provide golfers of all skill levels with a better touch and feel – the trademark of the Company.

The entire line of Full Release™ Performance grips are USGA and R&A conforming, and are the Official Golf Grip of the United States Schools of Golf. The grips have been called: “The greatest change to golf in the last 100 years” by a major golfing publication and > 4 out of 5 golfers validated improved performance: greater distance with more accuracy & better control with overall satisfaction over their traditional tapered golf grips - as independently measured by PGA Tour Partners.

Feel’s award winning wedges have been played by Tour players worldwide with multiple Tour wins, and are known on Tour for their accuracy and great feel. The wedges received PGA Tour Partners’ 2007 “Best of the Best” – the 8th time these wedges have received this annual category award from independent testing golf organizations. The Company’s innovative clubs and grips are sold on 5 continents in over 30 countries and are available online and/or in many major US golf and sporting goods retail stores.

Feel Golf is based in Monterey County, California, home of the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links. For more information about the Feel Golf Company and their great lineup of products, visit their website at www.feelgolf.net or call: 1-877-934-7387.

Media members interested in testing a Full Release™ Performance grip or other products for editorial review, please contact David Otterbach or Lee Miller at Feel Golf Company, Inc. at (831) 422.93000 or e-mail david@feelgolf.net

Media Contact:
David Otterbach
Chief Operating Officer
Feel Golf Company, Inc.
(831) 422.9300
E-mail: david@feelgolf.net

Feel Golf Company, a private company owned & operated by PGA Professionals, announced today that it’s year over year quarterly revenue comparison for the 1^st Quarter 2008 increased by over 43 percent(%).  “We are very pleased to have achieved a significant gain for the past quarter – especially considering the challenging national, economic environment the country is in as well as the business shut-down of a prior, well known golf company this year”, said David Otterbach, Chief Operating Officer of Feel Golf.  “We have had increasing sales for over the past year with more substantial gains in the more recent quarters.  It’s a very positive trend we plan to build upon during 2008.”

Part of the Company’s growth strategy in 2008 is the implementation of a strategic marketing support campaign that includes 60 & 30 second TV commercials on The Golf Channel beginning this spring. “We have experienced very good sales growth over the past 4 quarters and this has been accomplished with very little marketing support to date” further states Mr. Otterbach.  “We are very thankful for the tremendous “word of mouth” marketing our loyal customers provide, as well as the ongoing support of our major retailers - but we still need to do a better job in building consumer awareness about Feel Golf products, whether our award winning wedges or better performing and more ergonomically designed golf grips.” Feel’s multi-patented, advanced sports science golf grips are both USGA and R&A Conforming.

“We realize we are not that well known by the average golfer as we are well known by many Tour Players”, stated Andy Heffner, VP of Sales at Feel Golf.  “With the implementation of our strategic marketing campaign, we will further educate golfers on the benefits of our products that are designed and developed by PGA Professionals, as well as build better brand awareness.  In today’s competitive market environment, retailers expect customers to be pre-sold before entering their stores and this can only happen with a consistent marketing effort by the Company.  We have a number of exciting products available for golfers, whether our new 73° high loft wedge – an industry first - that was awarded the most innovative product to improve a golfer’s game in 2007, our new 787PR Long Driver or our new Pro Release™ Performance golf grip, - the next generation of the Full Release™ grip line of reverse tapered golf grips.  The Pro Release™ has a slightly slimmer profile than the Full Release™ and we believe is an attractive grip for low handicap golfers and professionals with typically, faster swing speeds, including women professionals on the LPGA – where the Company has had an historic presence with.”

About Feel Golf

Feel Golf Company is known for its PGA performance designed golf clubs including its superior line of award winning wedges.  The Company is a full-line premium golf club manufacturer with club assembly in the USA whose products are designed, built and backed by PGA Professionals.  For over the past 18 years, Feel Golf’s proprietary technology golf clubs have been played by Tour Professionals worldwide - including the PGA, LPGA, European, Asian, Champions and Nationwide Tours, as well as by All-American Collegiate Players. 

Feel Golf is the innovator of the Reverse-Taper, Full Release™ & new, Pro Release™ Performance golf grips.  These leading, technologically advanced grips with patents in grip design & utility can increase distance, improve accuracy, and provide golfers of all skill levels with a better touch and feel – the trademark of the Company. 

The entire line of Full Release™ Performance grips are USGA and R&A conforming, and are the Official Golf Grip of the United States Schools of Golf.  The grips have been called: “The greatest change to golf in the last 100 years” by a major golfing publication and > 4 out of 5 golfers validated improved performance:  greater distance with more accuracy & better control with overall satisfaction over traditional tapered golf grips as independently measured by PGA Tour Partners.  

Feel’s award winning wedges have been played by Tour players worldwide with multiple Tour wins, and are known on Tour for their accuracy and great feel.  The wedges received PGA Tour Partners’ 2007 “Best of the Best” – the 8^th time these wedges have received this annual award from independent testing golf organizations.  The Company’s innovative clubs and grips are sold on 5 continents in 35 countries and are available online and/or in many major US golf and sporting goods retail stores.

Feel Golf is based in Monterey County, California, home of the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links. For more information about the Feel Golf Company and their great lineup of products, visit their website at www.feelgolf.net or call: 1-877-934-7387.

Lee,
I’ve had the opportunity to play the two (2) wedges that I purchased from you for about a week now and I must say, they are remarkable. 

I’ve got a closet full of wedges from every major manufacturer, not including the 15 or 20 others that I have given away to friends. None of them….. and I truely mean none, have offered the playability of your company’s product. 

The design, materials and feel of your wedges are unquestionably the best I’ve ever played. These wedges can execute virtually any shot that one could invision.

As far as I am concerned, your company’s wedges should be considered as the benchmark for the industry…no “funny grinds”, no “overpriced finishes”, no “gimmicks”…just a fundamentally sound geometry and function.

In closing, I will again thank you for the consideration that you extended during our conversations and note that I’ve decided to take your advise about adding the 52 degree to the bag.

Very Best Regards,
Robb
www.interplususa.net

Dr. Feel Explains:
Around the green, bunkers are a professional’s friend and an amateur’s nightmare. Most professionals would much prefer to land in a bunker than the rough and with amateurs it’s exactly the opposite.

Bunker play is very simple since it’s the only shot you intentionally want to miss the ball. Most amateurs set up in the bunker with the same set up as for their other shots - which seldom works.

What to Do?

“Our players now have unique access to the premier wedge technology in the world from Feel Golf. The partnership also brings many new ‘Added-Value” benefits to our members, especially Feel’s sponsorship of cash bonuses to our players. The cash bonuses will be awarded to category winners as part of our overall player incentive program, the first in our industry.”

Bill Conwell, SVP-Business Development of the IPT, stated: “The strategic partnership with Feel Golf has tremendous benefits for both organizations. We are certainly honored to be the first major “avid golfer” tour to fully endorse Feel Golf’s leading edge wedge technology. Their award-winning wedge sets, including the revolutionary 73 degree, are clearly leading the next era of innovative design.”

“We are very pleased to participate as a key sponsor on the IPT,” stated Lee Miller, CEO of Feel Golf and PGA Member. “While we already have a presence on the PGA, LPGA and other professional Tours, our association with the IPT allows us access to the avid golfer – golfers with handicaps ranging from +2 to 26, and includes professionals as well.

These are the golfers who enjoy competitive golf, and play golf with a passion. As a golf club and golf grip OEM, access to these important golfers is an excellent avenue to building brand awareness and garnering new customers.”

Greg Cottingham, PGA Professional and General Manager of Feel Golf stated: “Many of our existing customers include serious recreational amateurs and/or scratch players that enjoy a competitive round of golf with fellow golfers with similar handicaps. The IPT is a way for us to showcase our excellent line of premium golf products to our target market and we see the IPT growing its already strong base of these competitive golfers.”

We just returned after a full week (Jan 14^th-20^th-200 crammed packed with everything and every product, some good and some  gadgets…from spending 12+ hours/day at the 2008 PGA International Golf Show, meeting with buyers and distributors from all over the globe, to meeting with our major retail customers, to making new acquaintances. In additon, we had to check out the 10 miles of Show Exhibits. It was “a reallybbig shew” as Ed Sullivan used to say! (For those old enough to remember).

New International Distributors and US Sales Reps

Some of the highlights include our signing several new international distributors – one from Sweden that also represents the Jack Nicklaus Golf line. Nicklaus Golf earlier in 2007 had inquired about adding our grips to their worldwide club line as well as several other company’s showing interest.

We are in the process of signing a new and very large grip distributor in Korea – which we are very excited about as we have some solid history in Korea with many Korean Tour players using our product as well as the Korean National golf team…who by the way is almost always number 1 in the world. The Korean market is really a booming market and one we are excited to re-enter. 

We added two professional sales reps to our sales team for 2008.

• Mr. Jim Vogl- 18 years of golf sales experience for the territory of Alabama and Georgia
• Mr. Richard Bonifazio, with his 23 years of sales experience will cover central New York state and New York City area

Endorsement Deals

• We met with our long time friend, Charlie Sorrel, the former PGA Teacher of the Year and Top 50 Teacher who will endorse our grips and 73 wedge!  
• Just before the PGA Show, we signed a Letter of Intent with one of the top 5 players in the world to use our grips over the next 3 years –.  This agreement is presently on hold as we work out a few bugs and we’ll keep you informed…so stay tuned for this earth shattering news from Feel Golf. The performance of our new grip has generated significant interest by other Tour players,  that now want to be involved and use the new grips. 

   We are very excited about our growth prospects as we begin this new year of 2008.  As always,  we sincerely value your past and continued support of our efforts!