When you should — and shouldn’t — use a 60-degree wedge

If you have a 60-degree wedge in your bag and you’re a excessive handicapper, you should most likely rethink its spot in your bag.

But if you’re semi-comfortable wielding an ultra-lofted wedge, there are nonetheless sure conditions when to use it, and when it’s greatest to use one other membership as a substitute.

“Any time you can get the ball on the ground and let it roll, do that,” Top 100 Teacher Tina Tombs mentioned at GOLF’s Top 100 Teacher Summit at Pinehurst. “Most people opt to pitch first, and that’s part of the reason why they’re not breaking 80.”

The cause? When gamers carry a 60-degree wedge, they have an inclination to make it their workhorse for a number of chipping and pitching situations, and finally attempt to put it to use for inappropriate conditions. According to Tombs, there are solely a couple of situations when a 60-degree — wielded correctly — can be the only option.

“Anytime you don’t have a lot of green to work with, I would use a 60-degree,” Tombs mentioned. “And if you have, say, a bunker between you, not much green and you need height. You need loft, and that’s when you want to use it.”

For conditions in which there’s ample room on the trail to the opening, nevertheless, Tombs says you should use a lower-lofted membership.

“If you can run it up to the hole, I recommend that players hit a hybrid and chip it up that way,” Tombs mentioned. “There are a lot of options. When you teach students about the options they have — a 7-iron, 6-iron, hybrid, a putt — they don’t use the 60-degree, and then they can score.”

Tombs says she typically sees college students reaching for the 60 for a back-pin location — a troublesome shot for even the most-skilled gamers.

“It’s really difficult to manage the distances with those wedges,” she mentioned. “If you can putt, putt. If you can chip, chip. Then, you pitch.”

For extra from Top 100 Teacher Tina Tombs, click on right here.

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