I've struggled with 100 yd approach shots for my entire golfing life (35 years). A few months ago I had one of my best days ever driving the ball and was consistently in the 120 to 70 yard yard range on the par 4s. But I kept either missing the damn green or barely getting it on and having a 45 ft. putt. A lot of my yardages were right around 100 yards which is about a 90% SW (56) for me.
I decided to try clubbing down and taking a shorter, more predictable swing, about 3/4 or just past 9 o'clock. I found that I hit my 52 degree exactly 100 yards with a much more repeatable, lower ball flight. My accuracy improved significantly and I also found that the distance "spread" was much better with my 52. My old 100 yd swing with the SW could go anywhere from 90 to 115 yards depending on how well I struck it and trajectory. With the 52 it is more like 95 to 105 yds, and the lower ball flight makes the wind less of a factor.
It didn't take long to realize that this could be applied to all my wedges and shorter irons. This has really been a turning point in my game, and I now relish the opportunity of hitting these approach shots instead of worrying about wasting a good drive. In the last four rounds I've twice hit the pin from 100 yards out which left me tap in birdies. Unfortunately, as with everything in this cruel game, when one part of my game improves another goes to sh/t. Now I can't find the damn fairway off the tee.
Edit - I should've made the heading 75 to 150 yds, not 150 yards and in.
I decided to try clubbing down and taking a shorter, more predictable swing, about 3/4 or just past 9 o'clock. I found that I hit my 52 degree exactly 100 yards with a much more repeatable, lower ball flight. My accuracy improved significantly and I also found that the distance "spread" was much better with my 52. My old 100 yd swing with the SW could go anywhere from 90 to 115 yards depending on how well I struck it and trajectory. With the 52 it is more like 95 to 105 yds, and the lower ball flight makes the wind less of a factor.
It didn't take long to realize that this could be applied to all my wedges and shorter irons. This has really been a turning point in my game, and I now relish the opportunity of hitting these approach shots instead of worrying about wasting a good drive. In the last four rounds I've twice hit the pin from 100 yards out which left me tap in birdies. Unfortunately, as with everything in this cruel game, when one part of my game improves another goes to sh/t. Now I can't find the damn fairway off the tee.
Edit - I should've made the heading 75 to 150 yds, not 150 yards and in.