9 min
Trust Bounce, Embrace Loft and Spin
4 min
High, soft shots with lots of spin. As Titleist staff member Mark Blackburn shares in this video, the ability to hit shots in this manner is the key to controlling the golf ball around the greens. To build this skill, start with Mark's basics:
• Trust the Bounce. Your Vokey wedge is designed so that trailing edge on the sole of the club skims across the turf rather than digging down into it. Learn to thump the turf with the trailing edge of your wedge vs. digging with the sharp leading edge.
• Embrace Loft. Finesse wedge shots are about touch and feel, not power. Think of tossing the ball underhanded, gently so that a young child could catch it. Cup (extend) your lead wrist to maintain loft on finesse shots through impact and let your body rotate naturally through the shot.
• Spin = Control. Open the clubface and cut across the ball slightly (swing left past impact for a right-handed golfer). A slight out-to-in path will impart more spin on the ball and help you keep the ball in check once it lands on the green.
• Practice Creatively. Experiment by varying ball position, amount of shaft lean, clubface orientation (square, closed and open) and swing path. Each variable will affect the speed, trajectory and spin of your greenside shots. Understanding how to adjust these factors is the basis for finesse wedge artistry.
• Trust the Bounce. Your Vokey wedge is designed so that trailing edge on the sole of the club skims across the turf rather than digging down into it. Learn to thump the turf with the trailing edge of your wedge vs. digging with the sharp leading edge.
• Embrace Loft. Finesse wedge shots are about touch and feel, not power. Think of tossing the ball underhanded, gently so that a young child could catch it. Cup (extend) your lead wrist to maintain loft on finesse shots through impact and let your body rotate naturally through the shot.
• Spin = Control. Open the clubface and cut across the ball slightly (swing left past impact for a right-handed golfer). A slight out-to-in path will impart more spin on the ball and help you keep the ball in check once it lands on the green.
• Practice Creatively. Experiment by varying ball position, amount of shaft lean, clubface orientation (square, closed and open) and swing path. Each variable will affect the speed, trajectory and spin of your greenside shots. Understanding how to adjust these factors is the basis for finesse wedge artistry.
