The title of this story says it all and I will raise my hand as someone who has done it wrong for YEARS.
Whenever I have had the opportunity to watch great wedge players in person, it was apparent to me that they had different wedges for different shots — unlike my way of making the 58 or 60 do literally everything from 80 yards and in.
This video with Vokey’s Aaron Dill is a masterclass (from him not me) in how to use your entire set around the greens. Keep in mind that it’s not even really to mitigate trouble (i.e. forgiveness), it’s to give yourself the opportunity to hit the best shot possible. There’s a difference.
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These are the my three biggest takeaways from my short game test with Mr. Dill.
More loft doesn’t mean more spin
This was the hardest one for me to wrap my head around. Although in theory more loft DOES equal more spin, it’s not that simple around greens. The amount of face (i.e. grooves/surface area) you can apply to the ball makes a huge impact on wedge spin. I recall hearing Tiger Woods speak on this over the years, he always felt using a 56 out of the bunker was a more efficient play because of the forgiveness factor AND the fact he could always get more face on the ball.
Think of it like this: To hit the ball lower, the ball needs to stay on the face longer, higher loft means more of an open face and less time on the face. More time on the face means more spin, which means more control. Thats where terms like “Spin Loft” come to bear. It’s easier to get a 56 in the spin loft happy zone (45-55 degrees) than it is a 60. A rabbit hole, I know, but I now understand why Rocco Mediate doesn’t carry a 60.
Get the ball on the green rolling like a putt as often as you can
This is something I’ve heard Seve Ballesteros mention a bunch on YouTube. It’s much easier to roll it in than it is to fly it in AND it’s much easier to use the ground than rely on the perfect strike, carry number and spin to get it close. The less variables to manage, the better. Thats why Dill had me using 50 and 54 from just off the green, it’s not only more efficient and easier to play, the results were better. Who knew?!
Johnny Wunder and Aaron Dill talk through a simple chip at TPI in Oceanside, Calif.
Fully Equipped
Your lob wedge is a speciality club — not your ONLY option
Again something I’ve heard but never accepted for my own game. It’s so easy to just keep it simple and make your lob wedge do 20 different things. I can attest that I have done it at a high level for years … until kids, lack of practice and bills were introduced into my life.
That lobber-or-die mentality only works consistently if you have hours a week to practice. Creating a solid wedge floor for yourself is essential. What that means in practice is building a set and a strategy for your short game that has safety built into it for the days you just don’t have it. Dill does it on Tour so it would make sense for us all to adopt.
Titleist Vokey SM11 Raw Custom Wedge
A Grind For Every Player
For every player, there’s a set of grinds fit for clean contact. SM11 provides a leading combination of lofts, bounces, and grinds to promote solid contact (between grooves 2-5), predictable performance, and the confidence to take on whatever the shot demands.
Grind Comparison
Consistent CG Location
For a given loft, SM11 features the same CG location in all grinds, resulting in a controlled, consistent launch angle. No matter which sole design fits your swing or course conditions, your launch window is locked in—leaving you free to choose the lofts and grinds that work for you.
A Smarter Way To Spin
The new Vokey Spin System combines an angled face texture, shot-specific groove shapes, and deeper spin milled grooves to deliver the right amount of spin from any lie, in all conditions
Driving the ball in the fairway and a great short game will ALWAYS ensure lower scores. Videos like this are meant to spark a thought in all of us. We all want to play better, shoot lower scores, etc. What Aaron and I displayed here is the path to do that. Your wedge set-up should be something you not only take seriously but also something you should protect at all costs. I’m a huge advocate for finding something that works and doing the old rinse-and-repeat for years on end. Although wedge technology has progressed over the years, it’s meant to really work once the fundamentals are in place. One of those fundamentals is knowing what to use, when to use it and how.
The best players on the planet trust Aaron and his tools more than anyone else in the world, his messaging has been the same for years, and as years go on, the tools may get slightly better as we go but the messaging and strategy are the same.
