Tom Stickney's One Hop and Stop Wedge

There's a new article over at golftipsmag.com called Learn Those Sexy Golf Shots. In it, Tom Stickney actually shows the basics of nine different shots that give weekend golfers problems.

I need to consciousness on the final shot in the collection, the one hop and forestall wedge.

The fundamentals:

• A good lie that's 30- to 70-yards from the flag
• Ball slightly back in your stance
• Spine centered but weight and hands forward (see photo 1 above)
• Choke down on a 56° wedge
• Just brush the turf

I didn't pick this shot because it's sexy. I picked it purely for Photo 3 above. Do you see the difference between "brushing the turf" (which is marked 'YES' in Photo 3) versus digging into the turf (marked 'NO' in that photo). If you're sticking the front edge of the wedge into the ground and taking a divot like the 'NO' example, you're not going to get the results you want!

I talk plenty on this blog approximately using the soar for your wedge. And I know you're going to read those setup instructions, see the words "fingers forward" and you are gonna dig that wedge's the front side into the floor. DON'T DO IT!

If you look at Photo 1 you'll see that your hands are just barely ahead of the ball, and you'll see in Photo 2 that the shaft gets vertical pretty quick after impact. If you set your hands just barely ahead of the ball, as in Photo 1, the thick sole on your wedge is going to sit pretty flat on the ground and the edge won't dig in.

You can not "brush the turf" if you take a divot. So make certain you installation well, so that you can use the jump when you make your swing. If you do, you're going to get a lot of spin and that ball ought to behave like you despatched it to obedience college.

Make sure you read the relaxation of that article at golftipsmag.Com as it covers masses of useful pictures. But I desired to mention this one due to the fact, nicely, the one-hop-and-stopper is a shot that EVERYBODY wants in their repertoire.