Most seasoned players have stock shots for each of the wedges. My stock half sand wedge carry distance is 70 yards. I know because I have hit that shot many times on the range and on game day.
My stock half swing gap wedge carry distance is 81 yards, things got a little awkward when I looked into the range finder and saw 76 yards.
I know, it does not seem important, but 5 to 6 yards is 15 to 18 additional feet away from the cup. So instead of a 10-foot birdie opportunity, we might have a 25-foot tough two putt to negotiate.
For years I was doing what most seasoned players do with stock numbers. I would stand there trying to manufacture something between two stock swings. Take a little off this one or add a little to that one. Try to shorten the backswing, slow the finish down a little, or grip down club. Ever try to open the club face to take a little off? For me, whatever seemed reasonable at the time.
Some of those shots came off ok, others were basically educated guesses. That is the problem this fairway wedge session is meant to clean up. I’m not going to give you 15 different stock swings; you do not need that right now. The goal is to find out which in-between carries are actually available to you and which ones you don’t trust.
There is a difference. Five-yard precision sounds nice on paper, but I am not asking you to become a robot who hits every wedge exactly 65.0 yards. Golf does not work that way, and neither do people. What I want is a usable map so if you see 55 yards, do you have a shot you trust? And then what happens at 65 yards, and 75 yards.
I have spent a lot of time on this issue, and it comes down to a simple question.
Can you picture the carry, pull the trigger on your swing, and produce something inside a reasonable window without calibrating distance control and changing your swing after every ball?
Before you go any farther, try one simple baseline. Pick a familiar stock carry and then choose a number five yards away from it. Then do this, call the carry before you hit either ball.
Do not look at the monitor or range finder, or hit three more balls trying to find the exact swing. See the number, picture the landing, pull the trigger on the swing you believe will produce it, and then check the result.
If the stock number feels clear but the five-yard adjustment feels like a guess, you have found the reason for this session.
