The Towel Carry Baseline: A 25-Minute Wedge Session

Stop judging the swing. Start measuring where the ball lands.

Most seasoned players have aimed at thousands of flags.

They have hit wedges to the red flag, the blue flag, the short flag, and whatever patch of grass happened to be open that day.

Then they walk away saying something like:

“I hit it pretty well.”

Maybe they did.

But that does not tell them whether their carry control is getting better.

I spent plenty of practice sessions doing the same thing. Hit lots of decent shots. Hit one close. Finish on a good one. Leave feeling encouraged.

Then get on the course on game day and find out I still did not know exactly where the ball was going to land.

The problem was not always my wedge motion, even though that is where my thoughts went to.

The problem was that I had never created an honest baseline.

A flag gives you something to aim at. It does not automatically give you useful feedback. The ball can finish close after landing short and rolling. It can land beside the flag and kick away. You can hit one perfect shot and forget the five loose ones that came before it.

A visible landing target changes the question.

Instead of asking:

Was that a good swing?

You begin asking:

Did the ball land where I intended?

That is a much better question for distance-control training.

Try this before continuing

Place one towel at a comfortable wedge distance.

Give yourself three balls.

Go through your normal routine, call the carry you are trying to produce, and watch the first bounce. Do not judge the finish position.

How many of the three landed on the towel or inside a reasonable area around it?

That is your starting point.

Not your best swing or best ball.

Your starting point.

Paid Members can continue below with the complete scored session, progression rules, retention test, and course-transfer assignment.