Wedge Yips Update 5 is only a brief one, but we’re deep in it so I may as well provide it. I’ve continued with my daily regiment of wedgin’ a hundred balls a night in the garage. There are good days where I’m pretty sure I’m quitting my job soon to join the Tour. Then there are bad days where I’m ready to dump every piece of golf equipment I have in a dumpster. One thing that’s been consistent is that my first two sets are usually pretty bad. Again, sometimes more than others. I can usually chalk this up to “just warming up,” however. Another interesting take away is that when I’m hitting the ball well, I’m clearly better with my 60º wedge. When I’m hitting it poor, I’m better with my sand wedge. The more you know!
Now that I’ve been doing this for awhile, I’m starting to get much more comfortable with the wedge swing. The swing feels more natural and I’m starting to be able to get away from all the exaggerated gimmicks. (Shout out, piggly wiggly!) I’ve also started to get a crystal clear feel for three key elements that make a huge difference. Personally, my success seems to hinge on good tempo, turning with my shoulders, and the club path. Getting those three things right has the biggest pay off for me by a mile.
There is a fourth element that’s creeping in when I don’t seem to get the right combination. That’s flipping my wrists. I’ve noticed when I get my weight on my right foot, I end up flipping my wrist to compensate or something. Bladed wedge city. But if I keep a good tempo, use my shoulders, and a good club path, I’m able to keep my weight forward and get the club through the ball cleanly and correctly with no wrist flip. The result is a good shot that did what it was supposed to do. Easy, right?
Wedge Yips Update 5: Final Thoughts
I haven’t gotten out on grass a ton since update 4, but I would say the results have been about the same as the garage. My biggest concern hasn’t been so much accuracy or hole proximity, but more how well did I strike the ball and did I roughly do what I was trying to do? One thing I’m still mentally struggling with a good bit is mat vs. grass. Even though the swing and contact is the same, I have a slight mental block worrying about the grass and soil. This literally stops me from just swinging normal. I need to get to a place where I just hit the shot regardless and pretend the ground isn’t there. Hopefully that will come as the muscle memory and feel gets stronger.
For my previous wedge yip adventures, check out the links below:
First, Happy Thanksgiving DRH crew!
Second, Bill, don’t you dare end this saga with the conclusion that the answer to the yips is “more practice” and “hard work.” Give me a gimmick or give me a job/life that allows me time to perform such “practice.”
…and a happy thanksgiving to you!
Let’s be clear, the practice and grinding is nothing more than the necessary charade to help cement a good ole brainwashing and convince myself that I got the muscle memory down.