Wedge Yips Update 9: The Coronavirus Stall

Wedge Yips Update 8 left off talking about how I was making some pretty good progress thanks to my online coaching with Golfin. Unfortunately Wedge Yips Update 9 brings some frustration. As a result of being on lockdown due to Coronavirus, I’ve hit somewhat of a stall. I might even say I’ve regressed a little bit…

Practice Would Make Perfect…

I’m well aware of the old adage “practice makes perfect” and totally subscribe to it. Well, after making significant progress and feeling confident over the ball again, I took some time off. Then one day, the weather was cooperative and I dropped down my fancy new 5×5 range mat and some foam balls. Boom, bladed wedge. Ok, cool, I just gotta loosen up because it’s been awhile. Second shot, shank. Well, at least that one got in the air. Third shot, chunk. Fourth shot, chunk. Fifth shot, blade. Sixth shot, normal. Took six shots, but we got there.

Let’s say I was roughly 85-90% off the mat in prior weeks. This session had me at 50/50 at best. Fortunately, as I’ve said before, I at least have the tools now to do some tinkering and find my way back…or try to. What was immediately apparent was that the combination of being locked down and bad weather has resulted in less practicing, and it certainly shows. I can’t really reasonably expect anything different after fighting this thing for over seven years, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t frustrate the hell out of me.

Thankfully, I felt like I was getting my feet back under me as I hit more balls. I won’t lie though, it did feel like I was starting over just a little bit. There’s now a little uncertainty that has crept back into my head and that terrifies me. I need to remind myself, mentally, that I have the tools to deal with this now and just face it head on without fear. It was probably naive of me to not expect there would be setbacks or relapses as I’ve improved.

Milled Grind Hi-Toe Wedge Featured

Making a Club Change

I think I referenced in an earlier update that I’ve noticed my clubs have felt different as I’ve progressed on this journey. So far I’ve been comfortable with my sand wedge, but my lob wedge has been a little rough. I’ve gone back and forth between my 60º Callaway MD5, a couple Miuras, and my old Edel lob wedges. Nothing has felt right. So recently, I gave my TaylorMade Hi-TOE wedge a shot. I seem to be able to hit a huge range of shots, get tons of spin if I want it, and get that nice little clip I crave.

ZERO idea why it took so long to get to it, but the Hi-TOE felt great right away and I was hitting it well. Of course, we’ll see what really happens on the grass. I’m sure I’ll be doing some gear tinkering once I get playing some lob wedges in situations that don’t involve mats.

Wedge Yips Update 9 Final Thoughts

Needless to say, I’ve vowed to get back to practicing more consistently. (Right in time for the return of freezing temperatures.) Prior to getting lazy, I was starting to feel really good about things. Now I need to get myself back to a place where I feel like I’m in a comfortable holding pattern until I get out on some real grass. I mean, I was at a point where I was chipping real golf balls to various targets around the yard and had all the confidence in the world! That’s where I need to live until we’re back at the courses.

One other change I made came by way of my Golfin coach, Andy Gorman. As part of my issues to get my hands in the right place, we discussed that flattening the lie angles of my wedges may be worthwhile. So I took my wedges into the garage and bent them 3º (THREE) flat. That change made a HUGE difference for me and this whole wedge thing immediately seemed a lot easier. Shout out Andy Gorman for that suggestion. I’m fighting my setup a lot less now.