If the 2009 Masters highlighted anything it was that missing putts is the death of any round. The idea of “Drive for show and putt for dough”,  got me thinking. Not to state the obvious but putting is much easier when the ball is closer to the hole so if I can hit a better approach shot I will have a better chance of having a shorter and more makable putt. For most amateurs and  we find that the last club we hit before getting out the putter is a wedge. Even experienced, lower handicap players rely on their wedge game when they miss an approach shot and need to get up and down from around the green.

I know that personally I lose almost all of my strokes by hitting poor wedge shots around the green that result in long putts or are so bad that I need to hit another shot with my wedge. Many of us spend hours on the practice green with lag putts and making sure that we have speed control but how many spend the same time with a 20 yard pitch or bump and run. I know that part of my weekly practice routine will be at least an hour doing just that.

I also know quite a few golfers, especially beginners that have no problem dropping a couple hundered on the latest driver but scoff and paying more than $40 for a sand wedge. I have recently upgraded from one of these bargain bin clubs to a Fourteen M3 and can say that from getting spin on my shots from the tuff to getting the club head through the sand this club is a 100% improvement. Sure it was more than double the price of my previous club but it still didn’t rival the price of a new driver.

I have also been toying with the idea of custom grinds on wedges and how much of an affect that would have on my game. I don’t have access to Bob Vokey and I wouldn’t dream of taking my wedge to a grinder myself so what is a lowly 20 handicap supposed to do? The guys over at Scratch Golf have 18 grinds to choose from as well as an online fitting tool to see which one suits you the best. This article from MyGolfSpy.com highlights the choices. They are also a really good resource and one of the site that I check out daily.

Next time you check your score card and you have 40 putts think about whether you were missing makable putts or were you so far out you couldn’t do anything but three putt. Spending practice time with your wedges will not only lower your overall score, it will have a direct impact on your putt total as well.

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