The following video was a one-take symposium on how to manage your short game in Bermuda Grass. All my videos are one take, in fact. That original Open Stance Explanation was one take. Too bad I don’t have the one-minute spot for the video. It was a perfect sixty second promotion in one take – no shot clock.
In the wake of that spot, the Open Stance has silently taken over the golf world. In the short game video to follow, my goal is to provide the general options for clubbing and approaching these shots. I suppose the philosophy to which I subscribe is completely Ballesteros/Mickelson. Maybe it’s my age, or maybe it’s the expression of freedom found in changing my technique at-will and on-call per situation.
Perhaps you are a guy who likes a wedge library in his garage bag. There have been some very good players who opted for this approach. They are unafflicted with the variability inherent in short game creativity. Thus, they buy a wedge for any possible playing condition. It’s valid. I think of it as sad. But that’s my opinion. I’m no more right than wrong.
But let’s focus on the positive…. Every golfer has a palette of colors and mixtures based on their particular short game philosophy. Seve had more than Phil. Phil has more than anyone else. I say that because Seve used a greater variety of clubs around the green. He tailored his club choice for the shot required. Phil, who is immensely genius also, shoehorns every shot into fewer club choices. If there was a contest with a 56-degree sand wedge, I’d have to take Seve.
As someone who has been and intends to be again – sticky around the greens, I use a variety of clubs and develop multiple shots with each. For instance, I hit flop shots with my eight iron – not because I’ll ever use it in actual play, but because it makes me focus on set-up. Anything that encourages attention to set-up is productive because intention is ever-present in set-up deliberations.
When I say Digging Into Bermuda: Short Game Death, It’s pejorative, sure. However, it encompasses a common philosophical necessity per the turf and ground condition. Get to the result any way you like. But the broad-stroke message for everyone is a shallow angle of attack.
Have Fun. Enjoy the Sun.
John Wright – Founder
The Open Stance Academy
Short Game Technique is Everything
The Key To Great Wedge Play Is Eye-solation
The Physics of A Flat Downswing