PHOTO PROVIDED Swish the grass before striking the ball to calibrate how fast to swing.
If you are having trouble hitting your 60-degree sand wedge, you are probably not swinging aggressively enough. When a ball makes contact with a wedge with more than 50-degrees of loft, the ball tends to slide up the face, not allowing the grooves to create enough backspin.
It also depends on the quality of the greens you are playing on. It takes approximately 7,000 RPM of backspin to spin a ball back on the green. Approximately 5,000 RPM backspin to get a ball to hop twice and stop.
Even when executing a chip shot near the greens, the wedge must pick up speed through the hitting area. Take a practice swish or two to calibrate your swing speed. Remember, all golf shots require the shoulders to move the club, never just the hands.
Don’t forget to enjoy this great game called golf.
Rick Musselman, a golf author and professional, owns Musselman’s Golf, in Williamsport.
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