BALLS, BUNKERS AND FEEL

First of all, thanks to all of you who sent in questions this past week. I received dozens and have been sorting through them for ideas for articles. There are some good ones that require a full article and I’ve set them aside, but today I want to address three topics that came up repeatedly from you guys.

What Golf Ball Should You Play?

This was probably the most asked question, and my answer is simple and consistent. All golf balls on the market today are plenty long . . . but your scores will reflect your ability to control the ball with the wedges and putter. So, play the ball that feels the best off the putter and spins the best on your short shots around the green. And for Pete’s sake, do not think you need to play the hottest ball on tour . . . unless you are a tour-caliber player. If you lose 2-3 balls a round, or more, it’s senseless to tee up a Pro V1 or other $50/dozen pellet. You won’t get the benefit of the top-shelf golf balls until you are consistently breaking 80, in my humble opinion. Save yourself some dough, play a more reasonably priced ball and spend the extra buying a bucket of that same brand from one of the used ball companies, so that you have a short game shag bag.

Bunker Play Dilemma

I had several questions relating to how to deal with the variety of sand most recreational players find from course-to-course, and from bunker-to-bunker on the same course. The tour players have the privilege of playing the same texture of sand almost every week, and it’s manicured to PGA Tour standards – moist and firm. You’ll see very few fried eggs, plugged lies, etc. out there. The TV audiences like to see these guys work magic from bunkers, and they do.

But the rest of us might encounter anything and every kind of sand, even in a single round of golf. You need wedges that can handle them all, and a technique that you believe in. For the former, I’ll brag that only SCOR has that sole – it is patented, and we guarantee its performance. You know where to find it.

For the latter, there are as many bunker tips and techniques are there are teachers, it seems. I encourage you to research my archives, read elsewhere online and in books, watch videos and try them all, until you find one that seems to work . . . . for you. Then spend time in the practice bunker drilling it into your head and getting confidence in your skills.

Wedge Feel

It all boils down to the shaft, and you will improve your short game touch by pulling the heavy and stiff steel shaft that came in your wedges, and replacing it with something more similar to the shaft in your irons in weight, material and flex. If you play graphite in your irons, match that in your wedges. Ditto for light steel. But for better feel, get the next softer flex than your irons, tip the shaft a little and you’ll have a great improvement.

Or spring for a set of SCOR4161s!

Thanks for the questions this week and keep them coming. I’ve got a lot of writing to do.

Terry Koehler is "The Wedge Guy" and President of SCOR Golf- The Short Game Company.

Click here to learn more about Terry.