3 wedge myths taken to the cleaners

3 Wedge Myths Busted. (45:42 of video). In this video Dr. Rob Neal busts three golf wedge myths we’ve heard time and time again. After thousands of tests, Dr. Rob Neal he discovered.

Myth #1 – “Return same loft at impact.”
Truth: Shaft lean at impact is 16 degrees on average.

This is good news for me because I’ve always had too much shaft lean. One instructor said to me, “Joe, what the heck are you doing? You’ve got more lean in that shaft than a 3-legged dog.” I said, “Well, a 3-legged dog doesn’t really lean. In fact, they can lead perfectly normal lives…” He interrupted me by storming off back into the clubhouse.

Myth #2 – “You have to use the bounce!”
Truth – Using bounce helps, but if you can’t control attack angle and shaft lean, you’ll never be good at short wedge shots. For longer wedges, bounce is not very important. Bounce comes more into play when you open the blade and play specialty shots. Even with finesse shots, the key factor is the ability to raise the handle through impact to maintain a shallow attack angle.

Again, this is good news. Now I admit I had to learn to use the bounce because I didn’t use it at all. I would just drive the wedge into the ground and pull up a divot the size of dinner plate. Next I’d put the divot on my head as a reminder to use more bounce. But overall, I agree with the Doc, bounce is over-rated.

Myth #3 – “Keep your head down.”
Truth – If you want to be a great finesse wedge player, your head and chest must move forward and up.

Is there any tired golf advice that gets handed down from hacker generation to duffer generation like “keep you head down.” Last time I focused on this, I twisted my lower back so bad I had to sit down in the middle of the fairway and wait for the life-flight helicopter to get me. I said, “Don’t take me to the hospital, land in the parking lot of the bar. I need some tequila.”