Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: It’s not all about distance

Published

3 years ago

Mar 15, 2023

Today’s post is going to seem like heresy, but I think far too much emphasis is put on distance and not nearly enough on ball-striking and just getting the ball into the hole. That said, what matters most on the PGA Tour might not be what matters most to the rest of us as we constantly try to improve our scores and enjoyment of the game. Please hear me out and think about this.

While the GolfWRX community might not reflect this exactly, all my other research indicates that the majority of golfers are over the age of 50, do not spend time at the gym specifically to improve their golf distance and carry an average handicap of 12-18. What’s keeping nearly all of us from dropping our handicaps another 3-4 strokes or more IS NOT that we are too short off the tee or that we just do not hit our irons far enough.

The cold hard truth is that the vast majority of average golfers completely waste strokes in the following areas:

We don’t putt well enough. You likely have just too many 3-putts and missed putts under 6-8 feet. Think of your last few rounds and count how many strokes you could have picked up if you had just made a couple more putts inside that range and eliminated those 3-putt greens.
Our short games are weak. It does not take much athletic ability to hit fundamentally sound chips and pitch shots inside 30-40 yards of the hole. Again, think back to your last few rounds and count how many times you got up-and-down in two strokes, versus how many times you took more than 3. Regardless of your handicap, you are physically capable of learning how to hit solid chips and pitch shots so that your average on those 10-14 greens you miss is less than three shots. How many shots would that take off your scores?
Our ball-striking is not consistent enough. My observation of golfers of all skill levels, from tour pros to 20-handicappers indicates that – outside of putting and greenside scrambling – almost all dropped shots are the result of bad ball-striking. Those wild drives, iron shots that fly far off-line, slightly (or terribly) chunked or bladed approach shots all cost strokes to whomever hit them. Improve your ball-striking to reduce the number of those costly mis-hits and your scores will come down.

I realize this advice goes against nearly everything written. And I admit the game should be much easier the closer you get to the green off the tee (see No. 1 and No. 2 above), but I feel certain if you review your rounds, you will find that I am spot-on as to where you dropped shots.

However, if you really want to get more distance off the tee and with your irons, the most direct path to that goal is to improve your swing fundamentals to improve the consistency and efficiency of your impact. It is a known fact that – even with all today’s technology – a perfectly struck shot will fly at least 5-10% further than a shot mis-hit by only a half inch.

On that subject, did you see a story this past week about how Bay Hill champion Kurt Kitayama picked up extra yards by shortening his driver by a half inch. He said it improved his impact efficiency to give him a few extra yards and improved his accuracy as well.

So, if you really want to play your best golf this season, I’ve given you four ways to get there…and the last one is about distance.

It’s your call. Like I wrote last week…are you willing to do what it takes to get better?

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Terry Koehler

Terry Koehler is a fourth generation Texan and a graduate of Texas A&M University. Over his 40-year career in the golf industry, he has created over 100 putter designs and dozens of wedges. In 2014, he put together the team that reintroduced the Ben Hogan brand to the golf equipment industry with his TK 15 wedges and Ft. Worth 15 iron designs. Since receiving a U.S. Patent for his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” in the wedge category. In addition to inspiring multiple companies to emulate this sole technology, the performance of his wedge designs have stimulated all other companies to reposition some mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges. Terry is retired from his role as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf, and remains active in the industry as an independent designer and consultant. But his most compelling work is in the wedge category. Since he first patented his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” reflected in ‘tour design’ wedges. The performance of his wedge designs have stimulated other companies to move slightly more mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges, but none approach the dramatic design of his Edison Forged wedges, which have been robotically proven to significantly raise the bar for wedge performance. Terry serves as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf – check it out at www.EdisonWedges.com.

7 Comments

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Erik Ugland

Mar 20, 2023 at 9:57 am

Absolutely agree. For me, accuracy off the tee is the problem. When I look back on my rounds, my worst days are when I put myself in bad positions — or jail — right from the start of the hole. Then I force myself into situations where I need a heroic shot to make par. But more often the first error leads to others, and before I know it I’ve taken double-bogey or worse on multiple holes just because of errant tee shots. Those are way more consequential to my score than the 1 or 2 bombs I hit down the middle.

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Jordy Evans

Mar 19, 2023 at 7:23 am

Agree whole heartedly with your prescription and analysis. When I retired 10 years ago I was a 28 handicap. Within 2 years my handicap came down to a 14 mainly just because I was playing more and my ball striking improved as a result. I then set a goal of getting below a ten so I took some lessons. Got fitted for clubs for the first time and within a year was down to a 9.

Wanted to keep improving so started tracking my stats with a set of Arccos sensors and their Link and identified where I was losing shots. Figured out quickly that I was losing shots on the green and inside 100 yards.

Read Dave Pelz’s Short Game Bible and his Putting Bible, started doing the drills described in the book and within 6 months it was below a five. Been as low as a 2 and as high as a 6 since then, mainly because of seasonal conditions. Goes up in the winter and comes down in the Spring and Summer.

Ironically my distance improved during this time as well. Using the Orange Whip trainer and enrolling in their GFX program helped my mobility, strength and improved my timing and tempo.

Ten years ago I had never broken 80 in my life and was happy if I broke 100. Now If I shoot in the eighties it is a bad round. I wouldn’t have believed you if you had told me that ten years ago.

Also hitting the ball further than I ever have in my life and moved back a set of tees last year. Only now am I considering doing some dedicated swing speed training.

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jamho3

Mar 17, 2023 at 2:03 am

Golfer in the picture has 4 large buckets, a full tray and only one club. That’s commitment!

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Dcl92

Mar 16, 2023 at 10:11 pm

Totally agree. As a public course player, and I’m guessing it may be the same with many private courses, it’s difficult to find good practice ranges that provide good places to practice your 75, 50, 40, 25 yard shots with greeens so you can see how fight and roll react. This could take a lot of strokes off my score

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Greg Urban

Mar 16, 2023 at 1:03 pm

Great advice, too much valuable time spent chasing yards when that time can be more fruitful chasing strokes.

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Opinion & Analysis

AVL: My U.S. Amateur local qualifying experience

Published

6 days ago

Jun 5, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.

I teed off at 10:48 a.m.. With the 7:30 am tee time, you can get a feel for the leaders’ pace, and they were off and running on the challenging setup at Rock Creek.

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Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.

With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.

Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!

Club Junkie

Building my 2026 gamer WITB: Ranking the contenders and new putter projects – Club Junkie Podcast

Published

7 days ago

Jun 4, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

The annual What’s In The Bag build is underway, and on this episode of Club Junkie, Brian breaks down the clubs currently leading the race for a spot in his 2026 gamer setup. From drivers and fairway woods to irons, wedges, and shafts, he ranks the equipment that’s performing best and explains what’s separating the front runners from the rest of the field.

Brian also heads into the workshop to discuss several putter projects currently on the bench. From head options and shaft choices to build ideas and testing plans, he shares what he’s working on and which putters could become serious contenders for the bag this season.

If you’re a gear junkie who loves equipment testing, club building, and the never-ending pursuit of the perfect setup, this episode is for you.

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Club Junkie

Tour Edge Exotics mini driver review + TaylorMade Spider ZT Max first look – Club Junkie

Published

2 weeks ago

May 28, 2026

Brian Knudson

On this episode of Club Junkie, I put the new Tour Edge Exotics Mini Driver to the test and break down the performance, forgiveness, distance, and where it fits compared to a traditional driver or strong fairway wood. If you have been curious about adding a mini driver to the bag, this one is worth a look.

I also dive into the new TaylorMade Spider ZT Max putter that was recently spotted and discuss the growing zero torque putter trend. Plus, there is a closer look at the new Project X Titan Yellow shaft showing up on the PGA Tour and what makes it different from other profiles currently out there.