The Texas Wedge
By Patrick Ronayne, Professor at the College of Golf at Keiser University, PGA Professional
If you’ve ever played a round of golf or watched any golf content, you’ve probably heard the phrase “Texas Wedge” before. But what is the Texas wedge? Is it a club? Is it a technique? Perhaps it’s a game played at the local Muni? Let’s explore the roots of the phrase and then talk about its importance in the game for players of every level.
The Texas Wedge Technique
The Texas wedge is a technique used in the game for well over a century. Born in the arid open landscapes of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, the Texas wedge is the use of the putter from various distances off the green. Many golf courses, especially at the turn of the century, lacked proper irrigation or maintenance budgets to grow grass or maintain courses as we see them today. The hot summer conditions, greens that were dried out or possibly made entirely of sand, were very hard, making lofted shots nearly impossible to keep on the greens and very difficult to get a club under the ball. Enter the Texas Wedge.
The Texas wedge is simply putting from any distance off the green to prevent the ball from needing to land softly to stop. It also prevents the ball from being affected by any wind conditions. The most common place that you might see this style of play in the modern game that most people would be familiar with would be at the Open Championship. Depending on the weather, you can see two versions of the famous links courses: lush and green or brown and dried out. When the conditions are hotter and drier, the wind is up, and the course is browned out, you will often see players putting it up to 50 yards off the greens. Pros know what many amateurs do not: Your worst putt is often better than your best chip. The game is ultimately about managing your risk. Keeping a putter in your hands is a great way of eliminating variables that will affect your desired results.
When to use the Texas Wedge
Some instances where using the Texas Wedge from distances that are longer than just the fringe would be:
- Conditions are dry
- Conditions are windy
- Relatively flat path to the green
- Very tight lies or even hardpan
- Greens are hardened due to weather conditions and/or recent renovation
- No clear obstacles like bunkers, rough, or penalty areas in your path
It’s important to remember that you will not be using any significant wrist action like you might on a chip or pitch. The swing is simply a longer and faster stroke. The idea is to keep the ball on the ground the entire length of the shot. By adding any significant wrist action, you will essentially add loft and change the angle of attack into the ball, which might lift the ball off the ground. Now you are adding the variable of landing area and spin that you’ve put on the ball. You want to keep the ball rolling as true as possible on the ground for as long as possible. The club is designed to keep the ball rolling and on the ground. It’s important to keep it true to that design.
Other Situations for the Texas Wedge
Now, can you use the Texas wedge for other conditions? Of course. Some players will even use it in firm bunkers if there is no lip (although I do not recommend it). I would recommend, however, that the first time you use the Texas wedge approach isn’t on the course during a round. Practicing the technique around putting greens or short game areas is critical.
Some things you can do to work on the distance control:
- Walk off different lengths: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 yards from the pin
- Place a 3-foot and 6-foot ring around the hole (use tees, strings, or flat wire rings)
Practice taking ten shots from each distance with the putter and track how many shots end up inside the 3- and 6-foot circles. Now do the same with a hybrid, an eight iron, and then the wedge of your choice. See which club you perform best with.
The Hybrid
The classic technique is to use the putter, but with today’s technology, many have switched to hybrids. The hybrid provides a little extra forgiveness and pop that a putter does not. It also allows for the technique to be used in the rough around the greens or in the approach area up to the green, where the putter may not be a very good option. Even a 16-degree hybrid won’t carry too far, but it might be enough to carry a small stretch of rough between the ball and the hole, providing an added dimension to a player’s short game arsenal.
Final Thoughts
Too often, a player’s first instinct is to simply grab their lob wedge or sand wedge inside of 50 yards to hit their approaches to the green. Sometimes that is the right play, and sometimes it’s not. It’s important to become more efficient in how you score around the green, and adding techniques to your arsenal is critical to do so. That is especially important when a player is on the fringe or perhaps on the approach to the green. 9/10 times, a putter is a safer option for players to get the ball close to the hole. Even for low handicap players, the chance of making a chip is low. But the chances of hitting a bad chip versus a bad putt are much higher. You will also see from the drill previously mentioned that you are more likely to get the ball inside 3-6 feet consistently with your putter or lower lofted clubs than you will with higher lofted wedges. Scoring well requires practice and creativity. Lee Travino famously said there is no such thing as natural touch. It’s something you create by hitting millions of golf balls. As with any technique, the more you practice it, the better you will get at it, and that is especially true with the Texas wedge.
