How to Hit a Texas Wedge

By Steve Silverman

Golf is a game that requires creativity. While most golfers take a driver for a long tee shot, a medium-iron for a 160-yard shot from the fairway and a pitching wedge for a shot under 100 yards, there are times to throw out the form book and invent your own shot. Hitting a Texas Wedge means taking out your putter when you are off the green and creating an opportunity to put a par or a birdie on the scorecard.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step 1

Use your putter when your are 20 or 30 yards off the green, even though it may seem ridiculous to most golfers. There are other clubs to use in those situations like the lob wedge, pitching wedge or sand wedge. However, your putter can help you get out of trouble and into position to turn disaster into a good opportunity. Take your putter and keep a firm left wrist as you hit the ball from the fairway to the green.

Step 2

Make sure you keep your head down when you are using your putter as a Texas Wedge. You can hit it from the fairway or light rough, but you must be able to see the flagstick and not have any hazards in the way. Bring your club back to about knee level and then follow through to about mid-calf.

Step 3

Hit the ball hard with your putter when you have an uphill approach to the green. The uphill shot is one that you should be able to master with your putter. These shots tend to go straighter than downhill or side-hill shots. Just keep your wrists firm and your head down when you use the putter from a distance.

Step 4

Hit the ball with your putter from the fairway when you lack confidence with your pitch shots or chip shots. The pitch is a deft shot that requires confidence. Don't force it if it is not there. Choke down about 8 inches on your grip and measure your shot. You may be 30 yards away so you will have to strike the ball with significant velocity to get it on the green. Do not break your wrists when hitting with the putter.

Step 5

Hit the ball into the break with your putter when the green has a big crease that will allow it to roll toward the hole. You may want to use your wedge, but when there is a big break, you might as well play the break with your Texas Wedge so it will roll toward the hole. Hit the ball hard enough to get it to the break and then it will roll on its own toward the hole.

Tips & Warnings

It's one thing to be creative on the golf course and it's quite another to be prepared. Practice hitting the ball from the fairway or light rough before your match so you can gain a bit of feel for the shot.

About The Author

Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman authored The Minnesota Vikings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Who's Better, Who's Best in Football -- The Top 60 Players of All-Time, among others, and placed in the Pro Football Writers of America awards three times. Silverman holds a Master of Science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism.