[jinnsamys]

In my opinion, this is where "Old School" beats "New School".

New School has everyone setting up with a square stance and thus everything is loft dependent and swing-length dependent and to negotiate less-then-100-yard shots, one must choose a correct loft and may also have to resort to 3/4 or 1/2 swings as well which can be tricky for many of the reasons listed in this thread.

Old School on the other hand isn't about mechanics as much as it's about feel and thus most Old School players (such as myself) play shots with everything from a wildly open stance to a closed stance, depending on the situation. I think that this flexibility helps a great deal with touch shots such as pitch shots under 100 yards.

In such an instance, I generally use my 52-degree wedge with a wide open face as well as a very open stance. From this setup, I can still take a full swing from as little as 50 yards, so the idea of swing-length and a "designated" loft don't even enter into the equation. Having played this way all of my life, I have become quite accustomed to using the club and my stance in a variety of ways, all of which tend to make things very simple and because I'm not thinking "mechanically", I don't have to worry about specific lofts or swing styles as much and I am free to concentrate more on the "touch" part.

I understand the theories and reasoning behind New School thinking, but I also believe that knowing some Old School "tricks" will go a long way towards becoming a well-rounded golfer and will in many cases simplify things.


Simple is better.


-JP