Who is the best Wedge/Short game player on PGA, European, or Champions Tour?

[BallerNate]

2 hours ago, Short Bucket said:

Brett Rumford is pretty magical on short pitches and greenside bunkers.

Yeah, Rumford has been the most popular European Tour pic...watched some of his film and he looked incredible for sure!!

[BallerNate]

Been watching a lot of Tiger coverage from 1997-14 and you guys were right about his short game...Wow!!

 

Every one of his lag putts and wedge shots looked like they were going in, whether they were from the bunker, green side, or deep rough, it looked like he would find a way to score or get it within 2-3 feet...Amazing!!

[KRAMER1997]

Steve Stricker is awesome with the wedges! I wish more instructors taught that dead arm motion for the short clubs.

[jivupix]

Shane Lowry.

[BallerNate]

8 hours ago, KRAMER1997 said:

Steve Stricker is awesome with the wedges! I wish more instructors taught that dead arm motion for the short clubs.

Steve Stricker has gotten quite a few mentions. Watched some of his videos on YouTube and he was incredible to watch with his wedges and putter for sure!

[BallerNate]

29 minutes ago, jivupix said:

Shane Lowry.

Yeah, Shane Lowry’s short game is solid for sure.

 

Of European Tour guys, I think he’s been the 3rd most mentioned after Bret Rumford and Tyrell Hatton.

[dlygrisse]

9 hours ago, BallerNate said:

Been watching a lot of Tiger coverage from 1997-14 and you guys were right about his short game...Wow!!

 

Every one of his lag putts and wedge shots looked like they were going in, whether they were from the bunker, green side, or deep rough, it looked like he would find a way to score or get it within 2-3 feet...Amazing!!

For those that didn't see Tiger in his prime, he was just at another level, it was like he refused to make bogey sometimes.  It was like he had the ability to "will" the ball in the hole.  His only real weakness may have been short bunker shots, he was good, but not great.  Chips, pitches, flops, spinners, he was dialed in. 

[BallerNate]

10 minutes ago, dlygrisse said:

For those that didn't see Tiger in his prime, he was just at another level, it was like he refused to make bogey sometimes.  It was like he had the ability to "will" the ball in the hole.  His only real weakness may have been short bunker shots, he was good, but not great.  Chips, pitches, flops, spinners, he was dialed in. 

Yeah, I wish I had watched Tiger in his prime. Thank Goodness for YouTube and Golf Channel replays.

 

I had heard about how incredible he was, but watching it is a whole different story. 
 

Crazy to watch him hit amazing 50 yd wedge shots or lag putts that almost went in the hole, but he’s swearing and pissed off because they were 1 ft away instead of in. It’s like he had mental games within the game to push himself, like Michael Jordan and Kobe did.

[Wesquire]

For peak control I'd take Tiger or Phil. For consistency I'd take JDay or Stricker.

[dlygrisse]

1 hour ago, Wesquire said:

For peak control I'd take Tiger or Phil. For consistency I'd take JDay or Stricker.

Tiger didn’t miss a cut for 142 straight events, over 7 years. I’ll take Tiger over all three of them on all counts, till he injured his back. After the back injury he was t able to execute as he did before, he talks about in one of the TM videos.  Plus having muscle spasms while you pitch isn’t good.  😉

[dlygrisse]

Best all around short game, in my lifetime is probably Seve. He was good at all facets. Faldo was good all around in his prime very steady, of course so was Tiger. 

Bunkers, Gary Player or Els. 
Best chipper is probably Ray Floyd.  He was the master at using mid irons like a putter and running the ball to the hole. 
Wedge players, probably Trevino, Watson, from mid range.  
Flops is Phil. Tiger wasn’t bad either when needed. 
Texas wedge-Jack, he wasn’t known for his short game in his prime, but he was a good chipper and a master at putting from off the green. 
Wedge player around the green Tiger. He could hit a lot of shots and could control the spin, he would hit cuts and draws on short shots and spin it into or down a slope on purpose.  He wasn’t afraid to pull off the shot needed at anytime. #16 at Augusta, that flop at Memorial comes to mind. 
 

There are others that were very good, but these guys did it while winning a bunch of majors.  

Edited February 22, 2021 by dlygrisse

[iBanesto]

17 minutes ago, dlygrisse said:

Best all around short game, in my lifetime is probably Seve. He was good at all facets. Faldo was good all around in his prime very steady, of course so was Tiger. 

Bunkers, Gary Player or Els. 
Best chipper is probably Ray Floyd.  He was the master at using mid irons like a putter and running the ball to the hole. 
Wedge players, probably Trevino, Watson, from mid range.  
Flops is Phil. Tiger wasn’t bad either when needed. 
Texas wedge-Jack, he wasn’t known for his short game in his prime, but he was a good chipper and a master at putting from off the green. 
Wedge player around the green Tiger. He could hit a lot of shots and could control the spin, he would hit cuts and draws on short shots and spin it into or down a slope on purpose.  He wasn’t afraid to pull off the shot needed at anytime. #16 at Augusta, that flop at Memorial comes to mind. 
 

There are others that were very good, but these guys did it while winning a bunch of majors.  

 

Fair call.

 

Pulling off the short game shots when it matters in a major trumps any other time.

 

 

Edited February 22, 2021 by iBanesto

[wobbles]

possibly the greatest match play golfer of all time who is beloved here at Golfwrx. Clutch up & downs is why he is headed to the Golf HOF with 9 wins and counting before entering his prime golf years.

 

Edited February 22, 2021 by wobbles

[Divot License]

I think an important aspect is to determine what aspect of wedge play is being discussed. 

 

Wedge approach shots

pitches

chips

bunkers

 

Since 2019 was the last full(ish) season played I would suggest looking at that as a benchmark. 

The proximity to hole stat covers a wide variance of wedge play with many names at the top not mentioned so far. 

 

[BallerNate]

5 hours ago, wobbles said:

possibly the greatest match play golfer of all time who is beloved here at Golfwrx. Clutch up & downs is why he is headed to the Golf HOF with 9 wins and counting before entering his prime golf years.

 

Yeah, P. Reed has been the most mentioned guy on this thread overall and the top pick for current PGA Tour guys.

 

He’s my top pick as well...love him or hate him, he’s incredible with a wedge in his hands!

[MattyO1984]

On 2/8/2021 at 1:40 AM, BallerNate said:

Yeah, Rumford has been the most popular European Tour pic...watched some of his film and he looked incredible for sure!!

 

I worked as a scorer at the Scottish PGA back in 2002 and walked 18 with Rumford. His chipping and bunker play were obscenely good. He looked a little shakier with the putter to be fair but as a relatively short knocker around a big, long golf course at Gleneagles, he got it round really good...quite why watching his short game didn't inspire as much as it should have done I do not know!

[BallerNate]

3 hours ago, Divot License said:

I think an important aspect is to determine what aspect of wedge play is being discussed. 

 

Wedge approach shots

pitches

chips

bunkers

 

Since 2019 was the last full(ish) season played I would suggest looking at that as a benchmark. 

The proximity to hole stat covers a wide variance of wedge play with many names at the top not mentioned so far. 

 

Yeah, I originally made this thread open-ended under “short-game” just to create discussion and get everyone’s thoughts. 
 

But you’re right, it could definitely be broken up into much more specific categories.

 

Regarding proximity to the hole stats, I was actually just watching an interesting video yesterday about why that can be a misleading stat and gets overused:

 

 

When you look at the names on that list, it definitely supports that theory.

Edited February 22, 2021 by BallerNate

[BallerNate]

29 minutes ago, MattyO1984 said:

 

I worked as a scorer at the Scottish PGA back in 2002 and walked 18 with Rumford. His chipping and bunker play were obscenely good. He looked a little shakier with the putter to be fair but as a relatively short knocker around a big, long golf course at Gleneagles, he got it round really good...quite why watching his short game didn't inspire as much as it should have done I do not know!

Wow, very cool!! Must’ve been amazing to watch a master like him at work up close!

[MattyO1984]

30 minutes ago, BallerNate said:

Wow, very cool!! Must’ve been amazing to watch a master like him at work up close!

 

Definitely the best way for us mere mortals to get up close and see how they do it. What was even better is that I got the chance to do it in the first round and then again in the second. He and his caddie at the time were nice guys as well. 

[rugbydave]

On 1/7/2021 at 6:15 PM, Mitchell said:

Ancer is a great choice as well, Mike Taylor speaks very highly of his abilities around the green and he’s made tools for and observed “a few”😃great wedge players.

MT told me Ancer was unreal.  He's fun to watch.

[BallerNate]

The way Jordan Spieth has been playing, is he in the conversation now for best short game player?

 

Watching him lately, he is really good and under control with his wedges and putter...not too many better right now from inside 80 yards!

[dlygrisse]

1 minute ago, BallerNate said:

The way Jordan Spieth has been playing, is he in the conversation now for best short game player?

 

Watching him lately, he is really good and under control with his wedges and putter...not too many better right now from inside 80 yards!

He is, and I am not sure what the stats say, but the "eye test" tells me he is.  He hit a couple of stellar shots on the back 9 to win Sunday that take supreme confidence.  He is a bit like Tiger in that regard, he may not lead the strokes gained, but when he needs to he hits clutch shots on Sunday.  Some people just have "it" whatever "it" is...Jordan when he is on his game has it.  

[BallerNate]

21 minutes ago, dlygrisse said:

He is, and I am not sure what the stats say, but the "eye test" tells me he is.  He hit a couple of stellar shots on the back 9 to win Sunday that take supreme confidence.  He is a bit like Tiger in that regard, he may not lead the strokes gained, but when he needs to he hits clutch shots on Sunday.  Some people just have "it" whatever "it" is...Jordan when he is on his game has it.  

Agreed! He just seems like he's got every possible trick in his bag, and he can pull them out at the biggest moments! He's really fun to watch with irons, wedges, and a putter in his hands...starting to be one of my favorite guys to watch on Tour!

[iBanesto]

I forgot how great Matsuyama's short game is from his wedge play and play around green.

 

 

[BallerNate]

57 minutes ago, iBanesto said:

I forgot how great Matsuyama's short game is from his wedge play and play around green.

 

 

Agreed...he’s phenomenal with a wedge in his hands! His swing is in total control and his accuracy and creativity are very fun to watch!

[BallerNate]

Just watching the Final Round of the Zurich Classic. Leishman sure loves that Bump & Run and executes it extremely well!

 

Anyone know what club he uses for his Bump & Runs? It doesn’t have the traditional 1st hop of Bump & Runs, so looks like it might be a lower lofted club like a 3 or 4 iron?

[BallerNate]

8 hours ago, BallerNate said:

Just watching the Final Round of the Zurich Classic. Leishman sure loves that Bump & Run and executes it extremely well!

 

Anyone know what club he uses for his Bump & Runs? It doesn’t have the traditional 1st hop of Bump & Runs, so looks like it might be a lower lofted club like a 3 or 4 iron?

Nvm, I answered my own question. Commentators said Leishman hit his Bump & Runs with a 5-iron.

 

He also had an incredible up & down on the 16th Hole after taking a drop from Cam Smith’s Tee shot that took a horrible bounce. Leishman and Smith are both really fun to watch and have solid short games for sure!

[Forged4ever]

I'm goin back a ways and some of ya probably have not even heard of this Gent, however he is, hands down, forget about "arguably," cuz if anyone has a golf IQ over 100, they know that there is no argument as to who is THE GOAT🐐 of the short game is and it is the one & only, Lil Poison(5'7", 130lbs), Paul Runyan!!

 

He snagged 29 Tour Victories, 2 Majors, a pair of PGA Championships(when it was MP format), and destroyed Sam, 8&7 for his second PGA in 1938, handing him the worst beating of his illustrious career and one that he spoke of over a half century later and took to his grave, evening speaking of the niblick(9i/PW) that Mr. Runyan holed out on Sam on the 5th hole, actually jumping his ball(pictured below with second pic showing ball after it had bounced beyond Sam's ball & prior to dropping into the cup. It's amazing how short of a distance between Sam's ball and the cup that he had to land the ball). Sam said that he knew at that time, that it was gonna be a long hot day(that shot is the first one in this video)😂😂. It was the most lopsided title match ever when the PGA was a match play format, and Mr. Runyan was ~24 under par for the 196 holes he played. He made one bogey in his final 70 holes and birdied six of the seven par-5s that were played. The video is wrong when it said that Sam outdrove Mr. Runyan by 35-40yds, as if you research it, and both Pete and Sam stated as much, Sam still shaking his head in disbelief, however he was 70-75yds by Runyan with his drives, with his drive on #8, a Par 5, being 102yds past Runyan's ball, 342yds to 240yds. The result??? Runyan won the hole when he holed his third shot for eagle from the fairway as Sam reached the green in two and ran his eagle putt right over the edge, lolol. It was a nightmare for sure.

 

Mr. Runyan was one of the few Tour Pros to be in both the World Golf HoF as a Player and also the World Golf Teachers HoF as an Instructor. He also competed in the Masters Par 3 contest as a 91yo along with this video being made when he was in his early 80's...

 

 

I loved Tiger as a competitor and as been mentioned, his short game from 1998-2006 was arguably the SECOND greatest demonstration of short game dominance in the history of the game. However he didn't touch Paul Runyan, and if ya could ask Tiger, he'd tell ya that😉

 

Maddie and a Friend were out west for a seminar and were putting on the green at Palm Desert when they saw this lil man with tan pants and a beautiful navy cashmere sweater or chipping with a FW metal. He was peppering the hole and holed two just while they were observing him. Her friend went over to introduce herself and ask about this shot, he introduced himself, asked Madison to join them, and he showed them that shot, along with 3-4 others, with different clubs, basically spending a lil over an hour with them. They said that he was a Gem of a Man and still had a way with the Ladies, lol. I believe that @isaacbm spent some time with him also. 
 

For those that are either serious about their short game or collectors of Iconic golf instruction books, Mr. Runyan's "The Short Way to Lower Scoring" is a MUST HAVE. It was the only instruction book that Pete kept behind his desk and it was signed, much to Sam's chagrin I'm sure😂😂.

 

All of his YTube vids are worth watching, especially his 1988 PGA Coaching Summit talk!!

 

 

Well, I know he's not recent, though this is my nomination~
 

Nuff said😉

 

Fairways & Greens 4ever My Friends⛳️
RP

Edited May 18 by Forged4ever

[Hawkeye77]

Based on what I’ve been watching the last few weeks, I’ll take a little Lydia Ko on anything 80 and in. Her putting and work close to the greens in particular is fun to watch. 

[phizzy30]

I would say that Steve Stricker is the best wedge player.  He comes into the ball very shallow with his wedges which IMO, is the way to really control spin which is imperative with shots 125 yards and in.  If you want best putter then I would have to go with YJS when he was in his prime.  He couldn't miss anything from 15 feet and in it seemed for those 5 years or so.