You're Correct!

Just because its called a pitching wedge you are not just supposed to chip or pitch with this club. This is a common misconception of golfers - "I only use the sand iron out of sand", "I only pitch with a pitching wedge", "I only use a rescue club when I am in trouble" - however, it is a totally incorrect one that can add shots to your score.

Instead think of golf clubs in this way - golf clubs are tools and whichever tool fits the job needs using. There is not one screwdriver for every screw, each screwdriver is different and will fit one screw perfectly. With golf clubs this is also true, as a golfer we need to look at the shot in hand and decide exactly what we want the ball to do. If the ball is behind a bunker then a lofted club is needed to get the ball into the air - here a 60 degree lob wedge would be the club to choose as the extra loft gives the ball more chance of getting airborne and making it over the bunker. Likewise, if the ball is lying on a flat piece of grass that is bare with flat, open ground between the golf ball and the hole, then the club chosen should be of a lower loft such as a 7 iron or even a putter. Choosing this type of club will get the ball moving forward and running to the hole even with a slight mis-hit.

Use the following rules for picking the correct club for the correct chipping situation:

Mark in your mind where the ball is, where the hole is and then, most importantly, where the ball needs to land. The ideal place for the ball to land is the nearest, flattest part of the green as this is the most consistent place for the ball to bounce and it will be easily predictable as to what the ball will do once it lands.
Once you have these three points marked in, judge how far the ball:
(a) needs to carry in the air to its landing point and
(b) needs to roll on the floor to the hole.

- If the shot requires a 25% carry and 75% roll then the club chosen should be a 7 iron
- If the shot requires a 50% carry and 50% roll then the club chosen should be a 9 iron
- If the shot requires a 75% carry and 25% roll then the club chosen should be a Sand Iron (54-56 degrees)

These percentages are all approximate but are fairly accurate. Try them out on the practice green and refine them if needs be but remember to use the correct tool for the job and you will save easy shots around the greens.

It is true that if you are confident with something then it tends to be successful. However, you are limiting your golf game if you are stuck using just one club for a variety of situations. It is far easier to use the same shot but vary the golf club than to use the same golf club and vary the technique to play different shots. The key to being successful with all of the clubs in the bag is to practice with them all rather than just one.

There is no such thing as luck. That tree was always there, its not bad luck that you hit it, you just hit the ball in the wrong direction! Make all of your clubs your lucky club and play better being confident with whatever club is in your hand. Practice with all the clubs in the bag and they will all be lucky. Gary Player once said the more I practice, the luckier I get.

Bounce is the curvature of the sole of the golf club and a large bounce angle, such as one on a sand iron, means that the club sits up away from the ground at set up. From the golfers viewpoint, it can look like the club will not get underneath the golf ball. The good news is that the bounce angle of a golf club makes no difference whatsoever to a good chip shot. On a well executed chip shot, the club head strikes down and through the ball into the ground meaning that the ball is hit before the ground, rendering the bounce angle of the club meaningless.