This video shows how to use the Alien sand wedge. We show how to use the Alien club to hit bunker shots and flop shots. This video also performs a review and evaluation of the Alien sand wedge. The original Alien sandwedge shown here is about 20 years old.
Attitudes vary widely about the Alien club. Some folks say it’s a gimmick, some say it’s a crutch, some say it’s a bandaid, some say to use it is cheating. However, many folks love the Alien club and I am one of those. With all new golf technologies comes controversy and sharp differences of opinion In this review, I’m not going to address any of these arguments. Instead, the purpose of this video is to study one thing only: does this club live up to the manufacturer’s claim. Specifically, does this club help the average amateur golfer with bunker shots, pitch shots from tall grass, and lob shots from bad lies.
In brief, my conclusion is that it does. However, the Alien has some limitations that I’ll discuss later. Before going further into the results, we will look at the manufacturers video on how to use this club.
As you can see, the technique for using the club is uniform and simple. If you follow these rules, about the only variable left to the user is swing speed.
So, how does the Alien perform in the sand in the hands of a 20 handicap amateur? With the Alien, I’m getting out of the bunkers about 95% of the time. With the traditional sand wedge, I’m getting out of the bunkers about 85% of the time. However, before improving my technique with the traditional sand wedge, the Alien club was the clear winner. Here we see my results with the Alien wedge. The technique is easy, but two things are critical. You must hit behind the ball and you must accelerate through the shot being sure to follow through. Though easy to use, with the Alien, you really cannot change the angle of the club face. Therefore, swing speed is about all you have to control the shot length.
Here I am with the traditional sand wedge. I’m not too bad, but using the traditional wedge requires technique and practice. It took me many hours of practice to get to an 85% escape rate.
Now let’s see how the Alien handles lob shots. It’s winter, the grass is dormant, and the lies are tight. I’ll use the advice the manufacturer gives and hit very slightly behind the ball providing a very small amount of club bounce. With such a tight lie, I suggest hitting only a fraction of an inch before the ball. Doing this makes the lob shots over the bunker rather easy. In fact, the high trajectory results are very much like flop shots. I can get close to the same success rate using a 60 degree wedge, but much practice is needed as the margin for error is small. Most beginning golfers would not be able to execute the shot shown here using a 60 degree wedge. With the ability to get high percentage flop shot results with the Alien club, I no longer attempt to perform cut lobs or flop shots using traditional wedges.
Now let’s see how the Alien handles deep rough. Here’s where I think the Alien shines. The Alien’s club head weighs more than the club heads of my other wedges. Again I try to hit slightly behind the ball. The success percentage is higher than when I use my other wedges.
In sum, I conclude that the skill and technique required for the Alien is less demanding than for traditional wedges thus providing high handicap golfers a quicker route to lower scores. I do not recommend the Alien to accomplished golfers. Here’s why: the strength of the club for beginners — that is: very few variables to worry about and control – is the weakness for experts who may wish to alter things such as the face loft, swing plane, and impact direction. Though I carry the Alien wedge, I often prefer to use my sand wedge or 60 degree wedge for many shots. I prefer not to use the Alien for shots that are 40 yards or longer. In fact, I’m not sure I can get more than 40 yards of distance from the Alien club.
If possible, I suggest borrowing an Alien club before purchasing one. To give the club a fair evaluation, you must use it as described in this video. In my first time borrowing an Alien club, I achieved immediate success, increasing my bunker escape rate from about 50% to over 90%.
