How To Control Your Wedges
Your wedges are the keys to cutting strokes from your golf handicap. A good wedge shot, as we’ve often said in our golf tips newsletter, can turn three shots into two.But you must learn to control your wedges to capitalize on their stroke-saving capabilities. The two most important basic elements to work on in practice are distance control and trajectory. Mastering these two elements and you’ll quickly shave strokes off your golf handicap.But first you must carry the right wedges. In our golf lessons we advise students to carry at least three wedges—pitching, gap, and sand—with equal gaps in loft between them.Some players add a lob wedge to the mix. Others add both a lob and a flop wedge to their bags. We suggest mastering the pitching, gap, and sand wedges before adding the lob and flop wedges. Mastering these clubs will enable you to stick more shots from 100 yards and in.Distance ControlThe key elements students work on in golf instruction sessions depend their individual capabilities. Generally speaking, we start with distance control—the most important element to master in wedge play.But first we cover the basics of wedge shots. For a pitch shot, set more weight on your front foot and center the ball. This encourages a downward blow that squeezes the ball against the turf. Allow your wrist to hinge and make your finish a mirror image of your backswing.Good distance control involves matching solid contact with swing length. Use the clock formula to develop three distances with each wedge.Swing back to 7 o’clock and through to 3 o’clock for a short wedge shot, 9 o’clock to 2 o’clock for a medium wedge shot, and 11 o’clock to 1 o’clock for a long wedge shots.We also teach students in golf lessons to vary swing length with stance width and shaft length. For example, for short shots, narrow your stance and grip down on the club an inch or more to shorten the shaft.Use a 7 o’clock to 3 o’clock swing. That gives you nine different distances with three wedges.Trajectory ControlTrajectory control increases accuracy by letting you handle different situations, like a high lob over a bunker on the short side or a bump-and-run on a windy day.Trajectory is the second most critical element in wedge play. Here’s how to vary trajectory: For a low shot, take a narrow closed stance, with the ball just behind the center, and aim the face at the target. Finish with the club low. For a medium trajectory, use a square stance with the ball centered and the clubface aimed at the target. Swing through to about belt high.For a high trajectory, play the ball slightly forward in a slightly wider stance. Positioning the ball forward will cause your shoulders to open slightly, so make sure you keep the clubface aimed at the target. Swing to a longer finish—at least shoulder length high—for best results.Making Solid ContactMaking solid contact is another must in wedge play. Keep in mind that the main cause of mis-hits with your wedges is trying to lift the ball. To make solid contact, trust the clubface’s loft and hit down on the ball. Try this drill to master contact:Use your foot to measure the distance between a headcover on the ground and the ball in your stance. Now place a quarter in front of the ball. Practice hitting wedges where you miss the headcover coming down into the ball and clip the coin after impact.A good exercise to help master distance control and trajectory is the ball position drill.Using each wedge, play three pitch shots with the ball positioned forward in your stance, three shots with the ball positioned in the middle of your stance, and three shots with the ball positioned back in your stance.This drill not only teaches you to control trajectory by hitting high and low shots, it gets you comfortable with moving the ball forward and backward, giving you a more versatile short game.A proven way to chop strokes off your golf handicap is to master your wedges. To do that you must control the two critical elements—distance control and trajectory control.Use the golf tips above to control these elements.If you can learn to vary them with proficiency, you’ll be well on your way to knocking strokes off your handicap.Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book "How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros." He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. He has a free weekly newsletter with the latest golf tips, golf lessons and golf instruction.Controlling Your Golf Wedges from All DistancesAdditional Golf Resources:
