You hear golfers talk about laying up to a distance that leaves a full wedge shot all the time. The implication is that hitting those in-between shots – the partial wedges from what they consider to be awkward yardages – more difficult than going after one with a full, stock swing. 

The stats, however, prove that the closer you get to the hole, the better off you are (all things being equal). To put it another way, if you were to hole out 100 times from a comfortable full gap wedge yardage, let’s say 100 yards, and hole out 100 times from one of those awkward, in-between distances, albeit a shorter one – lets say 85 yards – your scoring average will be lower from the awkward 85-yard shot than the full 100-yard shot.

To help you go even lower from any distance in wedge territory, here’s a technique from Golf Magazine Top 100 Teacher Jason Baile that will put a stock shot in your arsenal for almost any wedge distance.