How to Hit Your Wedges Close From Any Distance
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.
Hit Your Wedges Closer to the Hole
To give yourself a comfortable shot from any scoring distance, Baile demonstrates how to go from one stock yardage with each wedge, to three. Multiply that by the three or four wedges in your bag, an all of the sudden you have 9-12 stock yardages from scoring range at your disposal, which for a mid-handicap male golfer, probably covers most distances from 50-60 yards up to 120-130 yards.
For example, Baile’s student Davis Lamb gets his 58-degree wedge to carry 95 yards with a full swing. When he stops his backswing at about 9 o’clock – meaning he transitions to the downswing when his lead arm is parallel to the ground – his carry distance drops to 74 yards.
When he shortens his backswing to about 7:30 – getting the grip just about to waist-height – that same 58-degree wedge caries 62 yards.
That's how you go from one stock yardage with each wedge, to three.
The most important thing Baile points out is that despite changing how far back you take the club, you should continue to make the same body rotation. Whether you take a full, 11 o’clock swing, the shortest, 7:30 swing, or the 9 o’clock swing, your body rotation should remain the same.
How to Flight Your Wedges: Lower Shots & Lower Scores
Know Your Distances
Adding stock yardages to your wedge game is a great way to capitalize on those crucial shots inside of, and just north of, 100 yards. But having those shots is only useful if you know how far each shot goes.
If you have access to a virtual driving range or a launch monitor that spits out your distances on every shot, this is a great way to dial in these scoring-game shots, and will quickly lead to lower scores. Track not only how far each shot goes, but which shots produce the most consistent results. This can help you choose the best shot for you when two different shots yield similar yardages.
If you can’t measure distances on a launch monitor, do it at the driving range. Either way, you’ll get a feel for how far each variety goes, and which ones are the most reliable.
If three shots with each wedge is too many, simply compliment your stock yardage with a 9 o’clock distance to start. If you carry four wedges, that will still give you eight different distances you can rely on in your scoring game.
Free Up Your Game
Rather than fear the awkward shots inside 100 yards – the ones that can really make or break a round – use this technique to to capitalize on them. You’ll increase your chance at birdie on those shorter par 4s, the just-out-of-reach par 5s, and save a lot more pars when you need a recovery shot after an errant drive.