If you want to Break 80 —and chop strokes off your golf handicap—learn to stick wedge shots from 100 yards and in. Sticking a great wedge shot turns three shots into two—as we’ve often said in our golf tips newsletter. It can also boost your confidence. But few golfers are born with the ability to hit pinpoint wedge shots consistently. Most learn how to hit pinpoint wedges through hours of practice. Most acquire the skill only after hitting hundreds of practice shots.
If you’re like most weekend golfers, you don’t have to put in hours of practice. So you need to get the most out of what time you have. Below are seven golf tips on hitting wedges that will help you master wedge play in record time:
Use these tips to help you Break 80
1. Learn to hit all your wedges
Many students who attend our golf instruction sessions have a favorite wedge. They like to hit this wedge from a specific distance. That’s great. But you can’t always hit from your favorite wedge from your favorite distance. If you’re going to Break 80 —and chop strokes off your golf handicap—learn to hit all your wedges and from a variety of distances inside 100 yards—not just a favorite distance.
2. Strengthen your wrists
You need strong wrists to hit good wedge shots. Strong wrists let you generate enough clubhead speed so you can chip through bad lies and still generate plenty of spin. If you don’t have strong wrists, work on strengthening them. Use the grip strengthener at your health club. Or, do what some pro golfers do: Plunge your hands into a bucket of rice and twist your forearm back and forth. It’s not easy.
3. Clean your grooves
Keep your groove on. Some weekend golfers clean their wedges after hitting shots during a round. But they don’t clean them after hitting shots during a golf lesson or a practice round. Always clean your wedges. Cleaning them during practice means you’ll have wedges that perform the same way during golf lessons and course play.
4. Practice with one hand
We often have students practice hitting one-handed wedges during golf instruction sessions. Just like putting one-handed, hitting wedges one-handed increases accuracy and consistency. John Daly hits 30-yard wedges with his left hand to work on holding the angle of his left wrist. Fred Couples hits wedges with his right hand to improve his chipping when it’s off.
5. Make a swing change with wedges first
Making a swing change is hard. Making even a simple change to their address position can be a challenge. So when we have students make swing changes during golf lessons, we start with their wedges. Wedges are the shortest clubs in the bag. This means your swings are shorter. The shorter your swing, the easier it is to control the club. Get your swing change right with your wedges and it will creep into all your clubs.
6. Use the right grips
When one student first started coming to our golf instruction session she had cord grips with two wraps of tape underneath. These grips were tough on her hands. They also forced her to grip her wedges too tightly. We got her to switch to lighter grips. They allowed her to grip the club lightly, boosting feel. Matching your grips to your hands can also help boost consistency.
7. Find a spark to get better
It takes hard work to improve your wedge play. Hard work comes naturally to some. But others must be motivated. Find a spark to spur your hard work on. It could be any reward you want—buying a new set of wedges, dinner at a nice restaurant, taking a day off from work. It doesn’t matter what the reward is as long as it works for you. These motivation tools will drive you to improve.
Use these seven golf tips to help you improve your wedges. Great wedge play helps you Break 80 and chops strokes off your golf handicap.
