The closer you get to the green, the better your chances of sticking close. Yet for many novice golfers, that's often where things start to unravel.
Within 100 yards, the sensors go in and these short shots are barely audible. If you second-guess your setup, forget the basics and lose confidence in yourself at the worst possible time.
Instead of letting tension take over, causing you to put it on the green – or worse, cut a few yards in front of you – David Armitage, GOLF Top 100 teacher, offers a simple solution.
“It's all about leaning left, and staying left,” Armitage said.
With this simple sentence and the three keys below, you'll learn how to create strong setups every time and turn these soft wedge shots into scoring opportunities.
Load your lead side for better low point control
To use these shots effectively, Armitage says you need to control the low score – and it starts before you return the club.
“For me, low point control is about setting up,” he said. “What I want you to do is I want you to get about 65% of your weight on that front leg, the lead. Once you get that, I want you to also feel like you're leaning there with your butt.”
The key here is to load your entire lead side – not just your lower body. Armitage says that beginners tend to let the weight back during the backswing on these short wedge shots. When that happens, it becomes almost impossible to get back into the forward position when your club goes through impact. As a result, players back off or lean on the target as they hit the ball, followed by a host of communication problems.
By remembering to pre-set your entire leading edge, you prepare yourself to make first contact with the ball and stay forward between shots, helping you improve the quality of your delivery and avoid a common mistake that can quickly break your connection and confidence.
Keep your nose over the lead toes as you swing
After you've loaded your lead side and established a good setup, it's time to practice your swing. Armitage says the key here is to maintain the foundation you've already built in the address.
“As you do the backswing, I want you to feel like your nose and your weight are staying there [just in front of the ball],” he says.
To build this feeling, practice a few swings without the ball, keeping your sternum and nose over your lead leg throughout the movement. You'll know you're doing it right when your divot happens in front of your ball point.
When you put the ball back into the equation, you should notice that your shots have a lower trajectory and more spin – the signs of a good wedge player.
Upgrade the stock shifter for better range control
There are several ways to dial in different yards with your wedges. You can open the face or hold down, but Armitage says the most reliable way to control distance is to adjust the length of your swing.
To do that, you need a set of defined stock volatility. You can build them by creating clear, repeatable boundaries — or “triggers,” as Armitage calls them. His checkpoints are:
- Hip to hip
- Rib to rib
- Shoulder to shoulder
Like the clock system that many players use, these checkpoints give you a clear, repeatable reference to how far the club has traveled and returned. That structure allows you to make repetitive swings at the same tempo every time, which ultimately creates reliable distance control and feel.
Callaway Opus SP+ Custom Wedge
Introducing the new Opus SP+ with Spin Pocket™ Construction + Tungsten, a new extension to our Opus SP family. Preferred touring stance with an even higher center of gravity for more spin and accuracy.
View Product
