How to Hit Wedges: What Every Amateur Golfer Should Know

Whoever taught you how to hit wedges left out one very important piece of advice.

I know this because in 30+ years of coaching, I’ve seen virtually every golfer make the exact same mistake. And the minute they correct that error, they drastically improve their distance control.

You’re about to do the same thing, because I’m going to share what this mistake is and three tips for eliminating it from your chip shots.

If you’re ready to finally master distance control with your wedges, keep reading.

How to Hit Wedges: Key Takeaways

The biggest mistake amateur golfers make in their wedge shots is making a full, high-speed swing and hitting the ball too high.
Choosing a lower lofted club will help you keep your trajectory low so you’re not fighting the wind.
Centering the ball in your stance ensures better contact.
Shorten your swing length to improve your touch and feel for better distance control.
For more advanced instruction on how to hit wedges, check out The Easy Break: A Radically Simple System for Better Putting, Chipping, and Bunker Play.

Why is Distance Control So Hard With Wedges?

Most golfers struggle with distance control because they’re treating their wedge like a driver and sending the ball way too high. This causes a couple problems.

First, when your ball flies higher, the wind is going to interfere with its trajectory. And you know wind makes distance control a thousand times harder.

It’s also harder for you to control your distance when you swing at full speed and launch the ball high.

So what changes can you make to eliminate this mistake from your game?

I’ve got three great tips I give all my students.

How to Hit Wedges and Improve Your Distance Control

Here are my best and most effective tips for improving your contact, controlling your trajectory, and hitting much better wedge shots:

Tip 1: Choose a Lower Lofted Club

This is the easiest thing you can do to take back control of your wedge shots. It’s also the first tip I give any student who comes to me wanting to learn how to hit wedges.

Most amateurs reach for a high-lofted wedge and swing it fast. Huge mistake.

You’re going to get much better results with a lower loft, like a 48-degree wedge. That lower loft will bring down the trajectory of your ball, which gives you better control and prevents you from having to fight the wind.

Now, this is the part where golfers ask me why they’ve got so many wedge options if a lower loft is usually best for them.

The answer is the same as it always is when it comes to the golf industry: Professional golfers set the standards. They’ve got the skills and practice time to master a range of wedges, while amateur golfers simply do not. You’re better off building proficiency with one or two wedges than constantly cycling through your options and never conquering any club.

Really, the best move (in my fairly humble opinion) is to try the Align Grind wedges. These clubs are designed specifically for amateur golfers, and that means they’re built for versatility so you can hit a variety of lies successfully using the same wedge. They also happen to be the most forgiving wedges I’ve ever tested.

You can read an in-depth review of the Align Grind wedges here, or click this link to try them risk-free with a generous 180-day return window.

Tip 2: Position the Ball in the Center of Your Stance

A big part of controlling your shot is making sure you’ve got the club moving at the right angle when you connect with the ball. For wedge shots, you want to hit the ball right at the low point of your swing.

In order to pull that off, you need to position the ball in the exact spot your clubhead will be when it reaches its low point . If you’re in the VLS Coaching Program or you’ve read my book, The Easy Break, you already know where that is.

The bottom of your swing is equal to the buttons on your golf shirt.

This means that for wedge shots, your ball also needs to be equal to the buttons on your golf shirt. Another way of saying it is that it needs to be in the dead center of your stance.

If you have trouble visualizing this, an alignment rod can help. Here’s what I do with my students:

Place the alignment rod on the ground between your feet with one end at the golf ball.
Step your lead foot toward the target.
Take an equal-sized step away from the target with your trail foot.
The ball should now be in the center of your stance and equal to the buttons on your shirt.

If you’re going to err in either direction, you may be able to get away with having the ball a little too far back in your stance. Too far forward is a bigger disaster. If you’ve been hitting a lot of chunk shots, your ball position is probably the cullprit.

Tip 3: Shorten Your Swing Length

That height problem we talked about is typically the result of using a club with too much loft and using a full swing. We addressed the first half of that equation; now we tackle the second.

When you use that lower lofted club, make a shorter, softer swing. A three-quarters swing is about right.

Doing this not only prevents you from sending the ball soaring way too high; it also improves your touch and feel so you can better judge and control the distance of your shot.

Big wins all around.

Advanced Instruction for How to Hit Wedges

The three tips you just learned will make a surprisingly big difference in your wedge shots. But if you’re ready to advance your short game even more, I recommend checking out my bestselling book, The Easy Break: A Radically Simple System for Better Putting, Chipping, and Bunker Play.

Through images, charts, checklists, practice plans, and tons of fun drills, this book outlines a complete system for mastering your short game and lowering your handicap. It’s senior-friendly, amateur-friendly, and fluff-free.Get your copy here. And be sure to let me know what you think!

About the Author

PGA Teaching Professional Todd Kolb is a five-time Golf Digest Best-in-State Instructor, Amazon Best-selling Author, and Minnesota PGA Teacher of the Year. In over 30 years of coaching, he’s worked with from newbies to an LPGA major champion. He’s currently the Director of Instruction for VLS Golf and USGolfTV and dedicates his efforts to helping the everyday golfer cut through overcomplicated traditional instruction to find solutions that actually work for them.