WEDGE COMPRESSION Lead with the hands
If you watch tour pros when they get inside of, say, 100 yards, their first option is almost always to drive a wedge shot into a green with spin that stops it pin-high. My finish-line drill is a great way for you to learn how to do the same: Put a rod in line with a ball at address ( top photo, right ) and start hitting shots. Your goal is to rotate your body towards the target so your hands reach the stick (the finish line) before the clubhead strikes the ball ( above ). When the hands win the race, you’ll immediately feel better contact and see the ball bore lower through the air. That’s ball- striking 101.
Many amateurs struggle to control distance on longer wedge shots because they hit them way too high. The mistake is making a wristy strike that adds even more loft to a club that already has plenty. Here I’m simulating the look of a bad wedge swing at impact ( top photo, left ). Note how the clubhead has reached the alignment rod I stuck in the ground (which represents ball position) before my hands get there. I put a pointer on the clubface to show just how high the ball would launch if I flicked at it this way. That’s a shot that will balloon and never make it to the green.
Ryan Hager, one of Golf Digest’s Best Young Teachers in America, is director of instruction at Plainfield CC in Edison, New Jersey
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 79
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025
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