How To Spin Your Wedges On Command

Keep your big muscles moving through impact…

If you’re having problems hitting those little spinners with your wedges, perhaps your ball position or technique is off.

I like to play the ball toward the middle of my stance on most irons, especially short irons. That helps me get my hands ahead of the ball through impact (above, middle), which is essential for spinning it. I prefer a three-quarter swing for trajectory and distance control. I also abbreviate my follow-through to match my backswing. The key to imparting backspin on the ball is clubhead speed through impact. The more speed you generate, the more spin you can produce.

Increased clubhead speed is created with the big muscles, not the wrists or hands, as I see so many amateurs attempting to do. They also get too steep on the backswing because they’re trying to hit down on the ball to produce backspin. Keep your big muscles — hips, chest, shoulders — moving through impact, and you’ll be able to spin it on command.

© Golf Digest