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And always make sure your right elbow is against
5 Wedge Play your right side. If the elbow gets away from the
body, you’ll lose control of the clubhead, and since
Mistakes swings with wedges are much shorter than those
with your other irons, you won’t have time to recov-
er.
Mistake #1: High-Fiving One of my favorite les- Mistake #3: Open Clubface If the face of your
sons is, In golf, you shake hands like a gentleman. wedge is open, and you’re not prepared for it,
Most golfers, however, high five. In other words, you’re setting yourself up for disaster. It’s a mistake
they swing from low to high following impact. that far too many amateur golfers make. The extra
In all swings, hit down and through the ball so loft of the wedge makes it a bit more difficult to
that in the postimpact position, your hands are still determine if the face is closed, open or square, a
below your waist. For better wedge shots, follow problem further complicated by the fact that most
impact by shaking hands with your target. golfers look at the toe of the club to square the face
Mistake #2: Poor Setup It seems so simple, but to the target line.
many recreational players hurt their chances for To align your clubhead properly, focus on the
solid contact by not properly setting up to the golf leading edge, not the toe. The leading edge should
ball, especially with a pitching or sand wedge in bisect an imaginary line running from your ball to
their hands. A major setup mistake golfers make the target. This probably sounds elementary, but
when playing a wedge shot is standing too far away I bet you’ve played a few shots with an open face
from the ball. It’s a short club, so stand a little clos- without your knowing about it. It happens to every-
er and in an upright posture. Since you won’t have body. One reason why is that most wedge shots are
time to get your left side out of the way, play from played from the back of the stance. With the ball
an open stance, with your front foot pulled back. played from this position, it’s even easier to forget-
fully allow the clubface to slide open to the target.
Overland Park
