Welcome to GOLF’s Top 100 Teacher roundtable, where some of the best instructors in the business answer the game’s most pressing questions. The goal? To help your game and lower your scores ASAP.
Hitting a wedge that hops and stops is one of the most sought-after shots for amateur golfers. Not only does it look cool, but it’s also incredibly useful around the greens.
It’s not as easy to pull off as the pros make it look, though. It’s a learned skill — and one that takes plenty of practice to perfect.
So, where should you start in your quest to put more spin on your wedge shots? We had some Top 100 Teachers explain.
1. Get control of your low point
Before thinking of increasing spin, you first need to understand how to control your low point in your swing. This controls where in your swing arc you are contacting the ball. Ideally you are hitting the ball with the bottom two grooves of the clubface and using a negative angle of attack. If you can do those two things, you should be able to get plenty of spin. —Jon Tattersall
2. Fresh grooves and plenty of rotation
First, make sure you’ve got clean grooves and then set up with an open clubface. Move the handle back just a touch and stay wide during your takeaway. On the downswing, keep your speed up and rotate your ribcage through the ball. That’ll create more “nip” at impact and increase spin. —Jonathan Yarwood
3. Shallow out the angle of attack
To get a player to put a little more spin on their wedges I shallow out their angle of attack and then get them to lean the shaft more forward at impact. This allows them to trap, or compress, the ball at impact. By getting these angles better the ball gets pinched between the ground and the face of the club and puts more spin on the shot. —Jim Murphy
4. Place ball back in stance
First make sure you have three things: fresh grooves, a premium ball and clean contact. Then, change up your stance a bit. You know how golfers have the thought to keep their head behind the ball stuck somewhere in their head? Do the opposite! Place the ball in the middle to back of your stance. On the backswing get the club straight up like a ferris wheel, not around like a merry go round, and see what happens. —John Dunigan
