Top professionals are great at controlling distance and trajectory with their short irons. If you have trouble with that, these tips can help. Things to keep in mind for club selection are less air time, more roll time, a slower swing speed and shorter swing. This way, even if you don’t hit the ball crisply the result shouldn’t be that bad.
For a lower ball flight, use a less-lofted club such as a pitching wedge or gap wedge. Ball positioning should be in the middle to back of your stance with your weight and hand position favoring the front leg.
To hit the ball with a mid-height flight, use a 54- or 56-degree wedge. Ball positioning should be in the middle of your stance with your weight and hand position also centered. A good visual drill is to lay your golf bag on the ground about two or three paces from your hitting area between you and the target.
For a higher ball flight, use at least a 58-degree lob wedge. Ball positioning should be middle to front of your stance with weight and hand positioning favoring your back leg. If you want a prop, stand your bag a few paces away and hit your shots over the barrier.
Some feel aspects to focus on are tempo – with swing speed the same going back and through – and a constant grip pressure that is lighter for higher trajectory shots and firmer for lower ball flights.
Randy Chang, PGA, is a Golf Channel Academy instructor and director of instruction at Journey at Pechanga in Temecula and the Aloha Academy of Golf at Talega in San Clemente. He can be reached at (949) 331-2443 or randychang@pga.com.
