Short Game · Drill
A Quiet-Hands Wedge You Can Trust
Part of our short game programs for fat or chunked, thin or bladed, high, soft shots. Build a program with it
If your wedges get duffed or skulled, take your hands out of it. Tuck a towel under both armpits. Set up a little forward, balanced on your lead side. Now just turn your body back and through. Don't hinge or flip the club. Pick your trajectory at setup. Hands forward for lower. Neutral for normal. Back a bit for higher. Then turn and accelerate through the ball.
The drill
- Tuck a towel under both arms.
- Set up balanced on your lead side.
- Choose height with your hand position.
- Turn without hinging your wrists.
- Accelerate through.
Why it works
Thin and skulled wedges usually come from the hands flipping or the club bottoming out too early. The towel keeps your arms connected to your chest, so the club moves with your body turn. With your weight set on your lead side, the low point of the swing stays ahead of the ball, and the club meets the ball first, then the turf.
Common mistakes
- Letting the towel drop during the backswing because the arms swing away from the chest.Shorten the swing until the towel stays put, and let your chest turn move the club.
- Hinging the wrists anyway to lift the club back.Keep the wrists quiet and let the turn of your shoulders and hips carry the club back.
- Slowing down or stopping the turn at the ball.Keep turning your chest toward the target and accelerate through to a full finish.
How you'll know it's working
- The towel stays under both arms until after the ball is gone.
- You make contact on the center of the face, with no thin strikes or skulls.
- You see a shallow divot starting just after where the ball was.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: Use a half swing with the ball sitting on good turf, and hit short shots of about 20 yards.
Harder: Hit to targets at different distances, changing your hand position to match a low, normal or high flight each time.
Common questions
Why do I keep hitting thin wedge shots?
Most often the wrists flip through impact or your weight hangs back, so the club bottoms out before the ball. Set your weight on your lead side and turn through with quiet hands.
How do I hit a wedge higher or lower?
Change your hand position at setup. Hands ahead of the ball gives a lower flight, and hands a bit back gives a higher one, while the swing stays the same.
