2 simple swing changes to add spin to your wedge shots

Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.

Your wedges are your scoring clubs. If you have one in your hand from the fairway, you should be thinking about birdie. And when you have to take a wedge on the greenside, it’s all about getting up and down for par. If you can increase your conversion rate in both scenarios, you’ll see your scores drop quickly.

But despite how important wedges are for low scores, many recreational golfers have no idea what the proper technique is for hitting them. When they go to the range, it’s all about the grappling and ripping; little attention is paid to the short clubs.

This lack of attention during practice sessions often leads to bad habits, and therefore higher scores. But knowing what types of mistakes to avoid will make hitting sharp wedges much easier.

In the video below, Dr. shares Greg Rose of the Titleist Performance Institute two big mistakes he often sees recreational golfers make with their spin-reducing wedges. Correct them and you’ll be hitting shots with more spin in no time.

2 ways to add spin

Wedges are crucial for scoring because they access hard-to-reach pin locations, allowing you to stuff the ball close to hidden hole locations. This is largely due to the amount of spin they produce.

If you can hit a wedge spin, you can hit it high and land softly. Plus, you can stop the ball in an instant if the situation calls for it. Simply put, knowing how to spin the ball properly can unlock your scoring prowess.

Adding spin to the ball can be achieved in two ways. One is speed through impact (i.e. clubhead speed) and the other is high spin loft, which is the difference between the angle of attack and the loft of the clubface at impact.

1. Accelerate through impact

The first mistake golfers make when trying to create speed is slowing down through impact. This usually happens because they hit a backswing that is too long for the shot they are trying to hit, so they slow down through the impact to keep the ball from screaming past the flag. If you really want to create spin, you should start with a smaller backswing and accelerate through impact.

“If you want the ball to backspin on wedges, I need speed through the bottom,” Rose says. “Make sure you release and increase your clubhead speed.”

2. Increase spin loft

The other mistake golfers make when generating spin is not creating enough spin loft. As explained above, spin loft is the difference between your angle of attack and the loft of the clubface at impact.

Feeling like you’re hitting the ball is a great way to get the right angle of attack and create spin. Where many recreational players go wrong, however, is when they do this, they close the club face and remove the club from the loft.

“The important thing here is that you feel like you’re swinging down, but make sure you add loft,” says Rose. “When you look at great wedge players, they don’t just create a downward angle of attack, [but] the face is also open.”