One of the best tips I have had for those in between shots is to shorten your backswing a bit so if you normally get the club back to parallel i.e. 3 on a clock face work on just taking it back to 12 with good tempo and the hit through the ball just as you would with a full swing. You will find that will take about 10-15m off a wedge i.e. do it with PW for me takes it from 125 down to around 110-115m. This gives you great flexibility with wedges... see below.
Full Swing
48deg PW - 125m
52deg GW - 112m
56deg SW - 100m
60deg LW - 82m
12 O'clock Swing
48deg PW - 115m
52deg GW - 98m
56deg SW - 88m
60deg LW - 65m
9 O'clock Swing
48deg PW - 96m
52deg GW - 83m
56deg SW - 70m
60deg LW - 52m
The other great tip is to play around with your ball position using these swings also... i.e. hitting to a pin right at the back of a green you generally want to hit the shot in a bit lower and take some of the spin off... the 12 o'clock swing will generally come out a bit lower if you shift it back in your stance a little it will come out low and take off some spin... so if I have a 100m shot to a back flag I am going to hit 52deg wedge back in the stance a little rather than trying to smash a SW. Conversely say 108m to a front pin cut just over a bunker I will play the 52deg wedge with a full swing, if you are feeling really adventurous you can move the ball forward in your stance a fraction, that will have the ball come out a little higher fly a little shorter through the air with more spin.
Obviously this is not an exact science as none of us practice enough or have the ability to control our distances this well... however if you use these principles I promise it will help.
Full Swing
48deg PW - 125m
52deg GW - 112m
56deg SW - 100m
60deg LW - 82m
12 O'clock Swing
48deg PW - 115m
52deg GW - 98m
56deg SW - 88m
60deg LW - 65m
9 O'clock Swing
48deg PW - 96m
52deg GW - 83m
56deg SW - 70m
60deg LW - 52m
The other great tip is to play around with your ball position using these swings also... i.e. hitting to a pin right at the back of a green you generally want to hit the shot in a bit lower and take some of the spin off... the 12 o'clock swing will generally come out a bit lower if you shift it back in your stance a little it will come out low and take off some spin... so if I have a 100m shot to a back flag I am going to hit 52deg wedge back in the stance a little rather than trying to smash a SW. Conversely say 108m to a front pin cut just over a bunker I will play the 52deg wedge with a full swing, if you are feeling really adventurous you can move the ball forward in your stance a fraction, that will have the ball come out a little higher fly a little shorter through the air with more spin.
Obviously this is not an exact science as none of us practice enough or have the ability to control our distances this well... however if you use these principles I promise it will help.
Hope neighbors are ok with it!
Cheers for the tips/lesson
Much appreciated

