Tips for helping you improve your wedge shots

FRIDAY, NOV. 16: The annual PGA Tour qualifying tour school is underway with Michael Sims hoping to earn his card.

You may ask yourself the question: what is the difference between those that make it and those that don’t? The answer may not be what you think it is.

320 yards down the fairway (or in the case of Rory McIlroy, 325 with a 3 wood). But the real difference is the ability to control their distances with their scoring clubs — in particular, their wedges.

Incredible

They encounter numerous times each round where the players are faced with incredibly precise distance needs — where being a little short could mean being in a bunker or the water and being a little long would mean an extremely difficult putt or chip back towards the trouble.

So from around 100 yards — a distance all players can hit and often with the same clubs — what separates the professionals? How can you improve your distance control?

The key is, just like many things is, practice. I’ve observed that the most successful players, who are the best wedge players in the world, spend a lot of time and patience into hitting wedge shots at the practice range with their PGA coach to targeted distances.

This way they get a feel for the mechanics and the sensations needed to know how to hit to those targets. When I am coaching I get my student to deliberately and carefully find a target at 100 yards, then hit a number of shots to that distance. After that then to 90 yards, then 80 yards, and so on.

I would say that most Tour players devote well over half of their practice time on the range to these precision shots rather than hitting drivers — a shot that is rarely practiced by most amateur players.

There are two key ways to control your distance with your wedge shots.

Shorten the backswing: I recommend getting used to a system, where bringing your hands back to nine, ten or eleven o’clock to determine the distance your wedge shot will fly.

Slow your tempo down: Obviously, a slower swing will not send the ball as far. A smoother tempo will also mean better contact, which is crucial to controlling distance.

But the most important lesson is controlling the distance on your wedges will give you more makeable putts. It is something all players can improve on and will make a bigger difference to your score than adding a few yards to your drive off the tee.

Paul Adams if the PGA director of golf at Rosewood Tucker’s Point.