Major champ Justin Thomas reveals the secrets and techniques to impeccable wedge play.
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Whenever I play a spherical and fully misfire a tee shot, I rapidly remind myself one thing many GOLF Top 100 Teacher have burdened to me: “Just try to win within 100 yards.”
It appears so…simple.
While truly getting to inside 100 yards could also be a battle at occasions — due to unhealthy tee shots or chunked method shots — having a masterful contact along with your wedges and putter will at all times offer you an opportunity to rating.
So how are you going to accomplish that? A superb place to begin is by listening to two-time main champion Justin Thomas, who offers some straightforward recommendations on how to dial in wedge shots from inside 100 yards within the video beneath (courtesy of Titleist’s YouTube channel).
3 issues Justin Thomas says to do on wedge shots
In the video above, Thomas breaks down just a few key features of hitting a wedge shot from underneath 100 yards.
He begins with an 85-yard shot from the golf green, then one from the identical distance within the tough and closes with a tough shot over a bunker from 35 yards out.
85-yard shot (from fairway): Determine your ball flight
“I’ve got 85 yards with a little bit of [head] wind,” Thomas says. “It looks like I’ve got a touch of a backstop, so I’ve got a 60-degree wedge here and can play this a couple of different ways.”
Next, Thomas suggests how he’d method this shot, particularly specializing in his ball flight.
“With that backstop, it’s one where I’d probably want to fly it 86 or 87 yards, be aggressive, and a little bit right of the hole,” he provides. “I’m going to use a fairly customary flight, however it’s into the wind, so I may need to hit it more durable.
“For me, I like to flight my wedges down to be able to control the spin. You want to be able to spin it a lot if you need to, but, for me, it seems like I’m trying to take spin off as opposed to add it.”
85-yard shot (from tough): Read the lie
As any golfer is aware of, not all 85-yard wedge shots are created equal, so Thomas strikes from the center of the golf green to the tough, explaining what gamers should perceive earlier than making a membership selection and deciding what sort of shot they plan to hit.
“This shot changes drastically when you’re in the rough,” Thomas says. “A lot of it is just reading the lie, which is something that as a player, over the course of years playing, you understand what lies are going to do.”
Next, Thomas describes two various kinds of lies — one the place greater than half the ball is sitting beneath the highest of the grass, and one other the place the ball is sitting extra on prime of the grass.
“On [the one sitting beneath the grass], there would not be a lot of spin, and it’ll probably be higher and kind of a knuckleball that won’t do much when it lands,” he says. “On [the ball sitting up more], being down grain, if I get a good lie like this and I can get on the ball first, I can still spin that.”
Thomas says that judging the lie typically comes with years of expertise, however that it’s one thing even novice gamers ought to perceive how to do.
35-yard wedge shot over a bunker: Hit down on the ball to generate backspin
A typical drawback amateurs make on wedge shots is having a bent to lean again and take a look at to scoop the ball up into the air. This can lead to skulling or chunking.
“Obviously, I’m treating this shot a little bit differently than your regular amateur,” Thomas says. “I think when amateurs see a bunker like this where they need to go over it, they instinctively go back and try to scoop it — but that’s not what generates backspin or anything good.”
He says it’s most necessary to focus in your angle of assault, ensuring you hit down on the ball to produce the spin you see execs like him use from across the greens.
“The more you hit down on it is actually how you generate that backspin,” Thomas says. “So this is one where you can be aggressive.”
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Thomas expounds on studying the lie, noting it’s needs to be a vital a part of your recreation plan from the tough — after which shares how his shot and technique adjustments when on a downslope versus an upslope.
“The lie is the most important thing of making a shot easy or difficult,” he says.
“When I’m down grain on an upslope, it’s going to make this shot a lot easier for me. But if I get over here and it’s on a little downslope with the ball sitting down, my strategy and how I’m going to hit this shot just changed.”
Overall, Thomas says to excel on wedge shots from underneath 100 yards, you want to have a course of, belief it after which be assured as you tackle the ball.
“At the end of the day, you have to be confident and comfortable in what you’re doing,” he says.
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