One of my very good friends has a problem of going right under the ball and “chunking” every one of his wedges. Whether it be a sand, lob or gap wedge, he finds a way to go completely under it, throw sod over the ball and watch it land about 25 yards short. He constantly asks me “what wedge should I get for a 100 yard shot?” I have told him repeatedly he needs an approach wedge with a cavity back.

So, here is the reason he chunks or goes under all his wedges. He is a “swayer” meaning his upper body does not remain stable when he completes his golf swing. No matter which club he is using, from driver to sand wedge, he sways the same amount. If you sway, you can crush your driver, woods and long irons when your timing is on. You cannot hit a wedge consistently.

Think about it, the wedge has the smallest face of all your clubs. This means you need to be precise at impact. If you are swaying, you are not going to be precise at impact.

If you have issues going under the golf ball with your sand wedge, get a cavity back approach wedge. You should be able to hit this much better because the face is a little larger and the cavity back gives you some relief when it comes to the exact strike of the ball.

It is foreign to me to hear people say they can’t hit a 52, 56 or 60 degree wedge as this is, by far and away, the strength of my game. That said, I have a very short swing and control all my wedges. I also only hit my driver about 230 or 240. You have to decide what sacrifices you are going to make. If you want to drive the ball 250+ you probably aren’t going to have a great wedge game. It you are tremendous when it comes to your wedges inside of 100 yards, don’t expect to be able to keep up with the long drivers.