

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

As Promised - Anna Rawson's Checked Wedge Shot

Sunday I posted a video from Golf Digest's The Sexiest Shots in Golf -- Blair O'Neal's tips for hitting a stinger -- and I promised to post Anna Rawson's checked wedge shot from the same series. Here it is:

And here's a quick summary of Anna's keys to playing this shot:
  1. Choose a lofted club (usually a wedge)
  2. Clean your grooves
  3. Play the ball back a bit in your stance (Anna appears to have hers just back of center)
  4. Make a wide, shallow swing
  5. Be sure to hit the ball first
A quick note about that fourth key: You expected it to say "make a steep downswing," didn't you? I bet "make a wide, shallow swing" was the LAST thing you expected to hear if you want backspin! Anna says it's to create a lower finish, but there's even more to it than that. According to Mark O'Meara on Champions Tour Learning Center this week, deep divots make it harder to control your distance with a wedge. Shallow divots guarantee cleaner contact and therefore better control. That combination of lower finish and cleaner contact creates more spin so you get that "two hop and stop" shot that Anna promises.

Now, get out there and spin those wedges like you mean it!

And just in case the video didn't embed properly, you can find the original video here.