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How to Hit a Wedge Shot with more Control
There are 2 types of mistake you can make with a wedge shot.
1) Trying to scoop the ball or flipping your wrists at impact
2) Hitting down on the ball with a steep angle of approach
High handicappers tend to scoop the ball in an effort to get the ball airborne. On the other hand, good players tend to hit down on the ball with a descending blow.
With a wedge, you need control more than distance. So the key points to hitting a wedge are
1) Don't take overly long backswing or follow through
2) Hit it with 60 to 70% of your power
Tiger Woods said he tries to make the same size divot with every iron.
In general, golfers think that they should hit down on the ball with a wedge to get more backspin on the ball. But Tiger wants to take a shallow divot instead of a deep divot.
You can control your wedge shots much easier if you come into the ball with a shallow angle of approach rather than steep angle of approach into impact.
Distance control will become so much easier if you take shallow divot with your wedge or short irons as well.
Put Your Ball in the Center of Stance
Golfers who try to scoop the ball tend to place the ball more toward front foot. On the other hand, players who tend to hit down on the ball tend to place the ball more toward back foot.
If you put the ball toward front foot with a wedge shot, you will add loft at impact and lose distance. If you put it more toward back foot, you will deloft the club and hit it too far.
To take shallow divot with your wedge, position the ball in the center of your stance. Depending on the type of your swing, you might want to move the ball little to the right or left to fit your swing.