THIS year, while watching the British Open, Jordan Spieth showed that he has one of the best wedge games in golf. One of the main skills Spieth displays is great control of his distance and spin from any situation he finds himself in. His coach Cameron McCormick has done a great job showing him how to control the distance and flight from any lie. Spieth obviously practises a lot from different distances with different clubs and changes flights for different pin positions.
When you watch Spieth at the Australian Open this month, you will see he sets up with his alignment slightly left, hands more level rather than forward at address and that he sets his weight slightly favouring his left side. This allows him to set the club earlier in the backswing to create a more descending blow at impact with his wedges. This type of setup and hinging in the backswing allows him to blend his body and arms to produce different types of flight, distance and spin.
One aspect that stands out is how Spieth makes the same length of swing but changes his speed of rotation to alter the distance. For example, he may hit his sand wedge 35, 50 or 65 metres with the same swing but using different body rotation speeds. If you have three wedges in your bag, copying this method lets you produce nine different distances, flights and spin rates, which will produce shots you haven’t hit before – and lower your score.
• Jason Laws is the NSW PGA Teaching Professional of the Year and If you have any questions, e-mail him at [email protected]
