To get a feel for these shots, ‘cheat’ your impact position at the set-up
Everything in this game revolves around the set-up position. And unless you fully understand what you are trying to achieve with your swing – and the type of strike you are looking to put on the ball – you will always be fighting a losing battle.
Small shots are no different. Because maximising your distance is not the issue here, you do not rotate your body as fully or as forcefully with a wedge as you do in the long game with a full swing, hence the need to give yourself a head start when it comes to releasing the club. The trick is to “cheat” your impact position – i.e. to open up your stance and to get a little more of your weight on to your left side at the set-up, thus paving the way for impact. Imagine a regular pitch of 50 or 60 yards. Using a wedge, or sand-iron, I stand with my body slightly open in relation to the target and position the ball in the middle of my feet (the wedge game provides you with the opportunity to vary your ball position quite dramatically to play different shots – more on that in a minute).
As I flex my knees and settle down to the shot, my weight favours the left side. I am conscious of easing my knees towards the target; I sort of ‘melt’ into the set-up.
These are the basic rules of engagement any time you are inside full swing distance. Remember, a wedge shot simply does not allow you to create the dynamics necessary for your body to rotate and clear through impact, so you have to pre-set that position. I call this technique “cheating” impact, and I am often reminded of the classic image of Gary Player at address, and the way he always eases his body into the shot to get a real feeling for the way he intended to return at impact. Make this a deliberate ploy every time you set up to play these shots – “cheat” your way to a better impact position. And keep those hands and arms nice and ‘soft’.

For rhythm, get your chest in motion
Once you are ready to play, the key is to turn your upper body over the support of the knees and thighs, and work on ‘setting’ the club on plane with a good wrist action (more on that over the page). Shots from this range are all about the arms and the upper body, and one of the thoughts I use here is to get my stomach in motion, first turning it away and then rotating it through impact to face the target at the finish. That gets my ‘centre’ turning back and forth, which creates all the momentum I need to get the arms swinging. It also helps me to establish good rhythm. That’s another key to playing these shots with a sense of flight and distance – you have to swing easy.
For the sake of good balance, focus on keeping your lower body ‘quiet’. As you can see here, my feet have remained pretty well anchored on the ground right up until the moment of impact, providing all the support I need to execute the shot. Soft hands, easy motion, pure strike.