Your ball is 5–30 yards from the green. This should be easy, right? So why are you standing over the ball like you’re about to launch it 150 yards? I watch golfers make virtually a full swing from this position, with lots of arm action and massive wrist hinge. Then the ball takes off like it has somewhere important to be…a continent past the hole! Sound familiar?
STOP trying to hit a short shot with the mechanics you use to hit a long one. Your full swing needs power. Your short game needs precision.
The solution is simple. LOSE THE HINGE!! Yep. I want you to become completely and deliberately UNHINGED.
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In your full swing, wrist hinge is your friend. It’s a lever that helps create speed and power. But close to the green, power is not the objective. Accuracy is.
Get your feet closer together. Stand open if you want. But here’s the critical part: set the angle in your right wrist at address and KEEP IT! Don’t let your wrists change the clubface by hinging or rolling over.
Turn your shoulders and chest to move the club away. The club follows that turn while your hands and wrists stay quiet. BONUS>>> Less wrist action means less opportunity for something to go wrong!
On your next short pitch, resist getting “hingy.” Feel your left shoulder move down, keep your arms and hands quiet and maintain that right-wrist angle through the finish. BE UNHINGED. You’ll have more control.
You still need to pick your landing spot, as I have using two white balls in the video. Test how many paces your sand wedge rolls out. And don’t automatically grab your 60-degree wedge. It requires more airtime—and more airtime means more error time. Your 55- or 56-degree wedge could produce more up-and-downs!
Who knew being unhinged could feel so good—and produce such reliable results!
