How to spin (or not spin) your wedges

If you’re looking to develop your wedge game around the greens, consider the role of backspin. Adding or taking away backspin is a terrific way to put more shots in your bag and hit your chips and pitches closer to the hole. Spin comes from what the clubface is doing at impact: An open face (above, left) means more spin; a closing face (above, right) means less.  

To hit with an open clubface, you need the heel of the clubhead to be leading the toe through impact. A great feel for this is the palm of your trail hand facing the sky in the follow-through (video, above). It’s like you’re making a karate chop with that hand. The open face will impart cut spin, so be aware that the first bounce might nudge the ball to the right (for righties). An open-face shot is great for fast greens or tucked pins because it stops quickly after landing.

For a closing face, the visual is the toe passing the heel through impact. The trail palm is more straight up and down in the follow-through, like a hitchhiker (video, above). Opposite of hitting with an open face, the ball will pick up hook spin, so the first bounce likely will go left. This shot is ideal for slow greens or getting up a back tier because it has more running power.

When most golfers think of wedge shots, spin is often overshadowed by trajectory, but whether the ball checks up or rolls out is an essential part of the equation for great wedge players.

Michael Breed, based in Greenwich, Conn., is Golf Digest's Chief Digital Instructor.

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