Drills for Wrist Motion in Wedge Game by Steven Orr

HackMotion

Jul 18, 2024 . 3 mins read

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Steven Orr has been a golf coach for 20 years with strong interest in short game for the last 7 years.

Additionally, Steven is undertaking a doctorate on skill acquisition. His main recommendation to develop a good short game skillset is exploration and problem solving.

Go over the drills Steven presents, and find a table with “rule of thumb” HackMotion benchmarks for various distances at the end of the post.

Drills for Wrist Motion in Wedge Game

Drill: Golf Hammer / Golf Nail

Goal: Learn to control trail arm, wrist and elbow flexion and extension, avoid “flipping.

Drill: The 3 Wood Wedge

Goal: Remove loft at impact. Learn to adjust the wrist motion to achieve it.

In Steven’s example a 3 wood is cut down to the length of a wedge, it has a 15 degree of loft, equals the amount you would want to take off at impact.

Stronger grip can have more extended (cupped) lead wrist, weaker grip can have more flexed (bowed) lead wrist at this point (P6).

But regardless of grip type, at this point the ball is pointing slightly downwards for all top level wedge players.

Drill: The Wall

Task: Putting the shaft on the wall.

2 frames after impact is the reference point.

This drill is for self organisation – player should learn how to adjust wrists and body. Suitable for more established players.

Drill: Left Hand Only

Goal: Developing more linear motion.

Lead hand promotes more linear movement of the club, trail hand more angular movement. By changing the grip, you can change the forces.

If a player has too angular motion, this drill could be beneficial.

Watch the Drills Presented by Steven Orr

For additional tips and comments on the drills watch the following fragment from Steven Orr’s webinar.

HackMotion Benchmarks in Wedge Game

Learn approximate benchmarks how much lead wrist angles change during the swing depending on the wedge shot distance.

NOTE: it’s only as a reference point, ranges can differ for players.

Change in motion per distance (lead hand, degrees). Rule of thumb only!

To conclude, remember Steven’s advice about exploration. It takes time to figure our certain shots, but that is the best way how to gain the skills.

Once you achieve a good shot, measure it with HackMotion to understand the wrist motion and to make it repeatable.