How to Hit Wedge Shots 50–75 Yards: Tips & Drills That Build Confidence Under Pressure
This is a scoring distance. You can either record a low score by taking advantage of your position or succumb to the pressures and log a big number. There’s a lot to work on if you want to improve your score, but optimizing your wedge play from 50 to 75 yards should be a top priority.
This part of the game combines feel and mechanics. The best wedge players work on both aspects equally to ensure maximum results. The tips and drills below will set you on a course to reach your goals in as little time as possible.
Take these to the range as soon as you can to see the difference that specialized practice can make.
How to Control Wedges 50–75 Yards (Key Takeaways)
Stay focused and on the key details when working on your wedge shots from 50 to 75 yards. Before you hit the range, review these essential points.
- Always review your setup, ball position, and posture to ensure you’re prepared to hit the exact distance and trajectory needed.
- Work on swinging with your body and stay connected with your arms.
- Optimize your wrist action to avoid unnecessary movements, such as flipping.
- You can control distance through rhythm and tempo.
- Consistent ball contact is required to achieve accurate distance control.
- Optimize your equipment and club choices.
1. What do you want to improve in your full swing?
8 Tips and Drills to Hit Your Wedge 50 – 75 Yards Consistently
Many recreational golfers lack confidence in their ability to get up and down from 50 to 75 yards.
But if you use these tips and drills, you can turn these mid-distance shots into one of your strengths and start lowering your scores today.
Dial in Your Trajectory
Keeping control of your ball flight is crucial when approaching a green from 50 to 75 yards. Too high and you risk coming up short; too low and you risk skipping it over the back of the green.
A correct and consistent trajectory starts with optimal setup, ball position, and posture.
- Stand slightly closer to the ball than you normally would for a full shot.
- Position the ball either slightly forward for a higher trajectory, which will take yards off your shot, or slightly back, which will add distance.
- Start with and keep your hands just ahead of the ball. The butt-end of your shaft should point at your lead pocket at address.
- Always favor your lead side when it comes to weight distribution. Having a weight distribution of between 60% and 70% forward encourages more consistent ball striking.
Towel Drill
Many amateur golfers swing with their arms to adjust distance, rather than using their torso. Yes, your arms are part of it, but they should not be the driving force.
To control distance and hit wedges with consistency, you need to utilize your body’s rotation.
This drill is ideal for developing a consistent swing that is reliable from various distances. It will train you to rotate your body and produce power that is more controllable than what is produced when only the arms are used.
- Video Timestamp: 3:23 – 7:18
Towel Drill – Step by Step
- Take a normal golf towel and stretch it across your chest so each end is under each arm.
- Grip your wedge and address a ball using an optimized wedge shot setup.
- Take your swing without letting the towel drop from either arm.
- This is a great way to warm up before a round to get your body used to staying connected with your arms.
Optimize Wrist Action with the Hackmotion Faldo Drill
For wedge shots between 50 and 75 yards, your wrists will not be the star of the show.
However, if used incorrectly, they can certainly spoil the party. Hinging, flexing, and rotating at the proper times remain very relevant for these mid-range shots.
Using Hackmotion is the best way to ensure the wrist action in your swing is helping, not hurting. The advanced sensors will track even the slightest of movement and alert you if your positioning is detrimental. It will also assign specific drills from their extensive library.
The Faldo Drill is an example of how Hackmotion can help your wedge play as well as every other part of your game.
HackMotion Faldo Drill
Reach a solid Top position with just the right amount of wrist hinge.
HackMotion Faldo Drill – Step by Step:
- Take your standard setup after calibrating your swing to the Hackmotion system.
- Once you are in the right position, the sensors will alert you to move to the next position.
- Take your club back until it’s parallel to the ground, but do not rotate your body yet. The sensors will ensure your wrists are in the correct position before instructing you to proceed.
- Once the screen turns green, you can initiate your swing while maintaining the correct wrist positions.
- If you go off track at any point, the swing summary will pinpoint your error and help you correct it.
Smooth and Controlled Rhythm
Getting dialed in for accurate distances between 50 and 75 yards is not all about backswing length; that is too unpredictable.
To truly gain control over these types of wedge shots, you must have control over your rhythm and tempo.
Using a “full swing” and adjusting your tempo is the best approach and is what the pros use to achieve deadly accuracy.
This drill explains exactly how to develop that from the beginning and how to adapt it to your personal tempo to make the learning process as easy as possible.
- Video Timestamp: 7:35 – 9:42
Smooth and Controlled Rhythm – Step by Step:
- Start with your wedge of choice and hit three balls with a swing tempo that you consider to be full speed. We’ll call that a 9 out of 10 (you should never swing at a 10/10 as this encourages mis-hits and poor timing).
- Track their carry and roll distance as precisely as possible.
- Next, hit three balls at 8/10 and track their results as well.
- Repeat this process down to a 5/10 swing.
- All swings should be full in length but adjusted solely by the tempo.
Precise Contact Every Time Drill
You won’t be able to dial in your wedge shots from 50-75 yards unless you’re making clean ball contact as often as possible.
Crisp ball-striking is what separates the pros from the amateurs and is an important factor that should be addressed when trying to improve this aspect of the game.
If you know you will strike the ball well, then your bad shots won’t be that bad, and you can still save par in most cases.
This is a great drill that combines physical and visual training aids. You can also use it in conjunction with Hackmotion to monitor your swing positions and track your results.
- Video Timestamp: 1:16 – 3:46
Precise Contact Drill – Step by Step:
- Take a small towel and lay it flat, so one edge is about six inches behind the ball.
- Hit wedge shots using proper technique and tempo without hitting the towel.
- As you improve and gain more confidence, move the towel closer to the ball.
Wedge off a Tee Drill
A key aspect of any successful short game routine and plan is always to accelerate through the ball. This is especially difficult when trying to adjust your swing tempo to accommodate in-between yardages, such as wedge shots from 50 to 75 yards.
No matter how slow your rhythm is, your club head should always be picking up speed as it approaches the impact zone.
Use this drill to ensure that even with a slower tempo, your club accelerates through the ball to create consistent ball striking.
Wedge off a Tee Drill – Step by Step:
- Place a tee in the ground so your ball sits a good inch off the ground.
- Your backswing should be half of what it usually is for the shot you’ve chosen.
- As you make your downswing, accentuate your hip movement and push down into the ground with your feet.
- Finish in a full follow-through position.
Maintain Proper Swing Plane
When a player starts adjusting their swing length and tempo, it’s easy to get off plane.
Most golfers will start swinging too far inside, which can cause several problems during the downswing.
When working on your wedge shots between 50 and 75 yards, always finish your practice session with this quick plane drill to ensure your attack angle is consistent.
Proper Swing Plane Drill – Step by Step:
- Insert an alignment stick into the ground at an angle that’s a bit more upright than 45°.
- The stick should be about 16 inches outside your back foot.
- Ensure your back swing follows the stick and your downswing does the same.
- No need to touch the stick with your club, but it should stay within three inches at all times during the backswing and downswing.
- Adjust the position of the stick as needed.
Change Club, Not Swing, When Possible
This is where short-hitters will have an advantage. If you can use a different club to hit a 70-yard shot than your 50-yard shot, then you’ll have less to adjust in your swing.
Even longer hitters can adopt this method by using something closer to a chipping stroke with a gap wedge for 50-yard shots, rather than trying to find the perfect swing with a lob wedge.
Less is more in all aspects of golf, so the less you have to change, the better your results will be and the more consistent they will be as well.
Final Thoughts
Everyone should get confident with their wedge shots from 50 to 75 yards because you can get very accurate with it in a short amount of time.
While you may not find yourself at this distance for many par 4s, you can plan to be here on almost all par 5s. So if you lock in with this shot, you can make more birdies on par 5s without having to gain more distance on your drives.
Monitoring your action with Hackmotion is the most efficient way to improve. The system tracks all your movements, not just for wedge shots but all shots in general. You can even use it to improve your putting.
This system is like having a professional golf coach at your side at all times, but for a fraction of the cost.
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