The old saying that is often repeated, “Drive for show, putt for dough” has often been debated.
But, what about your iron and wedge play?
We all know that even the best hit drive down the middle of the fairway means nothing if you can’t get the ball on the green with your wedges or your irons.
The reality becomes the closer you can hit the ball to the hole, the more putts you will make.
The analytics are clear and even from an 8 foot distance, the professionals only make about 50% of these putts. Take it out to 30 feet and you have a better chance of 3 putting vs making the putt.
What does all of this mean? We have to be able to hit quality irons.
Below I will dive into the similarities and differences between the wedge swing vs the iron swing.
Wedge Swing vs Iron Swing
Similarities
- Grip and setup
- Low point control
- Start line control
- Distance control
Differences
- Different length swings
- Expectations for proximity to pin
- Working the ball both ways
At the end, I will provide some drills to help you improve both the wedge swing and the iron swing.
Similarity #1: Grip and Setup
Regardless of what club you are hitting in the bag, the key is to ensure you have the same grip and a quality setup. Whether you use a strong grip or weak grip is often based on the golfer. There is not a grip that is better than the other. If you check out the golfers on the PGA Tour you’ll see a wide variety of grips. Find the one that works for you and use it for both your wedge swing and your iron swing.
Within the setup, the key is to ensure you are set up to start the ball on your intended start line. Once again, check out the greats of all time: Lee Trevino and Fred Couples aimed well left, while Arnold Palmer and Sam Snead aimed well right. The key is to ensure you set up to allow you to control your start line.
There is a drill at the end that will help you master the stock shot and start the ball on the correct line.
Similarity #2: Low Point Control
The most important part of any golf swing is the ability to control the low point of the swing. WIthout the ability to control the low point, everything else can be thrown out the window. Without low point control you will struggle to hit the ball solid, which leads to inconsistent distances and inconsistent ball flight.
With your wedges and your irons this becomes even that much more important. There is a special feeling in a well struck shot where the club perfectly strikes the ball and the golfer maintains quality low point control.
Similarity #3: Start Line Control
With both your irons and your wedges you will need to control your start line and the amount of the ball curves. Those that can start the ball on their intended start line at least 7 times out of 10 will find consistency in their golf swing. There are many golfers that seek consistency, I believe the consistency golfers are seeking is the ability to know where the ball is starting and which way it is going to control.
The more the golfer can focus on low point control and the start line, the better off the golfer will be and he or she will feel as if they are getting close to a consistent golf swing!
Similarity #4: Distance Control
With the driver, if you hit one drive 260 yards and the next one 280 yards, you are probably pretty excited after the 280 yard drive. However, if one time you hit your 7 iron 150 yards and the next time 175 yards, you will probably be 25 yards past your target in some big trouble after the 175 yard 7 iron.
Controlling your distance is vital with both your irons and your wedges. Knowing your distance you carry each club is vital with your irons. Here is a sample chart I have created for my own game.
| Club | Carry Distance (100%) | 90% | 80% |
| 2 Utility Iron | 210 | ||
| 4 iron | 190 | ||
| 5 iron | 181 | ||
| 6 iron | 171 | ||
| 7 iron | 163 | ||
| 8 iron | 153 | ||
| 9 iron | 143 | ||
| P Club | 130 | 123 | 115 |
| Pitching Wedge | 118 | 110 | 102 |
| SW Club | 105 | 97 | 91 |
| LW Club | 90 | 82 | 74 |
How did I create this chart?
The process for mapping your golf clubs can looking something like this:
- Hit 10 shots with each golf club in your bag.
- Log the carry distance and total distance for each shot.
- Eliminate any outlier numbers (poor hits or low spin rates).
- Take the average of 10 shots, eliminating any outliers.
- With your wedges, hit shots at 90%, 80% and 70%.
I would highly recommend a launch monitor. These portable devices can be used at the driving range, golf course or set up in your home net or golf simulator. These devices are game changers not only on being able to map your bag and know your distances, but they also provide quality feedback after on every shot and provide the following information:
- Carry Distance
- Spin Rate
- Launch Angle
- Spin Axis
- Total Distance
- Ball Speed
This information will help you map your bag and know the exact distances of your wedges at different length swings. In addition, the launch monitors can be used to decide on which clubs are best for your game, develop a stock shot and much more. I love using my SkyTrak 365 days a year in my golf simulator setup.
Difference #1: Different Length Swings
One key difference between the wedge swing vs iron swing will be the need to be able to hit less than full shots with your wedges. If you check out the distance chart above, you will see that I have identified how far I hit an 80% and 90% shot with each wedge in my bag.
The ability to hit something less than full becomes very important in controlling your distance and improving your proximity to the pin. Practice becomes essential. THere are different ways to control your distance control, one method is by shortening your backswing and the second is by slowing down the tempo of your swing. I would recommend option one as the better option.
Dialing in your distance with a launch monitor can help you take your game to the next level! Knowing the distance and then practicing those distance is a game changer!
Difference #2: Expectations for Proximity To The Pin
Did you know that from 100 yards the average proximity to the pin if 18 feet on the PGA Tour. Have you ever golfed with the person that expects to hit every wedge within 3 feet for a simple tap in birdie? Maintaining expectations on your wedges shots is important.
Also, once you get a 7, 6 or 5 iron in your hand, hitting the green and having a 30 foot putt is a good thing. Oftentimes, amateur golfers get carried away and start firing at pins from 175 yards and are upset when they miss the green. Play to the big part of the green, consider your shot pattern and hit the green. There will be opportunities on par 5s and short par 4s to attack pins once inside of 125 yards.
Maintain the expectations with your irons and aim for the center or the biggest part of the green.
Difference #3: Working The Ball Both Ways
With your wedges I would highly recommend sticking with one shot pattern. More than likely the ball will not curve significantly one way or the other due to the amount of loft on wedges. However, once you get to the mid to longer irons in your bag, working the ball both ways can help you access more pins.
There are those that argue that hitting your stock shot all of the time is the way to manage the analytics in your game and I wouldn’t argue, but the opportunity is there with your iron swing and is something you must practice if you want to play golf this way.
Drills To Help Build Your Wedge and Iron Swing
Drill #1: Stock Shot Drill
This drill will help you control your start line and the curve of the ball. This drill, if practiced enough, could lead to the consistency that many golfers are seeking. You will become a better wedge and iron player with this drill.
I would recommend working on building a stock shot for your game. This is where you can rely on a draw or a fade, whichever you are most comfortable hitting under pressure and really work on hitting that shot in all situations. Eventually, you could progress to hitting a draw or fade, whoever the shot calls for, but in the short term gain some consistency by working on building a stock shot.
Here is a drill you can utilize:
- Set up an alignment stick straight down your target line about 6-8 yards in front of you.
- Set up a 2nd alignment stick about 3-4 feet right of the first alignment stick.
- Go ahead and try to hit your shot between these two alignment sticks. . This will help you hit the ball with a slightly open face and get the ball starting right of the target.
- Once you can do this, notice the flight of the ball. If you are hitting a slight draw, perfect. If the ball is starting right and fading right, you will want to get your path further to the right or at least right of the clubface. This will help produce a draw.
- Work on this drill at every range session and build your stock shot!
Here is a video further explaining this drill:
Drill #2: Low Point Control Drill
Whether you are hitting an 8 iron, a 4 iron or a pitching wedge, the first key is to be able to control the low point of the golf swing. This leads to solid contact, predictable distances and the ability to strike the ball like a low handicap golfer.
The lower the handicap of the golfer, the better chance of the golfer doing this rather easily and at a high level of consistency. The high handicap golfer will often struggle with controlling the low point, leading to fat shots or thin shots due to the weight being in the wrong location, centers getting too far back or too far forwards or an early casting of the golf club. Here is an excellent drill to utilize to help you develop your low point control:
Here the the steps to take to complete this drill:
- Paint a 2-3 yard long line with some yard paint.
- Place the wiffle ball on the line.
- The goal is to have your divot start just on the target side of your line.
- Go ahead and hit shot after shot, working on controlling your low point and your entry into the ground.
- Assess your success rate out of 20 times and write it down.
- Complete this drill daily for several weeks and see if your game improves at the course.
If you start to hit the ball poorly at any point on your golf journey, return to this drill and keep it simple. One quick tip: if you are struggling to control your low point, go ahead and set up with 60% of your weight on your front leg. Keep your head centered without a big shift off the ball and turn more around your front leg.
This will help keep your centers in place and allow you to control the low point. Many golfers struggle with the low point because they don’t get their weight back to their front side early enough and end up casting the club.
Drill #3: Increase Your Swing Speed
The further you can hit the ball with the driver, the more frequently you will have a wedge in your hand on your approach shot. This is important when we start considering proximity to the pin and having makeable putts after our approach shots. The best way to get the wedge in your hand more frequently is to swing faster. There are ways to train to increase your swing speed.
I believe many used to believe, well this is just how fast I can swing. Recent training tools have started to change many minds. We have seen many of the professional golfers get longer and longer with their tee shots as a result of additional swing speed. You will find many touring pros using the SuperSpeed System, which I highly recommend.
SuperSpeed Golf is one option to increase your swing speed through a science based overspeed training approach. In simple terms, you train by swinging a lighter club (20%) faster than you swing your driver. Over time, by training at a higher speed, your mind and body feel safe to swing that fast with your normal driver, resulting in an increase in driver swing speed.
The SuperSpeed System provides 3 different weighted sticks and takes the golfer through a training protocol every other day for about 15 minutes. The golfer can expect to see a 5-8% increase in swing speed, resulting in 20-30 yards for most golfers. The great news is that the 5-8% can be expected as early as the first training session. The additional speed will become more permanent after about 30-60 days of training.
My own experience has been an increase of 7-10 miles per hour on average from between 98-101 all the way up to 106-109. My goal is to hit the PGA Tour average of 113 mph in the coming months. I will continue to train every other day and watch in amazement as I am hitting drivers longer now than ever before!
Phil Mickelson has been known to increase his swing speed in the past year or so and is close to 120 miles per hour in his swing speed. There are potential results for golfers of all ability levels and age!
Check currency price on SuperSpeed Golf System, here!
| Original Swing Speed | After 4-6 Weeks | New Carry Distance | Total Distance |
| 95 | 102 | 245 | 265 |
| 100 | 108 | 259 | 279 |
| 105 | 113 | 271 | 291 |
| 110 | 118 | 283 | 303 |
Final Thoughts
The wedge swing vs iron swing have similarities and difference, the key to improve your golf swing and get better with both the wedges and your irons are following:
- Control your low point
- Develop a stock shot
- Know your distances – Practice less than full swings with your wedges
These three keys above will help you improve. Adding distance through speed training is another way for improvement and to have more opportunities with short irons and wedges in your hand on your approach shots!
Take Action – What You Can Do Today to Get Better
What does this mean for you? I believe in the following recipe to get better:
1 – Improve your motion in the golf swing by identifying a golf instructor. Here are some options:
Here is a list of golf instructors that we have reviewed:
2 – Train to swing faster and improve your swing speed. Here are some options:
Looking to gain more Speed and Distance in your swing. Two Options:
3 – Understand course strategy and work to break through your next barrier. Here is a series on breaking through:
We have provided guides on how to break 100, 90, 80 and 70. Check out more below, if interested.
4 – Practice Frequently
Did you know that I build a golf simulator in my garage and have played over 500 rounds of golf on my SkyTrak system? It has been a game changer and one worth checking out. Here are some of my other posts on golf simulators frequently asked questions:
- Is a Golf Simulator Worth It?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator?
- What is the Best Golf Simulator?
- Golf Simulator Accessories?
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for under $7000
- Top 11 Reasons to Buy a SkyTrak
- How to Build a Golf Simulator for Under $1000
- Why Build A Golf Simulator?
- What Space is Needed?
- Can A Golf Simulator Improve My Game?
- How Much Does A Golf Simulator Cost?
- Don’t Forget to Check out our 15 best golf swings of all time.