Why Am I Hitting My Wedges So High? (5 Reasons)

Written by Todd in Online Golf Instruction

There are numerous conditions that cause the wedges to fly too high in the game of golf.  These include:

  1. Extra loft added at impact
  2. Poor ball positioning
  3. Too steep of a swing
  4. Wrong golf ball
  5. Poor equipment

During my golf journey, I once heard the following comment:

“The best players hit their long irons high and their wedges low”

As I dove into this, it made sense.  The best players are able to hit their long irons high enough to hold greens and use flight control with their wedges to control distance and spin and the occasional wind.

Ultimately, the best golfers are able to hit the shot that is required for the situation that they face.  While their default ball flight might be high or low, they are able to adjust based on the conditions.

The conditions such as wind, firmness of ground, uphill or downhill shot all impact the decision of the golfer.

If you are someone that can only hit the high shot with the wedges and would like better distance control, you are in the right spot!

Why Am I Hitting My Wedges So High?

Update: Often times a golfer doesn’t realize he or she is adding loft at the bottom and flipping through the shot. This will take away distance and make the golf ball fly higher than necessary for the shot.

The properly flighted wedge is so much easier to control the distance on!

Reason #1: Extra loft added at impact

Unfortunately, many golfers add loft through casting the club during the downswing.  This adds extra loft and with the wedges, especially a sand wedge or lob wedge it becomes too much loft to control your distances and hit the ball far enough.  The best golfers are able to reduce the amount of loft on a wedge and flight the shot into the green with the right amount of spin to control their distance.

The best way to get a look at this is to take a video from the side view and observe how early the club starts to release from the top.

A quick fix is to change your intention from hitting the ball to throwing the club out at a target in the distance.  Moving the ball back in your stance, as long as you don’t get steep can also help with the early casting of the club.

Why am I hitting my driver so short?

Why do I hit my driver so high?

Reason #2: Poor ball positions

Some golfers play the ball too far forward, which once again adds additional loft resulting in shots that are difficult to control the height of.  With most wedges, the general rule of thumb is to play the ball in the middle to the back of the stance.  If you interview 100 PGA Tour players, you might have a slightly different answer from player to player based on their swing.

Our recommendation is to play around with your ball positioning and see if a ball position further back helps bring the shot height down to a reasonable level.

How to hit a sand wedge 100 yards

Reason #3: Too steep of a swing

The golf swing should be more U shaped vs V shaped.  The steep swing, that looks like a V, causes a steep angle of attack causing extra spin, too high of a ball flight and a difficult attack angle to control a quality shot.  The steepness hurts quality of contact and can send the ball too high.  Even with the ball back in the stance and the hands forward, too steep of a swing often ends in a poor result.

The quick fix is to picture the swing more flat at the bottom and less of a V shaped from backswing to impact and to the follow through.  Flatten out the bottom, which will flatten out the swing and see if your ball flight with the wedges comes down to a better level.

How to hit a pitching wedge 150 yards

Reason #4: Wrong golf ball

If you have advanced in your game and are still using a golf designed to launch higher for the high handicap player, you might struggle with your wedges.  Some of the softer, cheaper golf balls are designed to help the golfer who struggles with too low of a ball flight.  At this point, I would recommend a Titleist Pro V1, which helps control ball flight and spin rate to help the better player.

Reason #5: Poor equipment

The shaft in a golf club can have a significant impact on the flight of the shot.  If you have too much flex in the golf shaft, you could end up with additional loft or a poor spin rate.  I would recommend getting fitted for wedges or irons that fit your golf swing.

Why is spin rate important in golf?

Where there is water short and a bunker deep, a moderate ball flight is ideal!

Next Steps: Assess Your Golf Swing With Your Wedges

The next time you are at the driving range complete the following:

  • Attempt to hit 10 stock shots with your wedges
  • Next, hit 10 low shots with your wedges
  • Next, hit 10 high shots with your wedges

Write down how many times out of 10 for each level you were successful. Keep track of these stats over your next so many practice sessions.

If you are struggling with one of the shots, make some adjustments using the first 3 reasons above.  Work on hitting the variety of shots so that you are prepared the next time you head to the golf course.

To really take it to the next level, I would recommend checking out a Skytrak to have the following information at your fingertips after every swing:

  • Carry and Total Distance
  • Ball and Club Speed
  • Spin Rate
  • Spin Axis
  • Launch Angle
  • Club Path

If you are struggling with your wedges or any of the clubs in your back, having instant feedback after every swing can go a long way to given your specific information to make adjustments.  I was guilty of once hitting wedges too high and the launch angle data on the Skytrak Launch Monitor is very helpful!

Here are top 3 options for launch monitors in today’s market:

My Secret To Golf Improvement

Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently.  About four years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage.  I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.

This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer.  I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day.  I can practice or play rounds of golf.  I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.

It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.

Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:

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:

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