Quick Adjustments for Taking Off Yards with the Wedges

I was reading my copy of Golf Magazine for January 2016 and found this neat tip in the Private Lessons section. (And no, this isn't on the website yet. You'll have to buy the mag to get these, I'm afraid.)

The Power Hitter lesson has some quick ways to take 5 or 10 yards off your pitches and approach shots. It recommends that you begin by spending some time on the range learning how far you hit each wedge with a full swing. (Duh!) The suggestions that follow assume that you'll still make a full swing -- at least, as full a swing as the adjustments will allow.

Whether you use all the tips for each yardage together or not depends on you. You'll need to experiment a bit to see what gets the job done for your swing.

To take off 5 yards:

• Narrow your stance by two clubhead widths -- that is, twice the distance from the toe of the club to the heel -- and keep the ball in the center of your stance, as measured between your heels.
• Choke down halfway on the handle.

To take off 10 yards:

• Narrow your stance by three clubhead widths -- that is, three times the distance from the toe of the club to the heel -- and keep the ball in the center of your stance, as measured between your heels.
• Choke down on the handle all the way to the shaft.
• Open your stance so your the big toe on your lead foot is even with the heel of your trail foot. Golf Magazine says "That tweak alone should kill 10 yards."

Please note that when you narrow your stance, you aren't narrowing your stance TO two or three clubheads wide. You're narrowing your stance BY two or three clubheads -- we're talking about VERY narrow stances here.

And remember, you can combine these adjustments if you need to. It seems to me that you could create several different yardages with each wedge just by mixing and matching these adjustments.

And remember, this is in the January 2016 Golf Magazine if you want to pick up a hard copy.