Hit The Flag With Your Wedge with Rory McIlroy

It was last summer that I decided my wedge play wasn’t up to the standard it needed to be. I was not as accurate as I would have liked and I was spinning the ball too much, which made control and precision very tricky. I was too lose. My body would stop on the downswing, my hands would take over and the spin made distance control very tough.

If you can get a lower flight then that will help you with your distance control. For me, keeping the ball down is all in the strike. You need to keep moving through the shot, covering the ball with your sternum as you hit it. Less hands and a good turn through onto the right side will prevent the ball ballooning too high.

I spent ages hitting these half shots, concentrating on keeping my arms and body working together through the stroke. The hands and wrists are now much more passive.

I’ll never hit a wedge 100%, so you’ll never see me swing the wedge with a full finish, wrapping the club round my neck. You need to control the shot with a wedge, so if distance is a problem then take more club.

The Coach Says
He reminds me of Ballesteros in the way he plays. I love watching him because he’s so inventive and wonderful at seeing a shot. He’s a reactionary player, a real shotmaker. He’ll walk up to the ball and just hit it with complete self belief. Seve used to say ‘let your brain tell your body what to do’ and Rory does that. We work on technical things, but when he’s out there he just plays.