Weekly Golf Tips with Professional Rick Ewing

Old Warson's Director of Instruction, Rick Ewing, offers different tips to get your golf game moving in the right direction.  If you'd like to ask Rick a question or book a private lesson (Patch reader exclusive), email him at rickewing@pga.com.

Rick was gracious enough to give extensive video interviews to further enhance your game. Please check out the video with this article.

Becoming a good wedge player means you have to hit consistent shots. Many amateurs struggle with hitting consistent shots from within 125 yards. Sometimes the ball spins; sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it flies straight; other times not so much.

Trajectory control becomes tricky too, with some shots flying high and others flying low. Whew, with that many variables, what’s one to do?

A great way to dial in some consistency with your wedge shots is to learn a shot that I personally love to hit. It’s a medium-height draw that, upon landing, trickles forward onto the green and rolls out about 10 feet.

It’s not a high-spinning shot that trickles back toward the pin, nor does it stop dead on the green—although neither of those two types of shots are easy to predict. A draw however is easy to duplicate, and with some practice, you’ll quickly learn how the ball reacts on the green and soon start using this shot to your advantage. 

How you hit this draw is simple. Address the ball as you normally would, with a comfortable ball position. Only now, close your clubface about 20 degrees.

You can do this with a stronger grip.  Next, align your feet slightly to the right of the target.  As you make your swing you want to ensure that the path of the club matches the line your feet are on (slightly inside to out).  Lastly, do not try to turn the club head over as you swing, the stronger grip will create enough of a closed face at impact.

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