Whether its the third shot on a par 5 or the second on a par 4, the full swing wedge shot is a potent short game weapon, maybe the most potent. Players with high golf handicaps hit wedge shots from the rough, a trap, or just behind the cart path. While players with low golf handicaps hit them from the fairway with a full swing. Thats because they work on positioning themselves to be able to do it.

Players with low golf handicaps feature common swing elements when hitting full swing wedge shots. Below are six I key on in my golf instruction sessions.

1. Open Up

Watch a good wedge player and youll see him/her keep the lower body quiet. Since you dont need a lot of power to hit a wedge, you dont need a lot of lower body action. But you cant hit a sound wedge shot without opening your hips. The best place to do it is at address. Opening up your stance allows you to use your arms and shoulders to hit the shot without using your lower body.

2. Hinge the Wrists

Poor players try sweeping, scooping, or lifting the ball in the air when hitting a wedge shot. Good players hit down and through, creating a nice big divot. One of the secrets to hitting down is wrist hinge. If you dont hinge your wrists, youll sweep the ball of the floor. Heres what I advocate in my golf lessons and golf tips: Hinge early. In fact, start your wrist bend as take away. If you wait until the midpoint of your backswing, you may never hinge.

3. Adjust Your Backswing

Tempo is a constant in golf. Backswing length isnt. Never add speed or apply the brakes to control the distance of a shot. The length of the backswing, not the speed of the swing, dictates shot distances with your wedgesactually with any club. Learn how far you hit each wedge with 25, 50, 75, and 100 percent backswing lengths. Since the full-swing wedge shot were talking about could be 36, 42, or 53 yards away, youll now have options with which to hit the shot. (Take notes if you want to, something I sometimes have students do in my golf lessons.) Remember adjust your backswing, not your tempo.

4. Maintain the Position of Your Front Shoulder

Poor wedge players often lift their heads when approaching the ball. While that in itself isnt a major crime, it forces you to bring your front shoulder up and out. That is. Its a fault I emphasize in my golf lessons and golf tips. Work on allowing your head to rotate along with your back shoulder as it swings underneath your chin. Rotating facilitates the shifting of weight to the front side, keeps the spine angle intact, and allows the back shoulder to move toward the target.

5. Keep It Low

Theres a saying in golf that you dont high five other players, you shake hands like a gentlemen. In other words, keep your hands low after impact on a full-swing wedge shot, almost as if you were about to shake hands with someone to the side of you. Why? One sign of a solid wedge shot is low hands after impact, which indicates hitting down and through. Finishing high tends to negate weight shift and hinders your ability to hit down and through the ball. So keep it low after impact and youll approve the result.

6. Pose For The Camera

A good swing and a good finish usually go hand in hand. Take a few practice swings not with the focus on mechanics but on making a nice comfortable finish. So take some practice swings and finish by posing for the camera before hitting a wedge shot. Think finish first in this situation. It can help generate a smooth swing and a better result.

There you have itsix elements common to all sound wedge shots. There are more that we could discuss, but if you follow these when hitting a wedge shot, youll eventually master wedge play from 75, 50, 25, or any short distance. Do that and youll put yourself in an exclusive clubplayers with low golf handicaps.