During the course of a round, you may face plenty of shots into greens with pitching and sand wedges. But nothing is more frustrating than hitting a good drive, then missing the green with a short approach. Here are a few rules to help you hit wedges close.

Never Stretch the Sand Wedge

If you find you're in between a hard sand wedge and an easy pitching wedge, go with the pitching wedge. The extra loft and bounce on the sand wedge makes it less reliable on hard swings; the tendency is to overswing and mishit the ball. Take the pitching wedge, open your stance slightly, and make a three-quarter swing. There should be plenty of backspin, so the ball will stop.

Never, Ever Stretch the Lob Wedge

If you carry a third wedge, be very prudent about pulling it out. That much loft generally doesn't like full swings; a good rule of thumb is to never swing more than three-quarters with your lob wedge. Trying to muscle an extra yard or two generally will create more height and less distance.

How to Crush the Pitching Wedge

Sometimes you can stretch a few extra yards from your pitching wedge, when stuck between it and a 9-iron and there's trouble behind that the longer club might find. Take a square stance and play the ball in the middle of your stance, with your hands just slightly ahead of it. Rather than consciously swinging "hard," think about swinging "full." Make a complete backswing as if swinging a 5-iron, then let the momentum of your body unwinding drive the club through impact. You'll get the extra clubhead speed-and yards-you need.

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