You Gotta Love a "Foot Wedge"

I found this older post at golfdigest.com from instructor Trent Wearner. It's called The Foot Wedge and it's an different approach to varying the height of pitches and chips.

Most of us move the ball back in our stance when we want a lower shot, and move it forward when we want a higher shot. Wearner is leaving the ball in the same position but changing the width of his stance to make those adjustments. It has the same effect but may make it simpler for some of you.

Here are the three adjustments. All begin with the ball about an inch inside your lead heel.

• For the low shot, move your trailing foot 8 inches from your lead foot and angle it toward the target so it matches your lead foot. You get more body turn so your hands lead the club head more.
• For the medium shot, move your trailing foot 12 to 14 inches from your lead foot and set it perpendicular to your target line. Your body doesn't turn so much so your hands don't lead so much, throwing the ball a bit higher.
• For the high shot, move your trailing foot 16 to 22 inches from your lead foot and angle it about 30 degrees away from the target. Now your body can't move much at all, so the club head tends to pass your hands more (and consequently uses the bounce more) to throw the ball even higher.

Some of you will find this is an easier way to do it, and some will prefer the traditional way of keeping your stance the same width and just changing the ball position. Try them both and use the one that gives you the best results.