Back
As a golf-obsessed kid, one of the biggest early realizations I had was the fact that touring pros almost never hit a truly full shot, especially with irons and wedges.
They can access prodigious power when they need to, but more often than not, the shots they hit on the course require precision down to the yard or foot. That means that they are almost always modifying their "stock" swings in order to fly the ball the correct distance.
During the episode of Golf Central that aired on Golf Channel immediately after Keegan Bradley won the 2025 Travelers Championship, the 2025 Ryder Cup captain - who may well end up playing for his team, too - described his approach shot on the 72nd hole to six feet as "an ear-to-ear 9-iron."
"COME ON BABY!"
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 22, 2025
@Keegan_Bradley has 6 feet left for birdie on the 72nd hole.
📺 CBS pic.twitter.com/w7xtqI3Cgf
What a vivid expression for a not-quite-full shot. Like many pros, Bradley must maintain something like a personal encyclopedia of carry distances for various fractional swings with every club. His second shot on Sunday into 18 at TPC River Highlands measured 139 yards over the ground, but with a bit of wind hurting, Bradley and caddie Scott Vail determined the shot was playing 146 yards. It so happened that 146 yards is a perfect ear-to-ear 9-iron for Bradley. In other words, it's a slightly-less-than-full shot where Bradley wants to feel as though his backswing stops when his hands reach parallel with his right ear. He then saws off his follow-through with his hands even with his left ear.
Any golfer can implement this type of less-than-full shot approach immediately. The next time you play and you find yourself in between clubs, take the longer club and try to swing it ear-to-ear like Bradley. You might just end up with the perfect number.
I perused GolfPass' vast and growing archive of world-class golf instruction and found three great tips you should focus on if you want to stop hitting every shot all-out and develop a bit more nuance in your ball-striking.
Knockdown 101
John Montgomery III is such a popular instructor among GolfPass members (not a member yet? Join here!) because of how clearly he breaks down complicated concepts in the golf swing. This overview of a standard knockdown shot is ridiculously simple - that's why it's so effective.
Play
Mid-range wedge technique
Many instructors like to refer to the area between 30 and 90 yards from the hole as the "scoring zone," but for millions of golfers, that's where some of the scariest shots happen. In this episode of The Golf Fix, host Devan Bonebrake walks you through the most common faults he sees in golfers' wedge games and shows you the proper fixes so that you can start finally taking advantage from this distance.
Play
Social tip: Jake Knapp's fairway-finder
In our most recent episode of Playing Lessons, Jake Knapp and Jim "Bones" MacKay discuss Knapp's prodigious power off the tee, as well as how the sweet-swinging Californian dials things down when necessary. You don't need to be a long hitter to incorporate Knapp's recommendations for confronting tight driving holes; check this video out and be sure to follow @GolfPass on Instagram for more social-sized tips.
Comments (0)