You’re probably doing it the wrong way. At least that’s what 1997 Open champion Justin Leonard and his coach Randy Smith said in a Golf Digest story in 1998 (which you can read in our Archive). Smith, who works with Scottie Scheffler, says there’s three bad ways players try to hit it low:

1. Too steep
2. Hanging back
3. Chasing toward the target

The correct way to hit it lower is far easier, he says. Smith taught Leonard to hit low iron shots by widening his stance, moving the ball back and gripping down. Pros know it’s this simple. In Chris Gotterup’s 2-Minute Clinic on hitting low wedge shots, he says to “Play the ball behind center in your stance.”