Zach Johnson: My Checklist

__√ Respect the lie. __The tighter the lie -- hardpan, tightly mown fairways -- the tougher it is to slide the clubface under the ball. If you don't have a lie where you feel reasonably confident you can do this, consider playing a different shot.

__√ Open your stance. __Setting up with your body aimed left of the target helps get you to swing through and finish the shot. Put more weight on your left side at address for the same reason.

__√ Set your wrists. __Just like on a sand shot, you should hinge your wrists as you swing back. This will help you hit the ball higher. The higher you want it to go, the more wrist hinge you need.

__√ Let your arms do the work. __You don't need a lot of body rotation to hit the high pitch, so feel as if your arm swing is propelling the club.

√ Take advantage of the club's loft. Using mostly your arms, swing on a path that's inside the target line back and through. This helps shallow the angle of attack. If you're shallow through the ball, the club's loft will launch it high.