Improve Wedge Play with Extreme Constant Radius Drill

The Extreme Constant Radius Drill is designed to improve one of the most important pieces of quality wedge play: keeping the club’s radius stable through the strike. If you tend to hit wedges fat, thin, or with a little last-second “throw” at the ball, this drill helps you feel how your body should move the club without constantly changing the distance from your chest to the clubhead. By exploring two exaggerated extremes—very wide and very narrow—you can find a more reliable middle ground that produces cleaner contact, better low point control, and more predictable use of the bounce.

How the Drill Works

In wedge play, solid contact depends heavily on constant radius. That means the relationship between your body, arms, and club stays relatively stable as you swing. When that radius changes too much near impact—usually because your arms throw outward or your shoulder blades stretch and collapse—you make the bottom of the swing harder to control.

This drill teaches you awareness by exaggerating both ends of the spectrum:

The wide version teaches you to keep the arms extended and let your pivot move the club.
The narrow version teaches you connection and stability by keeping the arms and club closer to you.
The middle version becomes your functional pattern—the “just right” radius you can use on real finesse wedge shots.

The point is not that either extreme is your final technique. The point is that by feeling both, you become much more aware of how much unnecessary arm action you may be adding at the bottom.

Most golfers who struggle with contact on short shots do one of two things:

They throw the clubhead with the hands and wrists approaching impact.
They change the shape of their arm structure by reaching, collapsing, or letting the shoulder blades move too much.

Both issues make the low point inconsistent. Instead of brushing the turf in the same place over and over, the club bottoms out too early or too late. This drill gives you a better sense of using your pivot—your chest and torso rotation—to control the strike while the arm-club relationship stays quieter.

Step-by-Step

Start with a basic wedge setup. Use your normal finesse wedge posture and ball position. You do not need a full swing. This is a short-shot drill, so think small motion and clean turf interaction rather than power.
Hit a few shots with an exaggerated wide radius. From your normal setup, reach the arms out so they feel as long and wide as possible. Keep the feeling that the arms stay extended through the motion. Then make a short swing by turning your body while staying centered.

The key here is to avoid adding hand action. You are trying to feel that the club is being moved more by your pivot than by a flick of the wrists.
Notice what the wide version teaches you. This extreme tends to reduce the urge to dive the club into the ground or throw it past your hands. It often gives you a sense of brushing the turf with a more stable bottom to the arc.
Now switch to the exaggerated narrow radius. Stand a little closer to the ball and draw the arms in so the club feels as short and close to you as possible. Pull the shoulder blades back and keep that structure as you make the same small turning motion.
Feel the connection in the narrow version. Many golfers will notice more connection between the upper arms—especially the triceps—and the rib cage. This can feel more compact and secure, even if it is a little awkward at first.
Alternate between wide and narrow. Hit one shot feeling very wide, then one shot feeling very narrow. Do not worry about perfection. This is an awareness drill, so the contrast is what matters.
Find your middle ground. After exploring both extremes, return to your normal setup and choose a radius that feels balanced—not stretched out, not overly tucked in. For many golfers, the ideal position will feel slightly more connected than their old pattern, but not nearly as extreme as the narrow version.
Keep the shoulder blade action quiet. As you swing, try to maintain the same general relationship between your chest, arms, and club. You are not trying to freeze yourself, but you do want to avoid a dramatic expansion or collapse of the arm structure through impact.
Focus on brushing the ground consistently. Your checkpoint is simple: can you return the club to the turf in the same place over and over? If the answer is yes, your radius is likely becoming more stable.
Finish with several “Goldilocks” reps. Once you have sampled both extremes, hit a series of shots from the middle zone. That is where the drill starts to transfer into your real wedge motion.

What You Should Feel

This drill is all about awareness. You are learning to recognize when the club is being controlled by your body rotation versus when it is being manipulated by your hands, arms, or shoulder blades.

In the wide version

Extended arms with very little collapse.
Body-driven motion where the chest turns the club through.
Minimal wrist throw near the bottom.
A sense that the club is brushing the turf instead of stabbing into it.

In the narrow version

Connection between the upper arms and torso.
The shoulder blades feel more set back and stable.
A compact, secure feeling that can reduce excess motion.
Less sense of the clubhead “running away” from your body.

In the middle, playable version

Your arms feel supported, not rigid.
The club returns to the ground with predictable low point.
You feel like you are turning through the shot rather than throwing at it.
The strike feels more centered, with the bounce interacting properly with the turf.

A good checkpoint is whether your shoulder blades feel relatively quiet from start to finish. If they are lengthening dramatically through the strike, you are probably adding radius at the worst possible time. If they are stable and your pivot keeps moving, contact usually improves.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Using the hands to force the strike. If you are trying to help the ball into the air with a flip, you defeat the purpose of the drill.
Letting the arms chase the ball. Reaching or lunging through impact changes the radius and moves the low point around.
Sliding off the ball. The drill works best when you stay relatively centered and rotate, rather than swaying excessively.
Confusing “wide” with stiff. The wide version should create extension, not tension. You still want a fluid motion.
Overdoing the narrow version. The compact feel is useful for awareness, but you do not want to get jammed up or trapped too close to the ball in your real motion.
Changing posture mid-swing. Standing up or dipping down creates another layer of inconsistency in low point control.
Trying to hit hard. This is a finesse wedge drill. Small swings make the sensations much easier to detect.
Skipping the middle phase. The extremes are training tools, but the goal is to find a functional middle pattern you can actually play with.

How This Fits Your Swing

This drill fits into the bigger picture of wedge play because it improves both how your body moves the club and what the club does at impact. Those two pieces are directly connected.

When your body controls the motion and the radius stays steady, the club is much more likely to:

Return to the same low point consistently
Strike the ground in a predictable way
Use the bounce properly
Produce cleaner, more reliable contact

That is why this drill is especially useful if you struggle with:

Fat and thin wedge shots
Yippy contact around the greens
Throwing the clubhead at the bottom
Too much arm action on finesse shots

It also gives you a better understanding of your own tendencies. Some golfers need more of the wide feel because they get too handsy. Others need more of the narrow feel because they need connection and structure. The best version for you is usually not at either extreme, but the drill helps you discover which side helps organize your motion.

Over time, your goal is to blend the lesson into a natural wedge swing: centered pivot, stable arm structure, quiet shoulder blade action, and a club that brushes the turf in a predictable spot. That is the foundation of controlling low point, and low point control is the foundation of dependable short-game contact.

If you work through the wide, narrow, and middle versions regularly, you will start to feel that your wedges are no longer a timing contest. Instead of hoping your hands show up at the right moment, you will have a more stable motion that lets the club do its job with far less manipulation.