Many consider the short game as the key to lowering amateur golfers’ scores, but do they know the best way to practice?
Being able to stick the ball on the green from within 100 yards consistently is a vital skill for amateurs, but it may surprise you how infrequently most golfers can do it.
According to Shot Scope data, the average 15-handicapper hits the green from 100 yards around 49% of the time when on the fairway. Even scratch golfers hit the green from that distance 74% of the time on average.
But golfing creator and former PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour player Luke Kwon has some advice on how to dial in your wedges from within 100 yards from the pin.
| Handicap | 0 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| Greens hit % from 100 yards | 74% | 65% | 57% | 49% | 42% | 36% |
Luke Kwon’s range advice for dialling in wedges
Professional golfers have offered numerous tips on how to hit shots from 100 yards accurately. But what is rarely discussed is how that translates to the course. You’re never going to get five straight shots of the same yardage, and that requires the same shot type. So why practice that way?
That’s the advice given by Kwon, who told amateur golfers how they should be practicing their distance control on the range.
He said, “I usually pick a target or a ball on the range. A lot of people would try and hit these targets over and over again, but I have found a better way to really dial in your wedges and heighten your sensitivity, because that is what this is all about.
“You want to get to a point where a 70-yard shot feels pretty noticeably different to an 80-yard shot, and an 80-yard shot feels noticeably different to a 90-yard shot.
“The way I do this is by giving myself minimums and maximums. On this shot, I am telling myself I’m going to hit a 70-yard shot, but it has to carry just short of 70 yards. It cannot go past 70, not including bounces and roll out, but it has to land short.
“I will go back and forth and say it has to land short of 70 with the carry, or it has to carry at least 70 yards, and then you get this minimum and maximum you are working with with each of these numbers, instead of just hitting 70-yard shot after 70 shot.
“That’s good if you have 70 but how often do you have that? You are going to have yardages of 73, 77, 82. It’s not even numbers, so you have to be able to get the feeling of it being a little bit more than an 80 shot, so carry this thing a little more than that. That will get you really dialled in for different on course situations.
“You have to get your feel as close as you can to these numbers and understand how to get it just short or just long, so you can adjust to different situations on the golf course.
“This is what I did my sophomore year in high school, and that was probably the biggest jump in my game that I made. I got way better, super quickly, it just took a bit of time to put in the work to get my wedges dialled in.
“But I am telling you guys, if you can get your wedges dialled in you are going to have better scores and not just have the random one low score, your average score will actually get better.”
But while Kwon has given out tips for amateurs, that doesn’t stop fans from being furious with him after his recent actions during Barstool Sports’ Internet Invitational.
Why fans are angry at Luke Kwon
Kwon has been one of the most talented content creators on YouTube golf for a number of years, and even won the 2024 Creator Classic. But his actions during the Internet Invitational enraged fans.
He missed his 9:30 AM tee time at the event after sleeping in, so Barstool Sports founder and owner Dave Portnoy penalized his team, which led to them losing their match.
His actions came across as unprofessional and disrespectful to many golf fans, as entry to this event was highly sought after by golf creators everywhere. To make matters worse, the players were playing for a share of $1 million, and Kwon cost his teammates by being unable to climb out of bed.
Kwon responded on his Instagram, following a joke with an apology. He posted, “Just woke up what’d I miss?
“Obviously nobody sleeps through their alarm wanting to sleep through their alarm.
“S–t happened and I’m genuinely sorry. Honest mistake. I’ve already apologized to Portnoy, Bob and the boys off camera at the event. Great for content tho.”
It’s an apology, but it is laced with an air of nonchalance that seems to have rubbed fans the wrong way. He was also on the receiving end of the anger from his teammates, so there may not be a more unpopular figure in the sport currently than Kwon.
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