How to Hit a 70-Yard Golf Shot

That 70-yard shot can be a real head-scratcher. It’s too short for a full power swing but too long for a simple chip around the green. Landing in this in-between zone often leads to hesitant swings and inconsistent results. This guide will walk you through the exact setup and swing thoughts you need to turn this awkward distance into one of your most reliable shots. We'll cover everything from the right club choice to a simple system for distance control that anyone can learn.

Why the 70-Yard Shot is So Tricky

There's a good reason this shot feels so uncomfortable. A full swing with your sand wedge might go 90 or 100 yards, and a greenside chip might be anywhere from 5 to 30 yards. The 70-yard shot lives in a "no-man's land" between these two staples of your game. It demands a totally different approach - one that blends control and finesse rather than maximum power.

Most amateurs struggle here because they try to "gear down" a full swing. They take their normal sand wedge setup and then simply try to swing easier. This often leads to deceleration through impact, which is one of the biggest causes ofpoorly struck shots like chunks (hitting the ground first) and thins (catching the ball's equator). The key isn't to take your 100-yard swing and make it weaker, it's to build a new, dedicated, 70-yard swing from the ground up.

Choosing the Right Club for the Job

The first step to building confidence is grabbing the right tool. For a shot of this length, your best friends will most likely be your sand wedge (typically 54-56 degrees) or your lob wedge (typically 58-60 degrees).

Why a high-lofted wedge? Because the loft does the work for you. It helps get the ball up in the air quickly and land softly without requiring you to swing out of your shoes. If you tried to hit a 70-yard shot with a pitching wedge (around 45 degrees), you would need to make a very small, slow, and hard-to-control swing. Using a more lofted club allows you to make a longer, more rhythmic swing, which is much easier to repeat consistently.

Your goal is to find the club that lets you make a comfortable, aggressive swing that lands the ball at 70 yards. For many, that's a sand wedge. If you have to hit your sand wedge too hard, try your lob wedge. Find what works for you and stick with it.

Setting Up for Success: Your Foundation for Solid Contact

The single most important part of this shot happens before you ever take the club back. A proper setup puts your body in a position to execute a clean, controlled swing automatically. Here’s how to build your 70-yard stance from the ground up:

• Stance Width: Your feet should be narrower than they are for a full swing. A good guideline is to have them just inside your hips. A narrower stance makes it easier to rotate your body through the shot without excessive swaying.
• Ball Position: Place the ball in the absolute center of your stance. Not forward, not back - right in the middle. This positioning promotes a slight descending blow on the ball, allowing you to strike it cleanly before the club contacts the turf.
• Grip: Choke down on the handle about one inch. This simple adjustment does two things: it effectively shortens the club for more control and encourages you to stay smooth. Gripping down is a Tour pro secret for controlling distance with wedges.
• Weight Distribution: Settle your weight so you feel about 60% of your pressure on your lead foot (your left foot for a right-handed player). This slight-forward lean presets your body for a downward strike and prevents you from leaning back and trying to scoop the ball into the air.
• Body Alignment: Aim your clubface directly at the target, but set up your feet, hips, and shoulders slightly open (aimed a little to the left of the target for a right-hander). This helps your body rotate through the shot more freely on the downswing.

When you put all this together, you should feel balanced, stable, and athletically ready. You've created a mini-version of your full swing setup, tailored for precision.

The "Clock System": Mastering Distance Control

Now for the swing itself. The best way to dial in distances for less-than-full shots is to use the "Clock System." It’s an easy-to-learn visual aid that makes distance control significantly more repeatable. Here’s how it works:

Imagine your body is the center of a giant clock face, where your head is at 12:00 and your feet are at 6:00. The length of your backswing corresponds to a time on the clock. For a right-handed golfer:

• A small backswing to 7:30 is a chip.
• A waist-high backswing where your lead arm is parallel to the ground is 9:00.
• A swing that goes a bit further, with your hands about shoulder height, is 10:00.

Your 70-yard shot will likely fall somewhere between a 9:00 and 10:00 backswing, but the exact "time" is unique to you. Your job is to go to the driving range to calibrate your own clock. Hit 10 balls with a strict 9:00 backswing. Use a rangefinder to see how far they carry on average. Then hit 10 balls with a 10:00 backswing and measure that. Once you know your personal yardages for these positions, you transform guesswork into a reliable system.

Swing Mechanics: Rhythm is Everything

With your setup dialed in and your "clock" distance chosen, it’s time to focus on the motion. Your main swing thought for a 70-yard shot should be "rhythm, not power."

The Takeaway and Backswing

This is a body-controlled swing, not an arms-only swing. Initiate the motion with a gentle rotation of your chest and shoulders, allowing your arms and the club to move away from the ball in one connected piece. Thinking "turn, don’t lift" is very helpful. As you swing back to your chosen time on the clock (e.g., 9:00), your hands should stay relatively quiet. Minimal wrist hinge is needed, the club's loft will handle getting the ball airborne.

The Downswing and Impact

The downswing should feel like you’re smoothly unwinding your body. Your torso rotates back toward the target, which naturally brings the club down and through. The deadly mistake is trying to generate speed with your hands and "hit" the ball. Instead, focus on maintaining the pace of your swing. The goal isn't to hammer the ball but to accelerate smoothly through impact.

The Follow-Through: Your Key to Commitment

A good follow-through is non-negotiable. It proves you have accelerated through the ball instead of quitting on the shot. Crucially, your follow-through should be a mirror image of your backswing.If you took the club back to 9:00, you should finish with your arms extending toward the target and the club re-hinging to the 3:00 position.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even with a system, it's easy to fall into old habits. Watch out for these common faults:

1. Deceleration: This is the number one killer of wedge shots. It's caused by the fear of hitting the ball too far. The fix is to trust your clock system. If you know a 9:00 swing goes 70 yards, commit to that swing length and accelerate to a balanced 3:00 finish. Always swing to a finish point.
2. Trying to "Help" the Ball Up: This is the classic scooping or "flipping" motion where your wrists break down at impact. It comes from a subconscious lack of trust in the club's loft. The fix is to reinforce your setup: keep your weight 60% on your front foot and feel like you are hitting down on the back of the ball, compressing it against the clubface. Let the loft do its job!
3. Too Much Lower Body Action: A full swing uses a powerful hip turn. A 70-yard wedge shot does not. Too much hip slide or an aggressive turn will throw your swing off-plane. The fix is to feel like your lower body is quieter and more stable, allowing your chest and arms to control the swing.

Final Thoughts

Turning the tricky 70-yard shot into a scoring opportunity comes down to building a simple, repeatable process. By choosing the right club, committing to a precise setup, and practicing with a system like the clock drill, you replace doubt and hesitation with confidence and control.

Sometimes on the course, you’re faced with a tough version of this shot - maybe from a fluffy lie in the rough or from an uneven stance. For those moments when you need a clear, second opinion, we created Caddie AI. Our app provides you with on-demand guidance and strategy for any shot you face. You can get instant club recommendations or even take a photo of your ball's lie to receive expert advice on how to play it, giving you the confirmation you need to make a confident swing.