Getting correct contact is critical to distance control. To start improving your shot game, skip the discussion of club selection or landing areas and start by figuring out how you can get consistently good contact. Once you can clip the ball reliably you'll find that your distance control and feel will improve rapidly.

1) Swing Path

On a small swing, there isn't time to compensate so getting your swing path correct from the beginning is very important. Obviously a bad swing path can cause directional issues which then can lead to even worse compensations. What people don't understand is that your swing path effects where and how you hit the ground which IS the main fundamental for good contact. 

• HItting the ground too HARD: Watch for a swing path that's too much from the inside
• Hitting the ground to HARD:  Watch for a swing path that works too much out and up

2) Clubface Control

How you control your clubface on your shorter shots can also create some tendencies you may not be aware of. Having the clubface too shut or pointing at the ground in the swing will create lower shots and much more digging by exposing the leading edge of your wedge to the turf. If your face is too open or pointed to the sky you will tend to come up short and at the same time, through compensations, you'll toggle between hitting the ground early and thin shots.

• When you take the club back where the shaft is parallel to the ground, check that the clubface is pointed just slightly downward.  The toe of the club should not point completely straight up.
• Know that your grip can be part of the problem.

3) The Club

How the club head is built can help or hurt you based on your personal technique and tendencies.  It can also allow for shots off of various lies or not.  Some terms you may have heard that relate to how the club head is designed are bounce, grind, camber and sole width.  In Minnesota, conditions are generally softer.  This mean that a club with more bounce is usually the right call. This is normally a number between 8 and 14 that is alongside the number with the degrees of loft, like 56.

• If you like to chip with and get decent loft on lower lofted clubs like a 52 degree, GW or PW, then you won't have to worry about the bounce or clubhead design as they will all come pretty standard.
• Less Bounce Needed: Only if you are a good chipper with lofted clubs and never take much turf
• More Bounce Needed: If you struggle with pitching or dig too much on your shots. This also includes a wider sole or bottom edge of the club
• X Grind: If you like to hit standard shots and open the face with a 58 or 60 degree wedge look to a club that has at least 10 or more degrees of bounce but also has more of the sole cut away toward the heel to help you open the face.  The "X Grind" in the Callaway Wedges is a perfect example of this.