Golf Tip: Making Friends With a Lob Wedge

Take some strokes off your card with these 3 golf tips focusing on wedge play.

Golf tips come in many varieties. What they have in common is the assumption that we can do it the way the pros do it. When it comes to the long game, we can’t. If we could, we’d all be playing on the Tour and some blogger would be writing about us.

I long ago gave up the dream of hitting my drive 250 yards. I don’t even dream about 200 yards, to be quite honest with you. I’m a little old lady golfer and, increasingly, the short hitter in the foursome.

More from Golf Tips

It generally takes me three to get to the putting surface. Even when I activate my glutes, follow through, and split the fairway, it still takes me three most of the time. I need to avoid trouble and get close on that third shot if I’m going to play bogey golf.

I need a positive relationship with my wedges. I have three in my bag – a pitching wedge (50“), a sand wedge (54º) and a lob wedge (60º). If you count my 9-iron as a wedge then I carry four, and I use all of them.

At the most obvious level, I get more distance from my 9-iron than my pitching wedge and more distance from my pitching wedge than my sand or lob wedges. But there’s more than distance involved in club selection, particularly when I’m pulling a wedge out of my bag. When to pitch and when to chip? I follow three standard golf tips when I’m selecting a wedge:

Golf Tip #1 – Whenever possible, I keep my ball close to the ground. That means when I have a choice, I’m going to chip rather than pitch, and I like to chip with my 9-iron or my pitching wedge.

Golf Tip #2 – I don’t try to power the ball through obstacles like mounds of grass and small hills. Too many things can go wrong. I pitch over obstacles. Don’t be afraid of a little air time. Here I almost always turn to my pitching wedge, and if I really want to add a little lift and produce a gentle landing without very much roll I’ll open the club face a little bit.

Golf Tip #3 – When I can’t avoid loft – getting over a bunker (especially to an elevated green, especially if I’m short-sided), seeking a tucked pin, or working off a down-hill lie, my lob wedge is my BFF. I know a lot of golfers are a little fearful of the lob wedge. They think only experts can use one. I’ve found that the secret to a successful lob shot is to keep swinging all the way through impact, keep my hands in front of my club face, and not break my wrists.

Here’s a good video demo on setting up a lob shot:

As you can see, this isn’t an aggressive power shot. It’s a shot that’s easy and gentle. There’s absolutely no reason for higher-handicapped players to avoid it. Take your laundry basket out to your back yard and practice lobbing balls into it from 30 0r 40 yards.

Next: 10 Steps to Avoid Disaster on the Tee Box

When you can start hitting the laundry basket, you’ll be ready to take the shot to the golf course and I guarantee that you’ll take 5 or 6 stroke off your score. You’ll thank me for this golf tip.

Home/Golf Tips