Golf Tip: Do You Need a Lob Wedge in Your Bag?

In today’s golf tip, we’ll review a few uses for the lob wedge.

Do you need to add a lob wedge to your bag? In today’s golf tip, we’ll take a look at why adding this club might be a good idea.

A lob wedge is a scoring club that is useful for chipping and pitching around the green, as well as for distance wedge situations where you take fairly full swings. This golf tip is as simple as getting to know one of the shortest clubs in the game.

The lob wedge usually has a 60 degree loft, but you may find them ranging from 58 degrees all the way up to 64 degrees. This loft makes for a high shot that lands softly. Almost all of the distance is in the air, with very little on the ground. I often view the lob wedge as 90 percent air and 10 percent roll.

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Chipping (with minimal wrist) over a bunker to a tight pin is one of the lob wedge’s most important uses. The great loft demands a fairly high pendulum on both the backswing and the follow through. I often think of it as a 3:00 to 9:00 pendulum. I will adjust higher for more distance and a little lower for less distance.

Pitching (letter L with wrist cock) with a lob wedge is also useful for those situations where you are 30 to 50 yards away from a tight pin and hitting over a bunker or other obstacle. I use more wrist cock for longer distances and less wrist cock (sometimes minimal) for shorter distances.

The appealing thing about a lob wedge is that you can hit these high, soft shots without opening the clubface at setup. Opening the sand wedge to hit high, soft shots is something that can really make amateurs uncomfortable. Let’s face it: when you are uncomfortable with your shot, good results are rare.

Remember, when you use a lofted club like a lob wedge, you have to swipe pretty hard through the contact zone. I often teach my students to “clip the stem” of the dandelion pretty hard. The clubface should be fairly high at both ends of the swing.

Too many players still try to hit pitching wedge over a bunker to a tight pin. Realize you are using far too little loft when attempting this. These shots may get you over the bunker, but they will roll much too far after landing. Demo a lob wedge today. The average amateur hits three greens out of 18. This golf tip may be just what you need to save more pars or bogeys!

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