Full Answer
How do you hit a lob wedge?
- Make sure the grooves on your lob wedge, sand wedge and pitching wedge are clean.
- Work on your pitch shots around the green. This will help with feel and touch.
- Your backswing should not be too long. Partial wedge shots are easier to control and typically have less trajectory.
How much bounce should you have in a lob wedge?
Sand wedge: 56 degrees loft, 12 degrees bounce (notated as 56:12 on the wedge) Lob wedge: 60 degrees loft, 4 degrees bounce (notated as 60:04 on the wedge) Before reading further, check your wedges so you can understand how to use each one to your advantage. Here are the main types of bounce you will find in your wedges.
What degree loft is a lob wedge?
The loft of a lob wedge is traditionally 60 degrees, however some players will carry 58 degree wedges, which can also be classed as a lob wedge. Players like Phil Mickelson have lob wedges as lofty as 64 degrees. The loft of a putter is traditionally between 3.5-4.5 degrees.
What loft is a ping W wedge?
What is W wedge in golf? A pitching wedge is the lowest-lofted of the named wedges, used to hit a variety of short-range shots. The term “pitching wedge” is now used by virtually all manufacturers and players to describe this club; Karsten Manufacturing (maker of the PING brand) simply labels their pitching wedges “W” for “wedge”.
When should I use my lob wedge?
When should I use my lob wedge?You have to get the ball over an obstacle. Since the lob wedge can send the ball into the air easily and quickly, it is particularly useful when you're hitting over a tree or hill. ... Your ball is just off the green, in the rough. ... You want to decrease roll and have the ball stop quickly.
Do pro golfers use lob wedges?
For professional golfers, a 60-degree lob wedge around the green could be classified as a surgical scalpel. Many pros—most notably Phil Mickelson—have built their reputations on the ability to hit miraculous recovery shots with these higher-lofted clubs.
What is the difference between a wedge and a lob wedge?
The main difference between a lob wedge and sand wedge is the degree of loft. A typical lob wedge is anywhere from 58 to 60 degrees according to Golfweek. Even though they are typically in that 58-60 range, there are certainly anomalies. Actually, lob wedges can go up to 64 degrees of loft.
What distance is a lob wedge used for?
How Far Does The Average Person Hit A Lob Wedge? On average, a full shot for a recreational player with a lob wedge will be 73 yards, but the range can be between 60 and 90 yards. Most golfers only use their lob wedge around the green, so chances are, you won't ever take a full swing.
Which wedge is best for chipping?
What degree wedge is best for chipping? For most golfers, a gap wedge or a sand wedge with loft of between 52° and 56° will produce the most consistent outcome when chipping. This is because you'll be able to play most short-game shots you're likely to come across out on the course.
Should a high handicapper carry a lob wedge?
The Lob Wedge Lob, or high, shots can save high handicappers strokes. High handicappers who have difficulty playing from tight, or bare, lies and who have a propensity for taking large divots should consider carrying a lob wedge in their bags. The lob wedge should have no more than 60 degrees of loft.
Should a beginner use a lob wedge?
Generally, lob wedges carry 60-degrees of loft and are used to recover from difficult positions near the green. However, in my opinion, a beginner should shy away from a lob wedge, as it is a finesse club and requires skill and many, many hours of practice, to hit with confidence.
Can I use a lob wedge in the sand?
Can I Use A Lob Wedge From The Sand? Most of the time, yes. Unless you specifically purchase a low bounce lob wedge, you might find that a decent number of LWs and SWs have a pretty comparable amount of bounce out of a sand trap (my SW and LW, for example, have identical bounce numbers).
What 3 wedges should I carry?
Know your pitching wedge loft. If it's 45 degrees or less, add three more wedges that are spaced apart by no more than 4-5 degrees each. So generally think about putting in a gap wedge that's 48 or 50 degrees, a sand wedge that's between 54 and 56 degrees, and a lob wedge that's between 58 and 60 degrees.
Do I need a gap or lob wedge?
The rule of thumb is that a player should have four degrees of difference between wedges. For instance, a golfer with a pitching wedge lofted at 46 degrees should have a gap wedge of 50 degrees, a sand wedge at 54 degrees and a lob wedge of no less than 58 degrees.
Is a lob wedge hard to hit?
Weekend players complain that lob wedges are difficult to hit. Please! If you simply accelerate through impact, a 60-degree wedge is just as easy to hit as a 55. Play the ball in the middle of your stance and go short backswing to long follow.
Which wedge to use around the green?
For the average golfer, chipping with a pitching or gap wedge will produce the most consistent shots around the green. Using a gap wedge will be the best place to start for standard chips, but a pitching wedge could work better if the ball is sitting up in the rough.
How to Hit a Lob Wedge
Here is a quick video form Chris Ryan where he talks about how to hit a high lob shot onto the green. I really like this video because he explains the importance of opening up the clubface to add more loft to your golf shots
My Quick Tips to Focus On Using a Lob Wedge
Keep your weight on your front leg to keep your weight over the golf ball and avoid hitting behind the ball
Where Do You Get a Lob Wedge?
You can purchase a lob wedge at your local sporting goods store or golf course (if the sell clubs). Here are a few tips to consider before purchasing:
Why use a lob wedge?
By utilizing a lob wedge for these short shots, the ball is carried much higher in the air than with a standard iron causing significantly less roll on the landing surface. This is most often important for short shots into difficult pin placements. Before the invention of the lob wedge, or to create a shot similar to the lob wedge, ...
When did golfers use lob wedges?
Before 1931, golfers used a single wedge, known as a "jigger", similar to the modern day pitching wedge. After 1931, additional wedges entered the golf bag starting with the sand wedge. The lob wedge was first envisioned by Dave Pelz, a former physicist for NASA, who recognized the need for higher loft wedges (at the time 60 degrees) ...
Who invented the lob wedge?
The mainstream lob wedge was invented by Karsten Solheim, the founder of the PING line of golf products, possibly after experimenting by gluing a potato chip to a straw. Solheim was also responsible for naming the club the "L Wedge" or the "Lob Wedge", as it is currently known today.
What was the golfer required to do before the invention of the lob wedge?
Before the invention of the lob wedge, or to create a shot similar to the lob wedge, the golfer was required to perform the shot with a sand wedge or pitching wedge and to modify the shot by cutting across the ball making a glancing blow, a much riskier shot.
What angle should a lob wedge be?
Pick a lob wedge that has a loft of no more than 60 degrees. If it has more loft, it will be very difficult for you to use. Also, you'll find that having a bounce angle of more than 8 degrees will make your shots easier because you will be less likely to take too large a divot with your shots.
How high does a lob wedge fly?
Lob wedges can help to accomplish this. They are usually are about 60 degrees--or more--which makes a golf ball fly about 15 percent higher than a normal wedge. The ball doesn't go as far and stops quickly.
How far out can you hit a golf ball?
Every golfer dreams about being able to hit a ball close to the flag consistently from about 50 to 60 yards out. Until the lob wedge was invented, getting the ball close when the flag is just on the other side of a sand trap was nearly impossible.
What is the loft of a lob wedge?
A typical lob wedge might have a loft of 60 degrees to 64 degrees. As its name implies, a lob wedge allows a player to "lob" the ball high into the air, from where it will drop steeply down onto the green, with little or no roll. With pitching wedges typically lofted from 42 to 46 degrees, the gap wedge is so-called because it closes ...
What is a wedge in golf?
Wedges are the highest-lofted clubs in a set of golf clubs, designed for short approach shots (for most golfers, 120 yards and in), strokes played out of sand, chip shots and pitch shots, and generally any shot for which the golfer wants the ball to ascend and descend sharply.
What is a gap wedge?
With pitching wedges typically lofted from 42 to 46 degrees, the gap wedge is so-called because it closes the "gap" in loft between the pitching wedge and sand wedge. A typical gap wedge might might be lofted from 48 to 54 degrees. The gap wedge also goes by the names A-wedge, attack wedge and approach wedge.
What is a 60 degree wedge?
Wedges feature the shortest shafts and highest lofts of any golf clubs. In fact, wedges are often identified by their loft rather than their name. A lob wedge might instead be called a "60-degree wedge," for example. Sand wedges were invented (generally credited to Gene Sarazen) to make shots out of sand bunkers easier.
What is the difference between a pitching wedge and a sand wedge?
Pitching wedge: The lowest-lofted of the wedges (the one that hits the ball the farthest), pitching wedges (abbreviated PW) are usually included in a set of irons. The PW is considered one of the basic clubs every golfer carries. Sand wedge: Designed specifically to make hitting shots out of bunkers easier. Abbreviated SW.
Why are gap wedges called wedges?
Today, the other two wedges that are common are: Gap wedge: So-named because it falls in-between the pitching wedge and sand wedge in loft. The gap wedge has more loft than a PW, less loft than a SW.
How many yards is a lob wedge?
A lob wedge would be 40-50 yards for men, 25-40 for women. A gap wedge would fall in between your pitching wedge and sand wedge yardages. And these clubs will, when properly struck, produce a very high, arching shot. So if you need to get over a tree, for example, a wedge comes in handy.
Key considerations
The type of lob wedge that best fits your swing depends, in large part, on your expertise in the game. Lob wedges generate significant height on the shot, greater than nearly any other kind of wedge, as well as plenty of backspin on the ball.
Features
When selecting a lob wedge for an experienced golfer, you will want to pay attention to a few other design aspects of the golf club, including bounce and grind.
Lob wedge prices
Inexpensive: The least-expensive lob wedges do not contain advanced technology in the club face, like varying bounces or grinds. Therefore, it will not be possible to generate a highly controlled spin on the ball with a less-costly lob wedge. Expect to pay $30 to $50 for a product like this.
Tips
Here are the different loft angles you can select for your wedges. These are the most typical angles in the club face, although some wedges may have loft angles outside of these numbers.