Improving Your Golf: Lob Wedge Use

Every golfer runs into the odd “nightmare situation” every now and then. A short, steep
uphill, or being stuck behind a bush, where playing around it will definitely cost you at
least one stroke. When you need elevation over a short distance, bring out the lob wedge.

Designed for what is arguably the hardest shot in golf, lob wedge mastery is the
aspiration of many a rising golfer. With a loft of sixty to sixty four degrees, many people
simply call it “the sixty degree wedge”. It is used to play shots that require a high
trajectory, and a soft landing. The higher the loft, however, the harder it is to use. Most
people prefer a sixty degree loft, o even a fifty eight degrees.

Upon compiling your club set for golf, lob wedge choice has another variable to keep in mind: The bounce angle. The bounce angle is what keeps the lob wedge from digging in, and remove a huge piece of sod upon execution. Most golfers that repeatedly remove sods the size of their back yard when playing loft shots, probably don’t have enough bounce - a bad choice of lob wedge. On average, you will need about ten to twelve degrees of bounce.

When you come across the dreaded shot in your next game of golf, lob wedge play need not be a definite disaster, as long as you keep a few basic things in mind:

Stance: When setting up, do so with the ball in the middle of your stance. Make sure your weight is evenly distributed on a solid foundation.

Take a backswing to about three quarters. On the downswing, do not try to steer the ball. Simply accelerate through the ball, letting your hands lead the club “through” the ball.

This technique is not easy, but with practice you can vastly improve your lob shot. Also keep in mind that you do at times have the choice of using the lob wedge or not, and another wedge might do the job as well. But when you play your next game of golf, lob wedge mastery will probably make you the envy of your friends.