I presently use a PW, GW (occasionally) and SW. I have never used a LW. My question is this: am I missing a club (LW) worth the effort to learn or better to continue getting the best shot possible with the wedges I am familiar with. I have read several articles that lean towards the latter.
To lob or not
To lob or not
Depends on the individuals home course and gameplan. I will tell you to avoid a LW because bagging one will only give you an excuse to try to hit flop shots. Which you shouldn't be
Depends on the individuals home course and gameplan. I will tell you to avoid a LW because bagging one will only give you an excuse to try to hit flop shots. Which you shouldn't be
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- Staff
- #3
Lob wedge is probably the most used wedge in my bag and really the most versatile as well. I say get one and learn how to use it. If you get some proficiency there you're only going to improve your short game options. Doesn't really need to be a flop club either. I have probably hit less than 10 true flop shots in the last 18 months on the course.
Six4three5
Tour Star...Layin' Up!
Couldn't agree with this more. My lob wedge is definitely used more than anything else. Especially around the greens. And you definitely do not have to flop a lob wedge.
- Staff
- #5
Absolutely. It's a pitching, chipping, sand, and specialty club all combined in one. A few different brands that I've had success with, but this Vokey 60S is something else. Very nice wedge.
Martsy
New member
nothing more satisfying to me than a nice lob shot in my opinion.
I carry a 58 degree but almost never use it. The 54 does everything from full shots just under 100 yards to anything that requires a carry around the green. If I can get the ball rolling to the pin I'm grabbing something with less loft.
Smallville
#ICanHitADraw
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I'm glad I read this post before I posted. I see people trying to hit flop shots and I see so many people failing. I think a lob wedge is more than I need, but many for many people it is a good club to have. I do know that I have taken out my 58° wedge since I have been hitting my TaylorMade Gap Wedge (51°). And honestly, I have not been using my 54° but a couple of times either. I know the pros play a lot of wedges, but in my opinion, most (not all) amateurs are better off with a less options at the bottom of the bag.
sparksjr
Active member
Agree with both these fine gentlemen. I carry a 60 but use my 56 for almost everything around the green. It's probably been 8 rounds since I last hit the 60.
- Staff
- #11
I think it definitely depends on your style of play and how much you practice with wedges too. Not something you want to just stick in the bag and never work with until you need it on the course. Personally, I'd rather have the options at that spot because I tend to make up my strokes that way vs having more long clubs, but like I said, I practice those shots quite a bit.
dhartmann34
Well-known member
I love my 60 degree wedge. I only use it a couple times a round, but what I can pull off with it is pretty awesome. That being said, it's not an easy club to hit. I've done a LOT of practice with it over the years and it's something that you learn where to use it. I've read most pros use them out of the bunker. Of course most of us have no business hitting a lot of the shots they pull off. Really all about how you are able to utilize it during your round really.
oiler3535
Active member
My 64° is my most used wedge. I'll use it for everything inside 80 yards except soft sand. But it did take some getting used to. I would say if you get a lot of fluffy lies and tight pins then a LW is a good idea. Also if you find yourself hitting a lot of partial shots with your SW. But if you have really tight lies or around the greens the ball tends to sit down far in the rough it's not really needed. I absolutely love my 60 and 64, but they are no more useful than a SW or other iron if you can't get under the ball easily; you'll just end up with a lot of skulled chips/pitches from trying too hard to get under the ball.
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Like others, my 58 degree LW is the most used iron in my bag. Use it for pretty much all shots from 85 yards in unless a greenside chip calls for a bump and run shot. Use mine out of greenside bunkers as well.
bhilton
Active member
I use 4 wedges and typically if I'm in the 60-130 yard range, I'll be using one of them. I carry a 58* lob wedge, but I do more with it than chipping. Usually if I'm in the 60-85 range, I'll hit a little 3/4 shot with the lob wedge and I feel very comfortable doing it. I would actually say that my wedge game (other than my chipping...no comments JB) is one of my stongest parts of my game. If you currently have 3 wedges and feel like you have every shot that you need from 100 yards and in, don't get one. But if you feel like there's a gap in that range where you could use a different club and could possibly have a better result, then I would say pick one up.
Golds
Active member
You don't NEED a lob wedge but I can vouch for having a 60* U-grind and it has been awesome. I don't use it that much for the "flop" shot, I actually use it more for versatility with all different lies and distances. I even close the face dramatically and do short bump and runs with it and the back spin is awesome. I think people are missing out if they only view lob wedges as "flop" wedges.
Fourputt
Head Rules Official
Agree 100%. The LW is not a general use club, despite its abuse by many amateurs. I see them used inappropriately on a regular basis by guys who swear it's the best club in their bags. And the OP shows a 30 handicap in his profile, so I would caution even more strongly against playing a LW until his overall game is more consistent.
A misshit with a LW is usually a disaster. Whether thin or fat, the poor results are magnified over the same miss with a gap wedge, and usually ends up with not being on the green yet for the next shot. Most good instructors will teach using a PW or GW (loft range from 46° to 52°) for most greenside play and tell you to focus more on making certain that you put the ball on the green so you have a putt for your next shot.
Spend some practice time trying a lot of different shots with your SW and forget about a LW until you are very comfortable with the SW. Any shot type you play with LW can be played with a SW, and until you can make consistent contact on chips and pitches with the SW, all the LW will do is frustrate you. Don't be fooled by what you do in practice, but by how that carries over to the course.
This is truth. It's why I quit carrying a LW altogether. It was just taking up space that I could put to better use.
I think most amateurs get themselves in unnecessary trouble by playing too much loft and getting too fancy around the green. I tend to see the 60* as a nice to have club that we could probably get along just fine without.
I use mine a ton. It's a fun wedge to have. I don't hit flops either. But a lot of amateurs try to when they have no business even thinking about it.
I don't have or use a LW, and I have no issues. I've learned to put more spin on my partial pitch shots and that has really helped me decide that I don't need a LW. It really does depend on your game though. I get away with it because of my pitch shot change to add some spin and get a little more control on the ball. If I really want to go high, I open up my GW (52*) which has very little bounce to it.
~Rock
~Rock
Mystery Meat
Ben Hogan Fan
If you have the right ball and wedge..lob is a great choice .. I know chip and roll is like a putt , just hard to determine how much it will roll from day to day . I love lobbing right at it .. The last few weeks I have been trying different golf balls .. The red pro v 1 spins like crazy for me
- Staff
- #22
I think the LW as an inherently difficult club to use is an internet myth mostly put forth by poor wedge players or people that don't practice with them. If you're blading balls then the loft on the wedge isn't the issue. This coming from a guy that admits to sucking at the full swing pretty mightily.
With my current clubs being as old as they are, my SW is 52 degrees and I then have a 64 degree wedge in my bag which was brilliant for the course I used to play regularly, but these days it only comes out of the bag for short-sided bunker shots so I am seriously considering dropping it for a 56/58 degree wedge as I feel that would be more useful for me
Mystery Meat
Ben Hogan Fan
Disagree .. Just comes down to players releases . If a guy really turns the face closed at impact , lob is a bad choice .. Better to run it low with hook spin . Guys that are steep are great lob players.. Shallow very shallow have a heck of a time of lob. Angle of attack and face angle . Active be in active hands players .. The lies on courses help too , you play harder courses , than people struggle to lob off of a tight lie course vs a muni where ball sits up nice . Angle of attack and face angle . Actually angle of attack and face angle might be the secret to golf in general
- Staff
- #25
I didn't mention that in regards to how well somebody plays one (or if they choose not to) on the individual level. I said I don't believe it's an inherently difficult club to hit, which is what you typically here regarding teh issue on the internet.
For what it's worth, I'm quite shallow as well.