To lob or not

[Mystery Meat]

Well I only have a 51 and a 56 .. Hard to see on old clubs .. But still opening the face and seeing what I can do . Personally , lobbing off of tight lies is the scariest and hardest shots in golf .. Imon

ps. We should do a video and see who can hit the highest lob for laughs and giggles

 

[zeroputt]

I tried this over a pine tree next to the green (with a SW). The pine tree now looks like a Christmas tree....

...We should do a video and see who can hit the highest lob for laughs and giggles

 

[Mystery Meat]

I tried this over a pine tree next to the green (with a SW). The pine tree now looks like a Christmas tree....

Don't worry,,I might thin it.. Lobs are not my favorite. But sometimes it calls for it. For me a lob means a medium high pitch.. Like I said, might be one of the hardest shots in golf if you hit a bad one. Could lead to a big number ( believe me )

 

[rollin]

joining in late I read some and skipped some through these pages. Everyone is different of course and I don't think there is any right or wrong but just personal preference. I have a 60* and I think its value is huge "when required". It is a big advantage to have more option around the greens and I think that in itself (for me) is a no-brainer but knowing when/what/where to use it or not is what one needs good decision making.

I think it was the best addition to my bag. It came at the expense of 3iron but that's ok as it holds so much more value than that 3iron ever did. I do think its a tricky club and I do think it is harder to use than other clubs in given situations that's why I said "when required". Once I got use to it I think it is a game changer but I also got caught up in it and started using it more than I should have and only recently realized that I went from helping myself with it for given situations to taking it too far and hurting myself in other situations so I started taming my use of it back to when I first got it and found that happy medium again between using it when required and not when it isn't.

Need to get over a greenside bunker to a close pin? Or up a steep side to an elevated green? I cant think of a better club for me. But need to pitch on from the fairway in front or even given situations from the rough? It's then back to my sw,pw,9i,8i whatever seems more appropriate to the shot. That's where I started using it when it "wasn't always" the best choice and became more hurtful then beneficial. But then that is about good decision making and not the fault of the club isn't it?. I'm not 'Phil' and not going to take a full swing and have the ball basically stand still lol. I do also use it from the sand (again for certain given sand situations like a close pin). I think its a great club. It will always now be in my bag. I will get even better at using it and the options will increase but even then I'll always still have to understand when its the correct choice.

 

[Fourputt]

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

Not that hard to determine roll if you practice a little. Like any other shot, if you make consistent contact, you get consistent results. I use my 8 iron or PW most often around the green for those shots.

So what do you do if you need to hit over a trap to a tight pin position?
I picked up a 58 TM ATV which I've hit some good flop shots with...some pretty bad ones too though
Also, use my 54 from the sand and the rest is a PW.

I will either play a high lob (not a flop) with my 56, or I'll take my medicine and make darn sure that I get the ball on the green as close to the hole as is consistent with that idea.

Greenside I would rather have a lofted club (SW/LW) that I can be a little more aggressive with more often that not, assuming I have space to work with. Takes the potential for decelerating out of the picture a bit.

I don't decelerate a chip or pitch any more than I do a putt. I don't see any real difference in my mental approach to either shot. The real danger with the LW is that you do have to be more aggressive, and when you do hit the ball thin, it goes a long way - in my experience that's usually across the green into a bunker.

 

[Rhyno]

Love my lob wedge, love hitting flops, it's fun.

Rarely flop on the course, but it's fun to do. Use the lob wedge all the time.

 

[rollin]

Greenside I would rather have a lofted club (SW/LW) that I can be a little more aggressive with more often that not, assuming I have space to work with. Takes the potential for decelerating out of the picture a bit.

I don't decelerate a chip or pitch any more than I do a putt. I don't see any real difference in my mental approach to either shot. The real danger with the LW is that you do have to be more aggressive, and when you do hit the ball thin, it goes a long way - in my experience that's usually across the green into a bunker.

For both comments above is why I think are part of the reason LW's are generally thought of as being a bit harder to play with. Not to mention imo they are also a bit harder to take full swings with from a considerable distance out. Whether the shorty stuff or the longer stuff they are imo a bit less accommodating to a poor or not so good strike vs the less lofted clubs. It just seems to me I can get away with a bit more (within reason) with a less lofted club. Whether thin or fat, a little or a lot. anywhere between both extremes of blading to chunking the end result seems to me to be somewhat more magnified both ways with the LW and requires a more consistent strike a lot of us higher cappers don't possess But at the same time when played good imo it cant be beat for given situations
Best addition to my bag I ever made but just need to use it (for me) in the right situations only.

 

[JRod]

Hawk speaks the truth.

 

[Barberakb]

I hit my 58 degree ALL the time. From all kinds of lies and for all kinds of shots.
Its my 54 that barely gets used. Go for it. It might be your new fav club

 

[troy64]

I put a 60° in my bag so I wouldn't have to mess around with opening the face on my 54°. I never found it to be difficult to hit. Sometimes the blade slips under the ball, but that happens with an open faced SW as well. And if I blade the ball with the LW, it is much less of a disaster than with an open SW.

That is what I was referring to earlier in this post. Minimize positioning the face of the club when possible.

 

[troy64]

In the interest of full disclosure, within about 5 hours of making this post I proceeded to short side myself with a bunker in the way and had to hit a flop with my 60* wedge on what seemed like every flipping hole. So I guess I take back what I said...the 60* is vital

That's good stuff!

 

[troy64]

Well in typical "gotta have it" fashion I went and purchased an inexpensive 60* LW yesterday evening. Pulled in the driveway, jumped out of the truck in the rain, set up on a golf ball I had left in the yard and ..........nice high lofted slice! Haha! I laughed and my wife said "wow sweetie that was good". Then I started laughting alot. Definitely will be practicing with this club and eventually pick a spot on the home course to try it out.

 

[Daddio]

Totally agree here Hawk. I use mine all the time - and I hit very few flop shots. I probably have more confidence in that club than any club in my bag. Around the green I tend to use 2 clubs - GW for shots I want to roll out, LW for shots to tight pins, heavier rough, etc. The ATV has taken that confidence to another level as well.

Unsure if 58* qualifies as lob wedge but I'm 100% in agreement with this. My first purchase when deciding to finally upgrade my 20 year old bag of antique clubs this winter were the ATV 54* and 58*. (they took the place of my old Lynx Black Cat 1 iron and SW). I'll use the 58* more often than any other club around the green and it's great from the sand too. If I want more roll out on short pitches I'll use my AW.

 

[tequila4kapp]

That's good stuff!

It was not fun at the time, but it was funny. Stupid golf.

 

[Paladin]

Do want to say that I took out my SW 56° wedge for a new fairway wood, so I was rocking my 53° wedge and using my 59° lob wedge for the bunkers, and was really able to put it to work. 2 sandies, plus another bogey leaving it about 6' from some deep rough. Some of this is due to having a lower bounce due to the tighter lies and less/harder sand in the bunkers, I'm sure, but having a club I can swing more aggressively creates more spin and therefore lets me get closer to the pin around the greens in general.

The swing-weight probably has a big impact on your club choice. The slightly lighter weight of my lob wedge over my sand wedge (a Cobra Trusty Rusty and Vokey SM4, respectively) makes me less likely to quit or back off a swing around the greens. I think that plays a big part in getting the ball where you want it, whether that's flighting the ball or going for low runners. I don't know if there's a right answer or wrong answer for using a wedge over 55° or so, but I don't think the loft alone is the reason to carry a club.

 

[KPop]

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

True. I carry a lob sometimes. It seems to get me in more trouble than it is worth.

 

[Ndfan301]

Greenside I would rather have a lofted club (SW/LW) that I can be a little more aggressive with more often that not, assuming I have space to work with. Takes the potential for decelerating out of the picture a bit.

This is me. I have way more confidence in my 58* around the green than I do with my PW, 50 or 54*. The higher lofts allows a more confident non-deceleration swing and I'm better at that. If I use anything else I'm always afraid my backswing is too long and I'm over the green. I'd rather have a chip be short and a long putt than chipping AGAIN then putting.

 

[HarlettoScara]

I love my 60 degree wedge. Never for flop shots though, as a high handicapper I've got no business trying those! Is my 70 yard full shot club, or if I need to get it over a bunker or other rubbish. Not for a tight lie though, that usually ends in a a skulled rocket... Everything else around the green is a 52 wedge. Bump and pun or pitch, I'm equally inept at either..

 

[Drumdog]

I have a 58* wedge that I use more and more for different shots. It's good for anything from 85 yards and in. I can open it up and really flop it if needed.
When I try to get real floppy with it, that is when I can run into problems though. That is mainly because I don't practice the flops enough.

 

[Tadashi70]

I'm part of the camp that a lob is not needed and really isn't used well by most that have in the bag. I think I know and have seen two guys I play with use one effectively. I don't see many use them well or save shots having them in the bag. I wouldn't advise putting one in the if you rarely use your SW.

 

[mpeterson]

I think I'm with Freddie - My LW pretty much gets used out of the bunker for me, and even then I can open up my 55* a little bit more and play that out. Thinking of spending some time with the 55 degree in the sand, taking the LW out, and going back to a 3W/5W combo. The LW gets me in more trouble than it helps me.

 

[1750carl]

Too much loft. I'm of the opinion that getting the ball rolling as soon as possible is the most accurate, the most forgiving, and gives the highest percentage of holing out. I don't play a 60 degree wedge, and haven't come across a situation where a 60 degree would do the job better than a 56 degree.

 

[wadesworld]

I'm part of the camp that a lob is not needed and really isn't used well by most that have in the bag. I think I know and have seen two guys I play with use one effectively. I don't see many use them well or save shots having them in the bag. I wouldn't advise putting one in the if you rarely use your SW.

I'd agree with Freddie.

I have one and am not afraid of it, but I am always deciding whether I can use a lower-lofted club to accomplish what I need for the current shot.

Now it's not true of everyone, but I'm willing to bet that some who talk about how reliable their lob wedge is are not getting the results they could. They may hit a 20-yard lob wedge to 12-feet, but if they learned to hit a 20-yard pitching-wedge and run it up there, they might end up at 5-feet. I've had too many shots where my lob wedge comes up short, or in an effort to "get it there," I hit it long. Just Sunday I tried to hit a 30-yard lob to a tight pin and I slid right under it and hit my 30-yard pitch about 5-yards.

Now don't get me wrong, there are situations for which a lob wedge is useful, and that's why I keep it in the bag. While I hit some stinkers with it, I've also hit some great shots with it.

In summary, I certainly think one can become a great lob wedge player who learns how to use it in 100 different ways, but I think it's harder than learning to just use the club appropriate to the job, so why do it?

 

[Mango Smash]

I just put a 58* in the bag to use from the sand. I generally play a bump and run type of chip from around the green. I am nowhere near consistent or good enough to try lob shots. The only reason the 58* got in the bag is because I play on firm sand and some of the lips on greenside bunkers are too high for me to get my 53* wedge over.

 

[ironcondor]

I love my 58*. I'm a believer in Pelz, so I'm even pondering a 62*. I use the 58* practically everywhere around the green if a bump n run won't work, and won't hesitate for a second to open up the face for more loft. It's also a shot I can practice within the confines of my backyard so I'm pretty confident with it - and it's a ton of fun to use.