The high loft on a lob wedge results in a less forgiving area of the face to strike the ball, which is less than ideal for most recreational golfers. If you hit a lob wedge five yards in the air, expect it to stop about 2-3 yards (call it eight feet) from where it lands. A lob wedge, on the other hand, is more likely to fly twice as far as it rolls. Typically separated by just 4-6 degrees of loft and a quarter-inch of shaft length, the two wedges are fairly similar, but are anything but interchangeable.Ĭountless variables aside, a sand wedge should typically produce a carry-to-roll ratio of about 1:1, meaning a chip shot with a sand wedge that carries five yards should then roll out about five yards as well. If you’re mapping the 14 clubs in your golf bag, the lob wedge and sand wedge are next-door neighbors. These have a much greater impact on a wedge’s performance than most people know. The bounce is the angle between the leading edge and the trailing edge, and the grind is the shape of the sole. The final thing you should consider with your lob wedge is the bounce and grind. In that scenario, you might have a pitching wedge between 42-46 degrees, add another wedge between 50-54 degrees, and a lob wedge between 58-60 degrees. However, if you opt for a three-wedge setup, you might have a larger 6-8 degree gap. If you choose to carry four wedges, (pitching, gap/approach, sand and lob), you can afford a smaller 4-degree gap between your sand and lob wedge. The number of wedges you carry can also influence the ideal loft of your lob wedge. Or if you use a 54-degree sand wedge, you might want a 58-degree lob wedge. For example, if you use a 56-degree sand wedge, consider a 60-degree lob wedge. To decide how much loft should be on your lob wedge, consider the loft of your next-most-lofted club, and aim for about four degrees between them. Most manufacturers make lob wedges up to 60-64 degrees, but the USGA doesn’t limit the loft a wedge can have, and you can find niche lob wedges with 70 degrees of loft or more (although we highly recommend you don’t put one in your bag). In other words, if you’re one of those higher-handicappers who benefits from a go-to greenside club, you’re less likely to get the approving “ nice touch” compliment around the greens when you pull the lob wedge than you are with a lower lofted wedge like a sand wedge or gap wedge.Ī typical lob wedge has between 58 and 60 degrees of loft. On the other hand, because of the high loft, launch, and spin that comes with a lob wedge, it’s much more difficult to consistently control the carry distance, trajectory and roll than it is with a lower-lofted wedge on those chip and pitch shots. If you’re okay with risking a big number for the sake of a 19th hole laugh and a little more fun on the course, go for it.īecause a lob wedge is your most lofted club, it becomes the default option when you have little green to work with to stop the ball near the hole, or when you’re faced with a shot that requires you to get the ball up in the air quickly to avoid a bunker, tree, or other obstacle. They seem to either end up six inches from the hole, six inches from your feet, or 60 yards over the green. The problem is, there’s really no such thing as an okay flop shot. With a lob wedge, a little bit of practice, and a juicy lie with a bunker to carry and just three paces of green between the fringe and the hole, you’ve got a decent chance of pulling off a flop shot. So, how do you hit a 60-degree wedge, or pull off fun greenside shots with your lob wedge? You know what else is fun? Hitting a tour-quality flop shot to gimme range in front of your friends. Golf is a game, and it’s supposed to be fun. We’ve said this before and we’ll say it again.
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