# To Lob Wedge or Not To Lob Wedge



## 373

Am I the only person in the world who can't seem to learn how to hit a lob wedge? :dunno: 

I have tried 58 degree to 60 degree models, modern cavity back or traditional muscle back designs, steel shafts and graphite shafts... I can't get a feel for how far I can hit any of them and I generally can't convince myself to hit the shots as hard as I need to to get them to fly as far as they need to go. On top of it all, I can hit my 54 degree sand wedge about 90 yards, but I can't seem to hit a lob wedge over 60 yards and that's too big a gap.

So, I find myself making a LOT of fractional swings with the sand wedge, and when I need the really high shot that stops quickly, I'll open the face and hit a cut shot, which I seem to be better at than figuring out why I can't move the lob wedge farther.

So, am I the only idiot who can't adapt to the lob wedge?


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## Fourputt

DennisM said:


> Am I the only person in the world who can't seem to learn how to hit a lob wedge? :dunno:
> 
> I have tried 58 degree to 60 degree models, modern cavity back or traditional muscle back designs, steel shafts and graphite shafts... I can't get a feel for how far I can hit any of them and I generally can't convince myself to hit the shots as hard as I need to to get them to fly as far as they need to go. On top of it all, I can hit my 54 degree sand wedge about 90 yards, but I can't seem to hit a lob wedge over 60 yards and that's too big a gap.
> 
> So, I find myself making a LOT of fractional swings with the sand wedge, and when I need the really high shot that stops quickly, I'll open the face and hit a cut shot, which I seem to be better at than figuring out why I can't move the lob wedge farther.
> 
> So, am I the only idiot who can't adapt to the lob wedge?


Mine sits in my garage. I doubt that it will ever again see the golf course. I had a situation today where I would have used it if I'd had it, and probably cost myself at least a stroke for the error. Instead I opened up my gap wedge and hit the prettiest little flop shot to just 4 feet, holed the putt for a par. If you know how to use what you DO carry, why put a club in your bag that you can't use? 

IMO, hitting LW flops is a lot like hitting 300 yard drives... It's mostly bravado and ego, but little actual benefit to the games of most players.


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## 373

I don't know how long mine will sit in the closet, mostly because it's a Callaway club and there's always the opportunity to trade it in on the Callaway Preowned website. I also have the matching sand wedge in the closet, prefering my 2002 Bertha SW to the one that matches my set.

If someone traded in their square driver, I might trade these in and reduce the cost a bit.


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## 300Yards

I have and use a 60* wedge..I find it to be easier to hit than my putter! Were they fitted to you? If there to long, then no wonder you can't hit them. BTW, 60 yards is about all you'll get out of a 60*.


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## 373

300Yards said:


> Were they fitted to you? If there to long, then no wonder you can't hit them. BTW, 60 yards is about all you'll get out of a 60*.


Yep... I'm 6' 7" tall... Can you imagine a club that would be too long for ME?


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## jump15vc

300Yards said:


> I have and use a 60* wedge..I find it to be easier to hit than my putter! Were they fitted to you? If there to long, then no wonder you can't hit them. BTW, 60 yards is about all you'll get out of a 60*.


i guess it depends on the person because i love my 60, it fits my irons and distances perfectly it goes about 100yds-105 when i hit it full. its a titleist spin milled with 8* bounce by the way


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## zaphod

Have one but a 16 degree hybrid fits in bag better. Rather have that high floater to the green that the occasional time I use it around the green. Like most above I open clubface of wedge and go with that. Distance control with a 60" wedge full shot was never my strong suit. BTW about 60 yards for non hooded 60"for me is about right.


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## mkoreiwo

I wouldn't feel too bad about lob wedge troubles. When I was taking lessons last summer, the subject of using a lob wedge came up, the pro said he really didn't like to hit one very often as he had trouble being consistent with yardages. He admits its a tough club to hit well. I've had mixed results with mine, but it is an inconsistent club for me as well. I keep it in the bag because, well I don't get paid for golf and its a hoot when you pull it out and DO hit that great shot with it.


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## 300Yards

DennisM said:


> Yep... I'm 6' 7" tall... Can you imagine a club that would be too long for ME?


Good lord! Giant man!!:laugh: You are exactly 1 foot taller than me..
Could be that your too tall!:laugh: 



> i guess it depends on the person because i love my 60, it fits my irons and distances perfectly it goes about 100yds-105 when i hit it full. its a titleist spin milled with 8* bounce by the way



100 yards off a tee maybe..but off a fariway?? Gotta be a blade ball. I can hit mine 80..but why would you want to?


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## 373

Yep - Me be da Jolly Green Giant...

When I was younger, I played clubs that were one and a half inches extra long and I could handle the big increase in the swingweight caused by the extra length. These days, I can't handle the weight, so 1/2" over is about as far as I can handle.


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## srothfuss

For the record  (I was never able to get used to hitting a lob wedge)


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## packerfan1

Mine sits in my closet...I can't hit it worth a darn. I agree with the psoter above who said that 60* flop shots are like 300 yard drives...nice to make one, but rare indeed.


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## thor

I LOve mine


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## jump15vc

300Yards said:


> 100 yards off a tee maybe..but off a fariway?? Gotta be a blade ball. I can hit mine 80..but why would you want to?


no i consistently hit it 100 off the fairway, i'm not blading them either. i hit my 54* spin milled 125 so the gap isn't too bad. i just compress the ball really well with my short irons. as for why would i want to? i do it because its easier to hit a smooth full lob wedge from 100yd than to choke down on a pw and take a half swing,


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## fitz-uk

I have always been against them, but I recently added one to my bag as the 5 wood came out.

So far I am happy with it, it gets some use around the greens, which is what I bought it for.

4 wedges now in the bag, the short game can only get better...


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## 300Yards

jump15vc said:


> no i consistently hit it 100 off the fairway, i'm not blading them either. i hit my 54* spin milled 125 so the gap isn't too bad. i just compress the ball really well with my short irons. as for why would i want to? i do it because its easier to hit a smooth full lob wedge from 100yd than to choke down on a pw and take a half swing,



Must be some good wedges! I am yet to try the Spin Milled, altough they are on my "to test" list. What is your SS? I hit my 56* really well, about 150 average..I guess my 60 is outdated! Maybe I could hit mine 100 yards..I usually go for the back up shot, when I hit my 60, so I guess I am losing distance to that.

Goes to show you how different the 60 is from person to person..


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## jump15vc

my swing speed is around 120 with the driver which goes around 300. but to hit 56 150 and not be able to hit your 60 100 is strange, they really are not very different. also 150 is an insane distance to hit sand wedge


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## 300Yards

Not really, my 56 is pretty heavy, and it's an inch longer than it should be..
BTW, I can hit a 60 100 yard s+, I went out and tested it. I guess I just never tried before..lol!

When I have a shot that long, I perfer to use my PW anyway..

Since were on the subject of distances..how far can you hit your nine iron? People say me hitting mine 160+ is insane, but I don't feel that way.


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## 373

I hit my 9 iron 125 yards, my PW 110 yards, my gap wedge 100 and my sand wedge 90 yards... all with smooth swings, not coming out of my shoes. My problem was that I could only hit the 58 degree lob wedge between 50-60 yards consistantly. When I tried to hit it harder, I seemed to hit it the same distance, but a lot higher. As long as I had to be versatile to fill the big difference between the sand wedge and lob wedge, I just figured I could be versatile with the sand wedge for the whole span of distances and leave room for something between the woods and irons instead. Out went the lob wedge. Where I play most frequently, I find a lot more times I'd like to hit something 200 to 220 yards and pretty high instead of a short distance with the lob wedge.


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## 300Yards

You can still hit harder with a smooth swing. My swings are all very smooth, and I have perfect balance. It's all technique. Power has little to do with it. 

I typically use my PW for all shots 140 yards or less. It's the club I am most comfortable with long chips. For shorter chips, about 70 yards in, I like to use my 56*, but that of course, does have exceptions. If the pin is high, or on the front, my 60* may come out. I use as a rescue club from tight location, or sand traps.


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## jump15vc

300Yards said:


> You can still hit harder with a smooth swing. My swings are all very smooth, and I have perfect balance. It's all technique. Power has little to do with it.
> 
> I typically use my PW for all shots 140 yards or less. It's the club I am most comfortable with long chips. For shorter chips, about 70 yards in, I like to use my 56*, but that of course, does have exceptions. If the pin is high, or on the front, my 60* may come out. I use as a rescue club from tight location, or sand traps.


140 yards in isn't a chip, any shot where the ball spends more timein the air than on the ground isn't a chip


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## 300Yards

Maybe when you hit that far...but for me, it's controlled. I can chip a ball a long way..now I will agree with you that a chip is usually shorter, about 100 yards or so..but with more difficult courses, those chips get longer.


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## Fourputt

I hit a 120 yard chip to a tight front pin with my 6-iron yesterday. Drive landed in the rough, behind and under a tree. Had to play a low shot to get under the overhanging branches. Amazingly I put it on the fringe just 12 feet from the hole... missed the birdie but saved the par. I love playing creative shots like that, it's one of my favorite aspects of the game. :thumbsup:


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## 300Yards

Good shootin there Rick! Stay from the OG team on GRW! :laugh: 
I played a miracle flop over a tree once.. I hooked my ball next to this small oak tree, and I was right behind it, looking at the green. I had 2 choices: I could hit my ball around the tree, back into play, or I could play a super flop over it, and hopefully be somewher to hit a good chip. I decided to do the latter. I puuled out my 56*, and I had 85 yars to the green. I played the flop perfect, and i watched as it sailed over the tree, just touching the upper most branches. I walked a round the tree, and watched as it stuck 6 foot from the pin. You can only imagine the happiness I displayed after that. Like you, I missed the Birdie putt, but saved Par.:laugh:


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## Fourputt

One of the best shots I've ever played, I've actually played twice. I put my approach in almost the exact spot once last year, then again this spring. The spot is in light rough, under a plum tree, and 30 feet behind a Colorado Blue Spruce. The spruce is like 30 a foot wall, completely impenetrable. In this case, I had to pick the right club to keep the ball under the braches of the plum tree, and still get over the 30 foot spruce in front of me, and land the ball on the green just 20 feet past the spruce, about 50 feet from where it lies. Both times, I opened up the face just slightly on my 56° SW and hit perfect shots... neither was close enough to the pin to save par, but both times I did land on the green and saved a bogey. 

I've seen a lot of players in that position over the 20 years that I've called it my home course, and I don't think I've ever seen anyone else hit that green from there. It's not a shot I want to face on a regular basis, but it's a shot that CAN be done without a LW in the bag just by using a bit of imagination (and having a good command of the wedges that you DO carry).


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## 300Yards

Gotta love those flop shots..


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## dogged_it

I find my Lob wedge superb. The trouble with most of us we have no idea how farall our clubs go and then struggle spacing them crrectly. Of course with the loft and backspin it will only go a certain yardage and we must never force it further. But around the green invaluable. How many tour guys don't have a wedge 58 or higher. Fannying around with a sand iron has to be harder.


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## 300Yards

That was kinds the deal with me earlier..I NEVER hit my wedges full. No more than a 3/4 swing for me..to me, hitting a wedge that far is useless..


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## 373

At my age and with my... uh... (hmmm)... my roundness in the middle section... I can't take ANYTHING back much more than 3/4's without a total breakdown of my left arm. Since coming back to the game a little over a year ago, it's caused me to reevaluate what's in my bag, how far I can hit anything, but mostly changed the timing of my swing. That's been the toughest thing to adjust.

BTW - I didn't mention it before, but for you younger members of the forum, don't get the impression a lob wedge is something fairly new. I still have a 60 degree wedge that I bought in 1965. It was the first of the kind, made by Mac Hunter Company. It's called the Auld Blaster and has a very wide, rather rounded sole on it. It's also heavier than pretty much anything you would find today. As a club to hit full shots, it's not too useful because it's almost all flange, but out of deep rough from 20-30 yards around the greens, it's a wonderful club. If I still played somewhere that had that kind of trouble around the greens, I'd still use it. Like some clubs we probably all have, there's a sentimental attachment to it and I've simply kept it all these years. I'll post a picture of it later.


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## Police

A lob wedge isnt intended to be hit in full shots i only use mine for pitching and chiping and even out of a few bunkers but never really for full shots...Its always handy to keep one of these in your bag for emergencies.


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## Butz

Hey,

I love my Lob Wedge 
I'm glad my Golf Pro taught me well in the fundamental of chipping 

I can right now hit it at 100yards.


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## 373

I stuck mine back in my bag this morning. I'll be working about a half day today and tomorrow, but this afternoon, my friends don't have time to play, so I figure to go to the range and just pummel balls until I can get a feel for a few things I would like to do. I'm hoping the pro is available, (hasn't called back yet), and I'd gladly pay for the understanding of what I'm doing wrong with that wedge.

Between the L-wedge and a couple putters in my bag right now, I think I have about 16 clubs... I need to settle on a set...


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## Fourputt

Was watching Playing Lessons From the Pros on The Golf Channel last night. Tom Watson was the pro, and the highest lofted club he carries? 57°. Why? Because he says hasn't learned how to use a 60°. He hasn't found sufficient need for a 60° to bother with it. And I think he's had a little bit of success with his game without one.   

Just reinforces my feeling that those clubs are just too specialized to make a good fit in most players' bags. It almost seems to go hand in hand with the 300 yard drive. More of an ego thing than a real benefit to one's game. :dunno:


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## 300Yards

There are times when a 60* is the club I need. Particularly on fast greens, and on thick rough lies. Sometimes it's easier to hit it sky high, carry over the bunker, and stick it ot the green, then to play a low running chip, and just prays it stops on time. Frankly, I am suprised that Watson, as a pro, would see no use for it..it's hard to believe a ro can't use a 60*..I don't leave without one. The rules states 14 clubs, so why not fill all the spaces in your bag?


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## Fourputt

300Yards said:


> There are times when a 60* is the club I need. Particularly on fast greens, and on thick rough lies. Sometimes it's easier to hit it sky high, carry over the bunker, and stick it ot the green, then to play a low running chip, and just prays it stops on time. Frankly, I am suprised that Watson, as a pro, would see no use for it..it's hard to believe a ro can't use a 60*..I don't leave without one. The rules states 14 clubs, so why not fill all the spaces in your bag?


My spaces are all filled, just filled with clubs that are of more use to ME. And I'm sure that Watson's bag is full too. Just doesn't include a 60° wedge...


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## Doby45

Fourputt said:


> Just reinforces my feeling that those clubs are just too specialized to make a good fit in most players' bags. It almost seems to go hand in hand with the 300 yard drive. More of an ego thing than a real benefit to one's game. :dunno:



Just because Watson does not carry one, I would not make the assumption that the rule on most tours be it ladies, mens or amatuers is not to carry a lob. I think you would find a lob wedge in more bags than you think. If it is not for you then it is not for you, but it is by no means an ego club, unlike the 1 and 2 irons.


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## 300Yards

I'm not nagging you or anything..I just find it disturbing that a PROFESSIONAL GOLFER can't hit a Lob wedge..WOW! Maybe I should go pro..


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## Fourputt

Doby45 said:


> Just because Watson does not carry one, I would not make the assumption that the rule on most tours be it ladies, mens or amatuers is not to carry a lob. I think you would find a lob wedge in more bags than you think. If it is not for you then it is not for you, but it is by no means an ego club, unlike the 1 and 2 irons.


Did I make any assumptions about tour players?? I don't think so.:dunno: When I said most players bags, I was NOT referring to professional golfers. I'm talking about the yahoos you see daily out on the course who take 5 strokes with the LW from 20 yards out to finally get it to the green. And they are still 30 feet from the hole. I carried a 60° wedge for years. Then I started tracking my stats and I realized that it was getting used less and less as I figured out how many strokes it was costing me vs. how many it actually saved. Now, I pitch up with my gap wedge 90% of the time. If that means I don't get close to the hole, then so be it. But I do get ON the green, I don't skull the ball 30 yards over the green, and most of the time I'm no worse than in 2-putt range. 

I've played a lot of golf this year, and my avearge greens in regulation is in the range of 5-6 per 18 holes. But I make far more pars than the greens I hit, because I chip and pitch with a club that is user friendly. Far too many high handicappers stick a lob wedge in their bag thinking it's a cure all for missing greens, that with that in their bag they don't have to worry about where they miss a green, because they have the "everything" club. Most of them would make a lot faster progress on their short games by just forgetting that such a club even exists. It's a difficult club to learn and to play, and it requires constant practice to stay sharp with it. Lets face it.. we can't all be Phil Mickelsons.


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## Fourputt

300Yards said:


> I'm not nagging you or anything..I just find it disturbing that a PROFESSIONAL GOLFER can't hit a Lob wedge..WOW! Maybe I should go pro..



I think "can't" is taking it too far. Tom Watson just hasn't found the need for it. He learned the game, and played his best golf in the era before the LW became popular (Nicklaus never had one, nor did Trevino). He has always been one of the absolute best in the game at chipping and pitching, and if he saw a need he would have no problem learning how to use it. He just hasn't seen the need. :dunno:


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## JPsuff

Fourputt said:


> Did I make any assumptions about tour players?? I don't think so.:dunno: When I said most players bags, I was NOT referring to professional golfers. I'm talking about the yahoos you see daily out on the course who take 5 strokes with the LW from 20 yards out to finally get it to the green. And they are still 30 feet from the hole. I carried a 60° wedge for years. Then I started tracking my stats and I realized that it was getting used less and less as I figured out how many strokes it was costing me vs. how many it actually saved. Now, I pitch up with my gap wedge 90% of the time. If that means I don't get close to the hole, then so be it. But I do get ON the green, I don't skull the ball 30 yards over the green, and most of the time I'm no worse than in 2-putt range.
> 
> I've played a lot of golf this year, and my avearge greens in regulation is in the range of 5-6 per 18 holes. But I make far more pars than the greens I hit, because I chip and pitch with a club that is user friendly. Far too many high handicappers stick a lob wedge in their bag thinking it's a cure all for missing greens, that with that in their bag they don't have to worry about where they miss a green, because they have the "everything" club. Most of them would make a lot faster progress on their short games by just forgetting that such a club even exists. It's a difficult club to learn and to play, and it requires constant practice to stay sharp with it. Lets face it.. we can't all be Phil Mickelsons.




I agree 100%

I used to have a lob wedge (an oil can Vokey 60 degree) and I stopped counting how many times I'd mess up a simple shot with that thing. I guess that I got suckered into getting one because I got all caught up in getting the latest "It" club like everyone else. (sometimes I'm such a "consumer")

I think my problems stemmed from the fact that the club was brown. I just couldn't get used to looking down at a brown iron. Not only that, I think that the different color set off some weird mental trigger that told my brain that I had to have some special swing for this thing because it was a "special" club. Consequently I ended up handling it differently than a typical wedge and I just never got used to it.

It's funny because up until about eight years ago or so, I never even carried an extra wedge. For most of my golfing life I've only carried a PW and a Sand Wedge, and I played some of the best golf of my life back then. Heck, I was hitting flop shots back when Mickelson was in Junior High, only I called it "The Patented Pop Shot". 
I remember once while practicing on my front lawn, my girlfriend stopped by and was walking toward me. I set up my sand wedge with a wide open face, looked at her and said, "Here, catch!" and I took a fairly big swing and popped the ball towards her about fifteen feet away. She stood under it like an outfielder and it landed right in her hands as if I'd simply tossed it to her. I developed that shot exclusively for use from the heavy rough around the greens on the Black Course at Bethpage. I needed a shot that basically went straight up and landed with little forward roll. Man, I was good at that shot!

These days, I carry a 52 degree gap wedge (bent to 51) and a standard 56 degree sand wedge. I can do anything I need to with those clubs and I have absolutely no use for anything more lofted. And yes, I can still hit "The Patented Pop Shot" too.
I grind all my wedges down to the way I like them and once I get "comfortable" with the grind and the feel, I'm golden.
The Lob Wedge experiment was a dismal failure for me. Probably because it was a "fourth" wedge and I think I was trying to find reasons to justify its existence and as such I always felt awkward with it. It's in my garage now. I pulled the shaft out to use on another club so I guess maybe I'll clean it up and use it as a paperweight or something.

Besides, I remember seeing Tom Watson on a Golf Channel show and he made a point of telling the audience that he doesn't carry anything more than a 56 degree wedge. He said he doesn't like lob wedges and doesn't really see the point in them. Now Tom Watson is arguably one of the best wedge players in the world and if he doesn't carry a lob wedge, there must be something to what Fourputt and I are saying.


-JP


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## 300Yards

Fourputt said:


> I think "can't" is taking it too far. Tom Watson just hasn't found the need for it. He learned the game, and played his best golf in the era before the LW became popular (Nicklaus never had one, nor did Trevino). He has always been one of the absolute best in the game at chipping and pitching, and if he saw a need he would have no problem learning how to use it. He just hasn't seen the need. :dunno:


ok, that makes sense..but I still think peoples game would improve if they used one more. I guess it really depends on the course your playing. Some courses I play, all I need is my PW and my 56*..so to each his own, I suppose


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## 373

Well, trying to use that lob wedge today was a waste of time. Since there was nobody behind us the whole way around, every time I had a shot where I considered the lob wedge, I dropped another ball and hit the lob wedge AND the sand wedge. I did this 6 times, (no, I didn't hit many greens today), and in every case, even hitting 2 balls with the lob wedge, I did better with the sand wedge and once with the approach wedge. This thing just isn't for me.

So, tomorrow, it will be on it's way to Callaway Preowned as a trade for a two ball putter. I've been wanting to try one of those.


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## jump15vc

here's my opinion on the lob wedge/60 degree/ L wedge. for me its the same as having a 2 and 3 iron in my bag. i can hit it, it helps me score better and i'm comfortable hitting it almost any time. That being said i do not believe that it is a good club for most golfers and had been WAY over-marketed by clubmakers, looking to capitalize on the incredible things guys like tiger and phil can do with it. it is a very tough club to hit consistently unless you are very confident in it (as much as i like to say that i'm great with my wedges, there are times when the doubts creep in when i'm standing over a 50 yard pitch when i'm not swinging particularly well) it's also not very versatile in the hands of most golfers. Because of this i would not reccomend it for any novice or high handicapper and if you are going to put it in the bag make sure you put in the hours practicing to get a feel and confidence for how to hit this club.


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## JPsuff

.


I don't see it so much as good or bad golfer as much as I see it as simply redundant. I honestly don't see the big advantage to having a 60 degree wedge.

I've been playing this game for thirty eight years and my current handicap is around four and I've been as low as a two. In all those years, I have used only two wedges and it's only in the last five years or so that I've added a gap wedge to make a total of three.
When I tried using a 60 degree, I almost felt silly having it because the type of shots I'd need it for were the same shots I'd hit for decades with an open-faced sand wedge. It felt like I was trying to invent reasons for having the silly thing.

Right now, with a Pitching Wedge, a 52 degree and a 56 degree I feel as if I have more than enough wedges to cover any situation. I suppose that there are arguments to the contrary, but for me I simply can't find a justifiable reason to carry a lob wedge.


-JP


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## white_tiger_137

> Am I the only person in the world who can't seem to learn how to hit a lob wedge? :dunno:


That's better than being part of the 75% of the golfing world who THINK they can hit a lob wedge.


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## jump15vc

JPsuff said:


> .
> 
> 
> I don't see it so much as good or bad golfer as much as I see it as simply redundant. I honestly don't see the big advantage to having a 60 degree wedge.
> 
> I've been playing this game for thirty eight years and my current handicap is around four and I've been as low as a two. In all those years, I have used only two wedges and it's only in the last five years or so that I've added a gap wedge to make a total of three.
> When I tried using a 60 degree, I almost felt silly having it because the type of shots I'd need it for were the same shots I'd hit for decades with an open-faced sand wedge. It felt like I was trying to invent reasons for having the silly thing.
> 
> Right now, with a Pitching Wedge, a 52 degree and a 56 degree I feel as if I have more than enough wedges to cover any situation. I suppose that there are arguments to the contrary, but for me I simply can't find a justifiable reason to carry a lob wedge.
> 
> 
> -JP


thats your opinion but for me the lob wedge makes sense since i can hit higher, softer shots with it, and spin it on hard greens better than i can with the sand wedge. I can use it out of the fairway from 100 yards and in. you can hit a lot of shots with a sand wedge but it is easier to do these things consistently and with better results with a lob wedge. it just gives you more another option when faced with a tough shot around the green. as i said earlier its not for everyone and it has been over marketed but it does serve a purpose for many people.


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## white_tiger_137

What course(s) you play also can dictate what wedges you carry. At my home course, most of the greens are pretty sloped, so there are some shots that you simply couldn't pull off without a lob wedge.


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## 373

white_tiger_137 said:


> What course(s) you play also can dictate what wedges you carry.


No question about that!

Earlier in this thread, I commented that the places I tended to play most frequently didn't seem to make me need a lob wedge so much. I was satisfied with my ability to land an open faced sand wedge softly enough to be effective with it. (My sand wedge has a large flange, but not much bounce)

Last weekend, I played at a course where the nature and length of grass around the greens was such that I felt a lob wedge might have been a good tool to have in my sack. (This, presuming I could use it in the first place)

One of the guys I played with last weekend had a beautiful 60 degree Cleveland berillium copper lob wedge. He let me hit a few shots with it and I have to say, that material was the softest feeling stuff I've ever seen. With feel like that, I wonder if I could learn to hit that club better than my Callaway X18 wedge, which has little feel at all as far as I'm concerned.

I might have to go check ebay for something in copper. He also mentioned an unfinished steel configuration that is allowed to rust, saying it created great spin and felt as good as the BeCu... I wonder?


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## Fourputt

That comment about BeCu feeling soft is interesting. :dunno: Unless they've changed the composition of that alloy a lot from what they were making clubs from 15 years ago, it is actually harder than cast stainless. Even one of the selling points back then was that the clubheads were almost indestructable. I know from being a machinist for 33 years that berillium itself is a horrible metal to work with. It takes specialzed tooling designed for the job to cut it effectively.


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## 373

Hey Rick,

I have no idea... For all I know, BeCu is something in the vitamins I take.

I do know that copper is soft, so maybe that has something to do with it, but anything is worth a try. I decided not to play this afternoon, doing some work around the house instead... (right, like sitting here reading this forum is work, huh?)

Cleaning out a closet a little while ago, I found my old Zebra putter and stuck it in my bag. If the new Oddysey 2 ball SRT doesn't arrive by tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to try the Zebra again just for fun!


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## jump15vc

i think your friend was talking about a raw mild finish vokey or oil can, both of which rust over time and feel great, personally i prefer the oil cans, i really like the feel and the color really frames the ball well at address, the way it looks when addressing a ball is confidence-inspiring for some reason.


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## JPsuff

white_tiger_137 said:


> What course(s) you play also can dictate what wedges you carry. At my home course, most of the greens are pretty sloped, so there are some shots that you simply couldn't pull off without a lob wedge.



Maybe.

All I know is that for my first 25 years of playing golf all I ever carried was a PW and a SW. Heck, when I first started playing, a "standard" set of irons consisted of the 3, 5 , 7 and 9-irons. The 2, 4, 6 and 8-irons were "special order" clubs; as was a PW and a SW.
In fact, it was a few years before I was even carrying a Pitching Wedge and a couple of years after that before I bought my first Sand Wedge.

I managed. I thrived, actually.

In fact, learning the game that way taught me that there were several ways to hit a ball with a single club. When I was playing a "full set" (including a 1-iron) I played a variety of courses - especially a lot of Tillinghast courses with many elevated greens, descending greens and plenty of contours, all of which I negotiated with just a humble Sand Wedge. Open faced, closed faced, face-forward, face-back, soft hands "hard" hands, flip, no-flip you name it, I could hit it (especially my Patented Pop Shot!)

I think learning several shots with one club is far more valuable than carrying "designer" clubs for each shot. Using the same club allows me to develop a feel for THAT club and because it's always the same club, that feel never changes. Now I'm free to concentrate on adding variety while still maintaining feel.
Adding extra wedges, in my opinion, simply means that I have more clubs to have to get used to and to me that's silly.

That's as far as pitching is concerned. Chipping is altogether different. I'll chip with anything from a 3-wood to a 56 degree wedge but usually my "standard" chipping club is an 8-iron. I'll use that probably eight of ten times for similar reasons as to why I prefer one Wedge over many.
When I say "one wedge" I know that sounds strange since I list three, including the Pitching Wedge. But my "go to" wedge is and always has been my 52 degree. I rarely use my 56 as anything more than a Sand Wedge and the only real reason for that is because I have cutomized the bounce in my 52 to where it is not quite as effective out of the sand as a full-bounce 56. But it works virtually everywhere else.

To each his own, but when it comes to finesse shots, I think that knowing many shots with one club beats few shots with many clubs.


But that's me.



-JP


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## Fourputt

My progression was very similar to JP's. My original "set" was 3-5-7-9 irons, 1-3 woods, and putter. I changed out all but the putter after about 10 years of sporadic play for a real "full" set (Golden Ram) that included all the irons from 3-PW, 1-3-5 woods. I played with just that one wedge for another 10-11 years. In 1987 I bought another new set, and for the first time I added a matching SW to my bag. I carried a LW for a few years from the late 90's, but I did it more because I thought I was "suposed" to have it, not really because it imparted all that much value to my game. I finally got smart and pulled out of of my bag last summer, and it has not been missed... I haven't had one shot where I regretted that decision. Not that I haven't had any situations where I couldn't have used it, but I find that with a little imagination I can still deal with 99.9% of all the shots that might have tempted me to use the LW. And for me, using my imagination to come up with shots has always been one of the most rewarding aspects of golf. :thumbsup:


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## 373

I snagged a beryllium/copper wedge on ebay last night... used, good shape Cleveland, 56 degree... I'll try it and see what happens.


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## jump15vc

i'm not saying that lob wedges are an alternative to learn different shot but that they make a lot of those shots easier and more effective. I think that's important because golf is a hard enough game as it is without making it harder for yourself all because you think you can hit almost the same shot with a sand wedge. for people who would rather have an extra hybrid or wood in their bag rather than a lob wedge, when you consider how often you will hit each one the lob wedge is much more valuable. To me if i'm in between clubs i make due but there are some shots that i can't hit on northeastern US golf courses without a lob wedge in the bag. This may be different where you guys play but theres most courses here have small greens and plenty of slope so unless you miss the green on the correct side every time and give away any chance of making birdies you will need a lob wedge to get up and down very often.

I play on the top junior tour in the country, arguably the world and very few of us would dare play the courses we play without a 60 degree in the bag


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## Fourputt

jump15vc said:


> i'm not saying that lob wedges are an alternative to learn different shot but that they make a lot of those shots easier and more effective. I think that's important because golf is a hard enough game as it is without making it harder for yourself all because you think you can hit almost the same shot with a sand wedge. *for people who would rather have an extra hybrid or wood in their bag rather than a lob wedge, when you consider how often you will hit each one the lob wedge is much more valuable.* To me if i'm in between clubs i make due but there are some shots that i can't hit on northeastern US golf courses without a lob wedge in the bag. This may be different where you guys play but theres most courses here have small greens and plenty of slope so unless you miss the green on the correct side every time and give away any chance of making birdies you will need a lob wedge to get up and down very often.
> 
> I play on the top junior tour in the country, arguably the world and very few of us would dare play the courses we play without a 60 degree in the bag


The bolded statement does not apply to me. I will hit the hybrid many more times in a round than I did even in my most active times with the LW. And I will use it to better effect. I won't chunk it into a bunker, or skull it across the green into a hazard. With a LW, you either hit it perfect, or the results are anywhere from bad to disastrous. Even a near miss will end in a worse shot than the worst I'll ever do with my gap wedge. That is why it has no value at all to me. I dragged one around the course with me for 7 or 8 years, so it's not like I'm just making noise to make noise. 

It is definitely NOT the club for everyone. If it works for you that's great. My only argument here is that the LW does not belong in the bag of most players, simply because 75% of us don't practice enough or strike the ball with the accuracy necessary to be successful with it. I have a decent wedge game without it and a very shaky wedge game with it... so I go without. :dunno:


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## jump15vc

thats actually the exact same thing i said. i was only contesting the notion that you can hit the same shots with a sand wedge which is simply not true


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