The Lob Wedge of Torment

[Golfballawhackerguy]

Is it just me, or does anyone else get hot/cold results using the old 60* LW? It's gotten to the point that standing over a shot I feel like I've got the sword of Damocles hanging over me. I've hit it great, and I can hit it great...but sometimes it just bites back.

I don't use it that often. Just for shots that call for it's towering trajectory and stop-on-a-dime control. I like it especially for tricky downhill lies around the green. Flop shots....etc.

I've had several rounds ruined by its trickery. I don't think I have yet mastered its powers. "It" gave me a double on an easy par three today. Although "it" has also gotten me out of trouble in the past.

What should I do........I guess practice makes perfect.

[zaphod]

Stay with it. The lob wedge is one of the essential clubs in my bag. so many things you can do with it.

Biggest reason for failed shots with it IMHO is not keeping the loft through the ball. Scooping. My thought is to drive the ball forward letting the loft of the club work.

[CosmosMpower]

Yes, sometimes I hit it within a foot of the pin from 30 yards out and sometimes it just goes 10 yards and I have a huge piece of grass on the end of a stick. I've started using it a lot less lately and going with a bump and run when possible instead of a high flop.

[SilverUberXeno]

Don't think flop. Think hit the ball. The loft of the club will hit it high and soft. Of course you CAN hit a flop, and it's a nice shot to have, but you shouldn't focus on this when you're just chipping/pitching. Zaphie has it right-- do NOT scoop.

[gunning4u]

Originally Posted by Golfballawhackerguy

Is it just me, or does anyone else get hot/cold results using the old 60* LW? It's gotten to the point that standing over a shot I feel like I've got the sword of Damocles hanging over me. I've hit it great, and I can hit it great...but sometimes it just bites back.

I don't use it that often. Just for shots that call for it's towering trajectory and stop-on-a-dime control. I like it especially for tricky downhill lies around the green. Flop shots....etc.

I've had several rounds ruined by its trickery. I don't think I have yet mastered its powers. "It" gave me a double on an easy par three today. Although "it" has also gotten me out of trouble in the past.

What should I do........I guess practice makes perfect.

WTF is the sword of Damocles

Its all about the bounce I think, I have a 60 with high bounce and I cant hit it worth a sh*t but I have a 58* low bounce that I hit great go figure.

[Wi-Golfer]

I dumped the 60º, have a 58º but never use it. The one I use the most & it may be unconventional but it works for me is my 50º. I have confidence in that club & make it work. I want to pick up a 54º with low bounce & experiment.

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by gunning4u

WTF is the sword of Damocles

What, they don't teach Greek mythology in high school anymore?

[Pa Jayhawk]

I think you summed it up in your own post. LW is not really different than any other club. How many shots do you hit with your other clubs that you have not either hit alot in the past, or practiced. If you use it little on the course, and never practice with the club it will likely mark disaster. The reason that if I don't have time to practice any of the other shots, I just stick with shots I know how to execute with any club in my bag, like a 3/4 swing or a chip. Just like I would not just assume I can hit a 70 yard knockdown with say a 7i when I have never practiced the shot. I know I can execute a 3/4 swing, and that is a perfect 3/4 on my LW. If it where say 60 yards, I would still put a 3/4 LW closer than a knockdown with a 7i, so take the most reliable and live with the outcome. Because I tend to go out and practice the others, I am not standing over the ball saying "Where is this going to go, how is it going to react?" If I do, I put it back in the bag just as I would with any of the other clubs in my bag when faced with that predicament.

Same with a Driver. If I hit it inconsistent all day, why should I assume It will be laser straight and where I want it to go just because it is a reachable par 4. There are better options, and just because I have eagled the hole on days where my driver was consistent doesn't mean my ball will be in play this time and a layup with a lesser club and chance at birdie is the better scoring option.

[slickpitt]

I rarely take a full cut with my 60... I just don't have any confidence with it.

[Golfballawhackerguy]

Originally Posted by gunning4u

WTF is the sword of Damocles

Its all about the bounce I think, I have a 60 with high bounce and I cant hit it worth a sh*t but I have a 58* low bounce that I hit great go figure.

Sword of Damocles....kind of a metaphor (Dionysius II, Syracuse)....you have all the power but are in constant danger, mostly by circumstances of chance.
It's a low bounce.

[SiberianDVM]

I used to hit 90% of my around the green shots with the 60°, but now I use mostly the 52°. The 60° is still my weapon of choice out of the sand, for lobs and flops, and some short pitches.

But it, and the other wedges, still act schizophrenic occasionally. I absolutely hate the bad shot I can produce with them when I forget to commit to hitting down on the ball on a 1/4 pitch shot: a low squirter off to the right that looks just like a shank but isn't. The pseudo-shank. My record at the range is 20 of these in a row. No, I wasn't trying to hit that many, it just happened.

[Eracer]

I banished my 60º long ago. I still have one hanging around, but frankly, I don't think I'll ever need it. My sand wedge does nearly everything I would need a lob wedge for. And I don't practice the shots that only a lob wedge can pull off enough to make me bag one. Hard packed sand in a bunker next to a short-sided pin? A low-bounce lob wedge is the right choice. Other than that?

Be gone, demon club...

[MCDavis]

Originally Posted by Eracer

I banished my 60º long ago. I still have one hanging around, but frankly, I don't think I'll ever need it. My sand wedge does nearly everything I would need a lob wedge for. And I don't practice the shots that only a lob wedge can pull off enough to make me bag one. Hard packed sand in a bunker next to a short-sided pin? A low-bounce lob wedge is the right choice. Other than that?

Be gone, demon club...

Exactly my feeling on lob wedges. Sig shows my wedge set up...I have no plans to change it any time in the near future.

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by MCDavis

Exactly my feeling on lob wedges. Sig shows my wedge set up...I have no plans to change it any time in the near future.

You are mellowing in your old age. I fully expected you to retort with:

"Oh yeah, you can do it all with that "trusty" sand wedge you've got: You can $hank, thin, chil-dip, fat, chunk, pull, and otherwise hit clunkers all day long..."

[MCDavis]

Originally Posted by Eracer

You are mellowing in your old age. I fully expected you to retort with:

"Oh yeah, you can do it all with that "trusty" sand wedge you've got: You can $hank, thin, chil-dip, fat, chunk, pull, and otherwise hit clunkers all day long..."

Now, I don't have to.