Dump the Lob Wedge?

[Highdraw34]

I ended last season as a 10. I carry a 61 degree Solus Wedge. I have to say I love it and couldn't get around effectively without it. I also have the luxury of using a private short game facility at the course I work at. During peak season I usually spend about 4 hours a week hitting bunker shots and all kinds of short game shots on the practice facility. My fatal flaw is my missed GIRs I short side myself a lot and find bunkers and ridges constantly in my way. I have used the 61 degree to stop the bleeding when I miss the green.


The pro at my course is constantly reminding me to take an outside in swing path and excellerate the club head through impact. If I do that with an open face I usually hit it solid 9 out of ten times. It does take a lo of practice though.

 

[Clugnut]

I have a problem with opening a 54 degree wedge really far to hit a high lob, then using an out to in stroke, as mine tends to be. The effective hitting area is greatly reduced. I'm actually considering having my lob bent to 63-64 so I don't have to open it. Bending it will also increase the bounce some, which I'm finding I could use.

 

[DaGris]

on a good day I shoot in the 80's.........most of the time I'm right at boggie golf, 90

I have a lw, sw, and a pw..........I dont use my lw and sw very much. I can choke up and play my pw up in my stance and make several different shots....I have alot more confidence playing that way.........I'm thinking about taking the lw out....

 

[gregfletch]

WOW! Really cool comments and some very good thoughts. Thanks again to everyone for their opinions. Especially the following:

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“Have dropped my SW as i do not need the bounce to get out of the sand and fairway are tight. For a high hcp player i would not carry one. Go for the middle of the green when you are short sided. Learn to pitch and run 1st. The lob wedge requires a lot of confidence and "feel"

- very true and good to know that someone else has the same "feel" - since the bounce of my SW is only 10 degrees, that's probably why I stumbled into the fact that I am feeling comfortable hitting shots around the green with it instead of reaching for the lob wedge and "getting fancy"...
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Ignite 33:<o></o>
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“I carry a 56* CG14 and its perfect. You can use it for pitching/chipping, and you can easily open it up to get a flop shot, so I believe that a lob wedge is not really needed.”

- again, thanks for the comment - now that the LW is out of the bag, I've tried opening up the SW and sure enough, it works for higher softer shots which (as many have pointed out) you definately need several times a round...
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MCDavis:<o></o>
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“If you really want to improve your short game, stop being so dependant on a different club for every shot. Start learning to hit multiple shots with the same club. My 56º is used from the fairway, from the sand, and as a lob wedge around the green. In actuality, I've used my 52º from all of those same locations with success, also. When you can step up to any shot from 100 in with confidence regardless of what club is in your hand, your scores will improve.<!-- google_ad_section_end -->”<o></o>
<o> </o>
“Based on what he says above, my response is yes you can. You've got confidence in your 55 SW and have lost confidence in your 60. Dump it for a while and see how your scores go. If you need it, you can always put it back in the bag. If you don't, you've opened up a spot in the bag for something else.<!-- google_ad_section_end -->”

- right on point and what I'm finding to be the case for me...<o></o>
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Papperlapub:<o></o>
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“I definitely agree with MCDavis - especially in pressure situations it is essential to have a club that you can rely on. I myself play a 56 Sandwedge for almost everything around the green where i do not want to have a roll.”

- another good point this is what really started the problem for me with the LW - I went from feeling like I was "Phil the Thrill" to wondering what in the world was gonna happen when I tried the shot (even after a lot of practice)
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Pa Jayhawk:<o></o>
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“Although I think there is also a bigger picture here that he touched on in his comments as well. Using your mind to know when you don't, or no longer have a shot in your bag. You can reduce your score without any club in your bag with exception to maybe your putter. To even ask the question leads me to believe you will do better without that club in your bag. As he indicated with confidence. Once you question your confidence in a club, IMO it is time to get the club out of the bag as quickly as you can during regular rounds to avoid the temptation. Even though it does not apply to me (except on occasions), this is why I always compare the LW to the Driver. I have seen far more instances where a player would do far better if they just broke their driver over their knee every time they reach for the club. You just smell the lack of confidence, and as they step to the tee you hear the animals running for cover, when they should actually be running onto the fairway. I am usually the same anytime I have replaced my driver, and likely the reason I think my G2 will have a very long lifespan even though it likely has too little loft for my current game. I have confidence in the club and even if I lose a few yard because of the loft, I like the consistency.

This is why I do not, nor will I likely ever carry a 3w again. It took me several years to realize as well as I hit my 5w, I really do not need a 13* club in my bag (unless it is a driver). It happened last year with the SW I owned, and lost confidence. Although in that case, I always liked my SW before so instead bought a different one. And it was also the case with my first LW, and it took me about 3 years before I was willing to risk getting a new one after we moved up here. In all cases though, it was a matter of getting the thing out of my bag, and watching my scores drop. Probably a situation that was the case with me originally, by gosh, I spent good money for that club and I was going to use it before I would admit it did not belong in my bag. So for about 3 years I carried around a 3w that I payed good money for, and in return it cost about 2 strokes a round. I could likely hit my driver off the deck with as much consistency, and twice as good off the tee. For the SW, it was only used about 4 months, but thankfully I am getting better at cutting my ties and losses.

Again, I have seen a ton of golfers that would be really good if they just realize to get rid of a driver. Instead, I see them continue to pull the thing on about 14 holes year after year. I've seen some that likely hit their 5i as far as I hit my driver, and fairly consistent. Yet they carry about a 30 handicap, and likely take 10-12 penalties a round on the average. This is not to say that I have not seen a few that should do the same with a LW.<!-- google_ad_section_end -->”

- One more time - thanks very much for your thoughts! Although the post was about a LW and how important it is to better players, what you are saying is what is behind all of this stuff about what clubs we choose and why. After reading "The Search for the Perfect Golf Club" and honestly evaluating my game and how I want to improve, I've made some changes to what clubs are in my bag and I'm starting to see improvement on the course as a result.

Really thinking about the actual distances I hit each club and building a bag that gives the best "coverage" along with understanding how to manage yourself around the course are very important. I also do think that the three most important clubs in everyone's bag are (in order of importance) putter, wedge, and driver. I've now realized that for me (at least for the forseeable future) the wedge I've got to learn to love is NOT a high loft low bounce club but a more versatile SW with a little less bounce than "normal". The putter will never leave because like you mentioned it's all about confidence and practice, practice, practice. After so many hours on the greens with the same putter, I feel that I really have a much better shot at ensuring that I can hit it on the line and speed that I read. I bet Tiger will never change his putter for this very reason. Finally, you are so right about the driver! I've cut down my driver by an inch and immediately started hitting more fairways - I'm seriously thinking about going to a higher lofted driver as well now that the price of the Taylor Made Draw clubs have come way down, but that's a whole other issue since I may be hitting it as far as possible with what I've got in the bag now....

Again - thanks very much for all the comments...