Conquer your lob wedge disasters by following this simple lesson

If you’re an amateur golfer, you probably fear the lob wedge just a little bit. That’s not meant as a dig, but the facts are clear: The lob wedge’s extreme loft makes its one of the more difficult clubs to hit.

Hell, even the great Lee Trevino once said that most amateurs have no idea how to “use the damn thing” when referring to the lob wedge.

But understanding when to use the lob wedge is almost as important as knowing how. So if you lack confidence or straight up fear using the damn thing, GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jason Birnbaum’s here to help.

gThe video below explains his tips, so give it a look!

Master the lob wedge with these tips

“I want to talk to you about when to use the lob wedge, the most-lofted club in your bag,” Birnbaum says. “The only time I want you to use this is when you’re close to the green and you’ve got to hit the ball and get it to land softly without any roll-out.”

Birnbaum then says that following simple fundamentals while setting up is most important to hit a proper lob wedge shot.

“Setup is key, with a really wide stance and the ball forward,” he tells me. “I’m then going to open the clubface a bit and make this a little bit more of a wristy shot, using the back bottom part of the club [aka the bounce] to go into the turf a little bit.”

After describing how the setup should look with the lob wedge, Birnbaum busts out a visual for me to better understand the angle of the clubface, sticking a plastic arrow on it to show me where it should be pointing at address.

“A lot of times, golfers hit this shot and the arrow’s pointing low or to the left. Those are the ones that’ll come out screaming and not stop rolling,” he adds. “I want to feel like I’m using so much wrist that when I come through, the arrow’s pointing straight to the sky.”

The image below shows how the clubface should appear at address when using a lob wedge.

As Birnbaum demonstrates a shot, he reminds me to get the “back bottom of the club into the turf,” which is going to help elevate the ball and help it land softly onto the putting surface.

“It’s a weird shot because you’re almost stabbing at it a little bit, but with the high-lofted club and the face being open, that’s a good thing.”

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Nick Dimengo

Golf.com Editor