Accurate Golf Lob Shots

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Accurate Golf Lob Shots

The golf lob shot is usually a short shot of no more than 50 yards at most, and is usually employed to get the ball high very quickly, often to get it over an obstacle of some kind. It is a shot that can be used in a sand bunker, for example, where you need to lift the ball forcefully and drive it towards the hole, all in one shot, though perhaps a sand wedge is actually more useful in such a situation. A lob wedge is generally used to gain greater accuracy than a full iron shot.

In your set up with a golf lob shot, aim to the left of your target. The reason for doing this is that the ball will spin towards the right upon landing on the green, thereby cancelling out the original left of target attitude. At least, that’s the theory. If you want to add extra height to the ball, say, to lift it over a particularly high obstacle, then open the clubface more before striking the shot.

The swing is important if you hope to get a fairly accurate golf lob. Start by setting your weight fairly evenly distributed on both feet. Feel comfortable with your stance and well balanced. Then you should swing the club back, keeping on your body line, and then swing through without letting the clubface turn in any way. If you finish the shot with the clubface open, that is, pointing upwards towards the sky, then you will have maximised your height potential for the shot. This will also give it a higher degree of spin, which should make it stop quickly once it hits the green.

The reason why you should use a golf lob wedge for shots around 50 yards or so, and not just stick to a sand wedge or pitching wedge, is that it has additional loft, or lifting power. This means it will fly high, but not go to far forwards. This in turn means you can take a full strength swing at the ball, and not be forced to hold back in what is basically a fairly unnatural action. Being able to let fly, as it were, also lets you set a more accurate direction, causing the ball to go more or less where you want it to go.

The golf lob shot is not the easiest of shots to perform. If you give it too little strength it will die on you, going little forward distance and gaining little height as it goes. If you hit too hard it will possibly go too far and not high enough. You really need to “feel” you way through each shot, so a lot of practice is probably the best way to gain the necessary experience.

Guest post by Liz on behalf of GoKart electric golf carts – we’re passionate about golf!

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