The Lob Shot

Mark Oswald
General Manager
The Highlands at Dove Mountain in Marana, AZ.
Marana, AZ
oswaldpga@gmail.com

More Information

The lob shot is a short high lofting shot played from inside of fifty yards. This shot is an approach shot into the green used to hit the ball high into the air and land softly on the putting green. It is a great shot to have in your arsenal of golf shots. 

Many golfers have trouble hitting a shot that is not a full swing. To begin with you will need a club with a lot of loft, choke down on the club for shorter shots and take less than a full backswing. The combination of less loft, choking down on the grip and less backswing will reduce the flight distance. You will need a Sand or Lob Wedge to really become effective with this shot, this club should have at least fifty six to sixty degrees of loft. If you are trying to hit this shot with a pitching wedge or nine iron, you’re in trouble. You cannot get the ball high enough into the air and have any chance of stopping on the green without a high lofted wedge.

Use your backswing as the next guide. If you have choked down on the club and it is still going too far, your next step is to begin shortening the backswing. A very common mistake is to take a full backswing and then decelerate down to the ball. The deceleration causes many miss hits. Take the club back only far enough that it allows you to accelerate through impact. Practice varying the length of your backswing and see how far the ball flies. Remember, keep accelerating!

The fundamentals to making this stroke include playing the ball forward in your stance. This allows you to loft the ball into the air.  Take a light grip pressure and allow the hands to be a part of the swing. In taking the club back you will cock your wrists and then allow them to release the wrists on the downswing. Clip the grass; you must make contact with the grass under the ball for that high soft shot.

This shot will take some experimenting and a lot of practice. You must learn how much backswing and how much to choke down and what loft works for the proper distance and desired ball flight.  Go to the practice range and try landing the ball different distances.  Work on this shot, you’ll probably need it a couple of times during your next round of golf.

For more help with your golf game, contact Mark Oswald at Oswaldpga@gmail.com.