The high lob shot is seductive. You’ve seen tour pros flop one over a bunker and stop it on a dime. It looks so cool, so professional. So, you try it and you either blade it across the green or chunk it. Maybe one out of every 20 attempts actually works and you walk away thinking you just need more practice.
The high lob shot is a low-percentage play for most golfers and there’s almost always a better option. I’m going to explain why this shot fails so often and give you a safer alternative that will save you strokes immediately.
Why the lob shot is so difficult
The high lob shot requires you to do several things perfectly. You need to open the clubface significantly. You need to swing along your body line, not the target line. You need to maintain clubhead speed through impact, even though you’re trying to hit it a short distance. And you need to slide the club under the ball without the leading edge digging into the ground.
Miss any one of them and the shot fails spectacularly. The margin for error is tiny. If you’re off by even a quarter of an inch, you’re in trouble. This is why tour players practice this shot constantly and still only use it when they absolutely have to.
The lie matters more than you think
The lob shot requires a good lie. You need the ball sitting up so you can slide the club underneath it. In a tight lie, there’s no margin for error. In thick rough, the grass can grab the hosel and close the face. The lob shot works best from light rough or fairway where the ball is sitting up nicely, precisely the scenario where you have other better options.
The safer alternative: the bump and run
Instead of trying to fly the ball to the hole, bump it onto the green and let it roll. This is a much higher-percentage shot.
You take a less lofted club, maybe an 8-iron or 9-iron, and make a putting stroke with it. The ball pops up just a little, lands on the green and rolls to the hole. It’s simple, repeatable and very hard to mess up badly.
The beauty of this shot is that even your misses are OK. If you catch it a little thin, it still works. If you catch it a little fat, it usually still gets on the green. Compare that to the lob shot where a thin shot goes across the green and a fat shot goes nowhere.
How to hit the bump-and-run
Set up with the ball back in your stance, off your right instep (for right-handers). Put your weight on your left side and keep it there throughout the shot. Grip down on the club for more control. Your hands should be ahead of the ball at address and stay ahead through impact.
Make a putting stroke. Keep your wrists quiet and rock your shoulders. The club will naturally hit down on the ball because of where it is in your stance. The ball will pop up, land on the green and roll.
The key is picking the right club. A general rule is that the ball will be in the air about one-third of the total distance and roll two-thirds. Pick a club that gives you that ratio.
When you actually need the lob shot
I’m not saying you should never hit a lob shot. If you have a bunker or water between you and the hole with very little green to work with, you might need to fly it most of the way. If the green is running away from you and a bump-and-run would roll off the back, a lob shot might be better.
But these situations are rarer than you think. Before you pull out your lob wedge and open the face, ask yourself if there’s a simpler, safer option.
The in-between shot: the standard pitch
There’s also a middle ground: the standard pitch shot. Take your sand wedge or gap wedge, make a normal swing with a normal setup and let the club’s loft do the work.
This shot flies higher than a bump-and-run but not as high as a lob shot. It’s easier to execute than a lob because you’re not opening the face or doing anything unusual. You’re just making a smaller version of your normal swing.
For most situations around the green, this standard pitch is your best option. It’s reliable, easy to control and works from almost any lie.
Practice the shots you’ll actually use
Next time you practice your short game, spend 80 percent of your time on bump and runs and standard pitches, and only 20 percent on lob shots. Most golfers do the opposite. They spend all their time practicing the flashy lob shot because it’s fun and then they wonder why their scoring doesn’t improve.
Practice landing the ball in specific spots. Learn how different clubs roll out. This knowledge will save you more strokes than hitting a perfect lob shot one out of 10 times.
Build your short game around safer, more reliable shots and save the lob for those rare times when you truly need it. Your scorecard will thank you.
The post Why Your High Lob Shot Fails: Safer Options To Use Instead appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
