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Lob Wedges, what are they good for?


bkirkley09

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I use the PM Grind, which the HiToe is essentially a knock off of.

 

Great from sand, around greens and inside 90 yards.

2021 Bag Update:

 

Epic Max LS - MMT 60S

Epic Flash 5 Wood

Epic 3/4 Hybrids

Apex '21 Irons 5-7  MMT95 TT

Apex Pro '21 Irons 8-A  MMT95 TT

PM Grind Slate Wedges 58/64

Odyssey Exo Mini 7s

B330 XS Yellow

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My 58 is my normal wedge. My 64 is my lob wedge. And I’d like to give a massive shout for the Callaway Mack Daddy 4. I couldn’t be happier with the performance, the spin, the stability, the ease of use, the consistency and the flexibility of the X Grind. A wonderful club.

 

And if you’re looking for spin, the Hi Toe and the MD4 seem to have the Vokey whipped, according to a couple of reviews I’ve read. I haven’t tried the SM7, but I had an SM6 that I didn’t care for and sold fairly soon after buying it.

and if you can’t hit it the 64 is a hell of a burger flipper

Callaway Paradyn 9°
Ping G 3 W
Ping G 5W
Ping g400 Hybrid
Mizuno JPX 923 hot metal HL 5-GW
Vokey 50-08 sm8
Vokey 56-08 sm9
Spider Tour 34”

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I had given up on my Mizuno MP T11 60* wedge several years ago as I thought I was making more bad shots than good. Fast forward to about a year ago when I switched to Cleveland CB wedges and decided to give a 60 another try. It is now my favorite wedge for a variety of shots. Just yesterday I played 9 holes and made two nice full shots from 90 yards. I also made made two flop shots over bunkers. I also like the 60 for partial swing shots for shots under the full swing 90 yards. The lob wedge has really helped my game but I will admit that I tend to practice with it more than I did in the past.

Ping G400 Max 10.5
Ping G400 5 wood
Ping i-e1 4-U Nippon 105 Stiff
Cleveland 588 RTX CB 52, 56&60
Cameron Squareback 1 Studio Select

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When the 60 lob wedge first came out, it was like cheating because before that, took a lot of skill to hit the lob shot with a regular SW, for example a Cleveland 588 56* SW with 14* of bounce. Then the low bounce lob wedge (60-03 I believe) came out and everybody wanted it but not everybody could use it properly, me being one of them.

 

I still carry a low bounce lob wedge for short sided shots and hard sand which I play in a lot. I just stopped using it for shots where a lower lofted running shot is a higher percentage shot.

 

Having said that, I have a playing partner that can do everything around the greens with his lob wedge by just opening and shutting down club face and lower/higher finish.

 
TaylorMade Stealth HD 10.5 Driver
Yamaha RMX 220 17* 5 Wood
Callaway Apex 21 Hybrids - 21* and 24*
Callaway Apex 21 P-6 Irons
Titleist Vokey SM9 Wedges 56-14F and 60-4T
Slighter Seattle Custom Putter
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I had given up on my Mizuno MP T11 60* wedge several years ago as I thought I was making more bad shots than good. Fast forward to about a year ago when I switched to Cleveland CB wedges and decided to give a 60 another try. It is now my favorite wedge for a variety of shots. Just yesterday I played 9 holes and made two nice full shots from 90 yards. I also made made two flop shots over bunkers. I also like the 60 for partial swing shots for shots under the full swing 90 yards. The lob wedge has really helped my game but I will admit that I tend to practice with it more than I did in the past.

 

+1. One of my faves is the Cleveland 588 Rotex 2.0 CB wedge, the one before they switched to the v-sole. The 2.0 can do anything. Still see them around for low prices and I think they are as nice a forgiving wedge as you will find.

Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond 10.5 w/Diamana TB 60S

PXG GEN6 5 wood w/Diamana S-plus 70 stiff

Yamaha RMX VD 7 wood w/Diamana S-plus 70 stiff

Callaway Mavrik Pro hybrid (22) w/Aldila Tour Blue 85 stiff hybrid

Wilson Staff Model CB 5-G w/DG s300 shafts

Edel T grind 54 w/Nippon 125 wedge shaft

Fourteen RM-12 58 w/Dynamic Golds400

Axis1 Rose putter, 34 inches

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As pretty much a newb - not much. I haven't pulled my 58 out of the bag all summer. I have used a 54 vokey m grind for pretty much everything 50 and in that's not a chip off the fringe and I'm surprised how much you can do with 1 club by altering how open or closed or where I put the ball in my stance etc. I imagine as I improve and learn more I'll begin putting the lob into play more. The course I play doesn't have many bunkers and those are very shallow, so there's that as well.

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I’ve notice two category type of players; one the golfer who only uses one wedge for everything or secondly, the golfer who uses a variety of clubs around the greens.

 

I woundn’t stress it.

 

I prefer to use a variety of clubs because I try to keep my stroke as consistent or similarly to a putting stroke and this means I’ll even use a 3 wood greenside.

 

I find I’m more successful rolling the ball into the hole vs lobbing it; hence more hole outs.

 

As pretty much a newb - not much. I haven't pulled my 58 out of the bag all summer. I have used a 54 vokey m grind for pretty much everything 50 and in that's not a chip off the fringe and I'm surprised how much you can do with 1 club by altering how open or closed or where I put the ball in my stance etc. I imagine as I improve and learn more I'll begin putting the lob into play more. The course I play doesn't have many bunkers and those are very shallow, so there's that as well.

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Specifically looking at 2 wedges and wanting to know what people here think about them. If there are other similar wedges then feel free to shout them out and what you like about them.

 

1. Vokey K-grind low bounce - recently started playing with this and it is a revelation. No worries at all of a tight lie causing me to blade the ball across the green. I can get up and down easily so far. Cons are that they are prohibitively expensive and everything is an upcharge. Lol.

 

2. Taylormade Hi-toe - no experience with it but upon reading about it it sounds like it may be even more versatile than then low bounce k grind.

 

This wedge will be used almost entirely for touch shots around the green and out of bunkers so looking for some advice on which one to go with. The Hi-toe is considerably cheaper but having always trusted the vokey name I did not want to make a mistake no matter how much cheaper the club is.

 

A vokey low bounce K is identical to a 258-08. You can find them for $20 on eBay. Its exactly the same club.

 

Most of vokey's tour sauce wedges (D Grind, etc...) are just re-packaged non-conforming wedges that are dirt cheap. Assuming you arn't trying to qualify for the US Open I'd start with one of those.

 

The groove rule is the best thing that ever happened to Vokey. They get to resell all their old designs as super-tech tour-inspired nonsense.

G400 Max 9* Ventus Red 5X, SIM Ventus Red 6X 

Callaway Mavrik 4 (18*) - AW (46*) Project X 5.5

Vokey SM4 50* SM5 56*

Cameron Phantom 5S

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My own pointless unscientific theory of the lob wedge is that it's not that people can't hit the loft; it's that they can't hit the bounce that generally comes with that loft.

 

A 56 is a forgiving club because it usually comes packaged with a decent bounce.

 

60s and 64s tend to come marketed as surgeons tools with 4 degrees bounce, or whatever.

 

It's not the extra 4 degrees of loft that magically makes the club hard to hit reliably, it's the 4-6 degrees less bounce that gives these clubs their reputation.

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My own pointless unscientific theory of the lob wedge is that it's not that people can't hit the loft; it's that they can't hit the bounce that generally comes with that loft.

 

A 56 is a forgiving club because it usually comes packaged with a decent bounce.

 

60s and 64s tend to come marketed as surgeons tools with 4 degrees bounce, or whatever.

 

It's not the extra 4 degrees of loft that magically makes the club hard to hit reliably, it's the 4-6 degrees less bounce that gives these clubs their reputation.

 

In part, yes.

 

Also because the face is so lofted it’s very difficult to hit the ball consistently. Incredibly easy to not get enough purchase on the ball which means it goes very short.

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Specifically looking at 2 wedges and wanting to know what people here think about them. If there are other similar wedges then feel free to shout them out and what you like about them.

 

1. Vokey K-grind low bounce - recently started playing with this and it is a revelation. No worries at all of a tight lie causing me to blade the ball across the green. I can get up and down easily so far. Cons are that they are prohibitively expensive and everything is an upcharge. Lol.

 

2. Taylormade Hi-toe - no experience with it but upon reading about it it sounds like it may be even more versatile than then low bounce k grind.

 

This wedge will be used almost entirely for touch shots around the green and out of bunkers so looking for some advice on which one to go with. The Hi-toe is considerably cheaper but having always trusted the vokey name I did not want to make a mistake no matter how much cheaper the club is.

 

A vokey low bounce K is identical to a 258-08. You can find them for $20 on eBay. Its exactly the same club.

 

Most of vokey's tour sauce wedges (D Grind, etc...) are just re-packaged non-conforming wedges that are dirt cheap. Assuming you arn't trying to qualify for the US Open I'd start with one of those.

 

The groove rule is the best thing that ever happened to Vokey. They get to resell all their old designs as super-tech tour-inspired nonsense.

 

Well, to be fair, they have moved the COG from the heel to the toe so it is better balanced, as well as other design changes - they may be subtle but they exist nonetheless.

Father, Wannabe Golfer, Novelist

 

  • Ping G430 Max 9/TPT 19Hi Golf Shaft @45 in. (coming soon)
  • Ping G430 3 wd/TPT 19 Hi
  • Callaway Paradym 18/ TPT Golf 18 Hi
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  • Ping i230 5-PW Recoil Dart 90
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  • Putter:  LAB DF3 TPT Shaft (waiting)
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  • Ping ChipR in messy or no turf conditions

 

 

 

 

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Weapons for household invasions

Driver: Callaway Paradym 9 set to 10 Draw

3W Callaway  Epic Flash

5w Callaway Epic Flash
Hybrids: 4-5 Epic Flash    
               6-7 Big Bertha 

               7 Ping G430 played as an 8 

Irons: PXG Gen4 XP 9-GW

Wedges: PXG 0311 52 56 degree Forged

Putter: Odyssey Rossie Pro 2.0 

 

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  • 2 months later...

I had to use my MD4 64 on four occasions today.

 

One chip over a greenside bunker from about 25 yards - to within 2 feet of the pin.

 

One short-sided bunker shot - actually left it short of the pin unbelievably.

 

Two lobs over bunkers from about 10 yards with almost no green to work with - both executed perfectly to within 2 feet again.

 

I don’t use it much usually, just when necessary, but it brought a massive smile to my face every time I used it today. The two lobs in particular were very high risk shots that could have ended up anywhere. Mega club!

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I used to be a 58/60 degree trash talker, but I just put a 60 back in the back as an experiment in a new grind I hadent tried before and it's been a short game changer.

PRDYMTC TOUR  9.8° + CQ6 / MVRKTC 15° + UB6 / MVRKTC 18° + UB8 G430 26°@25+ IZ95 / FRGD TEC5-G + MODUS115 / MD5TC / SPDR EXTC + GPS

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Use mine quite a bit, I chip and pitch a pretty low ball so 60 deg doesn't hurt me.....been using one for so long am just used to it

 

Depends on player really, everybody can get it done a number of ways....if it doesn't fit your game dont use one....it fits me and tried not using one it was a disaster....dont want to relearn my wedge game all over so I use it.....

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I just started using a 60 degree TM Hi-Toe this year. First lob wedge I've used in 15 years. It's fantastic, but I'm very conservative when using it. I almost NEVER actually do "flop" shots with it. It's mainly used for high spin 30-70 yard controlled "knock down" shots from fairways and of course steep sided bunker shots. I'll use it for chips off down slope lies and the occasional short sided flop, but those may happen once every 2 or 3 rounds.

 

I mainly use it from the fairway and deep bunkers though... awesome!

 

-ZA

TM SIM 9.0 with Fujikura Ventus Velocore Blue 6X

TM SIM 15 deg 3W with Project X Smoke Green S

TM SIM2 3H with Fujikura Ventus Velocore Blue 9X

TM M3 4H with Fujikura Ventus Velocore Blue 9X

TM P790 5i with KBS $-Taper 120

TM P760 6-PW with KBS $-Taper 120

TM Hi Toe 50, 55 & 60 with DG S300

Scotty Cameron Phantom X 11.5 

 

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The green speeds and slope I play there is no way I could survive summer without a lob

 

I can manipulate the face pretty well with my 56 but it requires a lot more skill and feel. Many shots can be played with basically a square face 60 and soft hands, way easier. As always, most players need to put in the reps and have the correct technique. I need to go back to S400 in lob, had better greenside check and control with that setup. X flex in lob...wrx made me too wrx. Lesson learned




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LOB Wedge is good for having your friend stand in front of the ball so you can try to hit it over his head… :D

Driver: Ping G400 Max 10.5 Stock Alta (need shaft fitting)
Fairway Wood: Ryoma F5
Hybrid: TaylorMade M6 4H & 6H
Irons: OnOff Kuro 2015 6 - PW
Wedge: Cleveland RTX4 50, 54 and 58
Putter: S.C. GoLo 3
Ball: TaylorMade TP5X
Club hoe, builder, fitter and tester as hobbyist since 1993

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  • 1 month later...

I'm not sure. I have a 55 Edel that I can lay open. Stupid easy to hit a flop shop with. Dont really need the matching 60. Going to experiment with 58 K grind...high bounce. I think it might be better out of the rough?

Taylormade M6
Callaway Steelhead XR 4+
Mizuno MP-18 mb 4-PW
Titliest SM7 50f, 54s, 58d
SC Phantom X 5.5

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when I played my 845's, the SW was a 56*, great for hi lobs, but nossogood from baked traps.

went back to the Dynapowered and this is superb for bunkers or a grassy lie.

 

I recently nabbed a TM RAC 60, very smooth.

like to give it a good workout next season.

currently playing:
FT-5 - D
Cally FT hybrids
Hogan Edge GS, 4-PW
Vokey Oil Can 52, 56
Ping Anser 2

TM FlexTech Lite/Titleist StaDry
 

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Lob wedges are amazing for bunker shots, flop shots, chip shots and purchase shots. I have used the Vokey M Grind, S grind and F grind and now play a Hi-Toe. The HT is stupid easy to hit out of bunkers. I can spin short shots more, especially with an open face. Those grooves high on the toe aren't just for show. I played Vokeys all my life and I'm not replacing with Milled Grind and Mizuno.

Epic Max LS 9* Ventus Black 6s / Cobra Radspeed 9* Tensei 1K 6x

Epic Flash 15* / Tour AD TP 7x and DI 7x

Sim Max 19* / DI 8x

Srixon Zx7 4-P

Ping Glide Stealth 52 (bent to 51)

SM6 - 56/10 (bent to 55/9)

Tour Issue LB Hi Toe 60*

Spider Plumber's Neck

TP5

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