Lob Wedge
A lob wedge is a golf club with the highest loft of any wedge, typically between 58 and 64 degrees, used for short shots that need to fly high and land softly with minimal roll.
What is a lob wedge?
A lob wedge is the most lofted club a golfer typically carries. Its job is narrow but important: get the ball up into a steep arc, drop it onto a small landing area, and keep it from rolling out. Because of that high loft, the ball spends more time in the air than it does on the ground after landing, which makes the lob wedge a specialist club for delicate shots near the green.
It belongs to the wedge family of golf clubs, alongside the pitching wedge, gap wedge, and sand wedge. Of those four, the lob wedge has the most loft and the shortest carry distance, so most golfers reach for it from 60 yards and in. Often closer.
The club is sometimes called an L-wedge or a lofted wedge. The name was coined by Karsten Solheim, the founder of PING, who developed the first mainstream version.
How the lob wedge fits in the wedge family
Wedges are sorted by loft, and each one covers a different yardage gap inside 130 yards or so. The lob wedge sits at the highest-loft end of that scale.
| Wedge | Typical loft | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Pitching wedge | 44 to 48° | Full approach shots, longer chips |
| Gap wedge | 50 to 54° | Yardage gap between pitching and sand wedge |
| Sand wedge | 54 to 58° | Bunker shots, pitch shots around the green |
| Lob wedge | 58 to 64° | Flop shots, short-sided chips, high stopping power |
The pattern is simple: more loft means a higher ball flight and a shorter carry distance. A lob wedge sits at the top of that scale.
Lob wedge loft and bounce
Loft on a lob wedge usually starts at 58 degrees and goes up to about 60. Anything higher than 60 is uncommon outside the professional game. Clubs with 62 to 64 degrees of loft exist and are sometimes called ultra lob wedges or x-wedges, but most amateurs do not carry them.
Bounce is the second design feature worth knowing. Bounce is the angle on the bottom of the clubhead that helps the club glide across turf or sand instead of digging in. Lob wedges generally have less bounce than sand wedges, often between 0 and 10 degrees. That lower bounce, paired with a thinner leading edge, lets the club slide cleanly under the ball from tight lies.
When players use a lob wedge
The lob wedge is built for situations where a normal chip or pitch will not work. The most common ones are:
- Flop shots over a hazard. A bunker, a mound, or a patch of thick rough sits between the ball and the pin. The high loft lifts the ball over the obstacle and lands it softly on the other side.
- Short-sided pins. When a golfer misses the green on the same side as the flag and has little room to work with, a lob wedge stops the ball quickly.
- Elevated greens. Shots into a green that sits above the player need extra height to clear the front edge and hold the surface.
- Tight pin placements. Pins cut close to a hazard or the edge of the green need a shot that stops fast. A lob wedge produces that descent angle.
It is generally not the right club for a long chip-and-run, a thick lie deep in the rough, or a bare, hardpan lie. In those situations, a less-lofted club is usually the safer choice.
Lob wedge vs sand wedge
These two clubs sit next to each other in the bag and confuse a lot of new golfers. The differences are real but small.
| Feature | Sand wedge | Lob wedge |
|---|---|---|
| Typical loft | 54 to 58° | 58 to 64° |
| Typical bounce | Higher (10° and up) | Lower (0 to 10°) |
| Best for | Bunker shots, pitch shots | Flop shots, short-sided chips |
| Ball flight | Medium-high, more roll | High, little roll |
| Origin | Gene Sarazen, early 1930s | Mainstreamed mid-1980s |
The sand wedge is the more forgiving of the two and the more versatile from a wide range of lies. The lob wedge is the specialist. Most golfers who carry both space them at least four to five degrees apart in loft to keep their yardages from overlapping.
A brief history of the lob wedge
Among the modern set of golf clubs, the lob wedge is a recent arrival. Before 1931, golfers carried a single wedge called a niblick or jigger. The sand wedge arrived first, credited to Gene Sarazen, who patented a flanged design in the early 1930s.
The lob wedge came much later. The concept is usually attributed to Dave Pelz, a former NASA physicist who turned to short-game research and saw the need for a higher-lofted wedge as putting greens became faster and more complex. Tour pro Tom Kite was an early adopter and helped popularise the club on tour. Karsten Solheim, the founder of PING, designed the first widely available mainstream version and named it the L-wedge.
Merriam-Webster records the first known use of the term “lob wedge” in 1990, which lines up with the period when the club moved from tour curiosity to standard equipment.
Related Golf Terms
- Lip out — When the ball hits the edge of the cup but does not drop in.
- Links course — A coastal course built on sandy, windswept terrain with few trees.
- Lob shot — A high, short shot designed to clear an obstacle and land softly.
- Lip — The edge of the hole or the edge of a bunker.
- Links — A type of coastal golf course built on sandy terrain, originating in Scotland.
Frequently Asked Questions
What degree is a lob wedge?
Most lob wedges have between 58 and 60 degrees of loft. Some go up to 64 degrees and are called ultra lob wedges or x-wedges, but these are less common.
How far does a lob wedge go?
Distance depends heavily on swing speed and skill. TrackMan data from 2021, cited by Druids, puts a medium-hitting male amateur at about 72 yards with a lob wedge and a long hitter at about 90 yards. Female amateurs average around 45 yards. Tour pros generally carry the club 95 to 105 yards on a full swing.
Do beginners need a lob wedge?
Not usually. The lob wedge is one of the harder clubs to hit cleanly because of its high loft and the longer swing it asks for on full shots. Beginners are often better served by a pitching wedge and a sand wedge until their short game develops.
What is the difference between a lob wedge and a sand wedge?
The lob wedge has more loft (58 to 64° vs 54 to 58°), usually less bounce, and produces a higher, shorter shot. The sand wedge is the all-purpose short-game club and the standard choice from greenside bunkers.
What is the bounce on a lob wedge?
Lob wedges generally carry between 0 and 10 degrees of bounce. Lower bounce works well from tight, firm lies, while higher bounce helps in soft sand and fluffy lies.
Sources
- Wikipedia. “Lob wedge.” Accessed May 2026.
- Merriam-Webster. “Lob wedge.” Accessed May 2026.
- Brown, Clifton. “Karsten Solheim, 88, Is Dead; Creator of the Ping Golf Club.” The New York Times. 18 February 2000.
- Druids. “Lob Wedge Guide: Loft, Range and Uses.” Accessed May 2026 (TrackMan 2021 distance data).
- Golf Distillery. “Lob Wedge: Golf Club Type Definition.” Accessed May 2026.
- Caddie HQ. “What Is a Lob Wedge Golf Club?” Accessed May 2026.
