The high ball shot is tempting. You’ve seen tour pros throw 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 to the green or chop it up. Maybe one out of every 20 tries actually works and you walk away thinking you just need more practice.
of high ball shot it is a low percentage game for most players and there is almost always a better opportunity. I’ll explain why this shot fails so often and give you a safer alternative that will save you shots in no time.
Why is lobbing so hard?
High ball hitting requires you to do a few things perfectly. You need to significantly open the club site. You should move along the line of your body, not the target line. You have to save club head speed through impact, even though you’re trying to hit it at short range. And you have to slide the club under the ball without the front edge digging into the ground.
Miss any of these and the shot fails spectacularly. The margin of error is small. If you’re even a quarter of an inch off, you’re in trouble. This is why tournament players practice this shot over and over and still only use it when they absolutely have to.
The lie matters more than you think
Lobbing requires a good lie. You need the ball sitting so you can slide the club under it. In a close lie, there is no margin for error. In thick rough, the grass can grab the shaft and close the face. The lob shot works best from the fairway or the fairway where the ball is sitting well, exactly the scenario where you have other better options.
The safest alternative: crash and run
Instead of trying to fly the ball into the hole, hit it on 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 hit a shot with it. The ball goes up a bit, lands on the green and rolls into the hole. It’s simple, repeatable, and very hard to mess up.
The beauty of this shot is that even your mistakes are okay. If you take it a little thin, it still works. If you catch it a little fat, it usually stays green. Compare that to the lob shot where a thin shot goes to the green and a thick shot goes nowhere.
How to get hit in a hit and run
Set with the ball in your positionoutside your right foot (for righties). Place your weight on your left side and hold it there throughout the stroke. Grip the club for more control. Your hands should be in front of the ball at address and stay forward through impact.
Take a shot. Keep your wrists still and shake your shoulders. The club will naturally hit the ball because of your position. The ball will appear, land on the green and roll.
The key is choosing the right club. A general rule of thumb is that the ball will be in the air about one-third of the total distance and spin two-thirds of the way. Pick a club that gives you that ratio.
When you really need the lob shot
I’m not saying you should never hit a putt. If you have a bunker or water between you and the hole with very little green to work with, you may have to fly it most of the way. If the green is getting away from you and a bump and run is going to roll off the back, a putt may be better.
But these situations are rarer than you think. Before you pull the wedge and open the face, ask yourself if there is a simpler and safer option.
Hit in the middle: standard pitch
There is also a middle ground: the standard field goal. Take your sand wedge or gap wedge, take a normal swing with a normal adjustment and let the club loft do the work.
This shot flies higher than a bump and run shot, but not as high as a ball shot. It’s easier to execute than a lob because you’re not opening your face or doing anything unusual. You’re just doing a smaller version of your normal swing.
For most situations around the green, this standard step is your best bet. It is reliable, easy to control and works from almost any lie.
Practice the poses you will actually use
The next time you practice your short game, spend 80 percent of your time hitting and running and standard pitches, and only 20 percent lobbing. Most golfers do the opposite. They spend all their time practicing lobbing because it’s fun and then wonder why their score isn’t improving.
Practice landing the ball in specific spots. Learn how different clubs appear. This knowledge will save you more strokes than hitting a perfect ball strike one out of 10 times.
Build your short game around safer, more reliable shots and save the lob for those rare occasions when you really need it. Your scoreboard will thank you.
Post Why Your High Shot Fails: Safer Options to Use Instead appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
