What Is a Lob Shot in Golf?

A sky-high golf shot that flies over a bunker and lands softly next to the pin like a butterfly with sore feet - that’s the lob shot. It’s one of the most visually stunning and useful tools you can have around the greens, but for many golfers, it’s also one of the most intimidating. This guide will break down exactly what a lob shot is, when to use it, and give you a clear, step-by-step blueprint to add this wonderful shot to your arsenal.

What Exactly Is a Lob Shot?

The lob shot is a high-trajectory, soft-landing, short-distance shot designed to travel aggressively upward and then drop softly onto the putting surface with minimal roll. Think of it as the opposite of a bump-and-run. Where a bump-and-run prioritizes ground time, the lob shot prioritizes air time.

It’s often confused with a standard pitch shot, but there's a distinct difference:

• A pitch shot is a standard-trajectory shot where the ball is in the air for about half its journey and rolls for the other half. It’s the workhorse of your short game.
• A lob shot (or "flop shot") has a much higher arc. The goal is for it to be in the air for almost the entire duration, landing with so much height and spin that it stops quickly.

You’re using maximum loft to create a vertical flight path, enabling you to clear obstacles and get the ball to stop on greens that are unreceptive, fast, or simply don't offer much room for error.

When Should You Hit a Lob Shot?

Knowing when to hit the lob shot is just as important as knowing how. It’s a specialty shot, not an everyday shot. Pull it out of the bag when you’re faced with one of these situations:

• You’re Short-Sided: This is the classic scenario. You’ve missed the green on the same side the pin is located, leaving you very little green to work with. You absolutely have to get the ball up high and stop it fast.
• Getting Over an Obstacle: You have a bunker, a mound, or a patch of thick rough between you and the pin. A normal chip or pitch won't have the height to clear it and still stop in time.
• To an Elevated or Downhill Green: Hitting to a green that is significantly higher than you often requires extra hang time. Conversely, if you’re hitting to a green that slopes severely away from you, a lob is one of the only ways to prevent the ball from rolling off the other side.
• From Thick Rough Around the Green: When the ball is sitting down in thick grass, the steep attack angle of a lob shot swing can help you "pop" the ball up and out onto the putting surface without getting the club tangled.

In short, the lob shot is your get-out-of-jail-free card when you’ve left yourself in a tough spot with no good alternatives.

When to Avoid the Lob Shot

With great reward comes great risk. The lob shot has a high margin for error. Here are timesเมื่อ it's best to choose a safer option:

• When You Have Green to Work With: If there's plenty of space between you and the hole, don't be a hero. A simple pitch or even a bump-and-run with an 8-iron is a much higher percentage shot. Take the path of least resistance.
• From a Tight or Firm Lie: Hitting a lob shot off hardpan, a tight fairway, or a thinly-mown area is extremely difficult. Because the goal is to slide the club under the ball, a hard surface makes it very easy to bounce the leading edge into the middle of the ball, resulting in a bladed shot that screams across the green.
• When You're Lacking Confidence: If you step up to the ball thinking about all the things that could go wrong, they probably will. A successful lob shot requires full commitment. If you’re hesitant, play a safer shot and live to fight another day.
• Strong Wind: Hitting a high, floating shot into the wind is asking for trouble. The wind will knock it down, disrupt its flight, and make distance control unpredictable. The same is true for a strong crosswind.

Choosing Your Weapon: The Right Club

The name "lob shot" points directly to the club designed for it: the lob wedge. Lob wedges typically have lofts between 58 and 64 degrees. Phil Mickelson, the master of the flop shot, has been known to carry a wedge with as much as 64 degrees of loft. A 58° or 60° wedge is a perfect tool for most golfers looking to learn this shot.

You can also execute a good lob shot with a sand wedge (54°-56°), but you’ll need to open the face more significantly to generate the required height. The key ingredient is effective loft - the loft on the clubface at the moment of impact. We create that with technique.

Your Blueprint: How to Hit a Perfect Lob Shot Step-by-Step

Alright, let's get down to the mechanics. Forget trying to "lift" or "scoop" the ball. The perfect lob shot is a result of a specific setup and a confident, speedy swing where you let the club's loft do the work for you.

Step 1: The Setup - Building a Stable Foundation

The setup is foundational. Get this right, and you’re more than halfway there.

1. Open the Clubface First: Before you even take your grip, place the clubhead behind the ball and rotate the face open so it's pointing well to the right of your target (for a right-handed golfer). Picture the face pointing up to the sky. Then, take your normal grip. If you grip first and then open the face by twisting your hands, you will naturally return the face to square at impact.
2. Take Your Stance: Your stance should be a little wider than a standard chip shot for stability, about shoulder-width apart, and open to the target. This means aiming your feet, hips, and shoulders to the left of your final target. This compensates for the open clubface, the ball will start closer to where your chest is pointing but fly towards the target.
3. Ball Position: Play the ball forward in your stance, somewhere off the inside of your lead heel. This encourages you to make contact at the bottom of your swing arc, using the bounce of the club to slide under the ball instead of digging.
4. Distribute Your Weight: Stand tall and keep your weight relatively centered, perhaps favoring your lead foot just slightly (60/40). Unlike a crisp chip where you lean heavily forward, you need to stay more neutral to facilitate a shallow, sweeping approach to the ball. Lower your hands slightly by adding a bit more knee flex.

Step 2: The Swing - Marrying Speed and Loft

This is where confidence comes in. Deceleration is the ultimate killer of the lob shot.

• The Takeaway: Hinge your wrists early and steeply. Think of making a "U"-shaped swing rather than a shallow, around-the-body "V"-shaped swing. As you take the club back, you should feel the clubhead move upward quickly, primarily using your arms and wrists. This creates the steep angle of attack needed, especially from the rough.
• The Magic Move: On the downswing, you must accelerate through the ball. This is the most counterintuitive part. Even though it's a short shot, it requires more clubhead speed than a normal chip. Your goal is to slide the open face of the wedge under the ball. Keep your lower body quiet and feel like your arms are swinging the club past your body. Trust the loft. Don't try to help the ball get airborne.
• The Impact Feel: The feeling you're after is a "thump" of the club's sole against the turf, not a "click" of the leading edge a divot. You are using the bounce (the rounded part on the bottom of the wedge) to skid through the grass right under the ball.

Step 3: The Follow-Through - Commiting to the Finish

Your follow-through is a direct reflection of your commitment to the shot.

• Finish High: Keep the clubhead accelerating all the way through to a high finish. The clubface should still be facing the sky at the end of your swing, and the shaft should finish up by your lead shoulder.
• A Quiet Body: Your body will rotate a bit naturally, but your arms should do most of the work. Let the clubhead flow past you to a full, balanced finish.

Avoiding Common Lob Shot Disasters

Every golfer learning this shot has experienced these mishaps. Here’s how to avoid them.

• The "Skull" (Thin Shot): The ball shoots low and fast across the green.
  Cause: Fear! You decelerated the clubhead because the shot looked short and delicate. Or, you came up out of your posture.
  The Fix: Commit to accelerating through the turf. Stay in your posture and focus on sliding the club under the ball with speed.
• The Chunk (Fat Shot): You hit well behind the ball and it goes two feet.
  Cause: Trying to "scoop" or "lift" the ball with your hands, which causes the leading edge to dig into the ground.
  The Fix: Make sure your ball position is forward and that you've opened the face enough to engage the bounce. Rehearse the feeling of the club's sole thumping the ground, not digging into it.

Drills to Build Your Confidence

Practice is essential. Start on a practice green with these simple drills.

1. The Towel Drill: Lay a towel on the ground about 5 feet in front of you. Your only goal is to hit shots that fly over the towel and land on the other side. This forces you to generate the necessary height.
2. The Line Drill: Find a painted line on the practice range or draw one with your shoe. Place a ball on the line and practice swinging, trying to make the club's bounce hit the ground right on the line. This trains the precision needed for a clean strike.
3. Start Small, Swing Big: Start with very small backswings but focus on accelerating through to a full, committed follow-through. You'll be surprised how far the ball goes. This drill builds trust in using speed rather than brute force.

Final Thoughts

The lob shot is a high-skill, high-reward weapon that can turn a certain bogey into a tap-in par. It’s not for every situation, but by understanding the fundamentals of an open face, forward ball position, and unwavering acceleration, you can take the fear out of the flop and add a new layer of creativity to your short game.

Learning when to play the percentage shot versus when to attack with a high-risk shot like the lob is a huge part of good course management. When you're standing over the ball, short-sided behind a trap, a little doubt is all it takes to ruin the shot. I’ve found that getting an instant, on-demand second opinion from Caddie AI is a game-changer for confidence. You can quickly describe your situation, check if the lob is the right play, and even take a picture of a tricky lie to get specific advice. It removes the guesswork so you can step up and commit to the shot without hesitation.