The highest degree golf club you’ll find in most golf bags is a lob wedge, typically around 60 degrees of loft, but specialty wedges can climb even higher, all the way up to 64 degrees and beyond. These clubs are precision tools designed for one main purpose: hitting the ball incredibly high and landing it with almost no roll. This article will break down exactly what these high-lofted wedges are, explain the specific situations where they can save your scorecard, and give you a clear, coach-approved guide on how to hit them with confidence.
First, let’s quickly define what “degree” or “loft” means on a golf club. Loft is simply the angle of the clubface in relation to a vertical line (or the shaft). A 5-iron has a relatively low loft (around 24 degrees), which sends the ball on a lower, more powerful trajectory. A sand wedge has a much higher loft (around 56 degrees), designed to get the ball up out of trouble. More loft means a higher, shorter, and softer-landing shot.
So, when you see a number stamped on a wedge,that’s its loft angle. While a 56-degree sand wedge used to be the most lofted club many golfers carried, the modern short game has evolved. Enter the lob wedge.
The most common "highest-lofted" club found in a standard golf set today is the lob wedge. These typically come in lofts of:
A 60-degree wedge is arguably the most popular choice for amateurs and pros alike, offering a fantastic blend of versatility and stopping power. However, "super" lob wedges, often just called "flop" wedges, take it a step further. A 64-degree wedge can produce jaw-droppingly high shots that parachute down onto the green. Some manufacturers have even experimented with ultra-specialty wedges at 68 or even 72 degrees, but these are extremely rare and exceptionally difficult for most players to control.
For 99% of golfers, anything in the 60 to 64-degree range is considered the highest degree club you'd ever need. Here’s how they fit in with the rest of your wedges:
As a coach, I see a lot of players get a 60-degree wedge and immediately want to use it for every shot inside 50 yards. This is a mistake. This club is a specialist, designed for specific high-stakes situations when no other tool will do the job. Think of it as a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.
This is the shot everyone visualizes. You’re “short-sided” - meaning you’ve missed the green on the same side the pin is on, leaving you with very little green to work with. There might be a bunker or a patch of thick rough between you and the hole. A low-running chip shot won’t work because it would roll all the way across the green and off the other side.
This is where the high-lofted wedge shines. The extreme loft allows you to get under the ball and launch it almost straight up in the air. It will carry the obstacle, land on the green with the softness of a NERF ball, and stop within a few feet of its landing spot. It’s a high-tariff shot, but when you have no other option, it's a lifesaver.
Your standard 56-degree sand wedge is great for most bunker shots. However, when you find yourself in a deep, pot bunker with a face that looks like a vertical wall, that 56 degrees might not be enough to get the ball up and out quickly. You could open the face of your sand wedge, but that can get complicated.
A 60 or 62-degree wedge naturally has more loft built in. This means you can play a more normal bunker swing and trust the club to elevate the ball rapidly, easily clearing that steep lip and landing softly on the green.
Have you ever had a ball disappear in that thick, juicy grass right next to the green? It’s a frustrating lie. Trying to hit a standard chip with a less-lofted club often results in the a club getting tangled in the grass, smothering the shot.
A high-lofted wedge allows for a steeper angle of attack. You can chop down on the ball more aggressively, almost like playing a bunker shot from the grass. The V-shape of the swing and the high loft of the clubface work together to "pop" the ball straight up and out of the heavy grass, sending it onto the surface of the green where you can putt.
Okay, you know when to use it. Now for the fun part: how to use it. The flop shot scares a lot of golfers because it feels like there’s very little room for error. But if you follow a specific process and commit to the swing, you can take a lot of the fear out of it.
You can’t hit a great flop shot from a bad setup. This is where you pre-program the result you want.
The biggest mental block with flop shots is the fear of messing it up, which causes golfers to decelerate. Deceleration is the #1 killer for this shot. You have to commit and accelerate through the ball.
As your coach, I have to give you the honest truth: this club can be a double-edged sword. Using it at the wrong time will cost you strokes far more often than it saves them.
The best rule is to use your highest lofted wedge when you have to, not just when you want to show off.
To sum it up, the highest degree golf club in your bag - typically a 60 to 64-degree lob wedge - is a specialty surgical tool. It's built for those select few moments around the green when you need to send the ball sky-high to land softly on a tabletop. Learning the proper setup and committed swing it requires turns a high-risk shot into a reliable escape plan that can genuinely save you strokes.
Making smart decisions on the course, like knowing when to pull out the lob wedge versus when to play a safer shot, is a massive part of lowering your scores. We built Caddie AI to act as that expert voice in your pocket to solve exactly these problems. If you're faced with a tricky lie in the rough and are debating the flop shot, you can just describe the situation - or even snap a photo of your ball - and get an instant, strategic recommendation right on the spot. I can help remove the indecision so you can commit to your shot with clarity and confidence, turning those tough situations from potential blow-ups into pars you can be proud of.
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