Equipment

Is the lob wedge overrated? – GolfWRXers have their say

Published

4 years ago

May 4, 2020

In our forums, our members have been discussing the lob wedge after WRXer ‘dalehead’ suggested that the club might not be necessary. ‘Dalehead’ says:

“Most recreational players are not very good with their wedges to begin with. Adding a lob wedge just gives them another option to use to skull or chili dip a shot. Tour pros could hit the same shots with a 56-degree sand wedge as they do with a lob wedge. The one exception is the short side pitch over a bunker, and even there the sand wedge would work, especially with the hours of practice those guys put in on their short games.”

Our members have been having their say on the subject, with plenty of interesting takes being offered up.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

Fuscinator: “If you practice enough with a lob wedge, it’s worth carrying. You can go for more pins if you’re less worried about missing it on the short side. They CAN be addicting, though.”
Z1ggy16: “Depends. Idk about other players but I prefer a bit more bounce on my 54* because I play it mostly square. I would not want to open up a mid to higher bounced sand wedge on a tightly packed/firm bunker… let alone one with a larger lip. That’s where my lob wedge comes in. It also gives me the option to hit high soft pitches to front pins in that 20-30 yard range… tough for me to do with 54*. I tend to agree that for not very good players… the less loft you have around the greens the better, but a lot of us also don’t play on PGA Tour set ups, with fine white sand as fluffy and soft as pillows. Many of us just get dirt.”
Drivingrangehero: “Waste of a spot in my bag, so I removed it. I found that I could do the same with my 56* and preferred to use the 56* over the lob anyways. I dropped the 3 wood and the Lob wedge as well. In their place, I was able to carry a strong 2 hybrid and a 2 iron. Lob wedges were not a staple in professional golfers bags till the 80-90’s, and it seems like they are more of a rescue club from tough lies around the greens. You don’t see many full swings from 85 yards on tour like you do in public golf.”
Pingistheanser: “Amen. That’s why I don’t carry a lob wedge anymore. There isn’t a shot that I need to hit that I cant hit with a 56 and the shots that you can hit with a 60 but can’t hit with a 56, I probably shouldn’t be trying anyways. Taking the lob wedge out of the bag, and taking the flop shot out of their game is one of the smartest things a high handicapper can do to lower their scores.”
Powderedtoastman: “Those who believe the LW is overrated haven’t had the chance to use it fully to its potential. Pros would rather use 260cc drivers than give up the LW.”
Scottbox: “They’re fantastic for golfers 15 handicap and lower. Otherwise, it’s best that you learn to use your SW and all the different shots you can execute with it.”

Entire Thread: “Is the lob wedge overrated?”

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Equipment

Max Homa is the latest to put prototype Titleist 2-wood in play

Published

2 hours ago

May 15, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.

Titleist’s new 2-wood prototype first popped up on the TOUR at the 2024 PLAYERS Championship, in the bag of Cameron Young, who had been working with Titleist on the design since 2023.

Here’s what Titleist Tour fitter J.J. Van Wezenbeeck had to say about the design back at THE PLAYERS Championship:

“(Young) was looking for a certain ball speed and yardage gap from his driver,” Van Wezenbeeck said. “One of the things for him with the 3-wood is he wanted something with a little more volume that he felt more confident off the tee with, so he was looking for a little bigger footprint and something that was a little bit more penetrating than some of the 3-woods he’s played in the past. This will be a club he’ll hit 90 percent off the tee, versus the ground, so for the golf courses that set up for that, that’s what he’s looking for … this may or may not ever come to retail. It’s a chance for us to learn and put it in future products that may not be exactly this.”

Since the initial unveiling of the product at THE PLAYERS Championship, fellow PGA TOUR players such as Homa, Webb Simpson and Justin Thomas have also taken notice…

“[The new 2-wood) helps me draw it a little bit better,” Homa told GolfWRX.com on Monday at the 2024 PGA Championship. “I don’t draw the ball well, so left-to-right winds it’s quite helpful.”

Now, according to Van Wezenbeeck, Homa has two different options off the tee: A flat-trajectory cut shot with his TSR3 driver, and a “spinny draw” with his new TSR 2-wood, which flies farther than his former 3-wood.

Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/15/24): Bettinardi x Unimatic 1/50 watch

Published

3 hours ago

May 15, 2024

Gianni Magliocco

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Bettinardi x Unimatic 1/50 watch.

From the seller: (@Puma74): “BETTINARDI Golf x UNIMATIC [ 1/50 Limited Edition ] Italian watch collection Modello Uno U1-BF automatic. Comes with complete package! Mint condition. Only 50 made and will be highly collectable! Only $850 plus $19 insured UPS or USPS shipping to the lower 48 U.S………. FIRM FIRM FIRM !“

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Bettinardi x Unimatic 1/50 watch

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Equipment

Michael Block spotted with full set of TaylorMade “Proto” irons at Valhalla

Published

19 hours ago

May 14, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.

On Monday at the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, Block had a full set of TaylorMade “Proto” irons in the bag.

Block is the first player of many on the PGA TOUR to bag a set of the mysterious “Proto” irons. Rory McIlroy first switched into a “Proto” 4-iron at the Valero Texas Open, and Collin Morikawa followed suit at the 2024 RBC Heritage. Block isn’t using just the 4-iron, though, he’s using a full set to go along with a TaylorMade Stealth UDI driving iron.

Speaking with GolfWRX.com on Monday at the PGA Championship, Block revealed the full backstory.

“I hit a couple super “Proto” irons when I was at the Kingdom (TaylorMade’s fitting facility in Southern California) a couple months ago, and it was a 9-iron that didn’t have any badges or anything on it,” Block said. “I had no idea what it was … It was very similar to what I was using back then, you know, my old MCs, and very similar from the top. I hit it and absolutely loved it. For me to even think about switching irons from the last 11-12 years is crazy.

“I got this set about two weeks ago, and I’m working my way into them. I hit them more solid; it comes off the face more solid. Much higher. I think they’re still slightly too upright for me, so they’re being bent a degree flatter, because they’re going a little too high for me and drawing a little too much. When that starts to happen, I start to drop the club under and compensate too much, so I’m getting them flattened slightly, and I’m going to test them on the range again, and hopefully have them in play on Thursday…

“They go further, and they go higher … that combination is kind of a no-brainer. If I can take a 5-iron from 204 rather than a 4-iron, it’s good on me. It’s going to help me out for sure, especially at a major with the pin locations. Having that height coming in, that descent angle is going to be huge.”

With such new irons in the bag, after using the same irons for over a decade, surely you’d think there will be a bit of a learning curve. Block, however, is finding immediate comfort with the new “Proto” irons.