How to Hit a Lob Wedge: Master the High Soft Shot with Confidence
You hit a solid approach, but it just rolls off the back of the green. Now you are staring at a short-sided pin with barely any green to work with.
This is exactly the kind of shot the lob wedge is made for.
The problem is most golfers are afraid to use it. They worry about chunking it or sending it flying over the green.
But that fear usually comes from poor setup and bad wrist mechanics. When you fix those, the lob wedge becomes one of the most reliable clubs in your bag. Here’s how to hit it the right way.
How to Hit a Lob Wedge (Key Takeaways)
Save this guide and take it with you the next time you work on your short game. For now, here are some of the most important tips for how to hit a lob wedge:
- Open your clubface to add loft and control trajectory.
- Place the ball in the center or slightly towards your back foot.
- Practice lead wrist extension at impact to help open the clubface
- Hinge your wrists to get the club down, through, and underneath the ball
Contents
1. What do you want to improve in your full swing?
How to Hit a Lob Wedge Consistently
Place the Ball in the Center of Your Stance
Too many golfers have the misconception that all wedge shots are played off the back foot. This isn’t the case.
Place it just slightly towards your back foot, but mostly in the middle of your stance, to get your hands aligned with the front of the ball.
Your ball position allows you to use the loft on your club to get the face under and through. The same steps needed to hit a flop shot.
Clubface Square to the Target
Keep the setup simple. Start with your clubface square to the target, not open.
Many players try to open the clubface and aim left to adjust for it, but that often leads to pulling the shot left of the flag. Instead, trust the loft of the lob wedge to get the ball up in the air without manipulating the face too much.
To check your alignment, lay down two alignment rods, one pointing at your target for the clubface and one along your feet to help square your stance. This helps you stay committed to the correct setup.
Extend Wrists Throughout the Swing
Coach Rob Cheney explains that your lead wrist should stay in some form of extension throughout the swing of a loft shot. This is contrary to a full shot, where you want wrist flexion to close the clubface and generate more compression and less spin.
By extending your wrists and opening the clubface, you increase the loft, making it easier to get the clubface under the ball.
Ulnar Deviation on the Downswing
Wrist extension is important for keeping your clubface more open through impact, but you need ulnar deviation on the downswing to release the club.
Hinging your wrists allows you to keep the clubface open on the backswing, and it creates momentum on the downswing to slide your clubhead under the golf ball and launch it.
If ulnar deviation is absent in your downswing, you risk hitting the ball thin, costing you a few shots. Once you understand the technicalities around controlling wrist action in the short game, it becomes easier to consistently extend and hinge your wrists on lob shots.
Don’t Flip at Impact
Impact is where most lob wedge shots fall apart. You’ve done the setup, hinged the wrists, and opened the face, but if you flip your wrists or stop your body at the bottom, the shot is done.
The goal at impact is to maintain lead wrist extension and let your chest rotate through the shot.
This keeps the clubface open under the ball and prevents scooping. You want to feel like the clubhead is sliding beneath the ball, not digging into the turf or flipping upward. A soft but accelerating motion through the bottom of the swing is key.
With HackMotion, watch that you maintain slight extension in the lead wrist through impact and into the follow-through. The best lob shots don’t come from manipulation (last-second flipping and compensating) they come from proper angles and commitment through the strike.
Open the Face for More Height and Spin (Optional Adjustment)
If you need the ball to launch higher and stop faster, like when there’s no green to work with, opening the face is a great option.
This adds loft and spin, helping the ball land softer. Just be sure you recheck your alignment when you do this, since an open face can sneak your aim off target if you’re not careful.
You don’t always need to open the face. But when you do it with intention, it gives you more control over ball flight and how quickly the shot stops.
1. What do you want to improve in your full swing?
Practice Drills to Hit a Lob Wedge with Confidence
Plane Chipping Drill
Coach Danny Malcolm recommends the Plane Chipping drill, which gets your club onto the correct plane from the takeaway for more accurate striking.
Once your club goes off plane, it’s challenging to keep face square to the target at impact, resulting in inaccurate results.
- Video timestamp – 0:30
Plane Chipping Drill – Step by Step:
- Place four water bottles around the ball, two outside the takeaway path and two along the follow-through path.
- Take a few practice swings without hitting any of the bottles.
- Reduce the room for error: Gradually move the bottles closer together.
- Once you are confident, start hitting balls: Once you can consistently swing without hitting the bottles, start hitting actual chip shots.
Flexion/Extension Wrist Mechanics Drill
Hitting a flop shot requires the opposite wrist mechanics to a full shot, because you need more loft.
The HackMotion shows you what your wrists are doing in real time. Watch the app as you try to extend your wrists and hinge them to get the clubface under the golf ball.
Flexion/Extension Wrist Mechanics Drill – Step by Step:
- Attach your HackMotion sensor to your wrist and address the ball.
- Make a small swing motion while focusing on minimizing big wrist changes.
- Watch HackMotion extension data. Try to stay within 2–3 degrees of your starting position during the stroke.
- Rehearse smoother swings until the wrist angle line is steady.
- Start with short swings and gradually move to longer ones while keeping wrist mechanics stable.
- Hit some full lob wedge shots and see the wrists with your newfound wrist extension.
Towel Under Arms Wrist Connection Drill
Lob wedge shots often fall apart when your arms and body lose connection. This drill helps you feel how to use your torso and wrist hinge together for better consistency.
It’s ideal for building a mid-length lob shot that flies high and lands soft. With HackMotion, you can track how much wrist hinge (radial deviation and extension) you’re adding as you increase swing length.
Towel Under Arms Drill – Step by Step:
- Place a towel under both arms and take your setup with a lob wedge.
- Address the ball with a slightly wider stance and slight forward shaft lean.
- Make a torso-driven swing while keeping the towel in place.
- Let your wrists naturally hinge to form an “L” shape in the backswing and follow-through.
- Watch your HackMotion data for gradual increases in wrist extension and radial deviation.
- Repeat swings at mid-length (30–50 yards) to groove a connected feel and stable wrist pattern.
Final Thoughts
Hitting a lob wedge takes getting used to, because it demands the opposite of everything you have been told to do on full shots.
It needs wrist extension to open the clubface, and ulnar radiation on the downswing to get the clubface through and under the ball, launching it into the air.
Check out the HackMotion Drills Library to spice up your short game practice sessions and shave more strokes off your game.
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