I started playing golf at a very young age. Dad took me to the driving range and I took to the game fairly quickly, or so I am told. Through High School and College years I golfed. I played numerous tournaments after my College career was completed.

Through that time, I tried TONS of equipment. One thing I never tried, is in my bag now….

I bought the Nike Victory Red Forged Wedges this year. I am  a bit of a wedge hound. Okay, I’m a golf equipment hound and wedges are just ONE in a long line of fetishes, but I digress. I put a new gap wedge in the bag. I have played a gap wedge for about 16 years now. I put a new sand wedge in the bag. I have played a sand wedge for as long as I can remember. And I put a lob wedge in the bag. I have never hit a lob wedge before.

“Wait a second Tom, you are going to convince me that in all your career you have NEVER played a lob wedge?” In a simple answer, yes. The lob wedge was always a scary club for me. It was so open, so, seemingly, exposed. It was the only club that scared me at all. It just looked like it demanded perfection from a swing that is so imperfect.

I have, for years, lived and died by the adage, “if you were asked to play a round with one golf club for your entire life, and that round would take place in 15 years, what club would you play?” My answer is very different from others’. While others will spit out #5 or #4 iron or the trusty “Tin Cup” #7 iron, I will choose a driver. You see, if you give me 15 years to practice, I am going to figure out a way to hit that driver 40 yards. I will NEVER, no matter HOW MUCH practice I do, find a way to hit a #4 iron 275 yards.

So that was my theory with the lob wedge. It never did anything that I didn’t think I could accomplish with my sand wedge. If I needed a high soft 60 yard shot, I could get that with my SW. If I needed a high flop shot over a bunker, I could just open up the SW and accomplish that shot. I didn’t think I needed a LW at any point. Now I have one.

I have practiced with it for about 3 months now. I have played 12 or so rounds with it and I can safely say that it is the worst club in my bag at the moment. I love the full shot with it. 75-90 yards is just about perfect with that club and I have a moderate amount of confidence in it for that use.

Shorter shots have not come as easily. I am struggling with the flop shot. I am struggling with the high soft pitch. I am struggling with the low skidder. In all, I am struggling ha ha. It would be easy for me to just ditch the LW in favor of my old methods, but all the better players keep telling me that I will love this club once I wrap my skills around it.

I am not a quitter so I will give it a try. I am thinking that I will commit to a year with it in the bag. After that…stay tuned. I might have a LW for sale…cheap!

P.S. Please don’t write in that if I ever learn to like the 60* LW I need to go out and get myself a 64* wedge ha ha.

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