Nick Dougherty's perfect lob shot technique

• Thursday, 9 October 2008
• Nick Dougherty
• 0 Comments

Nick Dougherty demonstrates the Lob Shot his way

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If sand or thick rough lies between you and the flag, then a high-flying lob shot is your only option. Get the fundamentals nailed down and you can attack this crucial shot with confidence.

The key to this shot is to find a high trajectory. To help you do this, make a few crucial adjustments to your technique. Firstly, open the clubface a fraction before taking your grip. This will add natural loft to the shot. Now stand slightly open to the ball, your feet should be aiming left of the target. This encourages an out-to-in swing path that again will help you find extra loft. Now you need to make sure the loft you created at address remains as you swing through impact. To check if the clubface is working with you, take a look at the clubhead in the finish position. If you’ve maintained the loft, the face should be pointing straight back at you.

One of the biggest mistakes that I see amateurs make when playing this shot is they tend to lean back through impact. To find the strike you MUST trust the loft of the club. If you are using a lob wedge or even a 56˚ sand wedge, you’ll have plenty of loft at your disposal to get the ball up quickly. Concentrate on keeping your sternum over the ball throughout the stroke and you’ll avoid those disastrous fat and thin contacts.