key with such a lofted club. It can be noted that different lengths of swing will often yield a similar distance but with varying trajectories and thus roll (on the green). Use Lob wedges can be used for a variety of shots including pitch and runs and pitching over an obstacle, particularly shots requiring a very high arc, a large amount of backspin or both. Pitching over an obstacle is used in situations where a hazard of some sort, usually a water hazard, bunker or tree, is located in the line of the shot between the ball's current location and the target (often on the putting green). By utilizing a lob wedge for these short shots, the ball is carried much higher in the air than with a standard iron causing significantly less roll on the landing surface. This is most often important for short shots into difficult pin placements. Before the invention of the lob wedge, or to create a shot similar to the lob wedge, the golfer was required to perform the shot with a sand wedge or pitching wedge and to modify the shot by cutting across the ball making a glancing blow, a much riskier shot. History Traditional sets of golf irons did not always include the lob wedge. Before 1931, golfers used a single wedge, known as a "jigger", similar to the modern day pitching wedge. After 1931, additional wedges entered the golf bag starting with the sand wedge. The lob wedge was first envisioned by Dave Pelz, a former physicist for NASA, who recognized the need for higher loft wedges (at the time 60 degrees) due to the increasing complexity of the putting greens being designed at the time. This concept was taken up by the professional golfer Tom Kite, who began using the lob wedge professionally on tour spurring other professionals to follow his lead. The mainstream lob wedge was invented by Karsten Solheim, the founder of the PING line of golf products, possibly after experimenting by gluing a potato chip to a straw. Solheim was also responsible for naming the club the "L Wedge" or the "Lob Wedge", as it is currently known today. References Golf clubs Golf terminology