Is carrying a lob wedge in your bag a waste of a club?

Cohen Trolio had a very good week at the U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst Resort. But for all his good play, it’s his golf clubs — or lack thereof — that have gained the most attention.

Trolio, a 17 year-old and son of GOLF Top 100 Teacher V.J. Trolio, made the semi-finals of the tournament and played some terrific golf along the way. Cohen also didn’t use a lob wedge at any point during his run to the finals. Asked why by Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner, and Cohen said he was taught not to rely on a lob wedge to hit the ball high; and that he needed to learn to hit all the shots with his 56 degree wedge.

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There was some fervent reaction to the quote, as you can read in the comments above. Many golf fans started to wonder: Should they ditch their lob wedge and ride only with a 56-degree?

Well, it depends. Basically, there are two schools of thought…

Yes, Ditch The 60 Degree

The idea of being able to hit lots of different shots with a handful of clubs is hardly a new one. Most golf fans will know how Seve Ballesteros, armed only with a 3-iron, taught himself to play golf on the beaches of Spain. It’s a point of view that has some real validity to it.

How your swing works; how it changes; controlling the clubface; knowing how to do these things are probably the most important part of playing golf. If you’re able to get out of your comfort zone and not rely on your clubs to hit the shot for you, you’ll be training yourself to become a smarter, better golfer

No, Keep The 60 Degree

Of course, while it might be beneficial learning how to play golf with only one club, that’s not an option that’s available to most everyday golfers. Most golfers don’t have lots of time to practice. They’re just trying to play better on the sporadic occasions when they do tee it up. And for that, they need all the help they can get — which means turning to a lob wedge when they need to hit the ball high.

So, Should I Ditch My Wedge?

If you’re just learning to play golf, yes. Perfect your versatility, it’ll help you in the long run.

But are you a longtime golfer without much time to practice? In that case, keep it. Golf is hard, and limiting your tools will only make it harder — especially in the short term — and I’m not sure the potential upside down the road is worth the cost.