Are we now entering the 5 wedge era?

[IanM]

I’m intrigued what irons do you play!

Just got some "old man Ping i530." I now need to think about the chasm between the set's "gap wedge " (47) and my current 56 and 60 wedges.

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

Just got some "old man Ping i530." I now need to think about the chasm between the set's "gap wedge " (47) and my current 56 and 60 wedges.

Just had a quick google and shows your lofts as Standard of:

4-Iron 19°
5-Iron 22°
6-Iron 25.5°
7-Iron 29°
8-Iron 33°
9-Iron 37°
PW 42°

That’s absolutely nuts, the 4iron is as strong as a 5 wood/ 3iron in normal money so to speak. You’re definitely going to need more wedges

I’m actually mind blown ! I’ve never used Ping irons but I assume they’re high launch.

 

[IanM]

They are more playable than you might think. Interestingly the big gap between the set wedges and the two others hasn't really been an issue as yet as I can mess with with GW to some extent. (But theoretically knowing the loft differences is a niggle)

But specifically about the point of the thread... if you take the labels literally, yep, lots more wedges in the bag. Will manufacturers sell sets stopping at 9? Yes, if there's margin to be made on it.

Heck, anyone over 50 will remember an iron set being 9 irons. They were also less than half the price of a modern driver!

 

[spongebob59]

Damn and I thought mine was strong at 45°. There is absolutely no way 42° can be considered a PW!

Maybe it is time to bin the number and just have irons with lofts.

My PXG PW is 43* (9 iron)
So I have 48, 52 and 58 ( Cleveland) wedges

 

[Orikoru]

Just had a quick google and shows your lofts as Standard of:

4-Iron 19°
5-Iron 22°
6-Iron 25.5°
7-Iron 29°
8-Iron 33°
9-Iron 37°
PW 42°

That’s absolutely nuts, the 4iron is as strong as a 5 wood/ 3iron in normal money so to speak. You’re definitely going to need more wedges

I’m actually mind blown ! I’ve never used Ping irons but I assume they’re high launch.

Mine are stronger than that - PW is 41° (I have the AW too which is 46), the 7 iron is 27.5° I think. When I did my fitting three years ago I didn't particularly want lofts as strong as that, but they went really far and straight, with plenty of height, so it seemed silly to argue really. Originally I only bought 6 to P, I went back and got the AW to plug the gap to my 50 a month later.

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

My PXG PW is 43* (9 iron)
So I have 48, 52 and 58 ( Cleveland) wedges

Mine are stronger than that - PW is 41° (I have the AW too which is 46), the 7 iron is 27.5° I think. When I did my fitting three years ago I didn't particularly want lofts as strong as that, but they went really far and straight, with plenty of height, so it seemed silly to argue really. Originally I only bought 6 to P, I went back and got the AW to plug the gap to my 50 a month later.

Shows how of touch I’ve been with club development The last 6 years. It’s
Baffling to me that lofts have got that low and we’re calling them the lesser iron. That’s progress I guess and something we just need to adjust to.

 

[kp17]

I play 4 wedges, 48,52,56,60. With 4-9 iron. Just always preferred an actual wedge as opposed to a PW as part of iron set. Although the 60 doesn’t get used much, could probably drop that if I’m honest.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Just had a quick google and shows your lofts as Standard of:

4-Iron 19°
5-Iron 22°
6-Iron 25.5°
7-Iron 29°
8-Iron 33°
9-Iron 37°
PW 42°

That’s absolutely nuts, the 4iron is as strong as a 5 wood/ 3iron in normal money so to speak. You’re definitely going to need more wedges

I’m actually mind blown ! I’ve never used Ping irons but I assume they’re high launch.

You could have looked at post #9 rather than Mr Google.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Don’t know the loft of two of my wedges, got four and the other two have a number on them , but what I do know is how far I typically hit each of them.

I do occasionally feel I have a bit of an ‘inbetween’ yardage - but that yardage is to the flag and not to the green and two putts, with fair chance single putt. Most times the feeling and resulting uncertainty is simply down to me knowing an exact yardage that in times past I didn’t know…I would just hit the ball onto the green.

Maybe I think too much about precise yardage, after all I accept I am not that good or consistent enough to really be worrying and introducing uncertainty in my thinking.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Vokey have introduced their 44 degree wedge.

I predict that market forces will begin another change in the composition of standard sets of irons.
In the same way the 3-iron and sand wedge was always included in the standard set of irons.
The wedge market forced manufacturers to drop the SW from sets and the hybrid market forced the phasing out of the 3-iron.

Soon a standard set will see the end of the inclusion of the pitching wedge and will simple be numbered irons 4 or even 5 to 9 iron.

Then there will be a market for another ‘set’ but for wedges.
A 5 wedge set will be available.
44,48,52,56,60.

Players will be tempted by the saturated market to build their bag with several club ‘families’.
Woods/irons/wedges/putter.

The 5 wedge era will be standard very soon. Not just for Phil.

A lot of pros use a dedicated 44/46 wedge for their PW instead of the PW with the set

 

[Voyager EMH]

The 5 wedge bag came in last year with the Ping G730.
I mentioned it last year - I do go on about lofts quite a bit!

I did a comparison with 40 years earlier and extrapolated to 40 years in the future when we will have a 7 wedge bag.

 

[bobmac]

Here's a pic of all my wedges.
No, I don't know the loft or bounce but I know how far they go.


I accept that lofts have got stronger over the years, but if your PW is 46 Deg, then in my opinion a GW at 52 and a SW at 58 seems just about right.
46 PW...Low
52 GW...Medium
58 SW...High

KISS

 

[bobmac]

From 2015...

D

Thread 'Set shrinkage.'

May 3, 2025

When I started playing, in 1970, the standard make up of a set of irons was nine clubs, 3-SW, although some included a 2 iron.

A half set was usually four irons, 3,5,7 and 9.

I have just taken delivery of my latest new set and it only includes four clubs, 7-PW.

Of course it could have been more but the modern game with hybrids at one end and specialist wedges at the other makes me wonder just how many 3,4 and 5 irons manufacturers now produce and are SW's included in any sets these days.

But that's progress I suppose although I still hanker after some nice persimmon headed woods. Not...

• Deleted member 36742
• Replies: 75
• Forum: The Lounge

 

[Orikoru]

From 2015...

D

Thread 'Set shrinkage.'

May 3, 2025

When I started playing, in 1970, the standard make up of a set of irons was nine clubs, 3-SW, although some included a 2 iron.

A half set was usually four irons, 3,5,7 and 9.

I have just taken delivery of my latest new set and it only includes four clubs, 7-PW.

Of course it could have been more but the modern game with hybrids at one end and specialist wedges at the other makes me wonder just how many 3,4 and 5 irons manufacturers now produce and are SW's included in any sets these days.

But that's progress I suppose although I still hanker after some nice persimmon headed woods. Not...

• Deleted member 36742
• Replies: 75
• Forum: The Lounge

Did you link the wrong thread? That says 2025 for me.

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

You could have looked at post #9 rather than Mr Google.

Apologise Mr Thread police! Consider me told and to only look back through threads. Not really sure why it matters where I got the details from

 

[Orikoru]

Did you link the wrong thread? That says 2025 for me.

Think he meant this one....

Thread '6-9 irons'

Dec 20, 2015

When I started playing golf, a set of irons were 3-SW
Nowadays, with people buying more hybrids and specialist wedges, is it likely manufacturers will end up selling just 4 irons in a set (6-9)?

I know people will buy whatever clubs makes golf easier and they haven't got time to practice so why bother.......just fill your bag full of hybrids and wedges and bingo, I'm your uncle.

• bobmac
• Replies: 330
• Forum: The Lounge

 

[Highfade]

Thanks for all the replies.
It seems to be a hot topic that is driven by marketing.
Loft-jacking has being going on for a while now and seems to fuel ego.

I do still think the old PW will be next casualty to be phased out of standard sets and with 9-irons now being set to 39-41 degs it leaves an obvious gap in the bag.
Step forward vokey with their convenient and expensive solution.

A line should be drawn in the sand as to what technically constitutes a ‘wedge’. From an engineering perspective 45 is the practical limit of that term but at end of the day it’s simply nomenclature and not the law!

Hold the line!
Make a stand against the marketing!
Protect the wedge!

 

[timd77]

I have 50°, 54° and 58° vokeys. Recently bought a second hand set of T200 irons, which came with a 48° gap wedge. The pw is 43°.

Tested the 48° and 50° and they perform pretty similarly in terms of distance, but the 48° is slightly more forgiving so the 50° is out of the bag for me at the minute. It might come back in the summer as I think it probably spins a touch more, better off tighter lies.

Anyway, the 48° goes about 100-105 yards full hit, 54° about 85-90 yards and the 58° about 65-70. However, I pretty much exclusively use the 48° for all pitch shots, I like hitting knock down, flighted shots with it, prefer to do that for, say, a 85 yard shot than max out the 54°. I only really use the other wedges when I need more height and the 58° is my sand wedge.

So the point I’m making is that I could probably get by with 3 wedges including the pw. If I ever needed to add a club at the top of the bag I’d probably get rid of the 54°.

 

[Orikoru]

Thanks for all the replies.
It seems to be a hot topic that is driven by marketing.
Loft-jacking has being going on for a while now and seems to fuel ego.

I do still think the old PW will be next casualty to be phased out of standard sets and with 9-irons now being set to 39-41 degs it leaves an obvious gap in the bag.
Step forward vokey with their convenient and expensive solution.

A line should be drawn in the sand as to what technically constitutes a ‘wedge’. From an engineering perspective 45 is the practical limit of that term but at end of the day it’s simply nomenclature and not the law!

Hold the line!
Make a stand against the marketing!
Protect the wedge!

As I touched upon in my first reply, and have spoken about before, I don't consider my PW and AW as wedges, since they are part of the iron set, they are exactly the same as the irons just with different lofts, so in my mind they are irons. Wedges are the specific wedges I've bought and added to the bag - 50, 54 and 60.

 

[Highfade]

As I touched upon in my first reply, and have spoken about before, I don't consider my PW and AW as wedges, since they are part of the iron set, they are exactly the same as the irons just with different lofts, so in my mind they are irons. Wedges are the specific wedges I've bought and added to the bag - 50, 54 and 60.

So like a 10 & 11 iron?
Makes sense, particularly if they are part of that iron family with same construction etc.