Are we now entering the 5 wedge era?

[Voyager EMH]

Personally I don't care about what loft my clubs are (and I don't know what they are - apart form the couple with it stamped on). What is important to me is how far I hit each one, and if people were honest then this is also what matters to them.

I play some social games with older clubs - so I am being honest when I say that the inconsistent numbering has caused problems unnecessarily.
Also an issue when you decide it is time for a new set of irons.
Probably little difference in the distance hit between a 37° and a 38° iron. But confusing when the 37° is a 9-iron and the 38° is an 8-iron. From the same manufacturer.

Playing with the older clubs from time to time has made me realise that a 40° iron from 40 years ago is much the same as a 40° today and that I will hit them similar distances.
I have come to the honest conclusion that the changes in numbering have been unnecessary and led to unnecessarily confusing sets of irons.

 

[AussieKB]

I'm assuming that Tommy Armour 36° is a 7-iron.
My Ping Eye2 7-iron is 36°.
Played with a Ping i10 8-iron of 38° for the last 18 summers.
I am currently trying to get used to my Ping i530 9-iron of 37°.

This steady change of numbering has not helped me in any way.
A 36° iron from 40 years ago is much the same as a 36° iron today. There was, and still is, no need to change the numbering.

Time for a reset to sensible numbering - is my view.

Yes....it still makes me laugh at people now, when they say I hit my 8 iron as far as your 7 iron, when you point out they are the same loft they still say but I hit my 8 iron as far as your 7 iron, what ever makes them happy.

I remember playing Ballybunion and the wife and I were paired with a US couple, we came to a par 3 and he said what did you hit, I said a 5 iron....he said very proudly he hit a 7 iron, I then pointed out I was on the green and his ball was most probably lost.

 

[Arthur Wedge]

Don’t really care what number and loft it is - as long as I know how far I hit that club and the gap to the next club is workable

 

[bobmac]

It isn't just the age it's also to do with type.
New blades seem to be closer to the 'old fashioned' lofts than game improvers

 

[garyinderry]

Your driver only goes so far.

The rest of the clubs have to fill the gap. Pick your poison.

Post your score. There's no box to say what clubs you used.

 

[Voyager EMH]

It isn't just the age it's also to do with type.
New blades seem to be closer to the 'old fashioned' lofts than game improvers

My new Ping i530 irons are marketed as blades. Ridiculously strong lofts.
The 5-iron is 22° and the Ping G10 iron it is replacing for me is the 21° 3-iron. 18 years of progress.

 

[Jason.H]

Yes the newer clubs are stronger lofted and also many have thin faces for more distance.
Wedge wise on my Titleist T150 set the pw is marked up as 44degree not PW. I then have 3 smithworks wedges (legal ones) . 48,52,58.
I don’t see any need for anything more than a 58 personally.

 

[Burnsey]

Yes the newer clubs are stronger lofted and also many have thin faces for more distance.
Wedge wise on my Titleist T150 set the pw is marked up as 44degree not PW. I then have 3 smithworks wedges (legal ones) . 48,52,58.
I don’t see any need for anything more than a 58 personally.

I have the same iron set and added the 48 deg gap wedge, as I use it for full shots and it suits my gapping better than a stand alone alternative, plus the spec runs with the set..

Then my gaps increase from 4 to 6 degrees and I have 54 and 60.

I feel no need for a specialist wedge more than 54 deg, so the 60 is an out and out bunker/get me out of trouble club and my aim is not to use it often lol.

 

[Golfnut1957]

I always post the same reply in these discussions.

Not so many years ago a set comprised of 3 - SW, then we were told that the long irons were too difficult for us so they were phased out while we went and bought hybrids to replace them.

Then the lofts got stronger leaving gaps at the bottom so we had to go out and buy matching or specialist wedges.

Where a set used to have 9 clubs it typically has 6 now (6-GW), we get to fill the other 3 gaps in at the bottom to suit our needs. It gives us the flexibility to load the top or the bottom of the bag. It gives the manufactures an opportunity to sell less for more.

Ironically we are in one sense back where we started with the 5 iron at the top of the bag having upwards of 21 degrees. The very lofts we were told were too difficult for us.

 

[Voyager EMH]

In 1977 I had a 10 club set 2-9, PW, SW. 18° to 57°

In 2025 I bought 8 Ping i530 irons 19° to 47°. I need to add a 52 and a 57 to make a very similar 10 club set to what I had nearly 50 years ago. But now I have 4 "wedges" in stead of 2.

Utter, utter nonsense.

And the new i530 42° PW plays much the same as the i10 42° 9-iron it has replaced. So much for 18 years of "progress".

 

[IanM]

There's an old Harvey Pennick story about a college player pupil who was excellent with a 2 wood, but struggling with his driver. Harvey took the 2 wood , and stuck a number "1" label, over the "2" on the sole of the club.

Marketing eh? It gets everywhere. An "iron set" is now fewer clubs, for more money! (You'll be needing extra wedges and some hybrids sir!)

 

[Orikoru]

I found this video interesting. She dispels the myth that iron are just jacked loft for more distance.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Wrong question asked resulting in nonsense being talked.

"Jacking lofts" is not a question that needs to be asked or a "myth" that needs to be busted.

Lofts do not change. A 32° iron from years ago is still a 32° iron today.

The "numbering" has changed.

The question that should be asked is, "We are playing with sets of irons with exactly the same lofts as 50 years ago. Why has the numbering changed?"

 

[Swinglowandslow]

Spookily was talking to a pro recently and his dad (also a pro) hating the idea of 4 wedges in a bag. Now we're talking 5?

Possibly. It depends how you see the labels, and the lofts.

My new iron set has a stock pw with 42 degrees. Wasn't that virtually an 8 iron in the 1980s?

Yes, it was. In the loft I have set of Jack Nicklaus Muirfield irons. 1980s I believe.
Those lofts are PW 50: 9 iron -45: 8 iron -41:7iron-37.
Just watched YouTube video. The guy testing TM P790. 7 iron with loft of 30.

So my old 5 iron has same loft as these 7 irons.

It can’t go on and on , can it .?

 

[Voyager EMH]

I have joined the 4 wedge era. My Ping i530 irons, which I like very much, have a PW of 42°.

Yet the 10 irons that I will be using this year have a very close match in terms of lofts to the 2-9,PW, SW set of Maxfli irons that I had in 1977.
And I will be hitting them similar distances.

 

[Swinglowandslow]

Wrong question asked resulting in nonsense being talked.

"Jacking lofts" is not a question that needs to be asked or a "myth" that needs to be busted.

Lofts do not change. A 32° iron from years ago is still a 32° iron today.

The "numbering" has changed.

The question that should be asked is, "We are playing with sets of irons with exactly the same lofts as 50 years ago. Why has the numbering changed?"

Yes, the iron is almost the same isn’t it?
The shaft is barely a half inch longer on my Muirfield blade 5 iron with same loft as my modern 7 iron.

 

[Voyager EMH]

1985 Ping Eye2 5-iron 28° - only 2 wedges required. Played with those several times last two years.
2025 Ping i530 7-iron 29° - and I need 4 wedges.

The only way I can see for the 5 wedge era to not come to be is if a halt is called somehow.

 

[RichA]

I have joined the 4 wedge era. My Ping i530 irons, which I like very much, have a PW of 42°.

Yet the 10 irons that I will be using this year have a very close match in terms of lofts to the 2-9,PW, SW set of Maxfli irons that I had in 1977.
And I will be hitting them similar distances.

Are you not finding that the modern clubs go quite a bit further than the older clubs of the same loft?
I thought that the much thinner faces were supposed to result in faster ball-speeds from the same swing speed.
Being Mr Consistent, I would think you’re as good a person as any to judge if there really is any difference.

 

[Tashyboy]

I saw this topic a few days ago and thought nope.Just put my clubs from carry to cart bag and saw I had a PW, ,46,50,54, and sand wedge. So I suppose yes is the answer.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Are you not finding that the modern clubs go quite a bit further than the older clubs of the same loft?
I thought that the much thinner faces were supposed to result in faster ball-speeds from the same swing speed.
Being Mr Consistent, I would think you’re as good a person as any to judge if there really is any difference.

The 5-iron and 7-iron mentioned above have the same length shaft. The 5 has a regular steel shaft and the 7 is only one degree weaker and has a regular graphite shaft.

From the same place on the fairway or on a par three, they are equivalent.
Whether one goes further than the other could be an advantage or a disadvantage.
Will one get the ball closer to the hole more often than the other? I will find out.
I will reserve judgement for two years.
I went to Ping HQ for a fitting for the i530s. I bought the Eye2 BeCu set for £40 from Ebay. Its gonna be interesting.