How many wedges

[nickjdavis]

I must come under the "loads a wedges" demographic...though it isn't difficult, in the world of ever strengthening lofts, with the PW being 42 degrees then AW 46 before progressing into the specialist wedges at 52/56 and 60 degrees.....and despite the 6 degree gap between AW and my 52 gap wedge there isn't a significant gap in actual achieved yardage.

 

[kp17]

Got 48,52,56 & 60 in the bag but 60 doesn’t really get touched, contemplated for a while swapping for hybrid or longer club option

 

[bobmac]

I must come under the "loads a wedges" demographic...though it isn't difficult, in the world of ever strengthening lofts, with the PW being 42 degrees then AW 46 before progressing into the specialist wedges at 52/56 and 60 degrees.....and despite the 6 degree gap between AW and my 52 gap wedge there isn't a significant gap in actual achieved yardage.

Or swap out the 56 and 60 for a 58
46, 52, 58

 

[Voyager EMH]

50° and 56° OR 52° and 58°.
Two wedges can be enough for most people. A very lofted lob wedge can be a useful addition.
But "wedges" below 50° are really numbered irons. I can't see why they can't number them 10, 11, 12 etc.
Honma have done this with some sets.



Or we could go back to making proper use of the numbers 1, 2 and 3 for irons.

I have a Petron set that is numbered 1 to 10, PW, SW. (12 irons! Put them all in the bag and there is room for a driver and a putter!)
The 10-iron is 50°, PW is 55° and the SW is 60°.
That makes proper and full use of numbers and names. Something like that scale should be used as the standard or comparator.

 

[nickjdavis]

Or swap out the 56 and 60 for a 58
46, 52, 58

I prefer the three wedges as I can have the 56 with quite a bit of bounce and the 60 with not a lot of bounce....gives me options for different ground conditions around the greens.

 

[bobmac]

I prefer the three wedges as I can have the 56 with quite a bit of bounce and the 60 with not a lot of bounce....gives me options for different ground conditions around the greens.

Apologies, I thought you had 5 wedges
PW, AW, 52, 56, 60

 

[nickjdavis]

Apologies, I thought you had 5 wedges
PW, AW, 52, 56, 60

Yes, by the terms of what they are called (and the original intent of this thread) I have five wedges, but only three of them are what you would traditionally call a wedge, the other two are simply irons with the same "form" as the rest of the set, but having "wedge names".

I only think of the 52/56/60 as my wedges, hence me saying that I prefer the three wedge setup due to the bounce options it provides, over the two (52/58) wedge set up that you suggested.

 

[Orikoru]

Yes, by the terms of what they are called (and the original intent of this thread) I have five wedges, but only three of them are what you would traditionally call a wedge, the other two are simply irons with the same "form" as the rest of the set, but having "wedge names".

I only think of the 52/56/60 as my wedges, hence me saying that I prefer the three wedge setup due to the bounce options it provides, over the two (52/58) wedge set up that you suggested.

Exactly. PW and AW that come with your iron set and are ostensibly the same other than loft are not wedges, they are irons - and I will die on this hill!

 

[nickjdavis]

Exactly. PW and AW that come with your iron set and are ostensibly the same other than loft are not wedges, they are irons - and I will die on this hill!

I think dying for this particular cause is a little extreme.

 

[bobmac]

Yes, by the terms of what they are called (and the original intent of this thread) I have five wedges, but only three of them are what you would traditionally call a wedge, the other two are simply irons with the same "form" as the rest of the set, but having "wedge names".

I know but if you replace the 56 and 60, then you'd have 46 AW, 52 GW, and 58 SW.
That would allow you another club between your 3 wood and 6 iron, which if I'm honest looks a little imbalanced.
Is there much difference between your 24 hybrid and 25deg 6 iron?

 

[Neilds]

Exactly. PW and AW that come with your iron set and are ostensibly the same other than loft are not wedges, they are irons - and I will die on this hill!

So what does the W stand for? And if you ever had a caddy, what club would you ask for?
"Can you pass me the 46* club, please? No, not that one, these are traditional lofts so it is the next one up" Madness

 

[Orikoru]

So what does the W stand for? And if you ever had a caddy, what club would you ask for?
"Can you pass me the 46* club, please? No, not that one, these are traditional lofts so it is the next one up" Madness

It's just a name. It's called a pitching wedge but it is an iron. Fairway woods aren't wood anymore. Sweetbreads are not bread. Would you eat a urinal cake? I rest my case.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

In my selection of clubs for my golf today (following Hannah Holden's advice to choose clubs according to course and weather) I had my 54* and a 9i - I just opened up my 9i to make it into wedge to hit higher and shorter if I was closer than 130yds and further than 85yds; and 3/4, or whatever, hit my 54* if I was much closer than 85yds. Job done. Wedges today? 1+1

 

[nickjdavis]

I know but if you replace the 56 and 60, then you'd have 46 AW, 52 GW, and 58 SW.
That would allow you another club between your 3 wood and 6 iron, which if I'm honest looks a little imbalanced.
Is there much difference between your 24 hybrid and 25deg 6 iron?

Yes...the hybrid is a full club longer than the 6 iron in distance terms....155-160 yards whereas the 6 iron is typically 145 yrds.

I'm not the fastest of swingers and I find that I dont get as much separation between clubs at the long end of the bag...if i go the traditional 3-wood at 15 degrees, 5-wood at 18 degrees and then another hybrid at 21 degrees I usually end up with a group of clubs with a more tightly bunched set of yardages and a degree of overlap. I did have a stronger hybrid but found that the distance gain over the 24 hybrid was rarely realised due to inconsistent ball striking. The 19* utility wood however is like night and day for ease of use and sits nicely between the 5 hybrid and 3 wood.

I did a lot of work on the range at the beginning of the year looking at my yardages and club separation....I'm happy that what i've got works for me.

 

[bobmac]

I did a lot of work on the range at the beginning of the year looking at my yardages and club separation....I'm happy that what i've got works for me.

That's the most important thing, just shows how different we all are.

 

[PJ87]

Goody
Another opportunity to post the picture of my entire wedge collection

View attachment 54985

Please note the loft, bounce and grind.

If your PW is 46, then 52 and 58 would be perfick in my opinion.
Low (46) medium (52) and high/flop (58)
KISS

I do always love this picture lol

I've got a stock pitch of 41 so I don't overly use as a wedge

I use my gap wedge (48) around the green and for half shots

Any high shots are 54 degree wedge job, don't use it for full shots in the main only 50 yards and in

My lob is 60 degree but it has only 2 jobs. Bunkers and going up quickly. Other than that it stays in the bag

I could use the 54 for more it's just that extra confidence with the 60

 

[badgergm]

5ish handicap
Depends on course and conditions but mostly just have:
PW from set (TM speedblade) 46 - hit 130
GW 50 degree Vokey - hit 100
54 degree Vokey - only use around green, or when < 60 yards and need height

Sometimes put a 60 in.

I find it more effective to get used to one club and hit different distances - so use the GW for 100 yards in. Tend to hit the ball high and really struggle to hit a consistent strike and distance on a full swing with anything > 50 degree. Most people do I think, high loft clubs much overused by high handicap golfers.

 

[sjw]

I was watching the f0rebr0thers on Youtube and one of them said something along the lines of, "I think this is a bit much for my 48, so I'm going to hit a pitching wedge," and I had to wind it back to make sure I'd heard it properly! My pitching wedge is 47 degrees and I'm sure I'm going to get a certain feathered member or our resident Star Trek enthusiast along soon to tell me that even that's strong.

I looked up the clubs these guys used and the PW is 42 degrees, which is just insane. No wonder they claim to hit the ball so far. As has been said, if your PW is 42 degrees you're surely going to need a larger number of "traditional" wedges.

 

[PJ87]

I was watching the f0rebr0thers on Youtube and one of them said something along the lines of, "I think this is a bit much for my 48, so I'm going to hit a pitching wedge," and I had to wind it back to make sure I'd heard it properly! My pitching wedge is 47 degrees and I'm sure I'm going to get a certain feathered member or our resident Star Trek enthusiast along soon to tell me that even that's strong.

I looked up the clubs these guys used and the PW is 42 degrees, which is just insane. No wonder they claim to hit the ball so far. As has been said, if your PW is 42 degrees you're surely going to need a larger number of "traditional" wedges

Not entirely the case tho. Majority of the time manufacturers have made the clubs more forgiving but the trade off is they go higher in cons.. so to get that flight leveled out they lower the lofts.

This isn't new either. My pw in 2016 was 43 degree

 

[Voyager EMH]

2008 Ping i10 PW 46°

1984 Ping Eye2 PW 50°

And I have had them both in the bag for some rounds this year.

Ping G730 PW - I can't bring myself to type the loft

oh all right then, I'll do it --------------------------- 40°
That's exactly the same as a Ping Eye2 8-iron from 40 years ago.

In fact the G730 range of lofts is pretty much the same as the Eye2 but shifted by 2 clubs.