Improve my bag & confused by my wedge set up.

[mashleyR7]

Ok so I'm playing well at the moment, Chris D will back me up here, he's lost to me two weeks in a row now.........

My hcp is 15.8 and I want to get down as far as possible before the winter draws in. My bag set up is currently.

Cleaveland Launcher 10.5 2009
RBZ 3 wood 15deg 2012
TM Superfast 4H 21deg 2010
Burner 2.0 Irons 5-SW (PW 45 & SW 55 deg)
A very old Mizuno Faldo Lob wedge 60deg
Oddeysey White Hot XG #9 Putter

I'm very happy with all of it, especially the new driver and 3 wood. The putter is about 4 years old but still great.

The irons from 5-9 are fine but when it come to wedges I'm confused. I have no real idea how far I hit each of them, I just use feel for each shot, the lie, what I need to clear etc. On our home course we have a short par three 125 yards of the white which I hit a PW.

But I'm confused as to when I should be picking PW, SW or LW with my approach shots???

Now in yesterdays round I hit a lovely lob wedge that landed and stopped 1ft from the hole (tap in for a birdie 4 on the par 5 17th) I have no idea how far away I was, it just felt like the club to use. I then attempted the same shot on two other holes and shanked both miles to the left into trouble.

I use the LW most out the three clubs around the green for high chips with soft landings and in bunkers. I sometimes use the sand wedge for when I need a little more run on the ball. But moving back wards say 30-100 yards what should I use mostly?

Also what is bounce and how are specific wedge different from wedges that come in a set? Should I be looking to to replace them with wedges?

Oh and I'm left handed!

 

[One Planer]

First. Stand the right way around :ears:

Second. My advice would be to have a short game lesson with a pro.

IMO short game is a combination of club selection and feel for the shot you want. My advice would be to picture the shot you want to hit (High, low, bump and run etc) then pick the wedge/iron that will give you the desired result.

 

[mashleyR7]

At the other end of the bag, I carry a 5iron 24 deg, a 4h 21 deg, then nothing until my 3 wood 15 deg. Should I consider something to fill this gap, maybe a 3h around 18/19 deg?

 

[One Planer]

At the other end of the bag, I carry a 5iron 24 deg, a 4h 21 deg, then nothing until my 3 wood 15 deg. Should I consider something to fill this gap, maybe a 3h around 18/19 deg?

How far do you hit your 3 wood and 4H?

 

[chrisd]

Ok so I'm playing well at the moment, Chris D will back me up here, he's lost to me two weeks in a row now.........

We seem to have forgotten the other weeks, as well as the little nugget of advice that I gave you !!!!

The two shanks looked quite natural to me it was the lob wedge shot to 1ft that looked to be a bit of a misshit!!

 

[mashleyR7]

If you don't have anything positive to add Chris......

3 wood really is a tee only club, I'm not confident hitting it of the deck. I'm more likely to use it on the odd short par four when accuracy is more important. Although I am willing to learn this. Off a tee about 200 yard carry.

The 4h, about 180-190.

I really haven't got a accurate answer for how far I hit any club, it's all guess work and 'feel' for each shot. Around the 150 marker and my home course, it could be a 7 8 or 9 iron.

 

[chrisd]

If you don't have anything positive to add Chris......

I have, but the forum prohibits bad language!

 

[One Planer]

Personally if you only have a 10-20 yard gap between the 2 clubs I wouldn't bother adding another club.

I'd probably be more concerned with the gap between your pitch and sand wedge. At 10* difference that's a bit much.

I'd be tempted to drop the LW and add a 50* GW :thup:

 

[mashleyR7]

So tell me about wedges then, whats bounce? what else do I need to know. Are the set wedges good enough...

 

[One Planer]

So tell me about wedges then, whats bounce?

http://www.golfbidder.co.uk/golf-advice/520/golf-club-bounce-angle-buyers-guide.html

what else do I need to know. Are the set wedges good enough...

If you feel you're hitting them well enough then why change? If you can get the AW/GW for the TM set (You can actually, see here : http://www.golfbidder.co.uk/product/460571/Taylor_Made_Burner_2.0.html ) it'll keep the feel the same throughout your wedge set and add a bit of extra value when (If) you come to sell them.

 

[Foxholer]

That's a very good article on bounce.

As for distances. The very best way to find out is to measure it! Find an empty part of the range or the course (if allowed) and hit 10 or more balls with your standard swing. Then measure - even by pacing - how far the middle of the grouping is. Write it down somewhere so you don't forget and have to repeat the calibration! Then try it with a half swing (arms coming back to parallel with the ground - or 9 o'clock in 'Pelz' style - but with a standard wrist cock) and repeat. If you can do a 3/4 swing (10:30 in Pelz terms) and measure those - for each of your wedges - or even 8 and 9 irons, then you should have a pretty good set of distances covered. You might find you have some gaps, which is where other clubs (AW or specialist wedges) are likely to be of use.

I don't actually use my 56* (SW) from the fairway as the bounce (required for sand) clashes with my 'Sweeper' style.

There does seem to be some big gaps at the 'scoring' end. PW to SW is 10* and an AW would seem likely to be of use. Notwithstanding my comment about SWs in general, the Burner ones seem a bit heavy-handed for finesse play and the LW can be a tricky beast, so a slightly lower loft specialist wedge (54?) might prove useful too - if there's room in the bag.

The key thing is to find out your distances and find the right tools for a good spread.

Good luck.

 

[mashleyR7]

Thanks Gareth, a good read. I will try to find the bounce of my wedges at the moment.