Is the 60 degree wedge really that useful?

I blame Phil Mickelson.

Eveyone saw him hitting flop shots and thought, I need a 60* as well.

The difference? They are not Phil Mickelson and therefore can't hit it for toffee.

My standards issue Ping SW is 57* and is plenty for any shot I need.
 
I've just ditched my lob wedge aswell. I was either not committing to the shot and leaving it well short or really go after it and watch it fly about 120 yards at a height of about 3 feet over the green and far far away. It was costing me more shots than it was mean't to save, so it's now out of the bag and the most lofted club in the bag is now 56*.
 
i carry a 64 which only gets used for flops over bunkers.if you practice with the club it has its uses.....a lot of amateurs struggle with the higher lofted clubs because they dont practice with them and they dont assess the lie correctly
 
its funny, i have a friend who hacks about off 24, this year hes decided he wants to try and improve at golf, and has purchased a set of x22 irons, with a hyperx 3w and hybrid,

hes hitting all the clubs well, but unfortunately is stuck on carrying 2 cheap dunlop wedges, a 60 & a 64. we played a few weeks back at sweetwoods and i reckon he dropped most shots trying to use these two clubs, he was either too long, or too short, or a complete duff, in teh end he dropped using them later in the round and was using a stock pw which im guessing is around 47/48*, and the results we so much more consistent.

But... i bet he still has both them wedges in there come the next game, im trying to convince him to drop them for something more usable like a 52/56 set up... but its not easy
 
I carry a 60 but it is only used for those shots that need to get up and down very quickly like over a bunker to a tight pin. Some claim it's stupid to carry a 60 because they are hard to hit before proceeding to tell you how they just open up a 56 to get the desired effect. Yeah because that shot is so much easier then just using the more lofted club! I agree using a 60 for a straightforward green side chip is folly but they do come in handy sometimes and if you consistently hit your 52 well then no reason why you can't hit a 60 in my opinion.
 
I use a 60deg wedge and love it,its great out of a bunker and for lob shots off the green,especially raised greens.Get a lot of practise on the range with the 60 and you`ll be amazed how good you will become hitting stone dead lobs which can be par savers if you dont hit GIR.I just open and close the face with a 60 and do away with the 56.
 
Unusually, I am in the minority here! :D

I use my 60 degree wedge for just about every chip, bunker shot and approach shot under 50 yards. I am confident with it and have chipped in with it many times. It is what I am used to and I can hit a range of shots with it. Low, high, with some run etc.


I think that with practice and confidence, they are a very useful club indeed. I have owned and used the same one for about 10 years. Even when I have bought and tried newer wedges with this loft, I keep going back to it. It is a Cleveland wedge with not much bounce and is black.


Reminds me that I have a Ping Tour wedge with 60 degrees that I need to sell......
 
I took my 60 wedge out of my bag just before xmas mainly due to the wet weather it kept digging into the ground and costing me shots and because I switched to a carry bag for the winter, since taking it out I've hit a PB (10 over) on NYE and got cut last Saturday in a stableford. Im now in two minds whether to get rid of it as I never had a problem with it before but after the last few weeks and using my 56 around the green instead im not sure if I need it?
 
Snelly said:
Unusually, I am in the minority here! :D

I use my 60 degree wedge for just about every chip, bunker shot and approach shot under 50 yards. I am confident with it and have chipped in with it many times. It is what I am used to and I can hit a range of shots with it. Low, high, with some run etc.
Click to expand...

Ah, but you're a good player
The average newbie who can't chip or pitch goes to one of these to mask the gap in their knowledge.
 
I use mine mainly out of bunkers (We have lots of green side bunkers). I do use it from the fairway but only if its a tight pin. As long as you make sure your hands stay foward its no more dangerous than chipping with a 7 iron.
 
I have a bit of a strange wedge set up, in the fact I have PW at 48, SW at 56 and then a LW at 64. To be honest the most used club around the greens is my SW as I have lots of confidence with it striking shots from 90 yards in to shots just off the green. I like having the LW in for bunker shots around the green when the pin is tight as I dont have the confidence to open the club face up. I think the LW is all about practice a lot of people buy them thinking they can play like Phil and then think they just have to tap it and the ball is going to go high, if people put the practice in striking full shots half shots and realising that even for close distance chips you still have to accelerate through the ball rather than stop on it which causes the duffs but this takes practice which people dont want to always do. I dont see the point in getting rid of the LW as I have no club I wish to put in instead. I dont like having the 52 gap wedge because I never used it I would prefer to hit half shots with the PW, I have no reason to try get another club up at the top end of the bag as I have things spaced out to how I like them and I feel with the bag set up I have that I have covered every shot I need to play. Which is what I think people should consider in there own bag, if you feel you have got the bag to play every shot you want or need then great. I dont understand why people criticise others for club choices as it is a very personal thing and what they can do you might not be able to and vice versa. My advice would be use the 14 club allocation and make sure you cover what you need and if you do take a club out is there somewhere else in the bag that you need to add a club to make it more beneficial?
 
In the right hands,and the right conditions its a great advantage.
If the lies too fluffy it can slide right under the ball.
If the lies too tight you wont get a high flop shot.
Practice is the key,trying all the shots,and lots of different lies will help.
 
I couldn't do without mine, I've had a Cleveland 588 in the bag for about 8 years.
Its definately a usefull club especially to tight pins both green side and from bunkers, but its a club that needs a lot of practice to gain confidence, then that confidence needs maintaining.

I think the best advice is that you have to attack the ball, be aggressive , if you try to be cute the ball can just run up the face of the club, and basically finish where it started.

It's just a case of practice and confidence, the same as any other club in the bag.
 
Used at the right time a 60 is a magic wand.
Most people don't use them in the right place or at the right time and don't practice with them enough.
I've had 60's in the past, I have a 58 now only because it fits the rest of my set better.

Luke said once - everyone should get a 60 degree wedge and LEARN HOW TO USE IT PROPERLY.

I've read on here that some can't play a decent shot with one - that's probably becasue they're choosing the wrong time/place/lie to use it.

If you spend time learning it - it will become easier and you will hit good shots with it.
 
i really like my 60. when i first bought wedges other than pitching i went for a 56 and stupidly a 64. stuck at the 64 for a few months.learnt to trust hitting it hard then when i moved to a 60 i found it easier to handle. i have toyed with the idea of getting a 58 but happy enough with the 60. it takes alot of practice and at the start even more trust that the ball will go twice as high as it will in distance!
 
Just got a vokey 58* wedge for Xmas from my sister and brother in law. Already I love it! Brilliant when you want to stop things dead which is something I simply was not capable of doing before. Gives me great confidence with my short game.
 
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