Wedge Lofts

[LincolnShep]

Is there any such thing as a 'standard' or 'typical' loft for PW, GW and SW? I have a big distance gap between my SW (75yds) and my GW (105yds) but I don't know the loft of either so don't know what loft I need to fill the gap.

[BTW 200 posts, whoop whoop!]

 

[hovis]

they all vary a few degrees.
if you Google your clubs you will find out what yours are

 

[TheDoctor]

My old set of irons was 3-PW,SW with the PW being 47* and the SW 56*

When I upgraded to the Srixon Z545 irons I went with 4-PW and then looked at separate wedges to cover the rest of my distances

The Z545 PW is 44* and I ended up going with a 3 wedge setup of 48 / 52 / 58 which works for me, but I would always recommend a fitting to determine what you need

 

[GreggerKBR]

Is there any such thing as a 'standard' or 'typical' loft for PW, GW and SW? I have a big distance gap between my SW (75yds) and my GW (105yds) but I don't know the loft of either so don't know what loft I need to fill the gap.

[BTW 200 posts, whoop whoop!]

In my experience...

Most GW are around 48-52 mark
Most SW are 54-56
Most LW are 58-62

You will naturally see some bigger gaps with wedges at full swing speed because of spin/launch.
The key to controlling distances is speed control, delivering the face at the same AOA (angle of attack) conditions.

If you are steep, hit really hard through impact, or lean the shaft in at impact in varying ways it's really tricky to be very accurate with "carry distance". But basically you have to learn how to control "carry" distances and then you have to allow for lies, wind, spin etc.

But there's so much room to fiddle around what you do

I moved away from the clock system and developed 4 basic backswing lengths.
I don't lean shaft in very much anymore, just a good shoulder/body turn and keep hands quiet

In addition to standard full swing I have

H2Knee = hands to level with knee and shaft parallel to ground
ClubH2S = normal take-away until clubhead reaches shoulder height
Logo2S= same but the logo on shaft to this height
Hand2S = same but hads to that shoulder height

This really helped me to develop this table

[TABLE="width: 348"]
[TR]
[TD]Wedge
[/TD]
[TD]PW 46
[/TD]
[TD]GW 50
[/TD]
[TD]SW 54
[/TD]
[TD]LW 58
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]H2Knee
[/TD]
[TD]55
[/TD]
[TD]50
[/TD]
[TD]45
[/TD]
[TD]40
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]ClubH2S
[/TD]
[TD]100
[/TD]
[TD]90
[/TD]
[TD]75
[/TD]
[TD]60
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Logo2S
[/TD]
[TD]110
[/TD]
[TD]100
[/TD]
[TD]85
[/TD]
[TD]70
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Hand2S
[/TD]
[TD]120
[/TD]
[TD]110
[/TD]
[TD]95
[/TD]
[TD]80
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Full
[/TD]
[TD]130
[/TD]
[TD]120
[/TD]
[TD]110
[/TD]
[TD]90
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

Most days I cannot get my Full LW to go 90. It just comes out really low, flies 80 yards then spins back 10 yards or more.
So if I want 90 yards I do it with GW mostly as it stops where it lands (if hitting from normal fairway lie).

When I first made the table I used it a lot, but now it only comes out if I'm really nervous or stuck or something.
You start to just get used to it.
I developed the swing, impact conditions and ideas with my coach/pro.
It's a bit detailed and takes a while to arrange but it does provide a structure if you feel you need one.

Then throw it all out the window and hit a lob shot with a 5 iron, because it's fun to try!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

My PW is 56, my SW is 58 and so I got a 52 for an even dispersion. It does vary from manufacturer to manufactuer but the PW is normally anything from 45-48 degrees

 

[LincolnShep]

Thanks everyone - especially Gregger for all that info!

 

[Lord Tyrion]

My PW is 56, my SW is 58 and so I got a 52 for an even dispersion. It does vary from manufacturer to manufactuer but the PW is normally anything from 45-48 degrees

Blimey, my PW is 44. Huge difference.

 

[Slab]

My PW is 56, my SW is 58 and so I got a 52 for an even dispersion. It does vary from manufacturer to manufactuer but the PW is normally anything from 45-48 degrees

Interesting, how does the various loft gaping impact dispersion?

 

[ManinBlack]

My PW is 56, my SW is 58 and so I got a 52 for an even dispersion. It does vary from manufacturer to manufactuer but the PW is normally anything from 45-48 degrees

Blimey, my PW is 44. Huge difference.

Think he meant 46, i.e. 46, 52, 58

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Think he meant 46, i.e. 46, 52, 58

Indeed I did. Thanks for correcting that for me

 

[Khamelion]

I've just done something similar with my wedges as to what Gregger has done, I've got 4 shots for three of my wedges, I don't count my lob wedge.

For me I go club head to knee height, waist height, waist with wrist hinge and last shoulder this gives me. The difference I use is a narrower stance, for the knee height shot my right hand is at the very end of the grip almost on the metal shaft, for the waist height, stance widens a little and I move my grip up an inch, same again for the waist with hinge and shoulder swings.

Four grips, four stances, four distances, three clubs, 12 different wedge shots.

Pitching or 48 degree 30, 60, 90 and 120
Gap or 52 degree 25, 50, 75 and 100
Sand or 56 degree 20, 40, 60 and 80

 

[craigstardis1976]

Mine are 46.5 PW. 52 A-Wedge. 56 Sand Wedge. 60 Lob Wedge.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Think he meant 46, i.e. 46, 52, 58

Indeed I did. Thanks for correcting that for me

That makes more sense. Should have been obvious really but mfrs do strange things so you never quite know.