Wedges - I'm a hypocrite!

[duncan mackie]

If all your irons now go 10 yds further than their previous namesake then fine - just slot something between the PW and your existing 50.

If they don't, then ignore the published lofts and just play the yardages they deliver.

I have 6 PW, well 5 ' cos one has 10 stamped on it, and despite significant differences in lofts they all go a very similar distance and their gaps to the 9 iron have always been less than their gap to my 52; you are going to have a gap somewhere!

 

[Dave1980]

I have wedges that go 78,96,105,118,132yards on average for full shots and then adjustments can be made with variable swing lengths - not sure what the lofts are for each one and not sure the loft is that important, if you know the distance each club goes.

 

[Jensen]

The pitching wedge on my Cleveland CG16 is 44 degrees, that I bought from new 8 years ago. I bought a 48 degree wedge and already have a 52 degree wedge with matching SW at 56 degree.
However it's interesting what Hobbit says about dynamic loft and actual loft

 

[jim8flog]

I bought a 46 Vokey (to fill a gap)and one of the of things I noticed straight away was that it had the same shaft in (ie tip to first taper) as any other Vokey wedge so was not giving true gapping. The shaft got changed before I had even used it.

 

[Maninblack4612]

So true, back in the 1970s an 8 iron was typically 44 degrees.

Yes, but, with the modern design of clubs, the 8 iron is likely to launch just as high & go much further.

 

[Crow]

Sad

Yes, but, with the modern design of clubs, the 8 iron is likely to launch just as high & go much further.

Sad but true.

When I started playing vintage/classic clubs a couple of years ago I thought that there'd be loads of people wanting to get back to the basics and get away from all the technology that's in today's clubs but it's become obvious that there are very few people going down the classic route.
Today all anybody seems interested in is how easy to hit and forgiving a club is and how far they go.
The attraction of vintage is that you need to work at your swing to get the rewards, but they're nowhere near as hard to hit as some would have you believe.

The classic era is generally regarded as being from 1945 to the end of wooden woods, which was about 1995. We're not talking hickory here and clubs are easily recognisable to today's golfer and readily available, in fact they're as cheap as chips and you could find a full set for the price of one of today's irons.
Clubs during this era changed very little over the 50 year period, most irons were blades made from a single piece forging or casting and woods were wooden. There was a little bit of loft creep over the years, around 4 degrees, and then Browning and Ping started the GI revolution in the 1970s.

Oh yeah, and they look gorgeous!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Having gone on record more than once to the effect that nobody should need more than three wedges I'm about to acquire a fourth. The pitching wedge in my new set of Wilson D7s is 43°. This means that I now go 43, 50, 58 (Sand Wedge). I am finding lots of shots of around 100 yards & under where I can't reach with the 50° wedge & struggle to take enough off the pitching wedge. I have a Vokey 46° which I propose to have bent to 48, & will have the 50 increased to 52. This will give me 43, 48, 52 & 58. I'll need to drop the 4 iron or, more likely, the 3 or 5 wood.

A mate of mine has recently acquired 64° wedge which he swears by. Now which club can I leave out to accommodate one of those?

If its any consolation I don't see your post hypocritical. More realistic to recognise the short fall in the line up and sort it. That end of the bag is the scoring zone so important to get it how you want it. Good luck with the new set up

 

[Crow]

Apologies, I've gone a bit off topic above, here're some wedges to bring things back in line:

L to R:
Gradidge "Bobby Locke" wedge
Slazenger "Gary Player" sand iron
Craigton "Neil Coles" sand iron (Craigton was a Scottish manufacturer, John Letters did most of their designs after he left the John Letters company)

 

[virtuocity]

100 yards? A half 9 irons then.

 

[Maninblack4612]

Went to my local club fitter today to get my spanners bent. The 46° wedge was actually 44° from a previous bending exercise & is now 48°. So I now go 43, 48, 52, 58, with no more than 15 yards between clubs. That should work fine. The 5 wood has been taken out, I can hit the 4 iron almost as far.

 

[PJ87]

Have to admit I don’t think you would have noticed 43 50 58

I have 43 50 54 58 and I hardly ever use the 54 .. I could leave it out the bag easily

 

[Maninblack4612]

Have to admit I don’t think you would have noticed 43 50 58

I have 43 50 54 58 and I hardly ever use the 54 .. I could leave it out the bag easily

I already have! For shots too long for the 50 I just couldn't take enough off the 43. I don't mind hitting ¾ shots but I'd rather hit a fuller shot a bit higher.