What loft for gap wedge?

[Slab]

No bunkers ?
Would have thought at least 54 is needed from sand even if its only a short or two, or even none a round ?

Plenty bunkers on the course but I practice not going in them rather than escaping them

Seriously though, I find the GW is mental versatile. I practiced bunkers for a few minutes this morning (its inevitable I'll find one every few rounds ) and hit about 20 shots from wettish sand about 5ft beneath the level of the green to a close pin. Three thins + 1 left in the sand, the rest were all on the green, none holed though. Typical mid-handicap results I'd guess
I've space to pop another blade style wedge in the bag but not worth buying a club for so little use in return

Just walked the course in my head and only one hole has no greenside bunker/s



as a post script: Irrationally, it annoys me post round to realise what club/s I hauled round but didn't use (I tend to max out at 12 clubs)

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Plenty bunkers on the course but I practice not going in them rather than escaping them

Seriously though, I find the GW is mental versatile. I practiced bunkers for a few minutes this morning (its inevitable I'll find one every few rounds ) and hit about 20 shots from wettish sand about 5ft beneath the level of the green to a close pin. Three thins + 1 left in the sand, the rest were all on the green, none holed though. Typical mid-handicap results I'd guess
I've space to pop another blade style wedge in the bag but not worth buying a club for so little use in return

Just walked the course in my head and only one hole has no greenside bunkers

BIB…when my pro spec’d out my new set of clubs couple of years back he only had me buy 12 to go with my putter. He left room in my bag for one more once I’d got used to them and worked out, or found out, where an additional club would be useful. So far no great need, but something like a 7w is on the horizon if I get fed up trying to hit my 5i better.

And on the wedges he spec’d for me.

No idea of the loft of pitching wedge or utility/gap, but I know how far I hit them, and I also have a 54 and a 58…with the 54 having higher bounce, I only know that because it is stamped on the sole of the club…and as for the others I use them mostly according to distance of shot. Out of bunkers I use 54 and 58 according to the sand; how far I want to hit it; and how close I am to a near vertical bunker face and how high it is.

Quite simple really. Ah yes…pro made me use my rangefinder for most if not all shots from 60yds out so I could understand and build my correlation of club to distance. And that simple correlation has (not unsurprisingly) made a huge impact on my wedge accuracy.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Slight digression but I dunno about you but I would much prefer I'd manufacturers printed loft on their clubs instead or aswell as numbers (like Hogans use to wasn't it?)

I mean wedges majority now are 50 52 54 58 60 and so on

Would be good to have an entire set like that

Cleveland do this on their irons. I used to have a set, lovely clubs but not as forgiving as I needed them to be. Anyway, yes, it was very useful.

 

[Slab]

BIB…when my pro spec’d out my new set of clubs couple of years back he only had me buy 12 to go with my putter. He left room in my bag for one more once I’d got used to them and worked out, or found out, where an additional club would be useful. So far no great need, but something like a 7w is on the horizon if I get fed up trying to hit my 5i better.

And on the wedges he spec’d for me.

No idea of the loft of pitching wedge or utility/gap, but I know how far I hit them, and I also have a 54 and a 58…with the 54 having higher bounce, I only know that because it is stamped on the sole of the club…and as for the others I use them mostly according to distance of shot. Out of bunkers I use 54 and 58 according to the sand; how far I want to hit it; and how close I am to a near vertical bunker face and how high it is.

Quite simple really. Ah yes…pro made me use my rangefinder for most if not all shots from 60yds out so I could understand and build my correlation of club to distance. And that simple correlation has (not unsurprisingly) made a huge impact on my wedge accuracy.

I just couldn't do this, 4 wedges just seems a massive overkill for my game. Bobs post #34 shows an example of distance spread with same single club and he hasn't even listed all the chip shot variations using that club
I'm off 15 index with limited practice time & a weekly round to look forward to, so 'tuning in' 4 clubs to use for approach & round the greens for what seems to be very specific incremental distances suggests an intent to do a lot of pin hunting rather than my middle of the green golf (with forays shooting left/right/short/long on bigger greens) so I'd rather take PW for its approach distance and then I have GW for anything inside PW plus chips from 5-50yrds and bunker escapes

I just find it easier to learn the carry/roll distance that one single club will do from multiple lies with different length of swing &/or decreasing loft etc rather than choosing a full shot/half shot differences for 54 or 58

I chip like I putt, very much on visual/feel for distance rather than an actual number (if I allow, it my brain will work out the stroke strength needed without me knowing exact yardage/ft to pin)

Sorry to OP for tangent

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I just couldn't do this, 4 wedges just seems a massive overkill for my game. Bobs post #34 shows an example of distance spread with same single club and he hasn't even listed all the chip shot variations using that club
I'm off 15 index with limited practice time & a weekly round to look forward to, so 'tuning in' 4 clubs to use for approach & round the greens for what seems to be very specific incremental distances suggests an intent to do a lot of pin hunting rather than my middle of the green golf (with forays shooting left/right/short/long on bigger greens) so I'd rather take PW for its approach distance and then I have GW for anything inside PW plus chips from 5-50yrds and bunker escapes

I just find it easier to learn the carry/roll distance that one single club will do from multiple lies with different length of swing &/or decreasing loft etc rather than choosing a full shot/half shot differences for 54 or 58

I chip like I putt, very much on visual/feel for distance rather than an actual number (if I allow, it my brain will work out the stroke strength needed without me knowing exact yardage/ft to pin)

Sorry to OP for tangent

Thing is…my old game was all about manipulation of club for shot and distance. Indeed for many years I only played with a pitching wedge and a sand wedge and I never used the sand wedge for anything other than bunker shots. And I had a 6 handicap. I could visualise and play almost any shot from 125yds in with my one wedge - with 8i for bump and runs.

But after a few years not playing much as the kids grew up a bit, my manipulation became destructive when I joined a club and started playing more frequently. My pro identified that I must learn club/distance pairings that I can rely totally upon with no or minimal manipulation, and that requires more than playing a single wedge for all short approach shots. And so I have four that I know and that I need do little or no manipulation around.

In the last year or so I have learned to take a little off or push a bit more from each wedge. And I’m pretty sorted. But my experience is that I need the range of wedges. And in truth the actual degree of loft of each never really crosses my mind.

 

[Backsticks]

Golfer have always carried 3 or 4 wedges, at least since the advent of steel shafts. Its the sensible approach. Just the lowest one was called an 8i back in the day with its 44deg.

 

[Orikoru]

I just couldn't do this, 4 wedges just seems a massive overkill for my game. Bobs post #34 shows an example of distance spread with same single club and he hasn't even listed all the chip shot variations using that club
I'm off 15 index with limited practice time & a weekly round to look forward to, so 'tuning in' 4 clubs to use for approach & round the greens for what seems to be very specific incremental distances suggests an intent to do a lot of pin hunting rather than my middle of the green golf (with forays shooting left/right/short/long on bigger greens) so I'd rather take PW for its approach distance and then I have GW for anything inside PW plus chips from 5-50yrds and bunker escapes

I just find it easier to learn the carry/roll distance that one single club will do from multiple lies with different length of swing &/or decreasing loft etc rather than choosing a full shot/half shot differences for 54 or 58

I chip like I putt, very much on visual/feel for distance rather than an actual number (if I allow, it my brain will work out the stroke strength needed without me knowing exact yardage/ft to pin)

Sorry to OP for tangent

It's always fascinating how differently people approach the game. You find it easier to use one club and change the swing for different distances. I'd be awful at that. I find it much easier to keep the swing the same and just change the club I'm holding. Thus remembering how far a half swing goes with each. Plus grip down an extra couple of inches to take a few yards off - still the same half swing.

 

[Slab]

It's always fascinating how differently people approach the game. You find it easier to use one club and change the swing for different distances. I'd be awful at that. I find it much easier to keep the swing the same and just change the club I'm holding. Thus remembering how far a half swing goes with each. Plus grip down an extra couple of inches to take a few yards off - still the same half swing.

Yup, no way I could repeatedly do a 'half swing' with any kind of consistency I could be 2hours out on the clockface and not know it.
Same for putting, trying to do 6" backswing for xx ft of putt distance just gives me heebie-jeebies

 

[bobmac]

Yup, no way I could repeatedly do a 'half swing' with any kind of consistency I could be 2hours out on the clockface and not know it.
Same for putting, trying to do 6" backswing for xx ft of putt distance just gives me heebie-jeebies

So how would you play a 50 yard approach shot?

 

[Slab]

So how would you play a 50 yard approach shot?

That's a lot longer an answer than your question, but in shorthand :

Asses the 50 yards of ground to be covered
Work out where landing point is for roll out with lowest flight height
Set up is usually same for 10 yard chip as it is for 50

Then Pretty much like throwing a tennis ball into a bucket, the brain knows what speed/pace of 'throw' and arc is needed to carry a golf ball to the landing point so lots of forward press with the club, straight arms, left foot well back, ball well back in stance on right toe, weight 70% on left foot and then turn for takeaway keeping arms mostly straight using the degree of turn to increase swing speed and..... OMG he's only gone and holed it!!

 

[RichA]

That's a lot longer an answer than your question, but in shorthand :

Asses the 50 yards of ground to be covered
Work out where landing point is for roll out with lowest flight height
Set up is usually same for 10 yard chip as it is for 50

Then Pretty much like throwing a tennis ball into a bucket, the brain knows what speed/pace of 'throw' and arc is needed to carry a golf ball to the landing point so lots of forward press with the club, straight arms, left foot well back, ball well back in stance on right toe, weight 70% on left foot and then turn for takeaway keeping arms mostly straight using the degree of turn to increase swing speed and..... OMG he's only gone and holed it!!

I'm with you. Can't do the clockface thing. Just hit it how hard it needs to be hit to go x yards.
Like you said, I never used a measured backswing to kick a football or throw a cricket ball - pick target, brain judges distance and tells muscles what to do.
54° only for me.

 

[bobmac]

We are all different. No right, no wrong.
50 yards for me is
SW
Middle of the grip
9-3

 

[RichA]

We are all different. No right, no wrong.
50 yards for me is
SW
Middle of the grip
9-3

Yep. You're a proper golfer, I'm not.
I only carry one wedge but I like to use it at least twice on every hole.

 

[CountLippe]

The hardest thing for me is consistent strike. A slightly thinned wedge goes miles, slightly fat goes nowhere (pitching rather than full shots).

 

[Springveldt]

We are all different. No right, no wrong.
50 yards for me is
SW
Middle of the grip
9-3

Kinda what I do, except I use my 50. No wrist set at all, feels like a wooden arm swing and carries around 50 yards depending on connection. For 60 yards I use the same setup except I push my hands slightly forward at address to deloft a touch. 75 yards do same as 50 except hinge my wrists on the backswing.

3 distances covered with the same 9-3 motion with the same club.

I've got the same thing for my 58, 54 and PW as well so I don't use the clock system as such, just the 9-3 with those 3 different setups and it basically covers 30-90 yards for me.

 

[bobmac]

Kinda what I do, except I use my 50. No wrist set at all, feels like a wooden arm swing and carries around 50 yards depending on connection. For 60 yards I use the same setup except I push my hands slightly forward at address to deloft a touch. 75 yards do same as 50 except hinge my wrists on the backswing.

3 distances covered with the same 9-3 motion with the same club.

I've got the same thing for my 58, 54 and PW as well so I don't use the clock system as such, just the 9-3 with those 3 different setups and it basically covers 30-90 yards for me.

As I said, there's no right or wrong.
Some use one technique and vary the club, others vary the technique and use one club.
What ever tickles your pickle

 

[Voyager EMH]

Some of the above comments amuse me.

I played with 4 clubs as a wee boy.
8 clubs junior size as a 12-14 boy. Learned to use all the clubs for all sorts of shots and distances.

Over the decades I've really enjoyed the one-iron-and-putter games, 3 clubs and putter games etc.
Every round I'm likely to be in the trees at some point needing to hit a very low running shot about 140 yards give-or-take with some draw or cut action.

Do people just not practice hitting every club different distances nowadays? If not, why not?
I think I must have something of an advantage having the equivalent of 75 clubs in the bag.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Watch the Shields vs Poulter game on youtube 18th hole.

Poulter takes a two-thirds swing with a less lofted club, because he is concerned about spinning the ball off the front edge. He makes birdie.
From just a little closer Shields hits a wedge, pitches beyond the hole, spins back 10 yards, makes par, loses game.

That's the difference between someone who has practiced all the shots and uses all the options effectively - with confidence.

 

[Springveldt]

Watch the Shields vs Poulter game on youtube 18th hole.

Poulter takes a two-thirds swing with a less lofted club, because he is concerned about spinning the ball off the front edge. He makes birdie.
From just a little closer Shields hits a wedge, pitches beyond the hole, spins back 10 yards, makes par, loses game.

That's the difference between someone who has practiced all the shots and uses all the options effectively - with confidence.

It's also the difference between a Tour Pro and Ryder Cup player to a teaching Pro who would be lucky to be a scratch golfer on a good day.

 

[Orikoru]

Watch the Shields vs Poulter game on youtube 18th hole.

Poulter takes a two-thirds swing with a less lofted club, because he is concerned about spinning the ball off the front edge. He makes birdie.
From just a little closer Shields hits a wedge, pitches beyond the hole, spins back 10 yards, makes par, loses game.

That's the difference between someone who has practiced all the shots and uses all the options effectively - with confidence.

I have never, ever been concerned about putting too much backspin on and losing it off the front edge. Never.