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Gap Wedge?


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As you can see in my signature, I have a driver, 3W and 5W, 3-PW (45*) and a SW (56*) and LW (60*) and a putter (14 clubs). One thing (of many) I struggle with is taking 70%-90% swings, as I always seem to hit a weak shot and push them to the left (I'm a lefty). This happens most often when I have a shot around 120 yards out, and I have to hit my pitching wedge, which I normally hit 130-135. The obvious fix to this would be to buy a 51* gap wedge, but to do that I would have to give up a club. I would most likely give up either my 5W, which I hit around 225-230, or my 3i, which I hit around 215-220. There isn't a huge difference distance wise between these clubs, but I like having both because of the different ways I can use each club. (i.e. lie, ball flight, etc). Do those of you who have gap wedges recommend getting one, or do you think I should just practice 70%-90% swings until I am comfortable with them so I don't have to give up a club.

909 D2 9.5° Driver - Diamana Blue Board Stiff
F-60 3W - Grafalloy ProLaunch Blue Stiff
CLK FLI-HI 17°/20° Hybrids - Grafalloy ProLaunch Blue Stiff
MP-57 4-PW - True Temper Dynalite Gold Superlite S300
MP-T 54°/12° & 60°/8° - Rifle Spinner Bettinardi C-03 Putter Pro V1x

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Do you hit your 3i well?

If not, I'd say take out your 5W and replace your 3i with a 3H. If you do hit it well, then just take out your 5W and stick the 52* in there.

Either way, I'd say take out the 5W, NOT your 3i/3H
What I Play:

Driver: Sasquatch SUMO² 9.5º Stiff
Hybrid: HiBore 16º (3W replacement)
Irons: Staff Ci6 3-PW StiffWedges: Vokey Spin Milled 54.10 60.04Putter: Newport Studio Style 35"Ball: Pro V1xAge: 15
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Gap Wedges are extremely helpful clubs. It is much easier to hit them full then try to muscle a sand or lay off a pitch, both can have very bad results when not correctly executed. Find out the loft of you pitching wedge and based off of that you should fill the gap with the appropriate lofted wedge.

Whats in my Warbird Hot Bad:

Driver: 907D1 9.5 - 65-S Aldila VS Proto --- FT-IQ coming soon?
2 Hybrid: Rescue mid-TP 16 deg
3 Hybrid: Rescue TP - HC Tour Only Model 19 deg - DG X-1004-PW: 695CB Irons - Project X 6.0Wedges Vokey SM58, Vokey SM54, Vokey 250Putter Futura PhantomWhere I WorkMy...

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Do you hit your 3i well?

I hit my 3i alright, I'm just kind of inconsistent with it (which is more due to my swing then the club since I'm progressively more inconsistent with my irons as I go from LW down through my 3i), but I normally I hit it well maybe 50% of the time, which will go around 225, the other 50% of the time I'll hit it with a fade and sometimes a slice which takes some distance off it.

I've never tried a hybrid before, and have never really wanted to (mostly due to having an ego and being against them because they seem like they are meant to be clubs for older people), but lately I've been coming around on the idea of trying one out. What is the difference in distance and forgiveness versus a 3i?

909 D2 9.5° Driver - Diamana Blue Board Stiff
F-60 3W - Grafalloy ProLaunch Blue Stiff
CLK FLI-HI 17°/20° Hybrids - Grafalloy ProLaunch Blue Stiff
MP-57 4-PW - True Temper Dynalite Gold Superlite S300
MP-T 54°/12° & 60°/8° - Rifle Spinner Bettinardi C-03 Putter Pro V1x

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I hit my 3i alright, I'm just kind of inconsistent with it (which is more due to my swing then the club since I'm progressively more inconsistent with my irons as I go from LW down through my 3i), but I normally I hit it well maybe 50% of the time, which will go around 225, the other 50% of the time I'll hit it with a fade and sometimes a slice which takes some distance off it.

Being a 22 handicapper, I can't exactly tell you the difference. All I know is that it is a LOT easier to hit. While I can understand not wanting to have hybrids for the looks, it will look better when your score drops a stroke because you hit that one shot perfect instead of slicing it.

I'd probably swap out that 3i, for a 3H, then take out the 5W for a GW. If you can't hit your 3i, and take out your 5W, a 5W to a 4i is a big gap.
What I Play:

Driver: Sasquatch SUMO² 9.5º Stiff
Hybrid: HiBore 16º (3W replacement)
Irons: Staff Ci6 3-PW StiffWedges: Vokey Spin Milled 54.10 60.04Putter: Newport Studio Style 35"Ball: Pro V1xAge: 15
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I have a 58* wedge that I love. I use it for most shots that I have to hit high or stop quickly. It works for any shot that I used to use my 56* or 60* wedges for. Getting one of those would let you add a gap wedge (which you definitely should get) and not lose any options on the high end of your distances.
In the blue and tan grom Bag:

Driver r7 460 10.5*
Fairway Woods '07 Burner 15* and 18*
Irons 4-PW r7 XDWedges 47*, 52*, 58* CG14,Putter TiffanyBall One Tour D
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I would loose the 60* wedge.

aeroburner tp 10.5 stiff
superfast tp 2.0 3 wood stiff
Halo 25 and taylormade tp 19 degree hybrids
miura cb 202 and wedge
tp 52* wedge, tp 56* taylormade spider mallet putter

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I must give you credit for noticing one thing that most people don't understand - the gap of 11 degrees between the PW and SW.

I faced the exact same dillema, but I now know I made the correct decision. Do yourself a favor and drop the 3I (possibly 5w instead) and get a 50 or 51 degree gap wedge. The rationale is very simple. You take far more shots closer to the hole. I play a 50GW 54SW 58LW. This keeps 4 degrees between all of my clubs.

It's nice to see someone admit they have trouble hitting 70 or 90 percent of a club - everyone does. It is far better to take the same swing and know your ball will land 10 yards or so further or closer to the pin. My gap wedge is my 110 yard club - pitching wedge 120 - sand wedge 100 and LW 80 yards. I am considering dropping the 58 and going back to a 60. I notice they don't stick as well.

When you stop and think about how often you need to choose between a 220 and 205 yard shot. Choosing between the 5w and 3I is tough. Here is a thought - check out the Nickent 3dx Utility 3. It is a cross between a hybrid and a fairway wood. They are selling for $49 and they spin the ball and stick. I can now hit it 200-215 depending on what I need. The Nickent Utility 3 has a 15 degree loft. I no longer carry fairway woods.
Whats in my bag:
Driver: Cleveland Launcher 460
Fairway/Hybrid: 15 & 19 degree Nickent 3dx Utility
Irons: MacGregor M565
Wedges: Cleveland 900 RTG 54 & 58 degreePutter: Odyssey DFX 2 ball
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  • 3 weeks later...
So I've been thinking more about getting the gap wedge, and have realized that I will be able to utilize it a lot more than one of my 3W/5W/3i. However, because I'm a college student and money is tight, I can't go out and buy a GW and a 3-hybrid to replace my 3i and 5W to stay at the 14-club limit. So, instead, I was thinking about dropping just my 3W and replacing it with a GW. I usually hit my 5W 230, and my 3W 245, so there isn't a huge lose in distance. Plus, I'm not often left with long approach shots at the courses I play, so I typically get the most use out of my 3W of the tee. However, I figure I can sacrifice 15 yards off the tee the few times a round I use a 3W (and use a 5W instead) to have a GW in my bag.

What do you guys think? Should I do this, or do you think I should save up and get a GW and a 3h to replace my 5W and 3i?

909 D2 9.5° Driver - Diamana Blue Board Stiff
F-60 3W - Grafalloy ProLaunch Blue Stiff
CLK FLI-HI 17°/20° Hybrids - Grafalloy ProLaunch Blue Stiff
MP-57 4-PW - True Temper Dynalite Gold Superlite S300
MP-T 54°/12° & 60°/8° - Rifle Spinner Bettinardi C-03 Putter Pro V1x

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If you only have a 10 yd difference between 3 wood and 5 wood, then I would do it. Especially if you are left with close approach shots into the greens.
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As you can see in my signature, I have a driver, 3W and 5W, 3-PW (45*) and a SW (56*) and LW (60*) and a putter (14 clubs). One thing (of many) I struggle with is taking 70%-90% swings, as I always seem to hit a weak shot and push them to the left (I'm a lefty). This happens most often when I have a shot around 120 yards out, and I have to hit my pitching wedge, which I normally hit 130-135. The obvious fix to this would be to buy a 51* gap wedge, but to do that I would have to give up a club. I would most likely give up either my 5W, which I hit around 225-230, or my 3i, which I hit around 215-220. There isn't a huge difference distance wise between these clubs, but I like having both because of the different ways I can use each club. (i.e. lie, ball flight, etc). Do those of you who have gap wedges recommend getting one, or do you think I should just practice 70%-90% swings until I am comfortable with them so I don't have to give up a club.

You hit your PW 130+ yrds? What do you hit your SW?

For me my PW I hit 125 yrd max, that is my carry distance and I hardly ever get any roll on anything lower then a 9i. My SW is 100yrd max carry, so I have a 51 bent to 52 and it goes 115yrds carry - this is also where I start losing overall distance because of back spin.
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You hit your PW 130+ yrds? What do you hit your SW?

Yea I normally hit it 135 carry, and can get it to stop right away or come back a yard or two with some spin. I hit my SW 110 carry, so it leaves me with about a 25 yard gap between clubs.

909 D2 9.5° Driver - Diamana Blue Board Stiff
F-60 3W - Grafalloy ProLaunch Blue Stiff
CLK FLI-HI 17°/20° Hybrids - Grafalloy ProLaunch Blue Stiff
MP-57 4-PW - True Temper Dynalite Gold Superlite S300
MP-T 54°/12° & 60°/8° - Rifle Spinner Bettinardi C-03 Putter Pro V1x

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There is no reason for you to have 5W and 3I-PW. Drop the 5W, 3I or 4I and add the gap wedge.

Gap Wedge is an important club. What's the difference between your 3I and 4I? Maybe 5 yards carry, 10 yds roll? What's the difference between your 3I and 5I (what is the "gap" that the 4I represents? How far do you hit your 3I versus your 5W?

Yet that 15 yds difference between 48 (PW) and 56 (SW) comes into play all the time.

If I need to drop a club (to add a 3W or something), I usually drop the 4I or 3I. The difference between my 3I and 5I is not that great, the carry difference is not that great (the 3I just rolls a bit more). So the 4I is a little bit of overkill (but I like it better off the fairway, and my 3I and hybrid are similar distance, so sometimes the 3I gets axed).

Phil Mickelson doesn't carry a 6I. He can hit his 7I 180 yds if he has to, and he can hit his 5I 180 yds if he has to, so what does a 6I do but take up a spot?

David Pelz advocates losing the 6I, but I think for amateurs it is better to drop one of the longer irons. (Tom Kite also dropped his 6I).

What's in the bag
Driver: FTI
3W: 15 Degree
2H: X
4I-7I: X-188I, 9I, PW: X-Forged52 Deg: Vokey Oil Can, all rusted out56 Deg: Vokey, Chrome 60 Deg: Black PearlPutter: Catalina Two

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However, because I'm a college student and money is tight, I can't go out and buy a GW and a 3-hybrid to replace my 3i and 5W to stay at the 14-club limit.

Why do you need a 3H to replace the 5W and 3I?

Why not just keep the 5W and drop the 3I? Or just drop your 4I? A 3H and a 5W aren't that different. They go the same distance. Hybrid is just a little more versatile. How many times do you get up to a shot that you cannot pull off with a 4I or a 5W, and could only hit with a 3I? How many times do you get up to a shot that would require only a 4I, meaning you could not do it with a 5I or 3I? When you get to the 180+ yds away range, you don't need the precision that you do from 110 or 120. A 185 yd 5I or a 195 yd 3I is only a 30 foot difference. The 4I is not a critical club.

What's in the bag
Driver: FTI
3W: 15 Degree
2H: X
4I-7I: X-188I, 9I, PW: X-Forged52 Deg: Vokey Oil Can, all rusted out56 Deg: Vokey, Chrome 60 Deg: Black PearlPutter: Catalina Two

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I would loose the 60* wedge.

Agreed. IMO 60* wedges are not often necessary, but I understand that I'm not the one in question here.

If you find your LW is neccesary, I agree that the 3i or 5w is the thing to go.Try playing rounds without one or the other and see what works best for you.
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I use my 60 degree all the time. I use my 52 and 56 frequently as well. Depends on the lie, the situation, how much green I have to work with, the course, etc... Some courses I play, the 60 might stay in the bag most of the day, as they greens are soft, not many elevations, and pins are in the middle. Other courses, I might rely on the 60 degree all day.

I can go entire rounds without using a 3I, or having a shot that I did use my 3I for and still could have used a 2H or 4I and been fine.


BCEagles722, have you ever read this book:

What's in the bag
Driver: FTI
3W: 15 Degree
2H: X
4I-7I: X-188I, 9I, PW: X-Forged52 Deg: Vokey Oil Can, all rusted out56 Deg: Vokey, Chrome 60 Deg: Black PearlPutter: Catalina Two

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Note: This thread is 5739 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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