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Club Gapping

post #1 of 27
3/5/09 at 5:39pm
Thread Starter 
Hey guys, I want to hear some opinions for optimizing club gapping.

I've always played:
Driver
3-Wood
2-PW
2 wedges (started off with 56 & 60, went to 52 & 58 for a long time with marginal success, now back to 56 & 60)
And of course the short thing with the flat face.

I'm revamping my whole bag in light of the fact that the last time I upgraded any piece of equipment up until the last month was in 2001.

My first change was taking the 2 iron out of my bag, picking up a 5-wood and swapping my wedges for a 56 and 60 degree.



Here is the issue I want everyone's opinion on:

In your bag...

Do you play with more wedges??
Or with more woods/hybrids/long irons?





The way I see it, I can play Driver, 3-wood and either 5-wood/hybrid/2 iron/hybrid...

Or I can eliminate one of those and play PW, 52*, 56* & 60*, giving me more options and less guessing 150 yards and in.

Thoughts??
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post #2 of 27
3/5/09 at 5:46pm

Re: Club Gapping

I used to have a 52-56-60 set up, but switched to a 52-58 setup. I like this way alot better because I was only using my 60 maybe 2-3 times a round. With the grinds on wedges being alot better and easier to open up I figured I would just get rid of the 56-60 and put in a 58. It's worked out great, because what I would have wasted working on practicing 2 clubs (56-60) I can now dedicate to just my 58. I use it for chipping, sand, a lob shots. Works great.
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post #3 of 27
3/5/09 at 6:01pm

Re: Club Gapping

So when I bought my clubs a couple of years ago I went with a Driver, 3w, 2, 3, 4 hybrid then 5-pw, sw,(54) lw (58). I quickly realised that the 2 hybrid was surplus to requirements. The difference between a 3w and 2 hybrid was minimal, and considering the amount of time I spend in my short game I couldn't practise both enough to make it worth my while. I also found there was too big a gap between my PW (46) and my SW, so I bought a 50 GW and replaced the 2 hybrid from my bag. I have since replaced my 54/58 with 56/60 SW/LW and have toyed with going back to 54/58 but haven't done so yet. Sure I have a gap between my GW and SW, but I try to lay up to my GW distance most of the time.
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post #4 of 27
3/5/09 at 6:04pm

Re: Club Gapping

I am interested in the responses to this also. I currently have the 52, 56, 60 setup and I have been thinking about going to a 58 and try to eliminate the 56 and 60. I currently use this setup with a driver, 1Hi, and 3-pw.
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post #5 of 27
3/5/09 at 6:50pm

Re: Club Gapping

Personally,screw having more wedges. I think the more options you have, the more options most players have to mess up. I would much rather, "Feel" my way in from 110 with my SW than have a 56 degree wedge that would got hat far/

Personally, i am a pretty good long iron player, so i enjoy having good gaps on that end of the set, so mine works to,

LW-95
SW- 120
PW-140.

and then on the long end,

3i- 220
3H- 240.

This gives me pretty good gaps that i can deal with, as in, if i have 130, i have two options, i can draw a hard SW, or fade in a PW. There is no gap wedge because i dont need one.

So i would say, if you dont like fading or drawing teh ball, get the three wedge set up, If you find yourself hitting longer approach shots, look into a hybrid.

If you do go the hybrid/5 wood route, thats a pretty personal route. I would personally ditch the 2i, as they are nice off the tee, but dont afford many options out of rough..so maybe look into a 18 degree 5W, or something in the 20 degree range for a 2i replacement.
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post #6 of 27
3/5/09 at 6:53pm

Re: Club Gapping

I hope my question is not too much of a thread jack.

I notice a lot of 4* gaps in the wedges around here. Being a newer golfer, I’m not sure what to do here. My PW is 45* my sand wedge is 55*, I can get a Gap wedge that matches in 50*, then I have a choice between a 58* vockey spin milled or a Cleveland 60*. I’m sure I’ll just practice the 58* and 60* to see what I like better. However does anyone think a 5* gap in the wedges is a big deal?
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post #7 of 27
3/5/09 at 9:22pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Club Gapping

Roughly, my distances for these "gap areas" are:

60* - 95
56* - 110
PW - 145


3i - 225
2i - 240 or 5w - 255
3w - 275


So, if I take the 2 iron/5-wood out of bag and don't replace it at all, I have about a 50 yard gap to contend with there. And while muscling a 3 iron is a little easier than wimping a 3-wood, neither of them are an extremely comfortable shot, nor will they produce reliable results.

I'm already fighting a 35 yard gap in my wedges, and my current PW is actually a 49 bent to 48, so assuming that when I buy a new set of irons in the next month, the loft will be 47*, that gap will lengthen. (I know that's not a huge difference, but it most certainly won't shorten the gap.)

That said... the standard loft of my DCI 990's are at least 1 degree weaker than what the standard now seems to be, so maybe that combined with a little better technology in newer clubs will increase my distance on my 3-iron to 230-235 ish and make that gap a little more manageable?

Any thoughts on that from anyone who upgraded their irons from a set that is say 7-10 years old?
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post #8 of 27
3/5/09 at 9:37pm

Re: Club Gapping

Originally Posted by youngskip40 View Post
Roughly, my distances for these "gap areas" are:

60* - 95
56* - 110
PW - 145


3i - 225
2i - 240 or 5w - 255
3w - 275


So, if I take the 2 iron/5-wood out of bag and don't replace it at all, I have about a 50 yard gap to contend with there. And while muscling a 3 iron is a little easier than wimping a 3-wood, neither of them are an extremely comfortable shot, nor will they produce reliable results.

I'm already fighting a 35 yard gap in my wedges, and my current PW is actually a 49 bent to 48, so assuming that when I buy a new set of irons in the next month, the loft will be 47*, that gap will lengthen. (I know that's not a huge difference, but it most certainly won't shorten the gap.)

That said... the standard loft of my DCI 990's are at least 1 degree weaker than what the standard now seems to be, so maybe that combined with a little better technology in newer clubs will increase my distance on my 3-iron to 230-235 ish and make that gap a little more manageable?

Any thoughts on that from anyone who upgraded their irons from a set that is say 7-10 years old?
How tall are you, if you don't mind me asking? The reason I ask is because I can just get 70 yards MAX out of my 60 and about 85 out of my 56. I am shorter though at 5'8". I am just wondering if its my swing or height.
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post #9 of 27
3/5/09 at 9:49pm

Re: Club Gapping

IMO, having a 52*, 56* and 60* wedge is overkill. I used to have that setup and I found that most of my shots were either with the 52* or the 60*, so I removed the 56*.
You can do a lot to change loft by opening the face or by playing the ball foreward or back in your stance.
Id leave out the 56* and replace it with a 5-wood or a 3-hybrid.
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post #10 of 27
3/5/09 at 10:30pm

Re: Club Gapping

Originally Posted by TN94z View Post
How tall are you, if you don't mind me asking? The reason I ask is because I can just get 70 yards MAX out of my 60 and about 85 out of my 56. I am shorter though at 5'8". I am just wondering if its my swing or height.
Yeah my 60* last weekend was on the money at 65 yards. I love hitting that thing with a full swing. 60 yrds out, 100 yrds up.
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post #11 of 27
3/5/09 at 10:37pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Club Gapping

Originally Posted by TN94z View Post
How tall are you, if you don't mind me asking? The reason I ask is because I can just get 70 yards MAX out of my 60 and about 85 out of my 56. I am shorter though at 5'8". I am just wondering if its my swing or height.

I'm 6'2", with long lanky arms, haha... so I have no problem getting a wide swing arc. That said, I get most of my distance in my short irons/wedges by trapping the ball, not widening my swing arc.

But... if you can hit your wedges 60 yards and 85 yards every single time, and can hit them on target, you're probably at an advantage most of the time. It takes a lot more work to "create" shots from 90 yards and in.
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post #12 of 27
3/5/09 at 10:49pm

Re: Club Gapping

i go in favor of more wedges, i use the 52-56-60 set up. i am a long ball player, so having the extra wedge really helps me both around the greens and on approach shots distance wise. right now i go driver, 3wood, 3-pw, then wedges.
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post #13 of 27
3/5/09 at 11:32pm

Re: Club Gapping

I go driver, 3W, 5W, 3-PW, 56, 60. The gap between 3 iron and 5w is a little big, but I can choke down the 5w and hit it a little shorter. Gap between PW and 56, I hit a choke down/half PW as my stock shot.
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post #14 of 27
3/6/09 at 5:59am

Re: Club Gapping

I use driver, 4 wood, 7 wood or 3-iron, 4-PW, 52,56,60.

I find all 3 wedges very useful. My 52 is medium bounce, and good for a full shot of 115. My 56 is high bounce, good for a full shot of 105 and great from sand, my 60 is medium bounce, but can upen up with low bounce to slide under and flop soft.

I'm thinking about getting new wedges at 51, 55, 59 - being that the PW is 47 - to keep the gaps at 4 degrees each.

I use each wedge several times per round, always.
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post #15 of 27
3/6/09 at 6:18am

Re: Club Gapping

Originally Posted by TyCobb View Post
I used to have a 52-56-60 set up, but switched to a 52-58 setup. I like this way alot better because I was only using my 60 maybe 2-3 times a round. With the grinds on wedges being alot better and easier to open up I figured I would just get rid of the 56-60 and put in a 58. It's worked out great, because what I would have wasted working on practicing 2 clubs (56-60) I can now dedicate to just my 58. I use it for chipping, sand, a lob shots. Works great.
ditto here... I now have two wedges (3 if you count PW) that I can hit pretty much any shot with and most of the time I can do it pretty well. I like having a 2H rather than a 5W, mostly because I have better control with the hybrid. Also... like having a 3W, 2H, 3H, 4-PW... it keeps my gaps very manageable with the long clubs. Only thing I might change if I could would be to bend my clubs so that my PW is 48* instead of 46*... but that would scre up the 9i PW gap, so really I just wish my irons were spaced to a 48* PW... maybe someday I'll bend a few clubs to get this, or buy some new irons.
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post #16 of 27
3/6/09 at 3:45pm

Re: Club Gapping

I have 3 wedges as well and usually decide between the 52 and 2 hybrid, depending on the course, on which I will take out of my bag. If its a short course, I will take out the 2 hybrid, if its a long course or one with a lot of doglegs off the tee I will take out the 52. I think its good to have 15 clubs and let the course choose which you remove.
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post #17 of 27
3/6/09 at 5:32pm

Re: Club Gapping

Doesn't this come down to a Utley vs. Pelz short game debate?

Pelz advocates more wedges, which means you are going to have some gaps in your long clubs (because you have to remove some to make room for the extra wedges under the 14 club rule.)

Utley advocates fewer wedges, which means you don't have the gap in your long clubs (although you can argue you have gaps in your wedges you have to work around, but that seems to be Utley's technique anyway as I understand it.)

So the question is: are you an Utley or Pelz wedge player? The answer to that should help you determine the gaps in your long clubs.
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post #18 of 27
3/6/09 at 6:41pm

Re: Club Gapping

Originally Posted by tim31x View Post
i go in favor of more wedges, i use the 52-56-60 set up. i am a long ball player, so having the extra wedge really helps me both around the greens and on approach shots distance wise. right now i go driver, 3wood, 3-pw, then wedges.
Exactly what I do, except I just replaced ny 3I with a hybrid.
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