Third wedge for high handicapper

**Kobey** · December 22, 2011

I know this is probably in the archives somewhere but I got tired of looking through hundreds of search results to try and find it.

The iron sets I am looking at typically have a 44-45* PW and a 49-50* AW/GW. I will only have room for one more wedge so what would be the best loft to fill it in? I was thinking maybe a 56* but really have no clue. We don't have any fluffy sand traps here (they are all hard packed) so I don't really need anything to get out of deep sand right now.

Looking back, if you were a beginner, which one wedge would you add as a third one? I can only add one more because I refuse to leave any of the new clubs at home. If I buy a set I am going to keep it as a set. I also have a chipper that I am leaving in (it's a sentimental thing, reminds me of my father, he always carried one) and am planning on getting a new 5 wood so one more wedge would bring me to 14 clubs.

**Harmonious** · December 22, 2011

56* is more versatile than a 60*. Go with that.

**RPMPIRE** · December 22, 2011

When I started I added a 55* Wilson Wedge bought from Sports Authority. My PW at that time I believe was a 48* so I had a pretty big gap between the 2 clubs so I added the GW. But being that you don't have to fill in a gap, I'd choose a 54* or 55* just to keep the lofts even between your PW through SW.

Another way to look at it is how far do you want to hit that wedge on a full swing and what works well around the green for you.

**LuciusWooding** · December 22, 2011

A 56 is my preference, I'd give up my PW and GW if I could only have one wedge. But I like having a wedge above that, for tricky high shots.

That said, a 58 would seem to work ok, it would be a bit more of a gap for you, with a 50* GW, but it would do everything the 56 can do, most of what a 60 would do, and would probably work very well to fill out the bag.

Get it with 8-10 degrees of bounce, not much more, and it will work well out of firm sand while remaining an option for full shots. I'd suggest either a blade design or a very slight cavity, avoid matching wedges to the iron set IMO.

If you do get a 56, stick with the same basic amount of bounce, and I'd still suggest a blade design. Anything above 12 degrees will probably work best in fluffy sand and deep rough, and below about 6 won't be optimal.

Don't worry too much about keeping the lofts consistent, since you're going for versatility in this club, and you won't need too many full shots with that club. A bit of a yardage gap in this part of your set is OK, especially under 100 yards. This is a club that should be good at hitting out of sand and rough foremost, short game work is secondary, and full shots are the least important part. Therefore, a compact blade design will glide through the rough and sand better than an oversized cavity head. Don't worry about forgiveness, get a forgiving GW and use that for full shots.

**WWBDD** · December 22, 2011

You're overthnking this.

Pick a loft and buy a cheap wedge from the bargain bin.

Throw it in your bag and play around with it for a season.

You'll get an idea of where and when you'll want to use it and what loft would work better if it's not the one you bought.

When you think you know what you want, spend some money and get a decent wedge.

**Jmdmbike** · December 22, 2011

56 degree sand wedge is probably best choice. Good all rounder that you can hit full shots with as well as pithes, chips around the green and to get you out of trouble. I just added a 60 degree this year, and it's more of a situational club for me, and harder to use.

**mlf16507** · December 23, 2011

if you refuse to leave any clubs at home. you better buy a set that has hybrids instead of 3,4 and 5 irons, Any iron that is less than 25* of loft and longer tha 38" is useless to beginning and average golfers(unless the course has a lot of snakes) Stick with 56* SW. untilll you become a very good golfer. The 60* Lob wedge is tougher to use than the 56* SW

**Kobey** · December 23, 2011

So it looks like the consensus is the best all around wedge to fill out the set would be a 55*or 56* with about 10* of bounce. That's what I will start out looking at when I get my fitting then. Thanks folks.

**Domenic** · December 23, 2011

I would bend the 50* to a 51*, then 57*. Or just get a 56*

**TourSpoon** · December 24, 2011

The 56 with 10-12 bounce is the most versatile option given your situation.

**WUTiger** · December 26, 2011

Quote:

... Stick with 56* SW. untilll you become a very good golfer. The 60* Lob wedge is tougher to use than the 56* SW

The 60* takes a lot of practice time to learn to use. So, I would recommend 56* SW. Take a look at Adams Tom Watson wedges - model has a 56.12 (56 degrees loft, 12 degrees bounce) that lots of people use - and it only costs about $35 new.

You can also use the 56 for short pop shots around the green. As LuciusWooding suggested - a smaller blade head will cut through the rough better than a cavity back - just need to practice a little with it.

**Chris G** · December 27, 2011

Get a 56* with 8/10 bounce, dont buy a new one just something second hand. Most versatile club you can have mate a mentioned earlier, flop shots, full, chipping and out of sand.

Good luck with what ever you do :)

**rustyredcab** · December 27, 2011

As others have said, 56* with low bounce (10 or less) would be good all-around sand wedge. If your typical bunkers do not have high lips, consider a 54 -- again with 10 or less bounce. You may find the 54 works even more often on longer chips and pitches. I play in a lot of hard sand bunkers too. Keeping the bounce to 10 or less helps avoid skipping up into the ball instead of taking some sand under the ball.

If you plan to use it mostly in the sand and use other clubs, like your gap wedge, around the greens, consider buying a used or cheap club. You can practice a bunch in the sand, beat the heck out of it, and never worry about the damage the sand is doing to your club. Since the grooves are less important on a shot from a bunker, you can buy a nice used wedge and not worry about wear.

**sean_miller** · December 27, 2011

Originally Posted by Kobey

I know this is probably in the archives somewhere but I got tired of looking through hundreds of search results to try and find it.

The iron sets I am looking at typically have a 44-45* PW and a 49-50* AW/GW. I will only have room for one more wedge so what would be the best loft to fill it in? I was thinking maybe a 56* but really have no clue. We don't have any fluffy sand traps here (they are all hard packed) so I don't really need anything to get out of deep sand right now.

Looking back, if you were a beginner, which one wedge would you add as a third one? I can only add one more because I refuse to leave any of the new clubs at home. If I buy a set I am going to keep it as a set. I also have a chipper that I am leaving in (it's a sentimental thing, reminds me of my father, he always carried one) and am planning on getting a new 5 wood so one more wedge would bring me to 14 clubs.

Looking back, if I was a beginner again, I would not consider a 44 degree club a pitching wedge, regardless of the letter on the sole. I'd get a set with a proper PW (~ 48 degrees) then my next wedge would be a sand wedge, not a gap wedge or "attack wedge" because I like gaps and anything less than a 6 iron is essentially a scoring club. I learned long ago (not soon enough) to check my ego at the door because nobody cares how far the next person hits their PW.

I'd also have a proper lob wedge matching the sand wedge, because even though people will often say you can open your 56 and do everything a lob wedge can do, it just simply isn't true. Are there some 54-58 degree wedges that have a nice grind for opening up the face? Of course there are, but a relative beginner who has no idea what wedge loft to buy almost certainly does not have the skill set to pull this shot off with any more success than he would a straightforward pitch with a 60 degree wedge.

Basically I'd go the same way I do now - PW, SW, LW. I'd want a pitching wedge for pitching and for full shots, a sand wedge for bunker shots, full shots, and various shots around the green, then I'd want a lob wedge for all of the above and flop shots or bunkers shots where you don't have a lot of green to work with. Why wait on a 60? There will always be some people who warn against putting a 60 degree wedge in the bag no matter what index you're sitting at.

I'd also either lose a club on the long iron side of the ledger or, in spite of the nostalgia associated with having a chipper in the bag, I'd never consider taking up a roster in order to carry one. I might get a nice photo of someone I wanted to remember laminated as a bag tag or maybe a ball marker.

ed from nh · December 27, 2011

i carry 4 wedges only because it allows me to hit full shots from 110 into 60yds 45-50-54-58

**Kobey** · December 27, 2011

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Looking back, if I was a beginner again, I would not consider a 44 degree club a pitching wedge, regardless of the letter on the sole. I'd get a set with a proper PW (~ 48 degrees) then my next wedge would be a sand wedge, not a gap wedge or "attack wedge" because I like gaps and anything less than a 6 iron is essentially a scoring club. I learned long ago (not soon enough) to check my ego at the door because nobody cares how far the next person hits their PW.

I'd also have a proper lob wedge matching the sand wedge, because even though people will often say you can open your 56 and do everything a lob wedge can do, it just simply isn't true. Are there some 54-58 degree wedges that have a nice grind for opening up the face? Of course there are, but a relative beginner who has no idea what wedge loft to buy almost certainly does not have the skill set to pull this shot off with any more success than he would a straightforward pitch with a 60 degree wedge.

Basically I'd go the same way I do now - PW, SW, LW. I'd want a pitching wedge for pitching and for full shots, a sand wedge for bunker shots, full shots, and various shots around the green, then I'd want a lob wedge for all of the above and flop shots or bunkers shots where you don't have a lot of green to work with. Why wait on a 60? There will always be some people who warn against putting a 60 degree wedge in the bag no matter what index you're sitting at.

I'd also either lose a club on the long iron side of the ledger or, in spite of the nostalgia associated with having a chipper in the bag, I'd never consider taking up a roster in order to carry one. I might get a nice photo of someone I wanted to remember laminated as a bag tag or maybe a ball marker.

I wasn't being completely honest. I also keep the chipper because I actually enjoy using it. I didn't mention that part because I didn't want this to turn into a big discussion about how if I learn to use the other clubs properly they can do everything a chipper can. If I ever get more serious I will consider leaving it at home but for now it is a fun club and I use it a lot more than say, my 6 iron. I use it whenever I am within about 10 feet of the green. That's why I am looking for the best all around club to hit shots between that and the 50* AW.

**sean_miller** · December 27, 2011

Originally Posted by Kobey

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

Looking back, if I was a beginner again, I would not consider a 44 degree club a pitching wedge, regardless of the letter on the sole. I'd get a set with a proper PW (~ 48 degrees) then my next wedge would be a sand wedge, not a gap wedge or "attack wedge" because I like gaps and anything less than a 6 iron is essentially a scoring club. I learned long ago (not soon enough) to check my ego at the door because nobody cares how far the next person hits their PW.

I'd also have a proper lob wedge matching the sand wedge, because even though people will often say you can open your 56 and do everything a lob wedge can do, it just simply isn't true. Are there some 54-58 degree wedges that have a nice grind for opening up the face? Of course there are, but a relative beginner who has no idea what wedge loft to buy almost certainly does not have the skill set to pull this shot off with any more success than he would a straightforward pitch with a 60 degree wedge.

Basically I'd go the same way I do now - PW, SW, LW. I'd want a pitching wedge for pitching and for full shots, a sand wedge for bunker shots, full shots, and various shots around the green, then I'd want a lob wedge for all of the above and flop shots or bunkers shots where you don't have a lot of green to work with. Why wait on a 60? There will always be some people who warn against putting a 60 degree wedge in the bag no matter what index you're sitting at.

I'd also either lose a club on the long iron side of the ledger or, in spite of the nostalgia associated with having a chipper in the bag, I'd never consider taking up a roster in order to carry one. I might get a nice photo of someone I wanted to remember laminated as a bag tag or maybe a ball marker.

I wasn't being completely honest. I also keep the chipper because I actually enjoy using it. I didn't mention that part because I didn't want this to turn into a big discussion about how if I learn to use the other clubs properly they can do everything a chipper can. If I ever get more serious I will consider leaving it at home but for now it is a fun club and I use it a lot more than say, my 6 iron. I use it whenever I am within about 10 feet of the green. That's why I am looking for the best all around club to hit shots between that and the 50* AW.

So go with a 56. You asked what we'd do if starting over as a beginner. That's the advice I provided. If you find more use for a chipper than a LW, then use the chipper.

**inthehole** · December 27, 2011

Whatever loft you decide to go with (I'd also rec'd the 56 - I'm currently torn between the 56 & 58 - seem I alternate them in & out of my bag on a regular basis - cna't make up my mind). Here's the best deal on a high end wedge I've ever seen ... they stock whatever loft you want: http://www.budgetgolf.com/WILSON-STAFF-TW9-WEDGES-p-21598.html

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Third wedge for high handicapper

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