Anyone use a 56* as your highest lofted wedge?

I've tried every wedge loft combo I can think of and I keep coming back to the 52*/56* combo, playing off a 47* AP2 pw.

I found I can open up the 56* to play higher lofted shots, with better results than using a 58* or 60*.

However, it seems that everywhere I look everyone else uses a 60* wedge.

Does anyone else use a 56* as your highest lofted wedge?  If so, why, and what's your handicapp?

Thanks.

I used a 60 and was very good with it, but I have now gone back to 56 being my loftiest wedge. There's plenty you can do with it and it  opens up space at the other end of the bag.

If you open it up you're fine and I can't think of a single time when I've felt that I really needed a 60.

A year ago I would have said that I couldn't imagine playing without a 60.

I use my 56* as my go to wedge and it is the highest lofted wedge in my bag currently. I've developed a "pinch chip" shot that I'm about 75% accurate with. The other 25% of inaccuracy with this type of shot is due to maybe I didn't hit the shot with enough 'feel'. I think I only had to use my 60* LW one time last year and even then it wasn't a memorable shot.

hcp - 5.2

I would be fine without my 62, but probably screwed without my 56. I find that opening up the 56 is great when I need the bounce, but having a low bounce 62 is helpful in a lot of situations. Also, unless I go to a really exotic long game setup, I doubt I need more than 3 clubs between my 5 iron and driver; I am seldom that far from the green and expect to hit it particularly close. 20 yards of gapping isn't that bad at the top end, and 10 yards of gapping at the bottom is unnecessary.

I plan on going to a 44* 9i, getting a 50* scoring wedge, and then my 56 and 62. This sort of setup would keep my short game pretty much the same, free up a club at the top, and eliminate the PW that doesn't gap that well with my set, as well as being quite a rare yardage for me. I'll have to try it out and see how it goes, but I could presumably choke up to reach the in between yardages. When you get out to 150+, I can't imagine it's as easy to mess with distance control as with wedges. I just prefer not to have a 52, I guess. Most people I have seen go to a 6* gap starting with either a weak pitching wedge or a gap wedge, I can't see how starting with my 9i would hurt.

I opted to continue my iron lofts (24°, 27°, 30°, 34°, 38°, 42°, 46°) so mine are 50°, 54° & 58°. I've always had a certain amount of trepidation with my 58° as it seems to be my "blade it across the green, go on I dare you" club, however 54° I believe isn't quite enough to be used as my highest loft; there's to much rollout.

Having a 56° as my highest lofted club wouldn't fuss me and as Shorty said it frees up more room at the other end of the bag.

I used to have a 54˚ as my highest lofted wedge, though now I have a 60˚.  When I first got the 60˚ I loved it so much I refused to hit anything within 40 yards with any other club.  Now I mix it up with the 54˚ depending on the shot, but I'd still definitely miss the 60˚ if I took it out of the bag.

But my best golfing buddy's highest loft is his 56˚, and he's one of the best amateurs I've ever seen green side, especially relative to his handicap (also ~10).  I once watched him hole out with his 56˚ on back-to-back-to-back holes.  I'd say he doesn't ever regret not having a 60˚ in the bag!

My wife and I went on a quick golf vacation during May 2010. The resort course was the home course for the local small college. I met four of the golfers, and two of the four used a 56* as their highest lofted wedge. That season I used a PW, 50* and 56* as my three wedges, and had a 19 HDCP.

In 2011, I dropped the 56* in favor of a 54* and 58*, and my handicap went up to 23.4. I had trouble with pitch shots (and drives going OB).

A recent Golf Digest report said that 50% of the pro tour players had a 58* or less as their highest lofted wedge.

I'm 61, so I played golf before the LW appeared. During this time, I learned to hit a greenside cutshot with a SW that would some of the things a LW does. One SW shot was called the Sidewinder. If you have a semi-fluffy lie, open up the sand wedge and stroke an out-to-in shot. The ball picks up sidespin, and walks forward at a 45* angle once it hits. Great for softly rolling into tight nodes of the green, where a LW shot might ricochet left or right.

I am seriously considering dumping the 60 degree in favor of a longer club. The only time I use it now is for very short sand shots and that could probably be covered with the 56 degree

Something else I firmly believe is that a sand wedge is 56 degrees.

You can use a 54 or a 58, but a 56 is the most reliable.

The 58* seems to be more versatile for me than the 56*/60* combo.

I am a currently a 22 handicap down as low as 16, but a 56 is the highest loft club I can control.  With the 58* or 60* I either chunk or go completely under the ball.  I have a 58* but only can play it out of the sand when it is close to the lip.  The 56* is quite versatile when you learn how to open the face (as you mentioned)

I use a 56 as my highest loft as well. I only use it mainly out of the bunkers and around the green when i need height on the ball. Use it out of the fairway but i have way more control and consistancy with my 52.  58'S and 60's are great but i usually just dont need them.  My handicap is a 6.

The 60 seemed to be everyone's favorite club in the 90s, maybe into the 2000s.  But it wasn't always so--I don't think the 60 started appearing in golf bags until the very late 80s, which means that Mr. Nicklaus won 18 majors using a 56* SW.

When I was in HS, only a few guys carried a LW.  I (and most folks) was using 56* SW for every greenside shot (unless I needed a chip and run), and I did okay (heck--my pitching/chipping peaked at age 18, but I was a terrible putter then, so I guess I had to hit it close).

I have a 41* 9 iron, then a 45/50/55 setup with both my Powerbilt AFO's and my Callaway X-24 Hots.

I have been gaming the 45/50/55 for most of the past year.

I also have a 58* Vokey, but can't seem get better than the 55* SW. I pulled my 3Hybrid and slipped the 58* in my bag last week, but it didn't work that well.

Another setup in my garage is a 48/52/56 Callaway X Forged.

If I need more flop, then i just open up the 55*SW more and that seems to work.

Quote:

Here's a quick and interesting history of wedges: http://usgtf.com/articles/three_wedges.html

According to the USGTF website: The super-lofted wedge was popularized by former NASA physicist Dave Pelz and tour pro Tom Kite in the late 1980s. Karsten Solheim is credited with coining the term "L" wedge.

To the OP.

I have the same irons as you and a similar handicap.

I use a 51, 54 and 58 for my wedges.

I know it's a weird setup, but it works for me.

My PW is about 130, so each club knocks off about 15 from there.

51 - 115

54 - 100

58 - 85 and in