Considering Dropping 2 Most Lofted Wedges for Just 1, Thoughts?

[measureoffsetinnm]

If you have a different model 60° sitting unopened and are also toying with the idea of the 7 wood I think you stick with the 13 clubs you have set (driver/3w, 2-4u, 5-sw) and test out the other clubs. If part of the issue with the 58° is just that you hate looking at that might not be the case with the 60°.

 

Also out of curiosity, is there any special logic with the three utility irons or are you basically just using them to form a combo set 2-SW with the ZX5s? I don't dislike it at all but also most WITB I see have only one utility.

[onthehunt526]

1 minute ago, measureoffsetinnm said:

If you have a different model 60° sitting unopened and are also toying with the idea of the 7 wood I think you stick with the 13 clubs you have set (driver/3w, 2-4u, 5-sw) and test out the other clubs. If part of the issue with the 58° is just that you hate looking at that might not be the case with the 60°.

 

Also out of curiosity, is there any special logic with the three utility irons or are you basically just using them to form a combo set 2-SW with the ZX5s? I don't dislike it at all but also most WITB I see have only one utility.

The 58° only has 9° of bounce. I usually carry just the 3 and 4 utility irons, I can hit a normal 4 iron, I just like the forgiveness on the longer end of the bag... I haven’t updated my WITB yet, I’m not doing updating it until I get the ZX5 irons which are on backorder until Mid May because Srixon is out of ZX5 heads until next Friday, and after QA and being built, even after being overnighted is another week.

I don’t HATE hybrids but with fighting a hook... (I know with a 1.5 it’s hard to believe, I just play the hook)... that usually have offset....

I have 3 tricky 3 utility iron approaches on my home course that a 7 wood would be helpful for. (A 7 wood is a more direct distance replacement for the 3 iron) but that is off topic.

When I update my what’s in the bag, you’ll see the reason why I feel I can get away with just a 56° wedge around the greens...

Do I really need a 58/60 on a course with only one bunker? You can open up a 56° to play like a 58 or 60 though. I can do it to a point with a 54°, I think a 56° with a high bounce would probably do the trick.

[measureoffsetinnm]

 

1 hour ago, onthehunt526 said:

I don’t HATE hybrids but with fighting a hook... (I know with a 1.5 it’s hard to believe, I just play the hook)... that usually have offset....

I have 3 tricky 3 utility iron approaches on my home course that a 7 wood would be helpful for. (A 7 wood is a more direct distance replacement for the 3 iron) but that is off topic.

Considering golf is a game where even top professionals can go through periods of battling issues in their swing I will never doubt anyone saying they are fighting a hook regardless of their index. To me hybrids and high lofted woods are clubs that serve the same general purpose and it really comes down to player preference and comfort. Three approach shots that would benefit from the 7 wood makes it seem like a must try imo. (Also I would not say this discussion is off topic because the space freed up by dropping a club is relevant to deciding to drop it.)

1 hour ago, onthehunt526 said:

When I update my what’s in the bag, you’ll see the reason why I feel I can get away with just a 56° wedge around the greens...

Do I really need a 58/60 on a course with only one bunker? You can open up a 56° to play like a 58 or 60 though. I can do it to a point with a 54°, I think a 56° with a high bounce would probably do the trick.

Absolutely not imo. Unless you hit the bunker literally every round and for some reason can't make the shot with the 56 the 58/60 is just dead weight in your bag. You are 1.5 and feel comfortable using the 56 for everything around the greens so I can't see how either of those would be the case.

[TourSpoon]

6 hours ago, onthehunt526 said:

Do I really need a 58/60 on a course with only one bunker? You can open up a 56° to play like a 58 or 60 though. I can do it to a point with a 54°, I think a 56° with a high bounce would probably do the trick.

No you don't, even if you were playing at Doral. It wasn't too long ago that the standard bag went up to a 55/56 degree sand wedge and that was it. It was the standard for decades and shouldn't be a problem for you.  

[onthehunt526]

7 hours ago, TourSpoon said:

No you don't, even if you were playing at Doral. It wasn't too long ago that the standard bag went up to a 55/56 degree sand wedge and that was it. It was the standard for decades and shouldn't be a problem for you.  

Didn’t Rocco Mediate finish 2nd in a U.S. Open a while back with a 56° wedge as his highest?

[TourSpoon]

1 hour ago, onthehunt526 said:

Didn’t Rocco Mediate finish 2nd in a U.S. Open a while back with a 56° wedge as his highest?

He sure did and Jack won 4 US Opens with a 56* McGregor SW. 

[iacas]

52 minutes ago, TourSpoon said:

He sure did and Jack won 4 US Opens with a 56* McGregor SW. 

Go back far enough and you'll find that players won majors hitting featheries. Doesn't mean they're valid tools today. 🙂

[Vinsk]

26 minutes ago, iacas said:

Go back far enough and you'll find that players won majors hitting featheries. Doesn't mean they're valid tools today. 🙂

[onthehunt526]

I’ll give these options a shot and get back to you guys. 

[criley4way]

This not an abstract discussion. First find out how far you hit the last club in your irons, next look at the highest lofted wedge you hit well and can use. One the top end of your bag see what the gaps look like from driver to your longest iron. Those are the ranges you need to fill and the number of slots you have in the bag. Once you have the ranges data should tell you where you need the most help and if a hybrid will be more useful and save more shots than having smaller gaps for the wedges.

With a traditional set I had PW-3 and 56, driver 3 and 5w/hyb and a hybrid.

Current modern set for me has a 48, 52, 56 wedge, driver, 3 w, 3 hyb. 
 

with new short irons (split set) I am evaluating data to see if I need to go 46, 50, 54, 58 and maybe drop the hybrid.

 

all about strokes gained. If you only use the club 1 time every other round it might not be worth it.

Edited May 1, 2021 by criley4way

[onthehunt526]

7 hours ago, criley4way said:

This not an abstract discussion. First find out how far you hit the last club in your irons, next look at the highest lofted wedge you hit well and can use. One the top end of your bag see what the gaps look like from driver to your longest iron. Those are the ranges you need to fill and the number of slots you have in the bag. Once you have the ranges data should tell you where you need the most help and if a hybrid will be more useful and save more shots than having smaller gaps for the wedges.

With a traditional set I had PW-3 and 56, driver 3 and 5w/hyb and a hybrid.

Current modern set for me has a 48, 52, 56 wedge, driver, 3 w, 3 hyb. 
 

with new short irons (split set) I am evaluating data to see if I need to go 46, 50, 54, 58 and maybe drop the hybrid.

 

all about strokes gained. If you only use the club 1 time every other round it might not be worth it.

My longer clubs all run into each other. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, I try really hard to miss the bunker on the 9th hole, by either laying up short of it, or with the right wind, trying to drive the green.

[criley4way]

52 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

My longer clubs all run into each other. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, I try really hard to miss the bunker on the 9th hole, by either laying up short of it, or with the right wind, trying to drive the green.

If you have 2 clubs  with the same distance you have 2 tools doing the same thing. Why not choose 1 and fill another need?

[onthehunt526]

1 minute ago, criley4way said:

If you have 2 clubs  with the same distance you have 2 tools doing the same thing. Why not choose 1 and fill another need?

Because there are times when I’m say 190 yards from the flag and I’d rather hit a 6 and stay short of it or other days hit a 5 and try to get past it... All your clubs run into each other a little bit. It’s just a matter of choosing the time and place for it. And I’m not taking a long club out... my 3-utility iron is about 210-220 on average, my 3-wood I carry 230-240, I can back that up to 220, but I don’t like to. The other end is very similar. I did the four wedge thing for a while and realized that I’m more accurate and my shot zone smaller from say 75 yards with a chippy 54° than with a 3/4 58°... I’m thinking more 56° for around the greens... make sense now?

[TourSpoon]

On 4/30/2021 at 6:31 PM, iacas said:

Go back far enough and you'll find that players won majors hitting featheries. Doesn't mean they're valid tools today. 🙂

Hickory shafts too!  🤣

I would agree that in the modern pros arsenal a lob wedge is a must. However plenty of amateurs would do just fine leaving that club out in most situations. I carry a 58* because I found it to be a little more predictable than my 60*, but I use it mostly in the bunkers and sparingly when the situation calls for it. My course also has more than one greenside bunker being a Joe Lee design. The only hole with one bunker is the par three Island green.

[Esox]

My short game is the only thing that keeps me in the hunt any more, it sure isn't my long game.  I carry a 46-50-54 & 58. 85% of the time I use either the 50 or 58, both of which are moderate bounce. The 54-14 gets used only from fluffy lies and soft sand. The 46 is generally used for full shots only. I could get rid of the 46 and 54, but really have no other gaps I want to fill those spots with.

[TourSpoon]

On 4/30/2021 at 6:58 PM, Vinsk said:

I love this meme! Same guy playing 3 characters cutting up! Eddie Murphy at his best! 

Although I will argue that the 56* sand wedge cannot be compared to the obsolescence of the feathery, the strategy of bypassing a lob wedge for the modern pro is almost non-existent (Mediate being a hold-out).  

For the OP on his one bunker course, I don't think its an issue. 

[Vinsk]

53 minutes ago, TourSpoon said:

I love this meme! Same guy playing 3 characters cutting up! Eddie Murphy at his best! 

Although I will argue that the 56* sand wedge cannot be compared to the obsolescence of the feathery, the strategy of bypassing a lob wedge for the modern pro is almost non-existent (Mediate being a hold-out).  

For the OP on his one bunker course, I don't think its an issue. 

Isn’t the guy on back left Arsenio?

[measureoffsetinnm]

1 hour ago, TourSpoon said:

Although I will argue that the 56* sand wedge cannot be compared to the obsolescence of the feathery, the strategy of bypassing a lob wedge for the modern pro is almost non-existent (Mediate being a hold-out).

Shane Lowry only had a 50° and 58° when he won the 2019 Open.