Is it worth bending a wedge to have consistent loft gaps?

[Danfix99]

Hello everyone.

I currently have a 45 deg pw, a 54 deg sw, and a 60 deg lw. I am considering adding a 50 deg gw. Is it worth it to bend my sw so I have a 5 deg gap between all of my wedges?

[alf174]

At your (our) skill level we wouldn't notice the difference - but I would definitely get the 50 or 51 Approach Wedge.

[glebert]

I would think it is most important to have good distance coverage, even if the lofts aren't exactly evenly spaced. Personally I replaced my 60 deg with a 58 deg because I got a better mix of distances, even though it is fairly close in loft to my SW. And even though I have a big gap in lofts between my PW and SW I have a nice 10 yard gap between them, so I don't carry a gap wedge.

[YogiTKE]

At a 30 HC, I don't believe your issue is your gap distance within your wedges.
My PW is 44º
The 8º gap between my PW and GW doesn't affect me.
I could add a 48º wedge, but I don't think it's necessary. If anything, I would add a 60º to my bag instead.

[allin]

Look at pros yardage gaps on the golf web pages. Yardage gaps and loft don't always match up exactly, especially with wedges. Sometimes they will have a 20-25 yard gap and sometimes only 15. Playing characteristics of the club and shaft lengths contribute also, often clubs GW-LW use the same length shaft. Figure out your gaps and adjust the loft if you have to large or to small of yardage gaps.

[BGPro]

Unless your getting to single digits or lower in your handicap, you won't notice a 1* difference.

[Divot Tool]

  Danfix99 said:

Hello everyone.

I'm not sure you could bend a wedge 4° without seriously jeopardizing the integrity of the metal. It would depend on the metal (ie. a soft carbon steel would be more malleable as opposed to stainless). A 4° bend is pretty substantial. A fellow at a pro shop once told me about how he once tried to bend a Cleveland CG10 and it shattered. Not sure how much he was trying to bend it, but it goes to say that metal when stressed can give. You can bet he didn't try that again.

Having said that, I've had my Mizuno MP-R 52° GW bent stronger to 50°....the pro said it was "like butter." I noticed the loft is stronger, but on full shots the difference in distance is negligible. To be frank, I'm probably not consistent enough to notice anything. Around the greens within 40 yards is where you'll start noticing your lofts. That's the time to be creative and try different wedges & ball positions to achieve various ball flight trajectories and spin. Lastly, I think it's nice to know that the equipment is not a variable in my game. If you have 3-4 wedges of the same make with consistent loft differences, chances are they'll be pretty consistent.

[shaggy023]

  alf174 said:

At your (our) skill level we wouldn't notice the difference - but I would definitely get the 50 or 51 Approach Wedge.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

[cwcaesar]

  Divot Tool said:

I'm not sure you could bend a wedge 4° without seriously jeopardizing the integrity of the metal. It would depend on the metal (ie. a soft carbon steel would be more malleable as opposed to stainless). A 4° bend is pretty substantial. A fellow at a pro shop once told me about how he once tried to bend a Cleveland CG10 and it shattered. Not sure how much he was trying to bend it, but it goes to say that metal when stressed can give. You can bet he didn't try that again.

He is going to bend the 54* wedge by 1* to a 55* and add a 50* wedge to the mix, not bend the 54* to a 50*.

[Shindig]

Nope! Here's the deal: your distance for any given club is really a range, hopefully centered around what you think of as its distance. Better players have a smaller range for their typical swings on any given club, all other things being equal. Now, you don't want to bunch up lofts or leave a huge gap, because you want your ranges within a reasonable distance of one another.

But 45-50-56-60 is fine. IIRC, Tiger has clubs with lofts of those in his bag - although his 45 is a 9-iron, I believe those are the gaps. I realize you aren't ready to base your game on his, but it's worth seeing that if lofts aren't the be-all and end-all of it.