Gear questions: Drivers, wedges

[kent1146]

All-

I'm new to this forum (and to golf in general), so I was wondering if people could give me some advice:

1) What is the benefit of a larger driver? I see some drivers that are 355cc, some that are 460cc. What are the benefits and drawbacks of the larger size?

2) Right now, I carry only a Pitch (which I hit ~100yds) and Sand wedge (which I hit ~60yds) in my bag. I've seen some players carry 4 or more wedges. Are those wedges to fill the distance "gap" between the S and P? And are there wedges that can distance under 60yds?

[cwcaesar]

1) the larger head drivers allow for a larger sweet spot, higher MOI, higher COR, and overall greater forgiveness. Larger sweet spot means that you will lose minimal distance on off-center hits. Higher MOI (Moment of Inertia) which is the club head's ability to resist twisting on off center hits. Higher COR (Coefficient of Restitution) is the spring like effect of the clubface, currently capped by the USGA at .830. The only drawback to the larger size is that you may lose some of the ability to work the ball, i.e. draws and fades. But as a beginner I imagine that you are trying to get the ball straight so this is really of no consequence to you yet.

2) A gap wedge is what you are looking for. I don't know what the lofts of your clubs are, but for my set I have a 47* Pitching wedge, 52* Gap Wedge, 56* Sand wedge, and a 60* Lob wedge. I would look for a club that you can hit about 80 yards, I am guessing that a 52* wedge would work, depending on the lofts of your set. For a shorter club, I would go with a 60* wedge. Or, you could just practice on hitting your sand wedge to different distances. That is what I did for years and I only recently added a lob wedge to my bag.

Good luck on finding the equipment you need, and Welcome to The Sand Trap!