USGA Ban on High Lofted Wedges

[NM Golf]

In conclusion, 64* are stupid and a waste of money. The USGA is doing you a favor.

I would beg to differ. To each there own, you or whomever you play with might not benefit from their use but I certainly do. I love my 64. I can hit lots of different shots with mine. I personally wanted a club that hit on the green and checked up with no roll. The 64 does that better than my 60 did.

But thats really not the point of this thread. I started this thread because the USGA was starting a study to see whether or not they should look into a possible ban on high lofted wedges. I think it would be stupid. I would though give it up if they did decide to ban them. And to JessN16: Easy there big guy you have taken this way too far. You need to lay off the caffeine or something. This is golf, its just a sport for crying out loud.

[denver_nuggs_15]

To NM, I was kinda kidding about 64* wedges. I caddie and I don't like having to clean an unnessessary club. In the right hands it can be a deadly club, but in most players' hands...not so much. That's my opinion anyway.

I like what Stan Utley said when 60* first came out. He said something to the effect of, "What do I need a 60 for. I can do everything with my 56." I like that thinking. I started to play golf with only a 56* wedge on top of my PW. I had to use it for almost every shot around the green. P.S. - I don't know if you were referencing the golf being a sport or not, but if you were,

This is golf, its just a sport for crying out loud.

was pretty funny.

[Fourputt]

To NM, I was kinda kidding about 64* wedges. I caddie and I don't like having to clean an unnessessary club. In the right hands it can be a deadly club, but in most players' hands...not so much. That's my opinion anyway.

In many cases it's just a matter of perspective. I started golf with nothing higher than a 9I. Now I carry a 58° wedge, and it's been a long journey of experimentation and failure and success to get to this point. I've found that for me, anything more than my 58° X Tour is pretty useless, but I won't deny anyone his right to use whatever he can fail the worst with. That gives me more chances to win, all else being equal.

I agree that most recreational players (including most club players) don't work hard enough on their games to ever be proficient with more than a 56° wedge. I have to work regularly to just be adequate with my 58.

[onthehunt526]

I'm technically a +3.5 (though mathematically its +5.2)... and I don't play a 60... for the longest time I carried a 1-iron... (and still have one kind of... its a 2-iron bent to 1-iron loft with a shaft a half-inch longer) Because I understand that I don't need it... A lob wedge just gets you in trouble... especially when you use it for every shot around the green...

If I'm ten yards off the green in the fairway... with a short pin I chip with a 7-iron

In the rough... short pin sand wedge....

In the rough long pin pitch and run with a pitching wedge

[lcfd42]

I may be late to this conversation on rules and reasonings, but I would/do understand why such rules should be implemented. It's not to make golf any easier or harder, but to keep manufacturers reasonable. I'm sure there are a lot of guys(and gals) out there who can play an 80 degree wedge, but they are probably delofting the club a lot to make it hittable. Back to the rules, if you don;t put a stop in somewhere it will just keep going to an extreme no matter what it is. Consider where drivers were going; imaginge 600, 700+ cc drivers. Thats what such rules are trying to curb.

Rob

[luckyluke699]

Do people really find it difficult to hit a 60 degree? Is the problem topping it, or ball striking constistency / dispersion of shots?

I'm only asking as I consider myself a golf "noob" and I don't find hitting my 60 degree wedge difficult. It's no more difficult than a pw, 52 or 56 degree to me. I find it useful for hitting greens at the top of an inclined hill above the level I am playing from, or where I don't want much roll from when the ball lands.

Finally, I don't see the problem with people being allowed to carry any degree wedges they want... at the end of the day they can only carry 14 clubs right?

[Three Putt]

Onthehunt 526 -question- why do you choose the NXT Tour over the Prov1x or ProV1?

[lcfd42]

Finally, I don't see the problem with people being allowed to carry any degree wedges they want... at the end of the day they can only carry 14 clubs right?

I agree with carry what you want, but understand equipment rules too, they keep things reasonable. Other rules about the game are just too deep. This rule would go along with the new groove rule in limiting the amount of control with wedge shots. By reducing spin created by the grooves, the rule would prevent Mfgs. from trying to increased wedge loft to make up for it..... ...(maybe...Hmmm. Just a thought.) Rob

[Fourputt]

I agree with carry what you want, but understand equipment rules too, they keep things reasonable. Other rules about the game are just too deep. This rule would go along with the new groove rule in limiting the amount of control with wedge shots. By reducing spin created by the grooves, the rule would prevent Mfgs. from trying to increased wedge loft to make up for it.....

This whole issue is mostly rumor anyway. There has been nothing said that they are actually considering this action. Just like when you're making a swing change. You work on one thing at a time, evaluate the results, then go on to the next. The USGA has to see if the groove change accomplishes what they want to see. If that's the case then there is no reason for further tinkering.

[Leftygolfer]

The 64 isn't just for around the green. From 40-65 yards I can hit it stiff much more often than with a 60. For me it is a highly useful tool. I don't use it much around the green unless I short sided myself or have a very short bunker shot. It actually flies very low (the way I hit it) from 60 yards but it has tons of spin.

I am more consistant from that yardage with that club. I think it is hard to open a club up and get the aim just right and get just the right weight. It allows me to take aggressive swings from short yardages.

[SQ Bimmer]

I heard talk recently that pros may be going to softer balls and higher lofted wedges in order to try and reduce some of the effect of the groove rule change. If the USGA finds that these things negate their point in changing the groove rules, then they will take further action. Pretty simple.

It doesn't really matter to me. Since I'm never going to go higher than a 58*. But I know a ton of people with 60*s.

I think this is amazing. I don't carry any of the 60*+ wedges, so it won't hurt me. ...

Both these users now carry 60* wedges. Just thought I'd point that out.

[lewisgl]

Should be very interesting to see how the groove change is going to affect the PGA players this year. If they go to higher lofted wedges they won't get quite as good distance control as they used to, and coupled with less spin they will have longer putts after hitting short shots out of the rough. The pros are so good that they will adapt to the new rule as well as possible, but many of the big bombers are going to have to hit more fairways than they did before.

It wouldn't be surprising at all if the USGA put a cap on the wedge lofts on some number, whether it may be at 64, 60 or 59 or 58, or whatever. I use a 60 degree with medium bounce and could drop to a 58 no problem, as the 58 is just about as effective. If the 60 is banned there will be lot of 58's or 59's sold and in a lot of different bounce options!

[Greg]

some of those greens I see on the pga tour look so big that if you were to hit your approach shot on one side of the green and the hole is on the other side, you might be better off using a wedge to chip the ball over there instead of having a 90-100 ft putt. Most of the courses I play around here, its not even possible to ever have more than maybe a 40 ft putt on most of them due to smaller greens.