How did you pick you wedge lofts?

[AbsoluteZero]

In theory it would be best to take a bucket of Pro V1s or whatever ball you play out into a bunch of conditions and find the right distances for each wedge and try lots of bounce angles for your types of courses and ....

But in my world, I don't really have that option. My best bet will be to try a couple wedges at most on a range or in a round or two. I'm assuming many of you have to deal with the same thing.

I have an old Cleveland suggestion image that shows whether you use 3 or 4 wedges what lofts you should consider, but when it was done they had lots of odd number lofts. Now with everything moving to be essentially 40, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, and 64, it's not the same. Not to mention wedges perform different based on lots of factors outside of just loft.

My current setup is:

PW - 46
GW - 52
SW - 55
LW - 60 - Low Bounce

Problem with my setup is that the 52 and 55 are too close in loft, my 52 should probably be a 50 which would fill that gap a little more accurately. Other problem is my 55 and 52 are old and therefore need replaced.

I'm considering moving to a 46, 50, (54 or 56), and 60 standard bounce, but there seems to be no good guidance and a lack of consistency in the pros (they are all over the place).

So how did you pick your wedge lofts and bounce angles? Is a difference of 1 or two degrees not that big of a deal, or can it mean 5 yards?

What are your wedge lofts (including your PW) and why did you choose them?

[whit53]

46... 50... 56... 60 Degrees. 56 has 14 degrees of bounce, as (for me) that equals the greatest versatility. 60 has 4 degrees of bounce and a wide flange, as those specs are best suited to the manner in which I play this "specialty club". 6 & 4 degrees of separation in my strong, medium and weak wedges..... is about right for me.

[Snake]

I decided that I only wanted to carry 3 wedges including the PW that came with the irons. The PW is 46° so it just seemed logical to go with 52° and 58°.

[AXE]

Now I play 47* PW, 50* GW, 54* SW, 58* LW. I am thinking about changing to a 3 wedge system, bending my PW to 48*, SW 53*, LW 58*, so I can put my 4 iron back in the bag.

[CJL]

My PW is 47. I just ordered two TVD Vokeys at 53* and 57* simply based on distance and shot variation.

[ryohazuki222]

  CJL said:

My PW is 47. I just ordered two TVD Vokeys at 53* and 57* simply based on distance and shot variation.

What bounce in each and why?

[Jcp907]

Currently, my PW is 45 with 6 degrees of bounce, Gap is 50 with 7 degrees of bounce, I also carry a 54 and 58, (both 12 degrees of bounce) and 60 (not sure on bounce).

I don't play the 60 well, so I will get rid of it once I get a Hybrid. I am considering bending the 58 to a 56 (so I end up with less bounce) and getting rid of the 54 as well.

[flanagan]

My "P" is a 47 degree. The others you can see below w/bounce specified. I chose my three Vokeys based on gaps. I use the 52 out of the fairway more, and after demo of a couple of different ones, felt the bounce on that was best for me. The 56 has more bounce because I figured I should have a wedge with more bounce available for when conditions require it. The 60 has as little bounce as I felt comfortable with, and our bunkers are usually not in the best of shape in any number of ways (very firm, etc.), so the 60 is usually the "go to" club out of the sand.

[Jcp907]

  Jcp907 said:

Currently, my PW is 45 with 6 degrees of bounce, Gap is 50 with 7 degrees of bounce, I also carry a 54 and 58, (both 12 degrees of bounce) and 60 (not sure on bounce).

I just realized that I didn't answer the question. The Pitching Wedge and Gap wedge came in the set. I am new to the game, and had the 60, but didn't care for it, so decided that evenly spaced wedges would make a good addition to the bag. Hence the 54 and th 58.

[Eman12]

My first wedge was a random spur of the moment buy - titlest 58 - I fell in love - Purchased almost all the degrees from 52 - 60, over the course of 5 or so years. Now I play with 56 as my SW and 60 both titlest. I also belong to a driving range that lets you demo clubs - so it makes it easy to test out different companies.

[localhawaii]

I started with the stock pitch (46 degrees) that came with my first set (x-18's) but ended up putting it in the closet and got a cg-14 48 and 56. As I started to play more I realized i had a big hole between the 48 and 56 so I filled with a 52 gap and eventually added the 60 lob. Once I started to realize my numbers, I end up having my 48 bent down to 46. I have only been playing about 10 months, and have a hard time hitting my mid to long irons, but my wedges are my clubs that I truly trust!

[AbsoluteZero]

  AbsoluteZero said:

when it was done they had lots of odd number lofts. Now with everything moving to be essentially 40, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, and 64, it's not the same.

I just saw on TGW that you can customize the loft and lie angle of wedges. therefore I think I may just replace my 55 with a new 54 or 56 that is actually customized to be a 55. now I just have to figure out which I'd rather have...and why.

[pherg]

Currently play 52/08, 56/08, 60/04 but had these before I changed to the Tour Burners. The TB PW is 46˚ so I'm thinking about going to a 50/08, 54/08 and 60/04 combo to create even gap distances. I also figure it'll be easier and more consistent to hit a three quarter 50˚ than a full 52˚, likewise with the 54˚ as opposed to the 56˚. I'll keep my 60˚ because that's what I do most of my chipping and all of my pitching with.

My current Vokeys have quite low bounce angles because the sand in the bunkers I play is usually more compacted and the ground is quite hard because of the drought. The 56 and 60 are Spin Milled but the 52 is the 200 series and always seems to spin much, much more than the spin milled ones.

[Waku]

  AbsoluteZero said:

So how did you pick your wedge lofts and bounce angles? Is a difference of 1 or two degrees not that big of a deal, or can it mean 5 yards?

Answering your question :

- First, fill in your distances, not the lofts . In my case, with 3/4 and full swings makes the following setup : PW 46º - GW 50º - SW 54º - LW 58º. That gives me exact yardages between 110 and 50 yards - Second, choose the bounce : not too much for the gap (10º-8º), as much as you can in the sw as the conditions (fairway, sand) where you play (from 10º in firm conditions to standard 12º to 14º if heavy conditions) and a little for the lob (6º-8º)

[MrKadash]

I actually eliminated my gap wedge for this year, or at least until I think I need it back. I decided to go with 3/4 pitching wedge shots for anything around 90-110 yds. I got rid of my 52 degree, and went with a 56-12 and a 60-4. We'll see how it goes.

[Andro26]

My PW is 48 GW 52 SW 56 I am fighting off the urge to purchase a lob wedge. I don't lose many strokes around the green(20yds or less), I find an open SW does what I need it to in a normal round. However this leaves me with a 3/4 or 1/2 SW into greens that I am tending to over shoot or under shoot. Who thinks it is worth it to pick up a 60 LW just for approach shots of 70-40yds??

[lumpuckeroo]

My PW is 48, GW 52, SW 56. My main objective was finding a wedge that I would hit 100 yards (my GW) and work from there. I have a simple formula, from 100 yards in I use the GW, if I have a 75 yard shot, it is a 75% swing, takes the thinking out of wedge play.

I watched Tee It Up with Tiger on The Golf Channel the other night and he talked about learning to hit low, normal and high shots by finishing waist high, rib cage high, above his shoulders high. I use the reverse, shoulder high on the back swing is about 75%, rib cage high is 50%, waist high is 25%.

I think how many wedges you carry and the lofts are less important then how you apply them to your game.

[AbsoluteZero]

  Andro26 said:

Who thinks it is worth it to pick up a 60 LW just for approach shots of 70-40yds??

I like my lob wedge, but almost never use it for approach shots. Instead I use it for those shots around the green where I simply want the maximum loft in order to drop the ball from almost straight down. I find that it's tricky off tight lies where I also want some distance (40+ yards).