Wedges Help!

[Wood]

I am of going to buy a new set of wedges. I love Vokeys, and will continue to use them. What I can't figure out is optimum loft/ bounce combinations for a three wedge set. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I currently use my stock PW from Mizuno set, Cleveland Gunmetal 53*, and Vokey 56*. I have too many holes in ditances, and don't really know much about bounce.

[Old Tom]

First off, your PW is probably a 46 or 47* loft (modern standard) which would give you a 6 or 7* gap between your pitching wedge and your "gap" wedge, which is a little too "gappy"...ideally, the short irons should step down in increments of 4*. So, given a 46* pitching wedge, the "gap" wedge should be around 50* instead of the 52* standard, and the sand wedge around 54* instead of 56, and a lob wedge, if any, at 58* instead of the standard 60.

These 'standard' lofts are built from the old standard 48* pitching wedge, which almost nobody carries any more. BTW, loft adjustments to +/- 2* can be made at any well-equipped shop: just because your gap wedge was sold with a 52* loft it doesn't mean you have to play it that way.

As to "bounce", this is more of an individual choice based on two separate considerations: first, the conditions you typically play under, and second, the type of swing you have.

If you play over reclaimed swampland with deep spongy rough and soft fairways, you'll want high-bounce wedges. If you play in a drier climate with thin patchy fairways you'd probably prefer a lower bounce on your wedges.

Likewise, if you have a steep swing and take massive, three-scooper divots with your short irons, high-bounce wedges are for you. If you have a flatter swingplane and take shallow divots, low bounce will probably work the best.

My two coppers, anyway; if I'm wrong about any of this I'm sure someone will be along to correct me in just a few minutes...

[iacas]

First off, your PW is probably a 46 or 47* loft (modern standard)

Maybe. Mine is 48.

which would give you a 6 or 7* gap between your pitching wedge and your "gap" wedge, which is a little too "gappy"...ideally, the short irons should step down in increments of 4*. So, given a 46* pitching wedge, the "gap" wedge should be around 50* instead of the 52* standard, and the sand wedge around 54* instead of 56, and a lob wedge, if any, at 58* instead of the standard 60.

I think the gap wedge is largely going the way of the dodo. I think it's dumb to "gap" your wedges unless the only shots you ever hit are full shots.

I go 48-54-60. Why only three wedges? Because I never use the 60 for full shots. Because I know how to lay open either the 48 or the 54 to get more loft (the 60 too, but not on a full swing), etc. There's just no point in closing the gaps super-tight. I'd rather use that extra club, as I have, on my hybrid.

just because your gap wedge was sold with a 52* loft it doesn't mean you have to play it that way.

Adjusting the loft on the wedges will also affect the bounce by about the same amount, too, so beware of that.

If you play over reclaimed swampland with deep spongy rough and soft fairways, you'll want high-bounce wedges. If you play in a drier climate with thin patchy fairways you'd probably prefer a lower bounce on your wedges.

If you play a lot of shots where you manufacture new lofts by laying clubs open, you'll want less bounce, and if the sand on your course is harder than average, less bounce again.

[neudi]

I have a 48 degree wedge, a 50 degree and a 56 degree. 56 for sand...50 for all shots under 115 and the wedge at about 140...it all depends on how you like them. You can't just assume that a 4 degree difference in each club will help you. Go with what you are comfortable with.

[Lefty2380]

trust me when i say ive played almost every wedge out there...its amazing what company's adjust to try to get you to believe that they are "new and Improved"

anyways, i agree with the fact that unless you are hitting full shots the whole time, there is no reason to shorten the "gap" between clubs. if that was the case you might as well carry a 5 1/2 iron, 5 2/3 iron, etc etc....its just not plausable...i go with a 48* PW which i can hit accuratly anywhere from 150 in, a 56* which is my favorite wedge (i can put any amount of spin on it and its really accurate from 120 in) and a lob wedge i use from 100 in to get over any obsticles. so to carry a 52* wedge so that i can hit shots from 130 in is just rediculous.

I feel that its almost better to have only 2 or 3 wedges so that you learn to shape shots more and you can rely on certain shots from certain clubs. i have played at least ten rounds with only one of each of those weges in my bag so that i can learn exactly what i can do and how i can exeute certain shots.

Summary of my babble: Go with 2 or 3 like you have, but to say that 3 or 4 degrees is to big of a gap is slightly crazy...

[NM Golf]

I agree with carrying 3 wedges, PW, SW, and Lob. Some people go with 48, 54, and 58. I, strangely enough, have a 48, a 56 and a 60 so I have a gap of 8 degrees then a gap of 4 degrees but it works for me after trying lots of different lofts. Several years ago I carried 4 wedges, 48, 52 56, and 60. I found the 52 just added confusion to my club selection more than it helped fill the "gap". Remember if you buy a forged wedge you can always have a clubmaker bend the lofts for you if they are off a bit. So that 60 degree can always be bent to 58.