Which wedge should I buy first? 54 or 58?

[ryohazuki222]

First off, I should make it clear the these decisions are already made. I am going to buy a TaylorMade Z TP wedge in each the 54* and 58* lofts. I can't afford to buy both wedges in the same month, so I have to buy one first, then the other a month or so down the road. But I can't decide which wedge to buy first!

Currently, I'm using a 56* tom watson sw for everything. I can consistently hit every shot 70 yards and in. At 70+ yards I'm pushing my luck and bad things tend to happen. My two biggest gripes are lack of spin/stopping power and my distance, in that order. Lack of spin is referring more to chip shots than those further out shots. I want the ball to check-up much more than it does... and it seems I have a much much hard time checking a ball with the 56* sw than with my Power Hitter Lob Wedge. Because of this I was originally going to go with the 58* first.

HOWEVER, right now I have a serious gap issue between 80-100. Right at 100 I'm pretty good with my PW at a half swing. Less than that I can't hit the PW without flying it over or under. My current SW is nearly impossible for me to hit a clean shot over 80-85 yards. I RARELY find myself in this no-mans-land-yardage during actual play however. I figure if I get a 54* it'll help fill the gap better.

So I keep flip-flopping. Given the circumstances, which would you pick as the best first wedge to go with?

Also, definitely ordering within the next couple days, so any input is greatly appreciated!

[PiKapp23]

Definitely go with the 54 first. For most golfers not in low handicaps a 58+ loft club is a limited usage club (or should be since most of these players do not hit it great). I carry a 54 and 58 and use the 54 as my 'sand wedge' most of the time, as well as filling that 80-90 yard gap. I only use my 58 greenside (most of the time) and then only for instances where I have no green to work with and occasionally out of deep bunkers. If I were to need to take a club out of my bag it would be the 58 - it's the least used club in my bag and the least versatile.

[denver_nuggs_15]

I agree with PiKapp. 54* will probably get more use than a 58*.

[DavidFehertysBike]

I think i just like the phrase "greenside stopping power" lol

[Bump-n-MI]

Neither. If you are looking to fill the gap, go with 52*. Not a whole lot of sense carrying 2 clubs that are separated by only 2*.

[wachesawgolfer]

Nice thing about the 54, if its a strong sand wedge, ie about 10 degrees of bounce, it can be the only wedge you carry with a traditional PW of 46 or 47. This is a nice thing if you like to walk alot.

[pjsnyc]

I'm a little biased (see sig), but yeah - 54*

[ryohazuki222]

Nice thing about the 54, if its a strong sand wedge, ie about 10 degrees of bounce, it can be the only wedge you carry with a traditional PW of 46 or 47. This is a nice thing if you like to walk alot.

Haha... this is the set-up I'm going for.

To the other post..... I'm not keeping the 56 in the fray.... so I wouldn't be carrying wedges with only 2* of seperation. I had a gap wedge for a little while and hated it. It could be the wedge, or it could just be me, but the distance I needed covered.... I could not for the life of me dial it in so it was pretty worthless. The closest I would get is bending the 54 to a 53.... but the problem with that is I feel it would me more difficult to use out of the sand. anyway... looks like the overwhelming majority is picking a 54 as the first club. so i think i may go this route afterall. seems adding a 58 after more practice would be a better idea.

[ryohazuki222]

Thanks for the help guys. I just placed my order for the 54*. Can't wait!

[ryohazuki222]

Since, personally, I like when people follow up their threads with good news. Just wanted to tell everyone thanks and I am absolutely loving my new wedge. And in retrospect 54* was definitely the right choice.

I'm not sure why or how (dif. wedge? dif loft? dif length/lie custom to me?) but the wedge is absolutely amazing and now gives me tons of options. I never realized how relieved I'd be to have a wedge that i can push even past 100yds with good consistency. I can deloft it and it still gets so much spin it can hold on its own. Or I can fly it high. Or I can go to my PW. But the option has definitely improved my golf tremendously having a good ability from 70-110 with different options.

The 58 will definitely be a good idea for the future as I still find myself needing my loft for those short flops. But the spin im getting with my 54 actually ends up stopping not too far off from what my 56 could do.

Definitely my favorite club in the bag right now.

It doesn't stop the ball in it's tracks, but i can actually notice the ball checking and slowing up which helps tons.

The first time i had a chance to test it out on the practice green I ended up holing the third shot! How's that for good omens! And the first round I took it out I chipped one in, and was absurdly close to a second chip in.

[youngskip40]

I'm confused. Are you only carrying one wedge? You are allowed to carry 14 clubs. According to your signature you only have 11.

For someone just starting off, I'd say to carry more wedges. Get a 51* or 52* to really fill that gap, and keep the 56*. I'd even get a 60*.

The quicker you learn that spending an hour working on 100 yards and in is just as important (and probably more) as spending an hour on everything else, the better off you'll be.

[David in FL]

Neither. If you are looking to fill the gap, go with 52*. Not a whole lot of sense carrying 2 clubs that are separated by only 2*.

My thought exactly ! Even if you're planning on dumping the 56* after you have both of the new wedges, the 54* wedge is likely to leave you with too big of a gap from you PW.

[ryohazuki222]

I'm confused. Are you only carrying one wedge? You are allowed to carry 14 clubs. According to your signature you only have 11.

Yup, I only carry one at a time. First I only had a PW with the set I had. I was getting better with it but it made things pretty difficult. I bought a set of G, S, and L Tom Watson AdamsGolf wedges on sale and that worked wonders. I really wanted a 60 because I had so much trouble keeping the ball from running. But the 60 was wayyy to hard to use consistently (and after the fact I learned it's not an easy club to hit by many's standards) I had a gap wedge that I did good with, but couldnt get the ball up... for whatever reason I really hated this club! No idea why. I ended up settling on using just the 56* for everything and I became quite adept with it on any kind of shot within 50-60 yards. But anything more than half a swing caused more problems the further past it got.

Personally, I feel having a lot of options is not always necessarily a good thing.

My thought

This was a worry I had as well. But the gamble paid off as I can hit the 54 further and with more control than I thought possible. If you want you can read the review a few posts above to see how happy i am with it.

[youngskip40]

To each their own, but I've never played less than 14 clubs. If the USGA said I could play 14.25 clubs, I probably would.

To me, knowing my exact distances with all my clubs, it makes more sense to have more wedges. It actually gives me less problems than if I don't have a club that naturally fits that gap... and then I have to create a shot that is not as consistent as trusting your full swing yardages.

But... maybe that's just me.

[ryohazuki222]

I'm probably an exception more than the rule.... I have an easier time hitting less than full swings. Especially with the shorter clubs.

Though about the whole 11 club thing. It's a bag in progess... I am missing a couple clubs that would help a bunch. But that would likely still leave me at 13. Haven't come up with an answer for that 14th club yet.

And the fact that I always walk plays a small role as well. No use carrying deadweight.

[youngskip40]

I'm probably an exception more than the rule.... I have an easier time hitting less than full swings. Especially with the shorter clubs.

Then more power to you. As long as you have a swing that you can recreate 9/10 times to go the exact distance you want, that's what it's all about. Out of curiousity, are you playing any tournaments or anything? That's where the real test would be for me is recreating that in-between clubs shot under pressure.

[HytrewQasdfg]

Neither. If you are looking to fill the gap, go with 52*. Not a whole lot of sense carrying 2 clubs that are separated by only 2*.

Apparently you are the only person that actually read the entire original post.

With his current plan he'll end up with: 54 degree wedge 56 degree wedge <-- already owns 58 degree wedge What he shoud be shooting for is: 52 degree wedge (assuming his pitch is 48 degree) 56 degree wedge 60 degree wedge

[youngskip40]

Apparently you are the only person that actually read the entire original post.

As far as I understand his current plan... he'll end up with ONLY a 54* wedge and a pitching wedge. I agree with what he should be shooting for, but it's not my bag.