Wedges, match to iron set or not?

[naws-golfer]

i dont think wedges have to match your irons, i do like all my wedgest to match, e.g. all vokeys, or all clevelands only because they have the same feel from wedge to wedge, so all i have to worry about is trajectory

[Batmanrb89]

I always had more luck with getting a gap wedge that matches the set of irons I have but other than that I've always gone with a wedge that I felt peroformed the best for what I was looking for, but the ke ingrediant I found was to match the shaft to your irons. When i first got the set of irons i'm playing now i had rifles flighted's in them, and an s300 in my sand and lob wedge. I ordered new ones with the flighted rifles and it was a world of a difference, so much happier

[marpr]

i agree with the others > as long as you have the same shaft/lie set up. you can have other wedges.

remember that a PW is counted as one of your wedges. I found that making sure you pitching wedge is the same as your SW, GW, AW or LW etc helps remarkably. IE: Because not many wedge manufacturers match their wedges to clubs. EG: Bob Vokey's wedges haven't changed much over the years, but the Titleist irons change ever couple.

in summary

• Make sure you iron shafts and wedges shafts match as much as possible
• make sure (if you can) your PW, AW, GW, SW and LW etc, are the same (this ensures a consistant feel!)

[elvis14]

I was at the range Saturday working with a club fitter on a new set of irons. After hitting a bunch of clubs with various shafts and using the Mizuno shaft optimizer, we settled on a set of Ping G15's (red dot, stiff AWT shaft). This wasn't a big surprise to me as I've hit the G10 and G15 irons a bunch over the last year at demo days and in Golfsmith. I'm confident right now that I can order the G15's and be happy. Two things are still bothering me. First, I've always used regular flex shafts (or course I'm also in consistent with my irons ). The shaft optimizer put me using a stiff shaft (stock AWT stiff, S300, PX 5.5). I'm going to go back this week and hit the regular and stiff and see what works best. I didn't hit any regular flex shafts with the G15 because I was hitting other clubs as well (especially the X-22 and AP1).

When we finished talking about irons we started talking about wedges. He recommended I get the pitching wedge with the G15's and buy a Gap and Sand wedge with less bounce. We were looking at the Cleveland CG15's (he also had Vokeys and Mizuno's there). My concern is with wedges having appropriate gap between the PW and the GW (if I know the GW loft, I can figure out the SW). The G15's PW has 45 degrees of loft (the 9 iron 40). We were talking about either a 52/56 combo or a 54/58. I'm concerned that I'll have too big of a gap between my PW and my GW and I can't really get the wedges to figure it out (without taping one up which I hate doing). At the same time because the clubs are different, it's kind of like comparing apples and oranges. Anyone face a similar situation? Advice?

I closed on my previous house on Friday and now that I don't have 2 mortgages, I'm really looking forward to buying irons. I really feel good about the G15's.

Thanks for reading

[WUTiger]

If you're looking at Cleveland, you might consider a 50º and 56º. (Yes, my SW is Callaway).

You were talking about lesser bounce, and the CG14 model has a 50.08 wedge. CG14 has a 56.11 wedge, but these are a bit hard to find; the 56.14 still plentiful - and, extra bounce is nice for your bunker club. CG14s now cost about $89 each vs. $119 or more for the CG15s.

Now, the CG15 is a super wedge model if you plan to do magic tricks inside 50 yards. But if you hit your wedges square, or just open up a degree or two, CG14 would work just as well.

With CG14, you could also pick up a 54.12 for a bunker club with a bit less bounce.

Also, Mizuno T-series wedges from circa 2008 are on sale for $70 in lots of places.

[mrd82]

How many wedges do you want to carry? if you only want to carry 3 I think it would be ideal to get a 52 degree Gap Wedge and a 58 degree sand wedge. I feel like a 9 degree gap between your PW and GW is far too vast. I tend to like the gap to be between 4-5 degrees, but I also carry 4 wedges.

You should be able to shorten your swing and manage the distance gaps fairly well with those 2 wedges as a part of your iron set. If you don't feel comfortable w/ that, though, then just get a 50*, 54* and 58*

[max power]

52-58, or 50-56

[boogielicious]

I have a similar set up with the Adams A4, 45 deg PW. I went with a 50-08 - 56-11 set up. I hit the PW 110 - 120, the 50 almost dead on 100 and the 56 80 yards with full swing. Seems to cover most shots. Are you more comfortable with the bigger gaps between GW and SW or PW and GW?

[elvis14]

I have a similar set up with the Adams A4, 45 deg PW. I went with a 50-08 - 56-11 set up. I hit the PW 110 - 120, the 50 almost dead on 100 and the 56 80 yards with full swing. Seems to cover most shots. Are you more comfortable with the bigger gaps between GW and SW or PW and GW?

Thanks for the responses guys. boogielicious (nice name, BTW) to answer your question, I think I'm more comfortable with a bigger gap between the GW and the SW. With my current set a full swing with my PW goes about 110, my GW goes about 95 and my SW goes 85. Seems like I find myself looking for 100 yards way too often

. With the G15 PW being a 45 degree, I could see a 50/56 setup being useful I just hope that the distance of a 50 degree CG15 wedge would be around 10 - 15 yards shorter than a G15 PW. Also, after reading the posts here, I obviously need to go read about bounce again to make sure I understand it correctly.

[WUTiger]

Elvis14,

Club designer Ralph Maltby talks about bounce in this weblink on wedges:
http://www.ralphmaltby.com/50

[Mr Smell Good]

Hey guys,

First off, I appreciate the advice in advance.  I always get a lot of help when I post here.

I recently got a club fitting and ended up with a set of Ping G20's w/ extra stiff shafts, +1/2" and other slight modifications.  I originally ordered a 5-9 iron, PW, UW, and hybrid.  I returned the hybrid because I didn't like it but I loved the irons so much that I ordered the 3 and 4 irons and I also ordered the SW and LW.  My wedge play from about 80 yards in is probably my biggest weakness in golf.

Now I can return any of these clubs at any time and get the money back or put them toward other clubs so here is my question: I know Ping has a reputation for making great irons but did I go overboard in purchasing all 4 wedges?  I could easily return the UW, SW, and LW and put the money toward getting 2 Titliest Vokey wedges for example which have a great reputation in the wedge department.  The clubs cost me $68 plus tax each.

The angles on these clubs:

PW - 45

UW - 50

SW - 54

LW - 58

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by Mr Smell Good

The angles on these clubs:

PW - 45

UW - 50

SW - 54

LW - 58

Those are pretty good spacings. As long as you hit them well, I see no reason why you would need to pay $40 more per wedge. How long do you have to return them?

[Mr Smell Good]

Originally Posted by geauxforbroke

Those are pretty good spacings. As long as you hit them well, I see no reason why you would need to pay $40 more per wedge. How long do you have to return them?

It says 90 days on my receipt but I think the guy I got the fitting from made it pretty clear that if I was unsatisfied at all I could return them.  I already dropped about $700 so he's willing to work with me.

[grattos]

If your hitting them well, keep them It's great having uniformity in your set, that way it's just another club

[geauxforbroke]

I would take full advantage of the 90 days (or more if they will still let you return them). If you're a mid-to-high handicapper, you probably won't see a huge difference. In fact, the Ping wedges might even be a little easier to hit. I would play with them as much as possible, practice with them, and see if you like them. You aren't going to see a huge difference at this point with Vokey's (or any other top of the line OEM wedge).

[Mr. Desmond]

Ping makes good wedges - if they fit you. The 54 and 58 are the most important. If they don't fit you...

[arturo28mx]

I own a set of Ping G20 irons, 3 to gap wedge (they call it U). However, my 54 and 58 are Ping Tour Gorge wedges.

I have no factual basis to say this, but my perception is that dedicated wedges perform better than the sand and lob wedges that come with the iron set.

[WUTiger]

See if the store has any demo G20 wedges that you could hit to see if you like them. Also, any demo days coming to your area?

If you're a basic wedge player, and don't open and close the face much at set-up, the G20 wedges may be OK. The wedges have from 10 to 12 degrees bounce, which is about medium. Some say that higher bounce increases your shot versatility, and margin of error.

IF you have a pro you take lessons from, you might ask him if they would fit your swing.