gap wedge vs sand wedge

[laxman2417]

i have ordered new irons and it comes 4-gw with 2 wedges pw and gw and i was wondering what are the advantages or disadvantages to having a gap wedge over a sand wedge

[muskegman]

Gap wedge and sand wedges are two different things. Once upon a time a PW was around 48-degrees and a lot of guys used a 56-degree sand wedge. Because iron lofts have been juiced to produce more distance a need arose for filling the loft gap between the PW and SW. The "Gap-Wedge" was born.

A gap-wedge doesn't replace your sand wedge, it fills the gap between pitching-wedge and sand-wedge that would be too great because the gap has widened between pitching-wedge and sand-wedges in recent years. Your new pitching-wedge is probably in the neighborhood of 46-degrees and your gap-wedge is probably around 50-degrees so adding a sand-wedge or two would be a sensible solution. You'll want a SW for sand-play (imagine that!), for chipping over bunkers or hazards, or when you need your ball to stop on a dime when you don't have much green to work with.

You can see what sand wedges I play (54-degrees and 58-degrees). You may want to go with similarly lofted sand-wedges or just pick up on 56-degree sand wedge and become a master of one.

I hope that clears things up for you. Happy hunting.

[SuaSponteMn]

i have ordered new irons and it comes 4-gw with 2 wedges pw and gw and i was wondering what are the advantages or disadvantages to having a gap wedge over a sand wedge

Most people carry both; usually more. I carried a 45 degree pitching wedge, a 51 degree gap wedge, a 56 degree sand wedge and a 60 degree lob wedge. The advantages to me were the more wedges I carried, the more options for shot selection based on lie. I'm currently carrying a 47 degree pitching wedge, and the 53 & 60 degree wedges that share sand duties as well as being gap and lob wedges; I did this to make room for a fairway wood.

Being a 15 handicap, I'm prone to missing the green fairly frequently. I would not play well with only a pitching wedge and one other.

[allin]

One additional factor. The reason I carry four wedges and usually only a 1,4.7wds is not just yardage gaps it is what type of shots you usually face. I hit my driver almost as straight as my fairway woods. Since I am not very long any holes short enough for non driver, under 360, four wood is plenty. I can't reach par 5s in two. The occasioal long par 3 or 4 the 4 wood is easier to hit higher, which gives me a better chance to control the distance. This puts extra pressure on my short game which is simplified since I basically have a wedge with which I can hit any distance and trajectory I want. Theoretically anyway, I still manage to find ways to screw up. I think you will notice that the low handicappers are usually talking about the type of shot they want to hit not just length and direction. Wedges are a big part of trying to get where they are I believe.

[SubPar]

My PW is 47 deg and I have a SW at 56. I like having the 51 deg. GW in between. Without it I would be faced with trying to take 10-12 yards off my PW too often.

The GW has less bounce than the SW, but if the lie and sand conditions allow for it, I'll use the GW for longer greenside bunker shots. It also comes in handy for chips where the PW may run out too much and the SW has more loft than I want.

[iammike]

I have a 47/48 degree PW, and a 56degree sand wedge. I've been looking at getting a 52 or 51 degree wedge to bridge a distance gap. The reasoning came at me head on this past week, when I was left with a shot to the green that if i had hit my PW good i would have cleared the green, and I wasn't too sure about my sandwedge distance so I hit the 56degree, and left myself about 15 feet from the hole. (Luckily i cleared the pond, and didn't quite get to the sandtrap). Since that experience I realized I'm in that situation a lot where I find i need to layoff the PW or come up short with the SW, so getting something in between would be really helpful.

On the other hand i guess i can just teach myself how to layoff my PW to do those distances and not bother with more equipment.

[tradewind_golfer]

I only carry a 52* gap wedge and 60* lob wedge. I played a traditional 56* SW for many many years; however, it seems like I always coming up short on my pitch and run shots, and running too far on my lob shots.

I play the 52* from 120-50 yards as long as I have 10+ feet to run it on the green. For any shot where I need to stop it, I use the lob wedge.

The bag is lighter too (daily walker!)

[Guest]

I would keep the gap wedge and buy a sand wedge. A pitching wedge is usually around 48* and a GW is around 51* or 52*. I like carrying those wedges along with a LW and reg W. If I had to give up one, it probably would be the GW. That would leave about a 8* difference between my remaining 3 wedges. I think keeping an equal difference between your wedges is helpful. However, I really like having 4 wedges.