5 Wedges, Anyone?

[rudygu]

  etlreams said:

I love my Vokey wedges and I love taking full swing shots.... so I've carried a 45* PW, 52* GW, 56* SW and 60* Lob wedges. I just recently picked up a *48 Vokey wedge. I'm thinking about taking out my 5-wood to make room to put the 48* in the bag.

I carry 3 wedges: 47, 52, and 56, but I used to carry a 60 as well. For me, 4 degrees between my wedges was overkill - the yardage gaps were just too small and it's really not that hard to compensate by moving the ball forward or back a little bit, opening/hooding the clubface a little, or some combination of both. As soon as I'm able, I plan to switch to 47/54/60. I'm guessing that when I do the 60 won't see a ton of action, but there are times now when I'd love to be able to throw it straight up and stop fast. If you practice the Pelz/Clock wedge system with 3 or 4 wedges, I really think you could cover just about any yardage from 100ish yards in.

Your 45 degree PW is strong, but my father-in-law has the AP1's and they do launch pretty high, especially if you're using the stock shafts. On a full swing, your PW probably launches similar to a 46 or 47 degree player's cavity. But, for chipping from the fringe or really close to the green it's not my preference. Since you don't play a 3 iron, I think you could get by pretty nicely with a 45/52/56/60. I would bet that the 45 AP1 and 48 Vokey wouldn't have enough of a distance gap to make 45/48/52/56/60 worthwhile. As for being nuts - that's probably a little strong, but I would never drop my 2H to add a 4th (much less 5th) wedge. It's just too valuable to me and I think that too many wedges just leads to confusion and indecisiveness.

[SteveISU]

Don't really want 5 options from 120 yds and in. Game is hard enough, I don't need to add to it.

[noefi13b]

I carry 5 currently but its in "name" only

My PW from my iron set (Wilson Staff Di7) is a 43!! I also carry a PW and GW (Wilson Staff Pi7) which are 47 and 52 repectively....

Then I have my proper wedges in my Sig CG14 56 and CG14 60...

Considering pulling the 60 though to add a hybrid in though... Love the club most of the time but.....

[shades9323]

  TitleistWI said:

IMO, 5 wedges is excessive. I carry 4 wedges now and theres rounds where I dont use all of them. I couldnt imagine having a need for a 5th wedge.

Adding a 64* is a bad idea IMO. Most amatures struggle with a 60* let alone a 64*.

[Leftygolfer]

  shades9323 said:

Adding a 64* is a bad idea IMO. Most amatures struggle with a 60* let alone a 64*.

I love my 64 and find it no more difficult than any other wedge. When I get a chance to use it from the fairway up to 70 yards it is a very confidence inspiring club. Out of the rough it is hard to use but out of the fairway I really like it.

[leezer99]

I play five wedges because that's what my home course demands. I currently carry a PW, 50* Vokey SM, 54* Vokey SM, 58* Vokey SM, and a 62* Callaway wedge. On a longer course I will pull the 54* and throw in a hybrid if necessary.

[tim31x]

i carry a 46* cleveland cg10, 50* taylormade rac, 54* cleveland cg10, 58* cleveland cg12, and 62* cleveland cg10. for longer courses i drop the 62*. i mainly use that club for 30yard high pitch shots, flops, and bunker plays.

[mickexbom]

i would almost say take out your 45 and put in the 48.... a nine iron is roughly 45 degrees

[CrazyXGolfer]

5 wedges..... thats crazy! Instead of adding another wedge, learn how to controll the hight, spin and ball flight of 3 first.

I carry 3 PW is 49, 56 and 62. I bet I can hit every single shot you can hit with your 5 wedges.

[ks8829]

learning to hit a partial wedge can lead to being able to hit a partial 7 irons or other clubs. I would try hitting partial shots with your wedges before considering 5 wedges. How many touring pros to you know that carry 5 wedges?

Hitting partial shots is not that difficult if you learn to do so and at the end it will help your overall game.

how do you hit partial shots. record

full swing shot distances
3/4 swing shot distances
other partial shot distances

aim left of the target and open the club face is another way to take distance off your club.

[Gerald]

2 wedges ..... like in the old days is perfect, it is better to learn various shots with few irons ..... be creative !

[etlreams]

  mickexbom said:

i would almost say take out your 45 and put in the 48.... a nine iron is roughly 45 degrees

Wow. I see you dug up my old thread from back in May! I did not bag a 5th wedge. I did buy a 48* vokey in "like new" condition for $40 (who could pass that up) So...I had a 45 pw, 48, 52, 56, 60. I never did bag all 5 at the same time. I had the 48 vokey bent to 46* to replace my set pitching wedge, but I didnt like the bounce angle. I went back to my old set up of PW, 52, 56, and 60. I mainly have three vokey wedges for bounce angle variences. My 56 sand wedge has 14* of bounce. So I use that (probably my least used club) in thick sand and thick rough. Otherwise, my 52 and 60 are used most of the time.

[WUTiger]

I know a former college basketball player who carries 5 wedges. He's about 6-foot-7 and hits the golfball a long way. His PW goes 150 yds., and he says the extra wedges is the only way to cover shorter distances close in.

[Deryck Griffith]

Unless you are stupid long with your irons and need to fill in huge distance gaps (ie you hit you pitching wedge say 160 yards and needs clubs to fill the shorter distances), 5 wedges is complete and utter overkill...

[golfro]

5 wedges is overkill even if you have a huge gap between PW and next wedge down. How often do people actually take FULL swings with their wedges? I hit my PW roughly 135-140 and anything below, I'm either choking down on my PW or using my 56* for full swings and anything below 110 yards.

Wedge shots are all about feel for me. The distance difference between my 52*, 56* is negligible, maybe 10 yards or so, so I use whats comfortable for me which is my 56* and deloft a bit if i have to get that extra 10 yards out. My 60* only gets action maybe twice a round for short flops and high wedge shots.

I'm thinking about bending my 56 to 55* and calling it good and putting my 52* for good. I've been switching out my 52* with my 3 iron depending on the course but more and mroe, I'm sticking with my 3 iron.

[TN94z]

  CrazyXGolfer said:

5 wedges..... thats crazy! Instead of adding another wedge, learn how to controll the hight, spin and ball flight of 3 first.

I agree with this. I have always had a 48, 52, and 56. I am thinking about cutting them down with a new set. I like having the least number of clubs in my bag....lighter.

[sean_miller]

  TN94z said:

I agree with this. I have always had a 48, 52, and 56. I am thinking about cutting them down with a new set. I like having the least number of clubs in my bag....lighter.

You're probably only two bends away from a 2 wedge bag. 45 (9iron), 50(PW), 56. Do it!!!

[TN94z]

  sean_miller said:

You're probably only two bends away from a 2 wedge bag. 45 (9iron), 50(PW), 56. Do it!!!

Hmmm....I never thought about that. I am trying to wait as I am going to buy a new set of irons next year along with a new set of wedges (whatever combo I decide upon).