Any need for a Gap Wedge?

[Tifosinumerouno]

I absolutely wish I had a gap wedge. My pw is 47* and my sand wedge is 56*, so the 52* wedge would be ideal. It never fails that I end up with at least 1 shot per round on my regular course where I am in-between the 105yd length of my sand wedge and 125-130yd length of my PW. It seems like no matter how much I grip down on the PW, I can't seem to get it short enough for a full swing.

[sc13ntific]

I love my Gap/Dual wedge. It comes in very hand for a lot of shots. Now if I could just figure out what the heck this Lob Wedge is for

[ChristopherInTheRye3]

I absolutely wish I had a gap wedge. My pw is 47* and my sand wedge is 56*, so the 52* wedge would be ideal. It never fails that I end up with at least 1 shot per round on my regular course where I am in-between the 105yd length of my sand wedge and 125-130yd length of my PW. It seems like no matter how much I grip down on the PW, I can't seem to get it short enough for a full swing.

I had the same issue last season, so last Christmas i bought myself a Gap wedge and my short game has thanked me ever since.

[Ash1974]

I don't understand why people always say this? I am a complete beginner (Have only been playing about a month and a half and have yet to break 100) and my 60 degree wedge has been my favorite so far. I almost birdied a par 5 from about 90 yards out and stuck it to less then a yard yesterday on a par 4 with it. Yeah they were two lucky shots but when I am hitting my 60* from 70-90 yards out I usually hit the green (And I cant say that for any other club or distance)

I was just agreeing with the fact that I only use my 60 from the sand, I also know pleanty of high handicappers that are great using a 60 as well, but for me it is a sand club

[ghalfaire]

I wouldn't know what to do without my gap wedge. I carry four wedges and use them all. Maybe some day I'll hit more greens and not need them but that isn't now.

[WUTiger]

I don't understand why people always say this? I am a complete beginner (Have only been playing about a month and a half and have yet to break 100) and my 60 degree wedge has been my favorite so far. ...

General wisdom: Most beginners should stay away from LW until their swing takes shape. A lot of people have trouble hitting 60* and above. And, learning LW would eat up a lot of practice time for most beginners. I had one good year with LWs, in Dallas area where turf was fine-grained bermuda + rye overseed for most part. All other locales, LW has been a bust. I teach on the college level, and run into a lot of small-college golfers. Probably half of them go with 58* at top end because of problems with 60*. If it works for you, well done! You're just a rarity.

[Fourputt]

For me, i dont see the need for it. I would rather hit a half swing or punch a pitching wedge

Sounds like you already made up your mind, so why did you ask? If that's a real 8 handicap it seems like an odd question for you to ask. For anyone who is actually interested I will give my feeling on it though.

For me the gap wedge is indispensable. I use it as my primary chipping/pitching club. It's also my 90-100 yard full swing club. I hit plenty of partial swings with it too. I use it more than any other club in my bag except the putter.

[TourSpoon]

I do the 48-54-60 combo which gives me full swing yardage of 125-105-85. With a few adjustments, grip down and 3/4 it I can take each club down 5, 10, or 15 yards without a problem. I tried the 48-52-56-60 for a long time and I felt as if I had too many options for my already complicated game.

[B-Con]

I love having a 52*, the only club I use more than it is my putter. For one thing, PWs are more like 10-irons than actual wedges, and generally only between 44* and 46*, so in my opinion they're not very wedge-like. You can definitely manage with a PW, but it's not really an actual wedge, just a really short iron.

As far as wedges go, if you have a SW it's probably 56* with up to 14* of bounce. When I was demoing wedges I found that to be less than ideal for my wedges. Having a 8* bounce wedge with a nice leading edge lets me get into the rough easily, but not let the club zip down under the ball too easily. A 50* or 52* wedge is great for work around the green and approaching it. I pull it automatically within 50 yards.

But since you're a 8-handicapper, I'm guessing you already know all that. If the PW and SW cover everything you need for wedges, don't add another club to use.

[golfnuub]

what would be more beneficial to carry in the bag.
a 52 GW or a 64 XW?

[max power]

what would be more beneficial to carry in the bag.

I'm gonna go with the 52* GW at least 9 times out of 10.

[sean_miller]

what would be more beneficial to carry in the bag.

X?

Is the "X" for "EXTREME!!!" or is that what you put on the scorecard after using it?

[max power]

X?

Ha Ha! That made me laugh. After you cut under the ball from just outside the trap, go in the trap and proceed to skull one over the green into another trap, then rocket one back over the green and OB, then yes, you put down an X.

[Elvisliveson]

what would be more beneficial to carry in the bag.

A no brainer, the 52*. The XW stands for eXtra Wide, as in you better give this guy an extra wide berth when he tries to hit that 64*.

[Gerald]

A gap wedge is just a marketing wedge, trully there is no need to carry one ..... at least that is how I feel about it : in my set I go from 47 to 58 !

Sure I agree ...... there is a gap ...... but what does it mean ...... if I were out at about 75-90 yds and I would want to shoot a full swing wedge from there maybe a 52 or 53 wedge would be ideal, but I have no trouble whatsoever with a 3/4 PW or 3/4 9i and within 75 yds I have so many options with 8i-9i-PW+LW that there is simply no real need for carrying an extra wedge for full shots...... if you have 90 yds to and you would blade a GW, don't be surprised if it ends 30 yds behind the green.

Golf is about avoiding trouble and about the last thing you want is hitting a full shot from 90 yds in.

What I mean by "marketing gap" is that a PW used to be about 50* and a SW about 55* about 15 yrs ago. At that time a 9i was 45*-46* ...... today the average PW is 47* ..... so the market created the need to add a 50*-52* gap wedge...... but do you really need to follow the marketing guys ..... no you don't !!!

[max power]

A gap wedge is just a marketing wedge, trully there is no need to carry one ..... at least that is how I feel about it : in my set I go from 47 to 58 !

Doesn't really matter how the gap was created, it's there. Even player's irons have a 47* PW, and a full shot from 90-105 yds is one of the

first things I want on the course. The 47/52/58 combo still leaves me with a 3 iron, 5 wood, and 3 wood, and a 52* wedge is great for chipping. Go GW!

[Gerald]

8i,9i and LW(58) are my scoring irons. PW I only use for full shots, for me personally adding a 52 would mean just adding an extra short full swing wedge, as I am not going to learn how to use the 52 around the green, although I know plenty of golfers that use the 52 very much..... it is a matter of personal thoughts.

For me adding a 52 would mean having to leave the 23* Hybrid out (I hit my 4i and 3i longer, but sometimes the added height in the 4h let me decide to play the 4h instead of the 4i or 3i).

I recently replaced the 3W and 5W with steel shafted 19* and 15* hybrids........ should have done that way before !

[Valleygolfer]

A 60° wedge is bad for those scoop or flip clubs which is frequently high cappers, however I have seen scoopers and flippers with low handicaps because they know how to play their swing.

I have pings as well and there wasn't enough difference between the PW and the UW distance to warrant carrying it.