How often do you use the 60 degree wedge?

[Williamevanl]

I feel like I can't play golf without mine but I've noticed a number of people don't even play them.

[golfro]

i only use my 60* maybe once every round or two. I'm just much mroe confident in my 56* and aside from high flopshots, the 60* doesn't see much use.

[chrisronline]

I'm the minority with this, but I hit nearly every shot around the green with my 60 degree so I hit around 11 per round. I feel like I can control the trajectory fairly well with the club so I'm not always hitting flop shots. I also like the idea of pulling out my 60 degree all the time; I get used to the feel and how it bounces off of different lies.

Since it seems to be common knowledge to have a variety of clubs around the green, I'll probably try to find time in the offseason to practice using my other clubs around the green to see if I can actually feel confident enough to pull out another club around the green on the course.

[Williamevanl]

Oh and I'm curious why someone would want to us a 56 in a situation where they could hit the 60 a little higher with a little more spin.

[Mattplusness]

Depends on the circumstances.. Do I have a lot of green to work with? Do I need to go over anything? I feel I use it as often as I feel the need to.

[Mr Eagle]

Never as I dont own one.Why ? the 64 does the job,gets higher with more spin (cough!)

[eedsmx691]

I only hit mine out of the green side bunkers. Other than that I use my 56* for everything else.

[motteler621]

Im thinking a 60 wedge will be a good addition to my bag. I use a 56 around the greens now and I usually chip the ball a little too far because I like to get the club through the grass without the chance of getting it caught and chunking the shot.

[Williamevanl]

  Mr Eagle said:

Never as I dont own one.Why ? the 64 does the job,gets higher with more spin (cough!)

Well played sir, I now have to justify why I use 60 from a distance where a 64 degree would work *if I had one* :)

I should add: I use mine because I feel like I'm supposed too, I think that if I work with it enough I'll get really good at hitting it close. My league partner hits a 54 with a half swing punch shot that flies really low and he is WAY better at getting the ball close. I secretly think I'll get an edge on him at some point but will I?

[rebby]

  Williamevanl said:

Oh and I'm curious why someone would want to us a 56 in a situation where they could hit the 60 a little higher with a little more spin.

It really depends on the situation. A couple of examples...

• Say I'm 40 yards from the stick and the green is slightly elevated and well protected by bunkers. Put the pin about 8 paces off the front edge to boot. In this situation (assuming a quality lie) I'm going to pull my 60' (bent to 62') and attempt a high soft shot with average spin. I'm going to try and land this one in the hole to defend myself a bit from being short. Coming in high and soft with decent spin should keep this from releasing. If I pull it off, I should be looking at no worse then a 6-8 footer for birdie.
• Alright, now say I'm 40 yards from the stick on the left edge of the fairway and about level with a green that slopes back/right to front/left. Pin is deep, about 6 paces off the back/right leaving me with a lot of room to run the ball into the hill but no room to be long. In this situation (again, assuming a quality lie) I'm going to grab a lower lofted wedge. Likely my 56' (bent to 57') put possibly my 52' depending on lie/slope/etc. I'm going to play a low, high spinning shot that should hit the green hard take a decent hop then check hard and release a few yards. Again, if I pull it off, I should be looking at no worse then a 6-8 footer for birdie.

In the first scenario, loft is your friend, more-so then spin. Take the highest lofted wedge you've got and throw it up there. If you spin the ball too much, you could easily suck it off the front edge, especially if you don't fly the ball far enough. In the second scenario you want spin more than loft. If you throw the ball up there to high you have zero margin for error. Carry it to short and you've left yourself with a long putt, carry it to long and you're over the green or, at best, facing a tricky downhill putt. Use the slope to your advantage and hit a low spinner into it. In the majority of cases, the lower the loft, the more I'm going to spin the ball (exact opposite of what you had posted). The obvious exception to this would be when I'm hitting some sort of flop shot or am really short sided, in those scenarios I want the ball high and spinning hard.

[golfro]

  Williamevanl said:

Oh and I'm curious why someone would want to us a 56 in a situation where they could hit the 60 a little higher with a little more spin.

higher deosn't mean more spin. It means almost the exact opposite actually.

with my 56* i have more control of my spin and in most cases, I want the ball to roll a bit to the pin. Landing a 60* high and soft is good for when I have little to no green to work with or if i have to safely get it over a bunker or something. If i have green to work with, I can get my ball to check and roll right towards the pin much closer. A 60* however would have to force me to hit it literally just right distance wise to land it (with little or no roll) right at the pin. Much more consistent and accurate for me then to hit the 60* just right to land right next to the pin.

[uttexas]

2-3X per round.

I use it on short pitches over bunkers when the pin is tucked short sided.

My full LW will carry 90-95 yds at sea level. So if I have a good lie and I'm 90 yards to the pin, I'll hit a comfortable LW.
If the green is severely elevated and I'm 80-90 yards to the pin with a good lie, I'll use it also.

[max power]

90% of the time I carry 52*/58*. I probably use the 58* more than anything but the putter, but I'm not sure if that counts. When I carry 54*/60* the 60* gets used with relative frequency.

[HDon]

A 7 iron is all you need.

[jamo]

I use it for every shot inside of 85 yards, bunker shots included, putts excluded.

[WUTiger]

  Williamevanl said:

Oh and I'm curious why someone would want to us a 56 in a situation where they could hit the 60 a little higher with a little more spin.

I've tried 60* wedges several times in past. Except for a couple of years when I faced mainly fine-grained bermuda, 60* has never worked that well. And, it ate up too much practice time. A half swing goes 40 yds. and high, and a full swing goes 45 yds. and REALLY high, and often hits a wind wall. And I miss every other shot.

56* works fine, is more reliable. I can hit one-hop lob type shots from the rough, or on good days hit a cut shot which stops fairly quickly. The PW, GW and SW which I carry cover most situations I face. Also, I don't go after sucker pins and short-side myself. Partially it may be generational. Prior to 1990, lots of people hit cut shots and lobbish shots with the SW. I've been testing out a CG14 58.10, which works quite a bit better. Don't know if I'll go to 50-54-58 or not. I've met several small-college golfers who carry this mix, and say they've had trouble with the 60*. Any of you instructors have ideas why the 60* just doesn't work for some people?

[etlreams]

I use mine 30 yards and in from the fringe 75% of the time. My GIR % is pretty low. So most of my approach shots are somewhere around the green in a 30 yard or less area. If I'm in a bunker, rough (most of the time) or soft fairway, I'll flop it up. It's one of my most consistant shots/club. I'll often times be left with a short 1 putt.

If the fairway is hard and I have room to bump and run with an 8 iron or a PW I will. Or, I'll chip with an 8 iron if I'm on the fringe. But I would venture to guess that I end up floping/pitching with my 60* 3/4 of the time.


On a related side note.....I'm thinking about dropping my 56* and 60* and replacing with a 58*. I rarely use the 56 unless I have thick rough or soft sand (it has 14* bounce)

[Valleygolfer]

  jamo said:

I use it for every shot inside of 85 yards, bunker shots included, putts excluded.

I am with Jamo, I use mine right at that.....probably 10+ times a round.