52 degree gap wedge or 24 degree hybrid

[SpeedBum9]

i inherited my dads clubs about 12 months ago and am steadily reducing my handicap (well slowly getting to 100!) and from reading plenty of blogs and forums it seems i could do with getting a couple of clubs

the 2 mentioned above

i don't use a driver as a low handicapper i wrk with suggested i don't use one yet, which i am happy to do as i can hit my 3 wood about 200 yrds

i can't hit my 3, 4, or 5 wood, so t would seem a 24 degree hybrid would be the answer

my pitching wedge is about a 45 degree and sand wedge circa 55, so again from reading forums i should be getting a gap wedge of about 50 degrees? maybe even a lob wedge at 60 degrees?

so in all of your expert opinions which should i get first, i can't really afford both quite yet

Thanks in advance all

[mp33]

My initial thought would be a gap wedge as short game is so important.  But thinking about it, only hitting 200 of the tee has got to leave you with a lot of long approach shots.  So I think a hybrid would be the choice, plus you can use it to chip with around the green.

[WUTiger]

Consider getting a 50* gap wedge. Make sure its distance splits the difference between the PW and SW.

Don't worry about a LW right now. You can do most of the LW stuff with your sand wedge if you practice a little, and it's more reliable.

Also, I suggest you take a lesson or two. A pro could maybe help you with the woods. A 3W off the tee and learning to hit a 5W would help you in the early going.

[GaijinGolfer]

Originally Posted by WUTiger Don't worry about a LW right now. You can do most of the LW stuff with your sand wedge if you practice a little, and it's more reliable.

Thats not good advice to give a high-handicapper.  While you can open the face on a SW and get it to do what a LW will do, by opening the face you reduce the size of the effective hitting error and give yourself a much smaller margin of error.

A lob wedge lets you hit high shots and still have somewhat of a margin for error.

To answer the OP's question: Id add a 50 or 52 degree wedge to the bag before I bought a 23* hybrid.  Having a 10 degree gap between your PW and SW is a pretty big gap and its going to take some creative shotmaking to get the distance thats inbetween a full PW shot and a full SW shot.

[nickel_aTm]

In my opinion, I'd go with the gap wedge.  Whenever I put a "gap" in the bag, it was used more often (both from the fairway and around the greens) by far than a hybrid is.  And if you are struggling to hit 3-wood, 5-wood, etc. you're not magically going to hit a hybrid well.  Hybrid or 5-wood, you'll hit either one well and your swing further improves.

[clamber]

Firstly, I commend you on not using a driver at this point. Too many people get caught up in hitting it far and don't learn properly. I myself didn't use a driver at first, and it became obvious that it was beneficial when long irons became a strong part of my game.

As for your question, it's kinda hard to say.

A gap wedge would be nice to be able to have another option for short shots. But at the same time, I'm a believer that a gap wedge isn't entirely needed in the bag. Pitching-wedges can be pretty versatile if you practice a lot with them. Whether it be a shot in the back of your stance, or front. Or even opening the face up a bit when doing greenside shots. I've never used anything other than a PW and SW and have been able to hit a wide range of shots.

I think a hybrid might be a good choice. It's nice to have a club that you can hit off the tee or off the fairway on approach. If you can use it and take advantage of it, I say get one. It's better to get on the green, than have to chip onto the green obviously. And if a hybrid can help you do that, then that's a wise choice. I'm not sure about 24* though, but I don't know what irons you have.

Originally Posted by SpeedBum9

i inherited my dads clubs about 12 months ago and am steadily reducing my handicap (well slowly getting to 100!) and from reading plenty of blogs and forums it seems i could do with getting a couple of clubs

the 2 mentioned above

i don't use a driver as a low handicapper i wrk with suggested i don't use one yet, which i am happy to do as i can hit my 3 wood about 200 yrds

i can't hit my 3, 4, or 5 wood, so t would seem a 24 degree hybrid would be the answer

my pitching wedge is about a 45 degree and sand wedge circa 55, so again from reading forums i should be getting a gap wedge of about 50 degrees? maybe even a lob wedge at 60 degrees?

so in all of your expert opinions which should i get first, i can't really afford both quite yet

Thanks in advance all

[Gordon McTavish]

Originally Posted by mp33

My initial thought would be a gap wedge as short game is so important.  But thinking about it, only hitting 200 of the tee has got to leave you with a lot of long approach shots.  So I think a hybrid would be the choice, plus you can use it to chip with around the green.

I'm in a similar situation.  Not sure what my distance is from the tee, but it's not likely to be more than 200 yards.  So while the short-game is important, I find that I rely on god wedge play to save bogey !

Becoming good at hitting long approach shots will probably be a valuable tool in the bag if you aren't bombing your tee-shots.

[ohiolefty]

I'll start by telling you what NOT to do...don't get an LW yet.

If you're only hitting your 3W 200 yards, and you don't hit driver, a hybrid might be your best bet. Most shots hit with a GW can be hit with your PW. But, if you're not hitting drivers and struggling for distance, you're going to get more mileage and save more strokes immediately by putting the hybrid in your bag. With your game in the state it is, you're best to develop short game feel before adding a bunch of club options - the hybrid should offer an immediate benefit to you.