5 degrees gaps in wedges ?

[Gerald]

In most sets the gap between 3 - 6 irons is 3 degrees and the gap between 6-PW is 4 degrees.

Purpose of these gaps is of course to create even distance gaps between the irons.

Most golfers continue the 4 degrees gaps in the wedges, but for me it is like the distance gaps become less as the loft increases ........

So would't it be wise or a good thought to have 5 degrees gaps in the wedges ?

[B of H]

it really starts to depend on your swing and how you prefer to hit shots after the 9 iron.  I use 6 degree gaps (48, 54, 60) and that works perfectly for me but then again i've spent 15+ years and thousands of hours practicing with those particular clubs.  With wedges being the same length shaft it's all about the loft while your irons it's both loft and length.

for instance:

club/stock 'full'/ choked up/ 3/4/ waist high

48*/ 135/ 125-130/ 115/ 105

54*/ 115/ 105-110/ 100/ 85

60*/ 100/ 85-95/ 80/ 70

if I have 90 yards and I need something really low then I cant choke up on the 48 and hit a 1/2 backswing shot, or hit a little more than half backswing higher shot with the 54 or a choked up fairly full swing with the 60.

I think 5 degree gaps works well and I had 50, 55, 60 for a while back in high school but that was before I really learned to hit 'shots' with wedges and I was using balatas...so I can't comment on how the distances worked etc...

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Gerald

In most sets the gap between 3 - 6 irons is 3 degrees and the gap between 6-PW is 4 degrees.

Purpose of these gaps is of course to create even distance gaps between the irons.

Most golfers continue the 4 degrees gaps in the wedges, but for me it is like the distance gaps become less as the loft increases ........

So would't it be wise or a good thought to have 5 degrees gaps in the wedges ?

Count my vote towards wider gaps being better in the short irons. I put a TA1 PW in with my TA3 irons so I could go 42-48-54-60. I either put in the 2h or leave it out and go with 13 clubs.

It's not just about yardage gaps on full shots either. Each irons is a tool that has a purpose. The most useless club in my TA1s is my 4-iron since I never seen to have that yardage (way more 3 or 5 irons). With my TA3s I seem to have a 4-iron shot quite often. Same goes with wedges. Widening the gaps means I can hit any shot (within reason) but have less overlap, so there aren't any clubs just along for the ride. I'm really loving the 54 degree wedge now - way more than a 56 which seems to be a jack of all trades and a master of none.

[Elvisliveson]

My wedges are all 5 degrees apart: 45.50,55 and 60.

[rebby]

My wedges are 4-5' apart as well. Really like this combo w/the new CC grooves. PW - 48' GW - 52' SW - 57' LW - 62'

[glock35ipsc]

PW - 47°

GW - 51°

SW - 56°

LW - 60°

My set starts using 4° gaps from the 5i to LW, with the exception being the gap between the GW and SW, which is 5°.  But with these clubs I have a shot for everything from 110y and in, so the one odd-ball gapage doesn't really factor in too much.

[boogielicious]

I get the opposite.  My 7 - PW have about a 10 yard gap, 150, 140, 130, 120.  My 50, 54, and 58 wedges have a 15 yard gap, 100, 85, 70.

[max power]

Currently I'm going with 47*-52*-56*-60*, but it's usually 47*-52*-58* or 47*-54*-60*.

[ohiolefty]

The only thing I can say is that as the shaft gets shorter, for many people, it's a little easier to manipulate ball flight and distance. That's one of the reasons why many folks can finesse a 9 iron more than they can a 5. I'm playing with a six yard gap in my wedges last year, carrying one less wedge than I did last year. I like it better. For me, a six yard gap and 3 wedges simplifies the thought process. The only time this might get difficult is on a firm course where a flighted PW or SW might not be optimal...but since I'm not playing in a U.S. Open this lifetime - it shouldn't be a big deal. I don't have the swing speed for anything more than a 60 to be optimal....and 99% of this site isn't, either. I like six degree gaps because it's a 'normal' gap for a scoring club and a half, which makes sense to my brain and how I dial yardages and 'see' shots.

[TourSpoon]

I know that some of you know that I have a whole anal thread on modern lofts...but some of you don't...so here is a little bit.

My latest set came at 22-25-28-31-35-39-43-47 so I set them to my specs that I had played since 92 at 21-24-28-32-36-40-44-48 and added the 54-60 combo for a 6 degree separation for the wedges, 4 degrees for the irons, 3 degrees for the 3 to 4 iron. I manage my wedge game similar to B of H so 6 works for me, but I never got the 3 degrees from 3-6 iron. When did that ever become popular for the masses. Most ams don't swing hard enough to get that much out of their long irons. Anyway, I spread my distances out a little on the other end and everyone in my head is now happy.

Here is the thread in case anyone wants to get off on numbers:

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/thread/9728/traditional-lofts-versus-modern-lofts

and one more that is way out of control:

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/thread/9770/new-735s-coming

[Gerald]

Yep lofts have gone stronger and I agree it is marketing ....... walking up the tee of a 170 yds par 3 and holding a 8 iron bc. you are afraid the 7 iron to be toooo lonnnngggg.

When I started to play golf a 9 iron was 45*, PW was 50* and a SW was 55* .... my current PW is 44*

So I added an extra wedge, but the 4i is as strong as the 3i was, so I don't need the 3i anymore .......

Besides that, maybe it is time for the manufactors to state the lofts instead of numbers.

But those stronger lofts have also to do with the change in balls.

When I started golf you could choose to play the old smaller balls (diameter 1.62") and these balls went lower ...... In 1988 the rules prohibit the use of these 1.62" balls and balls went to the modern standard (diameter 1.68"). The new larger balls went up into the air more and more, and the improved backspin grooves got the balls even higher..... at first the average hacker was so pleased to get the ball up in the air so much easier, but today we like to keep the ball lower ..... so the lofts went stronger. Since 1988 the rules prohibit the use of the smaller balls.

At a certain time I think it was Spalding even had a 1.72" ball (Magna).

[TourSpoon]

I am not following you in that the lofts got stronger to keep the ball down. Not only did the lofts get stronger, but shafts got longer. All the manufacturers did was to call a 9 iron a PW. I tend to believe that the marketing of distance is to blame. Back in the day the guy couldn't hit his 3 iron and now he can't hit the 4 iron, but they are the same club at 22 degrees. Enter the hybrid.

[bfn18]

The current wedges in my bag.

PW = 46* (145)

UW = 50* (135)

GW = 52* (125)

SW = 54* (115)

LW = 58* (95) recently added

I know I have a lot of wedges, but it has been working for me.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by TourSpoon

I am not following you in that the lofts got stronger to keep the ball down. Not only did the lofts get stronger, but shafts got longer. All the manufacturers did was to call a 9 iron a PW. I tend to believe that the marketing of distance is to blame. Back in the day the guy couldn't hit his 3 iron and now he can't hit the 4 iron, but they are the same club at 22 degrees. Enter the hybrid.

Pretty much. The head shapes on a lot of new PWs isn't what I'm used to as a traditional wedge either. I had a few sets that had numbered irons but predated the PW. The 9-irons looked like pancakes. (large and rounded - you could open them up and hit a pretty reliable flop shot if the lie was good - I'm serious). I have some older sets where the 9-iron is extremely weak and the PW looks like a hybrid SW / LW and could be hit farther on a full shot than the 9-iron could. It was about the function of each club and covering off the necessary shots - not about perfectly covering off yardage gaps on a full swing.

Which brings us to 2011 . . .

Quote:

The current wedges in my bag.

PW = 46* (145)

UW = 50* (135)

GW = 52* (125)

SW = 54* (115)

LW = 58* (95) recently added

I know I have a lot of wedges, but it has been working for me.

[ochmude]

Originally Posted by TourSpoon

I am not following you in that the lofts got stronger to keep the ball down. Not only did the lofts get stronger, but shafts got longer. All the manufacturers did was to call a 9 iron a PW. I tend to believe that the marketing of distance is to blame. Back in the day the guy couldn't hit his 3 iron and now he can't hit the 4 iron, but they are the same club at 22 degrees. Enter the hybrid.

Is this why 3 irons seem to have disappeared?  I stopped playing golf in 2001 when I joined the Marines.  Now I'm back in the game and have been toying with the idea of buying a new set of irons.  3-PW sets seem to have gone the way of the dodo, at least outside of "better player" blade sets.  Everything starts at 4 iron and seems to include a GW, but the GW is lofted exactly the same as my current PW.

[Gerald]

Quote:

I am not following you in that the lofts got stronger to keep the ball down. Not only did the lofts get stronger, but shafts got longer. All the manufacturers did was to call a 9 iron a PW. I tend to believe that the marketing of distance is to blame. Back in the day the guy couldn't hit his 3 iron and now he can't hit the 4 iron, but they are the same club at 22 degrees. Enter the hybrid.

Knowing golf as it used to be (and glad I also still own my blades form 1986 - Wilson Staff Tour Blade Fluid Feel - 3-SW) the current sets are so mixed up, but you were a good golfer (ballstriker) if you could hit the old 3 iron about 190 yds ..... today the distance of about a stronger lofted 5 iron...... Most stes start with a 4 iron plus a 3 iron replacement "easy" te hit Hybrid and you have to add 1 or even 2 gap wedges, to play a normal set (at least I had to 48 + 53 (52) ).

[TourSpoon]

Well, I still don't understand why you said that lofts got stronger to keep the ball down.

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by TourSpoon

Well, I still don't understand why you said that lofts got stronger to keep the ball down.

Well uhhh it is complicated at least ...... the old ball didn't went up in the air easy, and at the same time the center of gravity was higher in most clubs than it is today. Then the standard went to balls of the larger diameter and much discussion went on that they were going significant higher up in the air (I can remember this was being said by the low cappers in these days), maybe not so much in the USA as the american ball went form 1.66" to 1.68" but in Europe they went from 1.62" to 1.68" (yes still only a few mm, but a large impact).

So the battle begon how to regain the so much prefered lower trajectory (by the low cappers and pro's) and part of the answer was lower loft and at the same time shaft lengths increased a bit to help the Joe the average golfer to get a higher swingspeed to get their balls up in the air easier.......

Long story short I tend to agree the current strong lofts having to do more with marketing for distance than with the larger ball, but in all stronger lofts started in 1988 when the ball went p to 1.68"

I also feel that this is an ongoing process....... in 10 yrs the current strong lofts might be well about standard lofts.

Beside that the current golfball size is from two decades back, it is not likely to tell, but it might change........