Anyone else play with out a wedge (besides Pitching wedge)

[trackster]

My bag currently consists of  Driver, 3 wood, 3-PW, putter and a 1970s mcgregor jack nicklous classic 9 iron.  I do all of my work around the greens with this club and honestly I wouldn't trade it for any wedge.  It has a really fine edge on the bottom of it and i really like the feel of it. I have had multiple chip ins this year .

Anyone else play with out a wedge?

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by trackster

My bag currently consists of  Driver, 3 wood, 3-PW, putter and a 1970s mcgregor jack nicklous classic 9 iron.  I do all of my work around the greens with this club and honestly I wouldn't trade it for any wedge.  It has a really fine edge on the bottom of it and i really like the feel of it. I have had multiple chip ins this year .

Anyone else play with out a wedge?

What do you do for a bunker?  I've played bunkers which you couldn't get out of with your set.  I'm not the wedge junkie that some are, but I still carry up to a 56° SW.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by trackster

My bag currently consists of  Driver, 3 wood, 3-PW, putter and a 1970s mcgregor jack nicklous classic 9 iron.  I do all of my work around the greens with this club and honestly I wouldn't trade it for any wedge.  It has a really fine edge on the bottom of it and i really like the feel of it. I have had multiple chip ins this year .

Anyone else play with out a wedge?

I've chipped in a few times with a 6-iron, but out of a sod walled bunker, I gots to have a SW.

[ghalfaire]

My game is such that I carry four wedges, PW-60* and I use them all.  I find them more useful than my two fairway woods (metals?).  I'm not sure that is the correct club selection for everyone but it works for me.  I have been in some bunkers that you (for sure me) couldn't get out of with a PW or a SW.

[jshots]

Nope never even thought it might be a good idea. I used to use a 9 iron for bump and run shot. I recently found that I'm just as good at bump and run shots with a 60 degree, but I can use the 60 degree for about a million other things too that I can't with a 9 iron. And lately i've been lethal from 80 yards and in with my 60. I imagine it would be very difficult to be really accurate from like 75 yards- however far you hit your PW.

[walk18]

What about when you have to go over a hazard from 10-20 yds to a short sided pin? How would you play that? I have 5 wedges (64, 60, 56, 52, PW) and couldn't live without any of them. Having a flop shot is essential, I think.

[carpediem4300]

recently bought a 56 wedge to add to my PW and LW, changed my game,

[parbreaker]

Nope.

I am an advocate of always using the lowest lofted club you can to get to the hole. This is because it will hit the ground sooner and be more reliable.

However, there are just certain shots that you can't hit without a wedge. My 60* has been a godsend on more than one occasion and I won't play without that and a sand wedge.

[deasy55]

I took out my 3 iron for another wedge a few years ago. I now have 4 wedges and I've never looked back.

[sean_miller]

I've tinkered with short irons and wedges, getting a few bent, in order to rid myself of that GW, it worked out okay, but still it's 3 wedges for me. I could probably go with a PW and SW, or a weak 9-iron, SW, but there has to be a SW in there.

Still I'd probably rather enjoy the type of game where a SW and LW are unnecessary. Certainly more than one that relies on 4 or 5 wedges to get it done - blech!.

[lumpuckeroo]

I carry a 52 and 56 wedge, but rarely use the 56.  For the most part I use the 56 in soft sand, which I rarely find in this part of the country.  I need to get better at using a 56.

[inthehole]

I use the 56 for practically everything around the green unless it's a bump & run flat approach shot.      Love that club - so much easier to hit than a 60.

[darkhunter139]

Originally Posted by inthehole

I use the 56 for practically everything around the green unless it's a bump & run flat approach shot.      Love that club - so much easier to hit than a 60.

Agreed, I just got one and I have been loving it.  I use to try and chip around the greens with my 60* and it was a disaster.

I carry a 48*, 52*, 56*, 60* right now and I actually use them all.  Do most of my green side chipping with my 52 or 56.

[trackster]

I have looked at wedges and the only club i would want is a sand wedge the same brand as my current irons.  I wouldn't use it around the green though I would still use that old 9 iron.   I think this 9 iron has more loft than a traditional 9 iron.  I hit the nine iron in my iron set 140-150 yards but i hit the mcgregor nine iron around 90-100 yards on a full swing.  I bump and run a lot of shots and if you land it in the right spot this can be just as effective as a flop shot.  I never put from the fringe.  I'll always use my mcgregor 9 iron and do a bump and run shot.

Im also fairly good at hitting a knock down shot with my PW from 90-120 yards.  Some day I'll probably crack and get a wedge but right now i like my setup.

[The Tin Man]

If I'm playing the two  9 holers down the street,  I don't need a driver, or woods.  So I micro manage my wedges.

45 deg PW  (really a 10 iron)

50 deg W

56 sand high bounce - good grooves for grass

56 sand high bounce - same club only worn out for sand splashing

58 low bounce - beater club for hard pan bunkers and gravel

60  good grooves for flop shots

64 hitting high and very short. A good shot to know playing a course laid out in a gully.

My SW and 60 are irreplaceable so I baby them.

[jshots]

Why is it always taught that getting a ball on the ground sooner is better? I've seen no proof that this is true but its always taught, is it just assumed? I would prefer a ball that sits soft doesn't run as far and its not like its much harder to hit if at all...

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by jshots

Why is it always taught that getting a ball on the ground sooner is better? I've seen no proof that this is true but its always taught, is it just assumed? I would prefer a ball that sits soft doesn't run as far and its not like its much harder to hit if at all...

It's a lower percentage shot simply because there is a larger potential for a stroke losing error on a miss hit.  A slightly thin hit with an 8I chip will still turn into a playable shot.  The same miss hit with a 56° SW is likely to be skulled across the green.  The 8I chip is much more like a putt, while the wedge shot has a higher arc, more like pitching over a bunker.  Why play a shot like that if it's not necessary?  Just watch any bogey golfer who chips with his SW or LW all the time and count the number of times he either chunks or skulls the shot.  That should be all the proof you need.

[Jmdmbike]

Lots of clubs you can play around the green - any iron, hybrids or even a chip with a fairway wood. I prefer to keep it on the ground whenever possible, but out of a bunker or if you have to flop it over a hazard - not sure how you do that without at least a 56 degree sand wedge. Lob wedge is very useful club too - with a bit of practice!!!!