The Gap

[clarkgriswold]

Wondering what the consensus would be with regard to the venerable "gap" wedge.  I have never carried one...tending to step on a sand wedge or throttle back a PW.

Am I missing the boat here?  Would my life be better(and scores lower?) if I added the extra wedge to the bag?

[jamo]

It all really depends about the gap between your PW and your SW. With PW lofts getting sronger and stronger, some people now need a club in between the two otherwise their yardage gap is huge. For instance, most sand wedges are 54˚-56˚, but pitching wedges in a lot of new sets are as low as 44˚. For me that would give me a 35-40 yard gap, so I'd need an GW in between, around 50˚. Luckily, I have a 54˚ SW and a 47˚ PW, so my gap is small enough that I don't need a GW.

[saevel25]

Honestly the whole concept behind the gap wedge is just good marketing. Really you should just find what your loft is on your 9-iron, usually 44, then go 4 degree lofts from that. If you want 4 wedges that will get you to a 60 degree, if you want 3 wedges, you get to a 58. I stopped thinking them as Sandwedge, Lob Wedge, Gap Wedge. To me there just a degree of loft.

[ejimsmith]

1 vote here for a gap wedge.  1 was included in my last iron set i bought, and i easily use it twice as much as my sw or pw.  its my 105yd club and that seems to be a distance i'm at much of the time.

[Pope33]

Totally agree with that; "I stopped thinking them as Sandwedge, Lob Wedge, Gap Wedge. To me there just a degree of loft." I used to carry a 60,56,52,and 48. Now it's just a 58, 52, and 46. Just a matter of preference, I guess. And it allows me to carry a 2 iron or hybrid instead.

[sacm3bill]

As others have said, it depends on whether there's a gap that needs filling. The gap between my SW and PW is 20-25 yards. That's a big hole, esp considering we're talking about the "scoring" clubs, so yes I have a gap wedge. I got rid of a longer club to fit the gap wedge in the bag, since I'd much rather have that gap in my longer clubs than in the scoring clubs.

[clarkgriswold]

I have a gap from 88 yards to 105 that is tough for me to get either of my other wedges to consistently...so i am going to shop for that missing wedge.

I currently play a cleveland SW of 56 degrees and my Nike PW, I believe to be 48 degrees.  So I will look at 52s.

Thanks all.

[zipazoid]

I have Ping Eye 3 blades. PW is 48, Gap is 52, SW is 56. I hit the PW 120, Gap 100 & SW 80. I couldn't imagine not having a Gap now - 8 degrees between the PW & SW is too much of a, well, gap.

So now, with 20y between each, I'm covered from 60 to 120 - I use a 3/4 swing with the SW for 60. I use 3/4 on the Gap for 90 & 3/4 on the PW for 110.

[Teamanglerx]

My PW is 45 degrees and my SW is 58.  Since I have been getting better I have noticed a huge difference.  A gap wedge is on the top of my "must get" list.

[WWBDD]

"Mr. President, we must not allow a wedge gap!"

[NuclearMike]

You'll like having that extra wedge in your bag.  I have a set of Wilson Staff Di9s.  They're substantially overlofted so the names/numbers of the clubs don't matter.  They came with a PW @ 42.5 degrees, AW @ 46, and a GW @ 49.5.  I use a 56 degree SW and think that the 6.5 degree difference between the GW and SW is fine.  I tend to hit my shorter irons with a 3/4 swing but probably the best club in my bag is the Lynx LXi 56 degree SW.  I can hit it with whatever swing I want based on the situation and hit it between 65 and 90 yards.  The other irons are basically one stronger than their number- a PW flies like a 9 iron, the AW like a PW, etc.  There's a standard 3.5 degree difference between clubs except the GW to SW.

[nickolasjt]

I've had one for 3 years.  My Titleist 50*.  Very Nice club.  My PW is 47* but I still like my gap.  I only carry two wedges.  50 and 56.  I really like using the 50 around the green as well.  It gets the ball on the ground quick with some spin.  Vote yes for sure.

[rustyredcab]

Quote:

Really you should just find what your loft is on your 9-iron, usually 44, then go 4 degree lofts from that.

Good advise but you are likely to discover that your 9-iron is closer to 41* and your PW is closer to 45* or 46*. I go 41*, 45*, 50*, 54* and 60*. I am considering swapping the 54* and 60* for just a 56* in order to make room elsewhere in the bag.

Many sets have matching GW. Or you can buy a wedge in a Gap loft that matches your sand wedge. I used to do the later and now do the former. Since my Gap Wedge is lofted like the Pitching Wedges of yesteryear and I play it like a PW -- full swings, partial swings, chips, pitches... I like my set-matching GW -- the first shot I ever hit with it on a course was a 72-yard hole-out for eagle. It earned a place in my heart and my bag.

[BuckeyeNut]

oh boy.....wedge game accuracy is important to scoring.  I carry 4.......pitch, gap, 56, and 60 and use them all from the fairway with accuracy. I'm deadly with the 56 and 60........I have 10 par4 eagles to my credit and half are holed shots with those clubs.  I tend to hit a penetrating flight.....one big bounce and spin-back......jar a shot from the back-door.  IMO...knowing your distances is very important with those clubs.

[luu5]

  jamo said:

Originally Posted by jamo

Luckily, I have a 54˚ SW and a 47˚ PW, so my gap is small enough that I don't need a GW.

I have 47 and 54, and this still leaves about 20 yards of gap for me. Thinking of getting 50 perhaps. Depends on winter sales of course...

[mvmac]

  saevel25 said:

Originally Posted by saevel25

Honestly the whole concept behind the gap wedge is just good marketing. Really you should just find what your loft is on your 9-iron, usually 44, then go 4 degree lofts from that. If you want 4 wedges that will get you to a 60 degree, if you want 3 wedges, you get to a 58. I stopped thinking them as Sandwedge, Lob Wedge, Gap Wedge. To me there just a degree of loft.

Like Jamo said lofts are getting stornger, rare to find a 9-iron at 44*, most players are using a 9-iron that is 42 or stronger.  But I agree with with changing the mind set of sandwedge, lob wedge.  Want to have 4-6* of separation from each wedge.  I currently go 46,52,56 and 60.  I use to go 46,52,58

[jamo]

FWIW, whether or not you need a GW also depends on how good you are at hitting half pitching wedge shots and harder-than-normal sand wedge shots. If you are good at that shot (which I tend to be) you can get away with a bigger loft gap.