How Important is it for you personally to carry a gap wedge.

[Chris Shades]

I really appreciate everyone's feedback on this subject. It seems like a majority of player's (Low/Mid & High handicap) do in fact prefer to have a gap wedge handy. I always thought that carrying around too many wedges was a bad thing? I'v even seen some criticism on the boards here and on other forums towards players that carry more then Pw, Sw & Lw.

I guess it all depends on your distance with wedges and what everyone is comfortable with carrying. I can agree with some people who have posted about carrying more wedges on an executive course. It would make more sense since the distances are shorter and having more wedges on a short course would benefit a player better to score lower.

I think I will be changing my gear/wedge setup pending the type of course I play now.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Chris Shades

I really appreciate everyone's feedback on this subject. It seems like a majority of player's (Low/Mid & High handicap) do in fact prefer to have a gap wedge handy. I always thought that carrying around too many wedges was a bad thing? I'v even seen some criticism on the boards here and on other forums towards players that carry more then Pw, Sw & Lw.

I guess it all depends on your distance with wedges and what everyone is comfortable with carrying. I can agree with some people who have posted about carrying more wedges on an executive course. It would make more sense since the distances are shorter and having more wedges on a short course would benefit a player better to score lower.

I think I will be changing my gear/wedge setup pending the type of course I play now.

I came to realize that the best players (the guys in the winners' circle at PGA Tour events) tend to carry fewer wedges than many amateurs. PW, 54, 60 was pretty common in 2008-2010 when I was trying to come up with a wedge combo that had less overlap - made club selection easier with fewer almost identical options.

[Elvisliveson]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

I came to realize that the best players (the guys in the winners' circle at PGA Tour events) tend to carry fewer wedges than many amateurs. PW, 54, 60 was pretty common in 2008-2010 when I was trying to come up with a wedge combo that had less overlap - made club selection easier with fewer almost identical options.

Of course, once again, Phil is the exception to the rule: he once carried 5 wedges.

Also, for all practical purposes, a pro's 9 iron and PW are closer in degrees to an amateur's PW and GW, respectively.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Elvisliveson

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean_miller

I came to realize that the best players (the guys in the winners' circle at PGA Tour events) tend to carry fewer wedges than many amateurs. PW, 54, 60 was pretty common in 2008-2010 when I was trying to come up with a wedge combo that had less overlap - made club selection easier with fewer almost identical options.

Of course, once again, Phil is the exception to the rule: he once carried 5 wedges.

Also, for all practical purposes, a pro's 9 iron and PW are closer in degrees to an amateur's PW and GW, respectively.

If he had to do it all over again, I wonder how many more events he'd have captured with one less wedge in favour of a 2-iron.

[14ledo81]

It is very important for me.  I hit my PW 130 and my 55 degree sand wedge 95 yards.  I struggle trying to hit less than full shots with my irons, so this gap would be very hard for me to hit.  As it is, I hit my 50 degree 110, so I still have a 20 yard gap.  Better than a 35 yard gap tho.

[Elvisliveson]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

If he had to do it all over again, I wonder how many more events he'd have captured with one less wedge in favour of a 2-iron.

Good question, but my answer would be not many, because he's still Phil. Yes, he would have hit a few more fairways, but he would still shoot at pins and then not have his 64* to bail him out every time he short-sided himself .

[TheGeekGolfer]

I find my gap wedge essential, it's my go to club for 115-120 yds and I also use it for knock-down 90-100 yd shots on iffy-type lies.  I even use it for chipping around the green and longer bunker shots.  With the stronger lofts of today's iron sets, I had too big of a gap between my PW (130 yds) and SW (95-105 yds).

[Zeph]

I really appreciate everyone's feedback on this subject. It seems like a majority of player's (Low/Mid & High handicap) do in fact prefer to have a gap wedge handy. I always thought that carrying around too many wedges was a bad thing? I'v even seen some criticism on the boards here and on other forums towards players that carry more then Pw, Sw & Lw.  I guess it all depends on your distance with wedges and what everyone is comfortable with carrying. I can agree with some people who have posted about carrying more wedges on an executive course. It would make more sense since the distances are shorter and having more wedges on a short course would benefit a player better to score lower. I think I will be changing my gear/wedge setup pending the type of course I play now.

SW & LW can be excessive for some. My SW is a 58º which I also use as a LW if needed. I carried a 60º at some point, but I almost never used it, so it got bunked. A GW is very nice for chipping and bridges the gap between the PW and SW. I would recommend a GW over a LW, but each to his own.

[NuclearMike]

My Wilson Staff Di9s have stronger lofts than most, which translates to a PW @ 42.5, AW @ 46, and GW @ 49,5.  Since I carry a 56 degree SW the 6.5 degree difference is sometimes too much so I have to dial back the 49.5 degree when I might have previously hit something in the 52 degree range.  In other words, my gap wedge is indispensible.

[LuciusWooding]

Originally Posted by NuclearMike

My Wilson Staff Di9s have stronger lofts than most, which translates to a PW @ 42.5, AW @ 46, and GW @ 49,5.  Since I carry a 56 degree SW the 6.5 degree difference is sometimes too much so I have to dial back the 49.5 degree when I might have previously hit something in the 52 degree range.  In other words, my gap wedge is indispensible.

Really what you mean to say is that both your gap wedges are indispensable... That's the one reason I haven't bought Wilson irons; the GI irons have very good, consistent gapping, but the lofts are so strong you do need 2 gap wedges, and distance control with GI irons is harder, imo. In my experience irons with less offset and a less springy face, and heavier and stiffer shafts all help distance and trajectory control, while GI irons tend to be more consistent with less control.

[mdl]

Originally Posted by NuclearMike

My Wilson Staff Di9s have stronger lofts than most, which translates to a PW @ 42.5, AW @ 46, and GW @ 49,5.  Since I carry a 56 degree SW the 6.5 degree difference is sometimes too much so I have to dial back the 49.5 degree when I might have previously hit something in the 52 degree range.  In other words, my gap wedge is indispensible.

That's crazy.  My PW is 46˚, 2˚ stronger than my old PW, and my 3i is 20˚.  And I'm complaining those are too strong!  PW at 42.5˚ means your 3-PW set is something more like 1i-8i, or maybe 2i-8i with unnecessarily small gaps between clubs!

I don't understand the stronger lofts thing.  My new set is basically forcing me to only play 4-PW from my iron set (given I hit my 19˚ 2h more consistently than my 20˚ 3i), and either accept a ridiculously large gap between my PW and preferred 54˚ SW, or get a 50˚ GW and have a common short distance shot that I can't hit with a club from my iron set that I'm super used to.

[NuclearMike]

I agree that the lofts are crazy.  I just have to think of them in terms of being 1-2 clubs different than they are (the 46 degree AW as a PW, the PW as a 9, etc.) until I get a little more used to them.  Yesterday at the range I was hitting the ball wall and was a two-club difference from my prior set.

[NuclearMike]

I agree that the lofts are crazy.  I just have to think of them in terms of being 1-2 clubs different than they are (the 46 degree AW as a PW, the PW as a 9, etc.) until I get a little more used to them.  Yesterday at the range I was hitting the ball wall and was a two-club difference from my prior set.

[Brooke]

I'm a pretty short hitter, so my "gap" distance is about 75 yards. I don't find myself there too often, so I ditched the gap wedge in favor of an extra hybrid (eventually became a 21* wood) to give me better coverage at longer (for me LOL) distances. My wedges are 55, 59. If I hit my PW 125 and my gap was at 110-115, I might feel differently ...

[Fozcycle]

Originally Posted by Brooke

I'm a pretty short hitter, so my "gap" distance is about 75 yards. I don't find myself there too often, so I ditched the gap wedge in favor of an extra hybrid (eventually became a 21* wood) to give me better coverage at longer (for me LOL) distances. My wedges are 55, 59.

If I hit my PW 125 and my gap was at 110-115, I might feel differently ...

I am the same........PW...46* Mizuno MP-53; GW....50* Mizuno MP-T11 & SW....56* Callaway Tour X

The PW gets me 95 - 105

The GW goes 75 - 90

The SW is a 60-65

I use the GW for 20 - 40 yds chips when I am short in the approach.

So I guess the GW is an important club to me.

[inthehole]

I'm not a long hitter, so the gap wedge is essential.

[Brooke]

Originally Posted by inthehole

I'm not a long hitter, so the gap wedge is essential.

My first reply didn't go through, and I've re-thought it a bit.  I had 7 clubs for 130 and in (7,8,9,pw, gw,sw, 59*), so I saw more need for better coverage 150 and longer.  You only get 14 and need to deploy them as best fits your game.  Mine is better for carrying the 7 wood.

In looking at some earlier posts, I realize that my new clubs are not as juiced as many.  My new pw is 47 and my new (Scor, like it so far) sw is 55, so the "gap" is no big deal.

I do love the options we have now - hybrids, lofted woods, wedges ...

[showtime583]

Gap wedge is crucial for me - i have a tough time hitting "knock-down" shots with my wedges, so a full swing is always preferable. Tended to pull everything when trying to feather a PW for anything between 110-125. I carry the following:

PW - Standard Titleist DCI loft (130 yards)

GW - 52 Cleveland 588 (115 - 125)

SW - 56 Cleveland CG 15 (100 - 110)

LW - 60 Cleveland CG 15 (90 - 100)

Love having different options for shots to play around the green out of different lies