What do you think about 3 degree wedge spacing?

[mosnas]

I'm buying new wedges to go along with my 46* PW and 51* GW. My 56* SW goes about 110. My GW goes about 135 There are a few holes where this weakness becomes really apparent when i either overshoot the green by trying a 3/4 swing GW, or when I always come up short with the SW. (SW just broke recently).

So based on that information and my inability to really take half swings on longer clubs would it be better to add a 54 and 58 or a 56 and 60

[LuciusWooding]

Don't compromise on the SW for effectiveness out of the sand. If you have a hard time dialing in a certain yardage it's not the wedge's fault. The SW needs to get you out of bunkers first, hit short game shots second, and full shots are the last priority. A 56˚ will probably do the best job out of sand, but if you can find a 54 you like then go for it. But it had better do its job well, not just hitting 110 yard shots.

[mosnas]

Originally Posted by LuciusWooding

Don't compromise on the SW for effectiveness out of the sand. If you have a hard time dialing in a certain yardage it's not the wedge's fault. The SW needs to get you out of bunkers first, hit short game shots second, and full shots are the last priority. A 56˚ will probably do the best job out of sand, but if you can find a 54 you like then go for it. But it had better do its job well, not just hitting 110 yard shots.

Sand shots are practically non existant in my rounds.  I may quite honestly hit a bunker once a round sometimes I never do.  I wouldn't want to buy a wedge for the one shot I use it a round.  It makes much more sense to use it as a full swing club IMO.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I want a wedge combination that will allow me to take normal swings and full shots first, and then sand shots would be a secondary objective. (also I know it's not the clubs fault but I am not the best at gauging distance and when it comes to toning down that 51* I am attrocious)

[mdl]

That's a huge difference between the 51˚ and the 56˚, and that's a really long distance for the 51˚.  Do you naturally just have great distance with a smooth swing or are you absolutely trying to smash every wedge shot?  I ask only cause I'm well above average in length for an amateur in our vague HC range (though no claims to tour distance or 300 yard average drives or anything), and my 47˚ PW goes about 135 on a stock swing, though I can hit it 145 if I try to crush it (with reduced accuracy of course).  So you're either naturally incredibly long for a 13 HC or you're going after it way too hard with the wedges.

5˚ differences between wedges is higher than some use, but isn't ridiculous.  It's also not ridiculous to get 50˚, 54˚, and 58˚ wedges to cut down the gaps to 4˚, but say your new 50˚ goes 105 and your new 54˚ goes 125.  You're still going to have a 20 yard gap and you'll have to learn to take something off the 54˚.  I'd also say that one easy way to really cut shots off your HC when you're in the 10-13 range is to learn how to hit something other than the 110% shot with the wedges.  I changed irons and went from a 48˚ PW to a 47˚ PW and the new clubs were also just way better than the crappy starter set I'd been gaming before so I added extra distance beyond just the 1˚ stronger loft.  My 54˚ goes about 105 on a stock smooth shot, and the newer PW goes 135-140 on a stock smooth shot.  I'm thinking of getting a gap wedge, but honestly being forced to learn to be able to hit my 54˚ from 100-115 and my PW from 120-140 has really improved my game with the scoring irons and helped my scores.

[iacas]

Learn to hit your wedges partial distances. I think 3 degree spacing  (48, 51, 54, 57, 60) uses too many wedges and you won't have room for other pertinent clubs.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by mosnas

I'm buying new wedges to go along with my 46* PW and 51* GW. My 56* SW goes about 110. My GW goes about 135 There are a few holes where this weakness becomes really apparent when i either overshoot the green by trying a 3/4 swing GW, or when I always come up short with the SW. (SW just broke recently).

So based on that information and my inability to really take half swings on longer clubs would it be better to add a 54 and 58 or a 56 and 60

How far to you hit your PW?

I like the 5 degree and 25 yard gap personally, but if you wanted to look at a change, why not look into a 50-52 that matches your 56? I see a 52 in your sig - you don't use that?

[mosnas]

Originally Posted by mdl

That's a huge difference between the 51˚ and the 56˚, and that's a really long distance for the 51˚.  Do you naturally just have great distance with a smooth swing or are you absolutely trying to smash every wedge shot?  I ask only cause I'm well above average in length for an amateur in our vague HC range (though no claims to tour distance or 300 yard average drives or anything), and my 47˚ PW goes about 135 on a stock swing, though I can hit it 145 if I try to crush it (with reduced accuracy of course).  So you're either naturally incredibly long for a 13 HC or you're going after it way too hard with the wedges.

5˚ differences between wedges is higher than some use, but isn't ridiculous.  It's also not ridiculous to get 50˚, 54˚, and 58˚ wedges to cut down the gaps to 4˚, but say your new 50˚ goes 105 and your new 54˚ goes 125.  You're still going to have a 20 yard gap and you'll have to learn to take something off the 54˚.  I'd also say that one easy way to really cut shots off your HC when you're in the 10-13 range is to learn how to hit something other than the 110% shot with the wedges.  I changed irons and went from a 48˚ PW to a 47˚ PW and the new clubs were also just way better than the crappy starter set I'd been gaming before so I added extra distance beyond just the 1˚ stronger loft.  My 54˚ goes about 105 on a stock smooth shot, and the newer PW goes 135-140 on a stock smooth shot.  I'm thinking of getting a gap wedge, but honestly being forced to learn to be able to hit my 54˚ from 100-115 and my PW from 120-140 has really improved my game with the scoring irons and helped my scores.

Ya sorry maybe I mis-estimated distances (my home course is not that great of yardage markers) but it is usually a 20 or so yard gap between the two clubs.  Usually my wedge shots are just kinda nice easy swings.

But based on what you and Iacas said I will benefit a little more by having the 56 and then the 60. Guess I'll be spending lots of time at the range this year.  Sorry to change the subject but while I got your attention I'm more of a slider on wedge shots (take little divots) I'm looking at a Vokey SM2, (Or something with a relatively flatish leading edge) would a 56.14 or 56.08 be better?

Also what kind of bounce should I look for on a lob wedge?

[mosnas]

Originally Posted by sean_miller

How far to you hit your PW?

I like the 5 degree and 25 yard gap personally, but if you wanted to look at a change, why not look into a 50-52 that matches your 56? I see a 52 in your sig - you don't use that?

Actually I never really thought of utilizing that club.  It's just kind of been chilling in my bag since I got my new set with only 1° spacing between it and my matching GW Ill just need to get it extended a touch. Thank you for pointing out the obvious

[Stacey_E]

Learn to hit your wedges partial distances. I think 3 degree spacing  (48, 51, 54, 57, 60) uses too many wedges and you won't have room for other pertinent clubs.

Exactly! I would suspect, without seeing your swing that you are delofting some wedges and sliding under others. I personally prefer 5 or 6 degress of loft between wedges. Loft is not the only factor in distance. Basically all wedges off the shelf are within 1/4 to 1/2" to each other in shaft length. Factor in angle of attack, ball position, the fact that some wedges are easier to "step on" than others...etc. If you have a variety of bounces avaible in your bag that is a huge plus. The distances come with practice, or so I have been told.

[MEfree]

I haven`t been a fan of partial wedges in recent years, but think I am slowly starting to get better as play and practice more.  FWIW, I carry 4 wedges and go PW, 52, 56 & 60, but see that Matt Kuchar goes PW, 52, 60, 62- he could probably give me a shot a hole and beat me, so...

[xmanhockey7]

Originally Posted by LuciusWooding

Don't compromise on the SW for effectiveness out of the sand. If you have a hard time dialing in a certain yardage it's not the wedge's fault. The SW needs to get you out of bunkers first, hit short game shots second, and full shots are the last priority. A 56˚ will probably do the best job out of sand, but if you can find a 54 you like then go for it. But it had better do its job well, not just hitting 110 yard shots.

Just because a club says "sand wedge" does not mean it's the best club to hit out of sand. With the right technique he should be able to control his wedges to go the distance he desires.

[LuciusWooding]

Originally Posted by xmanhockey7

Just because a club says "sand wedge" does not mean it's the best club to hit out of sand. With the right technique he should be able to control his wedges to go the distance he desires.

The name on the side of the club is irrelevant, but your typical sand wedge is between say 53˚ and 60˚, has 8˚ to 18˚ of bounce, around a D5 swingweight and a high static weight, and a 35.5" shaft. You might call a 53˚ with 8˚ bounce a gap wedge, or a 60 degree a lob wedge, but anything around that large range is ideal for sand play. Now I'm not saying there aren't times when it's easier or enables a better result to hit another club out of a bunker. I've hit a low bounce lob wedge and picked it off the sand to clear a lip, maybe a lower lofted wedge can send it over the lip with a lower arc, or if there's a lot of distance to cover it's not uncommon to hit an iron, hybrid, or even a wood. Hell, in the winter sometimes you can putt through a bunker, and I've heard of Seve hitting a long iron straight into the wall of a bunker to pop it over. But that range of specs I described earlier is suspiciously common in every professional's bag for the exact purpose of escaping bunkers. There are situations where it may not produce the shot required, but 90% of the time a traditional sand wedge, subject to the specs each golfer prefers, will be the most sensible club to use in greenside bunkers.

Just like a driver isn't always the best club to hit off the tee; sometimes you hit a fairway wood or an iron to better position yourself. But the driver is the only club designed to be hit off a tee. In the same way, a sand wedge is designed to be hit out of the sand and usually has some secondary characteristics that make it versatile in other shots. It will give you the most success out of any single club in the most situations in the sand. It's not that tough to hit it 100 or so yards off a tight lie, but ideally I'd rather have a similarly lofted club which is designed for approaches and is better for full shots; straight leading edge, less bounce, a bit lighter, less spin and a cavity back.

As for distance control, I'm a big fan. I prefer not to clutter my bag with 4 or even 5 wedges. Traditionally lofted irons help, and I'd recommend learning to choke up to take off a bit of power and control the amount of loft and angle of attack at impact. Whatever you do, don't decelerate the club; you could be getting the shaft to parallel or vertical or 3 o'clock, but you need to swing through. It helps some people if you open your stance to get your hips clear, and keep your tempo consistent like on a full swing.

[Stacey_E]

Originally Posted by xmanhockey7

Just because a club says "sand wedge" does not mean it's the best club to hit out of sand.

And just because it says 51 or 56 degrees doesnt mean it is that exact loft.  You might want to have those spec-ed.  I have seen brand new Vokeys spec 2* off, and I was quite shocked.  They tend to be pretty consistant off the shelf.