My Six Wedge Setup

[stogiesnbogies]

  Ochenta said:

Hi all, I'm a new poster to the Sand Trap.  I read the equipment forums here a lot, so I thought I would join the forum and share my thoughts on my recent evolution to a six wedge system. Six wedges you say? That sounds crazy. Well, maybe not when you consider that I use wedges for two very different purposes.  One purpose is taking a full swing; the other is for chipping around the greens and hitting blast shots out of the sand.  So, if I'm 75 yards out, that's a full wing with my sand wedge (I hit a seven iron about 140 yds).  With a curent handicap index of 15.3 I find hitting a full swing shot with a Cleveland or Titlest forged (i.e., non cavity-backed) wedge, with no offset and very little in the way of forgiveness, to be be quite daunting compared to the relative ease with which I can hit such shots with the wedges that came with my Callaway Razr X irons set.  These irons and wedges are extremely forgiving and solid.  On the other hand, I do not like chipping around the greens with these clubs.  The spring-like effect of the face and the blocky nature of a cavity-backed club just doesn't give me the feel, and with it the confidence, I need to make short pitches, flops and chips from around the green with precision.

So what to do?  Am I supposed to carry two sets of wedges--one for full shots and other for short pitches, flops and delicate chipping around the greens?  In a word, yes.  So now I carry a Callaway Razr X cavity-backed pitching, approach, sand and 60 degree lob wedges for full swings and some slightly less than full pitch shots.  These set wedges also perform consistently and undrammitacally out of the sand.   I also carry a Titleist Spin Milled Vokey 56 degree wedge with 11 degrees of bounce and a M grind along with a similar 64 degree Vokey.  The Vokeys do all the chipping, flopping and short pitches from around the green.  They also work well in thinner sand, although, as I said, the Razr X wedges do just fine from most sand.

For me, chipping and short pitches are totally different than a full swing shot.  The former require a lot of feel and manipulation of the club face, use a completely different stance, and relish in a dead feel at impact.  So now, whatever shot I'm faced with in the short game, I'm covered.  If I'm 100 out, that's a full swing with my extremely solid and forgiving Razr X 52 degree approach wedge.  Same with full shots with my Razr X sand and lob from 80 and 60 yards out, respectively.  If I'm chipping or making a short pitch from around the green, I have the Vokey 56 degree sand wedge.  If I'm 5 feet off the green with a close pin or I need to get over a bunker and stop it on the green fast, the 64 degree Vokey is magic.  I have found that with the versatile Vokey 56 degree SW along with the 64 extreme lob, I don't need a forged 60 degree lob for shots made close to the greens.

The point is I don't have to learn how to hit full shots with  "forged" player's club, and I  don't have to hit delicate chips with an oversized, cavity-backed, spring-faced, game improvement club.  Withing 110 yards, I feel as though I've got it all.

Ah, but where to find room in the bag. Here's my setup

Driver (Ping K-15) 190 to 230

3 Hybrid (Callaway Razr X) 180

4 Hybrid  (Callaway Razr X) 170

5 Hybrid   (Callaway Razr X) 160

6 Hybrid   (Callaway Razr X) 150

8 Iron (Callaway Razr X) 130

9 Iron  (Callaway Razr X) 120

PW (Callaway Razr X) 110

AW (Callaway Razr X) 100 (good from sand)

SW (Callaway Razr X) 70-90 (great from sand)

LW (Callaway Razr X) 60 (great from sand)

SW (Titelist Vokey SMP4 56 degrees, 11 degrees of bonce) (chipping, short pitches, and works good in sand)

XLW (Titleist Vokey SMP4 64 degrees, 7 degrees of bounce) (chipping, short pitches and good from hard packed sand)

Putter (Oddysey White Ice)

Believe it or not, the only gap I have in this setup is where my 7 iron used to be.  I hit my 6 hybrid (or as I call it, my 6-Brid,150-160 yrads.   I hit my 7 iron around 140 and my 8 iron 130.  So now I simply back off of or choke up on the 6 hybrid to achieve the 140 yard distance.  And believe me, the choked hybrid is more consistent and lands just as soft as the 7 iron.

Well, there it is.  Any thoughts as to my sanity?

As others are already saying; "to each his own" and if you feel comfortable with this set up, and it's producing results-so be it.

However, you do realize that ALL of these wedges can be opened and closed providing you with a wide range of options?

Perhaps you might consider fooling around with that concept on the practice range/green and seeing if you can feel comfortable hitting multiple shots with a few wedges simply by opening / closing , changing ball position, etc....Personally, I think you are vastly underestimating the versatility of these wedges. but hey that's my take -and it's your bag, right?  ....anyway, good luck with your present set-up - let the scorecard determine your success-and it has no video :)   Cheers