Wedge Suggestions Please

[jrasch]

My PW is currently 46* and then I have 2 cleveland wedges a 52* and 58*. I feel I have to big of a gap between the three clubs. I struggle with my distances under 120yds trying to get cute with 1/2 and 3/4 shots. I know I need to practice those more but anyways. I was thinking about replacing the 52 and 58 and going with a 50*, 54* and a 58* what are your thoughts on this? Any tips and suggestions here would be great.

Thanks in advance.

[Jeremie Boop]

I use a 50, 55, 60 myself. That gives me good coverage to about 70 yds.

[TJBam]

My pitch, gap, sand, and lob are all Vokeys with matching colors.  Instills confidence :P

My pitch is 48, gap 52, sand 56 and lob 60.  Find the shortest iron in your set and work up from there maybe, so you don't have a gap.

You know this already but keep 4-5* between your wedges.  Don't overload your bag with a 52, 54, 56, etc because the difference is hardly noticeable.

Also be aware of how you swing in your short game so you can pick out your bounce degree.  This is a factor that is often overlooked.  I was playing with a guy yesterday who was topping his sand wedge pretty consistently.  He started complaining about his wedge so I asked him "What's the bounce on that thing?" and he looked at me clueless.  I went and looked at it and it was 15*.  He's trying to hit it from the fairway!! That's tough.

[jrasch]

Originally Posted by TJBam

My pitch, gap, sand, and lob are all Vokeys with matching colors.  Instills confidence :P

My pitch is 48, gap 52, sand 56 and lob 60.  Find the shortest iron in your set and work up from there maybe, so you don't have a gap.

You know this already but keep 4-5* between your wedges.  Don't overload your bag with a 52, 54, 56, etc because the difference is hardly noticeable.

Also be aware of how you swing in your short game so you can pick out your bounce degree.  This is a factor that is often overlooked.  I was playing with a guy yesterday who was topping his sand wedge pretty consistently.  He started complaining about his wedge so I asked him "What's the bounce on that thing?" and he looked at me clueless.  I went and looked at it and it was 15*.  He's trying to hit it from the fairway!! That's tough.

Thanks for thie input. I was looking at the new Mizuno MP-T4's(since I play Mizuno's Like uniformity) I havent hit them yet just read about them need to go in once I figure out what lofts I want.

What is a good bounce and how can I tell what I should get? If I bought the 50, 54, and 58 the bounce's would be 06, 09, 10 respectivly. Thoughts?

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by jrasch

Thanks for thie input. I was looking at the new Mizuno MP-T4's(since I play Mizuno's Like uniformity) I havent hit them yet just read about them need to go in once I figure out what lofts I want.

What is a good bounce and how can I tell what I should get? If I bought the 50, 54, and 58 the bounce's would be 06, 09, 10 respectivly. Thoughts?

I think Mizuno's wedges are the best made. Certainly the best feeling wedge.

On a 50, 6 degrees of bounce might be a little low. 9* is about right on a 54. I personally think 10 is way too much on a 58, but that depends on how you play your wedge shots. If you have trouble hitting wedges fat, then the extra bounce would be beneficial.

FWIW, I play a 50, 56, and 60. I don't notice much of a gap between 50 and 56. I can take a little off the 50 pretty easily.

[Jakester23]

My vote is for vokey's. I just did the same thing I have a 5054&58 and That's perfect for me. I got the 54/14 and the 58/10. I went with the vokey cause it had the most feel IMO. I was going to get a Cleveland(heard that they were the best) but after hitting a bunch of different brands and models I got the sm4 vokeys. Plus in black nickel they look sweet.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by jrasch

My PW is currently 46* and then I have 2 cleveland wedges a 52* and 58*. I feel I have to big of a gap between the three clubs. I struggle with my distances under 120yds trying to get cute with 1/2 and 3/4 shots. I know I need to practice those more but anyways. I was thinking about replacing the 52 and 58 and going with a 50*, 54* and a 58* what are your thoughts on this? Any tips and suggestions here would be great.

Thanks in advance.

This makes perfect sense to me.  I have something similar ... even gaps (4.5*) all the way from 9 iron (41) through my lob wedge (59).  However, I will say that the even loft gaps don't necessarily equate to even distance gaps.  The gap between my 50 and my 54.5 is a little bigger than the rest - might have something to do with the fact that the 50 is part of the iron set (i20) whereas the 54.5 is a Ping wedge.  I don't know.  But it's a good starting point and if it turns out that you find a bigger or smaller gap somewhere you can always bend one of the clubs.

Originally Posted by jrasch

What is a good bounce and how can I tell what I should get? If I bought the 50, 54, and 58 the bounce's would be 06, 09, 10 respectivly. Thoughts?

These are too low, in my opinion.  Not a big deal with the 50, as you are probably not using it around the green as much as the rest, but I would prefer to see the other two both in double digits.  Of course, that's my preference ... you may like it this way.  For more helpful info on bounce, read this: http://thesandtrap.com/t/57874/my-edel-wedges-or-super-bounce-and-why-its-good-for-you-or-the-sweet-spot-is-finally-in-the-right-place/0_30

[dsc123]

I like 4* between each.  I've got

PW - 46 (i20)

GW - 50 (i20)

SW - 54 (vokey)

LW - 58 (vokey)

I haven't dialed them in yet, but my full swing distances are something like 125-112-95-80.  Add 3/4 swings and I've roughly got these covered:  125,112,100,95,90,80,75,65.

3/4 shots are essential in my opinion.  I used to avoid them, but now I'll take a nice and smooth 3/4 wedge over a full wedge every time.

[Jakester23]

Dsc us right about the 3/4 shot. If I'm under 100 I try to take a smaller swing. It just seems like you almost always make solid contact that way.

[TJBam]

The higher the bounce the better the club is going to "lift" out of thicker rough.  A very low bounce is better off the fairways (tight lies).  You can pick and choose to your liking.  I have my lob wedge with a low bounce because I rarely swing it fully.  It is more of a picker and grabber to lift from the fairway to the top of a green or over a sandtrap.  My sand wedge has high bounce for chips from the rough and shots from the sand.  My gap wedge is medium for full swing approaches from the fairway or rough.

This link should help you understand exactly what part of the wedge that "bounce" refers to.

http://www.golfsmith.com/display?page=ps_buyersguide_wedges

Hope we've helped buddy.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by TJBam

A very low bounce is better off the fairways (tight lies).

Not true, lower bounce wedges gives you the least amount of room for error.  Check this out

http://thesandtrap.com/t/57874/my-edel-wedges-or-super-bounce-and-why-its-good-for-you-or-the-sweet-spot-is-finally-in-the-right-place

This is me hitting a 56* wedge with 20* of bounce off a putting green,  Bounce is good

[TJBam]

Originally Posted by jrasch

Thanks for thie input. I was looking at the new Mizuno MP-T4's(since I play Mizuno's Like uniformity) I havent hit them yet just read about them need to go in once I figure out what lofts I want.

What is a good bounce and how can I tell what I should get? If I bought the 50, 54, and 58 the bounce's would be 06, 09, 10 respectivly. Thoughts?

Due to your 46* PW I like that you want to go 50, 54, and 58.   But I agree with golfingdad and I'll say I'd like to see your 54 and 58 with higher bounce.  Get maybe 11* bounce with your 54* wedge for sand and high turf.  For your Lob I'd try out both 8* and 12* and see which you like better.

So to summarize, here is my Vokey suggestion without knowing your playing style or swing tendencies:

50* with whatever bounce feels right for you

54* w 11* bounce

58* w 8* or 12* bounce

[TJBam]

Originally Posted by mvmac

Not true, lower bounce wedges gives you the least amount of room for error.  Check this out

http://thesandtrap.com/t/57874/my-edel-wedges-or-super-bounce-and-why-its-good-for-you-or-the-sweet-spot-is-finally-in-the-right-place

This is me hitting a 56* wedge with 20* of bounce off a putting green,  Bounce is good

What I mean is that I can hit the 60* well, and usually hit it out of the fairway, meaning I'm not looking for forgiveness since it's a club that I can play well.  I wouldn't hit it out of the rough or sand.  Only for nice clean chips.

Edit: Gorgeous strike!

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by TJBam

The higher the bounce the better the club is going to "lift" out of thicker rough.  A very low bounce is better off the fairways (tight lies).

Yeah, don't buy this for a second.  (Not trying to pick on you TJ, just trying to make sure OP gets the best info possible) :)

Higher bounce is ALWAYS better than lower bounce.  When you hit the type of shot where you don't "need" the bounce, its not there anymore anyways because your hands are forward.  (It's just waiting back there behind the club now for a rainy day :))

This would be like not getting a car with anti-lock brakes because you don't need them when you're not avoiding an accident.  They don't hurt you at all when you're not using them, but boy are they helpful when they are needed!

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by TJBam

What I mean is that I can hit the 60* well, and usually hit it out of the fairway, meaning I'm not looking for forgiveness since it's a club that I can play well.  I wouldn't hit it out of the rough or sand.  Only for nice clean chips.

Edit: Gorgeous strike!

Thanks.  Yeah all I'm saying it that you can do all that, clean fairway shot, rough/sand, with a high bounce wedge.  Bounce helps the club "glide" through the grass, with lower bounce clubs, you'll tend to take deeper divots because if you have any shaft lean, you're engaging the leading edge.

[TJBam]

mvmac & golfingdad:

I concede!! However, I have always read that lower bounce is better off of fairways and flat lies.  This advice has worked for me.  My lob has 4* bounce and it's very sturdy from the fairway onto the green.  Different strokes for different folks.

I guess our conclusion here is that the OP needs to read all of the posts and make up his mind.

(OP keep in mind however that of the two players that disagree with me, one is a pro instructor and one has a much lower handicap than myself.. )

[jrasch]

So if I find some wedges that feel great and I like but the bounce is on the lower end what are your thoughts? Should I be ok or should I get the next best clubs that felt ok but have better bounce?

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by TJBam

mvmac & golfingdad:

I concede!! However, I have always read that lower bounce is better off of fairways and flat lies.  This advice has worked for me.  My lob has 4* bounce and it's very sturdy from the fairway onto the green.  Different strokes for different folks.

I guess our conclusion here is that the OP needs to read all of the posts and make up his mind.

(OP keep in mind however that of the two players that disagree with me, one is a pro instructor and one has a much lower handicap than myself.. )

We're not saying that you cannot hit good shots with a wedge with low bounce by any means.  Like I said, even clubs with high bounce - when being used for 'normal' shots, not pitch shots - are not going to be using that bounce when the hands are forward.  So you certainly can hit good shots from the fairway with low bounce, but there is less room for error.

Your lob wedge, with 4 degrees of bounce, is practically a knife edge ... so think about what would happen IF you hit the ground 1/8", 1/4", 1/2" behind the ball.  On the other hand, if you have more bounce, the club will have more of a tendency to glide along the ground some, rather than slicing right through, and your "fat" shots will be a lot less fat.

For thin shots it makes little difference.  I say 'little' instead of 'no' difference, because when you know that your club isn't going to dig into the ground if you hit a little behind the ball, you can "cheat" that direction a little more and then, consequently, you will be less apt to hit it thin. :)

All in all, bounce is good.  I would bet that you could add another 4, 6 or more degrees of bounce to your lob wedge and you'd still be able to hit the same good shots you already hit with it, along with a few others.