What kind of wedges should I add to a 3-PW set?

[hackerdave]

I'm a high handicapper who's working on his game and I have a few holes in my set. Right now I have a 9 degree Ping G-5 driver, Callaway X-20 3-PW and a putter. I hit my driver about 240, although I have hit it as short as 220 and as long as 270 (not very consistent). If I make decent contact on my 3-iron, i get about 190 yards.

I've been thinking of going for some wedges next, as I find myself taking too many partial swings on the strong 45 degree PW. Based on the reviews on this site, here are some ideas:

Vokey SM 54-14 and 60-8
or Callaway X-20 50 degree and Vokey 56-14
or Just the 54-14 (use as a sand wedge)

On the longer end, I'm considering a 3-wood or a hybrid.

Your thoughts?

[Shindig]

I'm a high handicapper who's working on his game and I have a few holes in my set. Right now I have a 9 degree Ping G-5 driver, Callaway X-20 3-PW and a putter. I hit my driver about 240, although I have hit it as short as 220 and as long as 270 (not very consistent). If I make decent contact on my 3-iron, i get about 190 yards.

Your high-numbered-irons are probably 4 degrees apart. As such, I would suggest between 3 and 6 degrees apart for your wedges. I'm sitting on 6 degree gaps at the moment, but I'm thinking of closing it to 4 (that's another story). Now, if you're looking at just one, I have no idea what I'd suggest. Maybe go with a SW, just to have a high-bounce club to use to get yourself out of the sand. If you're thinking two, I think option 2 is the best. It avoids the lob wedge ( I spent time practicing mine that would have been better spent chipping and putting, or even other full-swing clubs ), which seems to be a frequent topic of debate around here. I suggest getting something in the 49-51 degree range and something at about the same difference in the sand-wedge area.

[c_mack9]

get a 50° gap wedge and 56° sand wedge and call it a day. best purchase i have made all year. if you end up getting one wedge get a 52° or 54° but i think you should get both of the ones i mentioned earlier.

[hackerdave]

On the 56* wedge, I'm wondering whether to go with the 14* bounce or 10* bounce. Seems like most sand wedges are higher bounce, but for some reason, many people here seem to like low bounce...

[J_Bone]

wedges are a personal preference.
I started with a 52-56-60 wedge combo. FOR ME, I used my 52 for the 100 yard area and then usually my 60. I never liked my 56 and found I only use it in a green side bunker once a round. Then for my 60 I found I was off just a bit and came up short most of the time. So I went with a 52 gap wedge and a 58 for my sand and lob wedge duties. I've been much more consistant and getting closer to the hole which in turn gives me less putts.

Now you mentioned you don't like half swings. So maybe look into getting 3 more wedges and using the 52-56-60 combo like most people do, or even a 50-54-58.

The more bounce you get the less likely your club will dig into the ground, whether it be sand or soil. I've found I like a little more bounce in my wedges.

[fastfed]

I would go with a 52 gap wedge and just learn the game.

No name brand is needed, pick up a walmart brand, because at your level you will NOT notice the difference.

Also, how do you know you hit 270 yards? and driving 240 yards ON AN AVERAGE?? You realize that is where even super low handicapers are

[hackerdave]

Well I did say that the 270 was the top end -- I only see that once in a blue moon. I'm measuring distance by eyeballing it off of the distance markers when playing at my local course and at the driving range. My high-handicap status is not from lack of distance, but rather an inability to hit the ball straight.

My typical mis-hits are a very high push to the right or a low hook (with the driver) or blading the ball or slicing with irons.

That said, why is it surprising to drive 240? I'm a pretty big guy.

Also wanted to note that budget is not an issue here. A $100 wedge is equivalent to 1 round of golf at a semi-private course or maybe 2 at a municipal course around here.

[907golfer12]

I would go with a 52 gap wedge and just learn the game.

Man you cannot base distance off of handicap alone. What if he works out everyday and has a fast club head speed. Just because he is a low handicap doesn't mean that he can't swing the driver well and hit if far. As for hackerdave, if you don't like half swings that much I would also go for 3 wedges, as there would be less gaps.

[fastfed]

Man you cannot base distance off of handicap alone. What if he works out everyday and has a fast club head speed. Just because he is a low handicap doesn't mean that he can't swing the driver well and hit if far. As for hackerdave, if you don't like half swings that much I would also go for 3 wedges, as there would be less gaps.

I am going off his "AVERAGE DRIVE" if people are Averaging 240 yards, that means he has to have some 220's and 260's in there, are you saying that his drives that are going that far are slicing or hooking off the playing field (OB, major rough) I am not saying its not possible, but the more people that say they average 240+ yards, I don't know if they really understand how far 240 yards really is. Sorry to call you out on this, I am just aggravated today, lol, don't take it personally. I use a sky daddy and I love to bring it out with people who say they drive 260+ yards on an average and then watch their faces just explode with doubt when it goes 180-210

[c_mack9]

if you are gonna spend $100 on each wedge, get cleveland cg10 for $89. they are freakin awesome! i hit my 56° cg10 from every lie possible, i love that club. it is my money club from 50 yards in.

[907golfer12]

I am going off his "AVERAGE DRIVE" if people are Averaging 240 yards, that means he has to have some 220's and 260's in there, are you saying that his drives that are going that far are slicing or hooking off the playing field (OB, major rough)

Actually I do, I can hit it 240 average, and I have used a GPS machine to check. I am 5'1" 110lbs. and I use a 9.5*

SQ SUMO. He says that he is a big man, I very small for my age (14) and I can hit it that far, so he probably can to.

[hypergolf]

I'm a high handicapper who's working on his game and I have a few holes in my set. Right now I have a 9 degree Ping G-5 driver, Callaway X-20 3-PW and a putter. I hit my driver about 240, although I have hit it as short as 220 and as long as 270 (not very consistent). If I make decent contact on my 3-iron, i get about 190 yards.

I didn't read the other replies so I might be repeating someone else but if you have a 45 degree PW you might want to consider the following combinations.

50/51 degree wedge and 55/56 degree combination. 52 degree, 58 degree combination 50, 55, 60 can also be done but not really recommended since you are still a high handicapper... Too much loft can kill your game in the beginning... Brand is up to you of course.

[hackerdave]

I see your point fastfed re: "Average drive." I'm clearly omitting obvious "mishits" from the average -- i.e. topping the ball and watching it bobble 10 yards -- as they don't provide meaningful information as to what kind of equipment i should be using. But they definitely do go 240ish on a clean hit.

On the wedge side, I'm leaning towards going with the Cavity-backed x-20 gap wedge (50 degrees) and a 56 degree vokey as a sand wedge based on comments here. Will probably hold off on a lob wedge for now. I guess the headache that I'm dealing with is how the X-20's are 2-3 degrees strong, so the 9 is a 41 and PW is a 45, making it harder to mesh with a set of wedges. I suppose it might be ok if someone made a 55 degree sand wedge...

Then again, the way I'm currently swinging, it might not made an iota of difference whether I have a 54, a 55 or a 56 degree wedge.

[sjhwilkes]

I too would suggest 50/51 degree wedge and 55/56.
I have 47 PW, 54.5SW and 61LW in my old Ping ISI-K irons, and find the gaps too big and the 61 difficult to hit. When I have some cash I'm thinking of getting a 51 and 56 to reduce the gaps. I'll also then have the option of carrying a boatload of wedges when I play short Par 3 courses.

[ahnh666]

carry a 56 and a 60....PW is good for my 100 yards...swing is bit "soft"....use the 56 for anything from 65 to 95 depending on what angle i hold the wedge to the ball....i want the ball high and to land and stay....when the ball starts to roll too much...i never know where it will roll off to....and i use the 60 for 60 yards and below....fairly accurate in getting on the green from 100 yards and below with my 56 and 60...i really had no use for a gap wedge...since i tend to have a weak swing....

[td67mustang]

I swapped out my callaway x-16 PW for a callway forged + vintage 48*. Then added a 54* and a 60*. The 54* is mostly for bunker duty with the higher bounce (14*). I use the 48* for under 100 yds and the 60* for greenside work. Thats the general set up for me and I feel confident with it.

[hackerdave]

So I finally decided and picked up a 54* Callaway X-tour (13* bounce). Took it to the range and was hitting it pretty consistently straight. Played around in the back yard also and managed to put tons of backspin on short chips. Hope to try it out on the course soon.

[Finn07]

Youve left yourself a huge gap between your PW and your 54*. Almost 10 degrees of difference. If you want to get good at this game its the short clubs that are going to do it for you. Pick up a gap wedge somewhere, preferably a 50*.