Need some wedge loft and selection advice

[gatoringa2]

I have a Nike VRS set that included a 44 degree PW and 48 AW. Should I buy a 56/60 or 3 52/56/60. Having 5 wedges seems excessive. I'm going to hit a few at the store tomorrow but any help on which brand would also be appreciated. I have a really old 56 degree SW that I've been getting by with but am looking to upgrade my short game

[mvmac]

I have a Nike VRS set that included a 44 degree PW and 48 AW. Should I buy a 56/60 or 3 52/56/60. Having 5 wedges seems excessive. I'm going to hit a few at the store tomorrow but any help on which brand would also be appreciated. I have a really old 56 degree SW that I've been getting by with but am looking to upgrade my short game

If you're sticking with the PW and AW I'd recommend going 54/60.

I'm a fan of the PING Glide and Vokey SM5 wedges.

[Mr. Desmond]

Hi -

Typically, I do not think of a 44 or 48 as versatile wedges around the green. They generally do not have a sole grind built for a wide variety of delicate shots. I think of them as irons; and only in odd circumstances do I pull them out around the green.

Now a 54 and 60, as Mike suggested, offers you sufficient spacing and the ability to find a wedge with versatility. The next question centers around your swing, how aggressive you are, what type of shots you want to orchestrate, etc.

For example, I like a rounded leading edge that is close to the ground with plenty of stated bounce, and heel toe and trailing edge relief (which lowers the effective bounce) because I play off tight lies and can take  no divot or a small to medium divot depending on the shot. But that's me.

When you test your "around the green" wedges, it's best to use real grass so you can see the club-turf interaction -- whether the club helps you get out of the ground (not stuck), whether a sharp leading edge knifes into the ground, whether the leading edge is too high and makes you play the ball back too much, etc. Lots of factors to consider depending on your game.

good luck.

[Judah Ben-Hur]

I have a Nike VRS set that included a 44 degree PW and 48 AW. Should I buy a 56/60 or 3 52/56/60. Having 5 wedges seems excessive. I'm going to hit a few at the store tomorrow but any help on which brand would also be appreciated. I have a really old 56 degree SW that I've been getting by with but am looking to upgrade my short game

I have the VR_S Covert 2.0 set that came with a 4i-9i, PW, and A wedges.  The lofts were stronger than my older clubs so I picked up some SM5 Vokey wedges of different lofts trying to get some kind of handle on the gap differences.  I was using a 9i-46-50/52-56 and sometimes a 60 but that was in and out of the bag when I wanted a 5w in there.  It also was a hit or miss affair when using the lob wedge.  That could also be said about the woods too.  I eventually picked up the 54 degree sand wedge from the Covert 2.0 line while poking around on eBay.  It was leaning in the corner of the room for a couple of months.  A few days ago I ditched the SM5's and put the PW, A, and SW wedges back in.  The 60 degree is still on the fence with me because it seems to never come out of the bag.  I feel like I can hit that clunky looking/feeling sand wedge just as good as the more expensive ones around the green.  I have also become quite fond of the 48 degree A wedge.  As far as stopping on a dime or backing them up, I'm not there yet so the ones from the iron set will do just fine for now.  So that part of my bag looks like 39, 44, 48, 54, and ??.