wedge question

[kregan]

Hello,
I am a new (reborn) golfer... I played golf all the time when I was 11-15 years old. My parents were members of a Country Club and I played a couple of times a week.

Long story short, we moved and I never played again until a few months ago. I went on a 3 night getaway from the kids and borrowed my brothers clubs on a whim. I played 9 holes 2 days in a row and I was hooked! I am 44 now.

A few weeks after I got home I went out with my brother club shopping. Her is what I picked up.....

Irons - RAC OS irons, 3-PW and a SW.
Burner 5 wood - I love this club!
Calaway 460 Driver - I keep it in the bag for now until I can hit it straight

I was shooting in the 110's - had 2 lessons, watched a lot of "lessons with the pro's" on the golf channel - shot a 95 yesterday!

I am still developing a swing so I am a little wild at the moment but working on it!

So here is my first question:
My PW is 45*, SW is 55* I feel like I need something between the PW and SW. Would you advise me to pick up a RAC OS approach wedge AW at 50* to keep the clubs consistent or remove the SW and buy a set of 3 wedges?

I have read so much about wedge's that I am totally confused. I think I would prefer to just add the OS -AW wedge then spend a lot more money on clubs at this early stage of learning.

Sorry to ramble on, thank you for the help!

[Laxplayer201092]

ere are somethings to ponder...

yes, the gap between your 45, and 55 degree pitch and sand wedge is a bi tmuch. rather than picking up a RAC os 52 wedge, look into the rac Satins, black fe2's. Personally these actualy wedges give you much better feedback on short finesse shots, and spin on the shtos they are desighnd for, rather than their over size, iron counterparts.

most people prefer the pw to stay on par with their irons,so that isnt a problem.

for example, i play a 45 pw, with a 49 gap wedge, along with a 53*-60* Taylor made RAC TP black wdges. this setup works for me. it gives you a few more options iwht spin, trajectory, and lenghts, where an oversize sand wedge that comes in a set, just doesnt.

My idea is, if you know your going to continue playing, you might as well spend a little more money now, on a vokey spin milled, rac tp, something a litle nicer, than wasting money on cheaper walmart clubs, or even the rac AW, as eventually, i gurantee you will want a new wedge.

ps-the burner is an amazing fairway wood!

pm me if you have any other questions.

[Shindig]

  kregan said:

Hello,

Welcome back to golf. The 45* and 55* difference is a bit much. My wedges are split 46-52-58, although lately I've dialed back to 46-52-56. Here's the thing: for most sets, the shorter clubs (6-iron through wedges) tend to be spaced about four degrees apart. This tends to be a ten-yard gap for most of us. Unless you had some changes made, you have a 41-degree 9-iron, 37-degree 8 iron, and so on. You can see the TM specs for your irons; I think you have these: http://www.taylormadegolf.com/produc...specifications Note that we're referencing "Loft" when we specify the degrees. Modulo some other factors, loft determines how far the ball goes when you hit it. So, there are two options that most people go on from here: 1. Keep the distance gaps as they are for the wedges; think of your PW as a 10-iron, and get a AW/GW (11-iron) in 49 degrees, SW 53, and so on... 2. Evenly space your wedges too, independent of the rest of the irons, using the PW as a join point. You've got a 45 degree wedge and a 55 degree wedge. Unless you want to toss one of those, it seems that 5-degree spacing is the way to go. Grab a 50 degree AW, preferably from the same set if you like the other two. My advice: Do you like the irons? I hope so, since you just bought 'em. Do you like the PW and SW? If so, get the AW. If not, toss the SW (gently; just put it aside) and get a set of wedges. Vokeys are popular, as are Cleveland wedges. Most of this board will give you an opinion on which wedge brand to get if you decide to go other than TM.

[kregan]

Thanks guys,

Yes I do Like the irons. I have read were they can not
be used to "work the ball" as well as some other models,
but I am just concerned about hitting it straight and a
consistent yardage at the moment. I know they are 2005
"vintage" models. ;) I did get the loft/spec chart from
the Taylor made site.

Maybe you can help explain why some wedges look
sharper at the bottom of the face then the RAC OS's ?

Is it just looks or do the sharper faced clubs do something
different?

I hate to put aside the OS-SW, but it is not appealing to my
eye. Maybe it is the rounded bottom of the face?

I got my dads old clubs when he passed away (92 years),
and in the set he has a Ben Hogan "Sure on" and "Sure Out"
wedge. I think the sure out is 56* and sure on a 46*.

Ohh and I use the Burner for a driver right now. For some
reason I can just hit that thing straight as an arrow?

[Laxplayer201092]

i think that most wedges have sharper bottoms, helps them get under the ball, i belive.

and yea, most people prefer a slightly smaller wedge, where as the os's are pretty big..

good wedges to look into.

http://www.golfsmith.com/products/TI266

http://www.golfsmith.com/products/CALL116

http://www.golfsmith.com/products/NK646


http://www.golfsmith.com/products/CL598

these two should have a similar feel to your current irons.

http://www.golfsmith.com/products/TM184

http://www.golfsmith.com/products/TM241

[Shindig]

  kregan said:

I hate to put aside the OS-SW, but it is not appealing to my

I haven't seen the OS other than in bins and bags, so I can't tell you. Go to wherever you intend to buy new wedges, take many types of wedges out and set up with them. Look at it in the bag, too. Find some you think look nice. Try swinging them. See which of the ones whose look you like has a good feeling swing. Get a clubfitter to make sure they fit. Those are the clubs for you.

  kregan said:

Ohh and I use the Burner for a driver right now. For some

Yeah, it's more forgiving than any other club you own. Take that nice gentle swing you've been doing and you're going to send it farther than the 5-wood. The key to hitting the driver straight is to not try to kill it -- if you hit it smoothly, you'll go at least as far as a 3-Wood, and you'll go at least as straight. And then you get to say to your partners, "Hey, I did that with my DRIVER," while they try to kill theirs with no avail.

[LBlack14]

I played Rac OS2's for 2 years. The AW is 50*. You'll be fine with that for now. Unless of course you become a "HO", then you'll be trying more stuff anyway in the future!!!

Welcome Back to the "DARK SIDE" !

[eirvev]

I think you should buy 3 new wedges. I'm going to buy some new wedges myself. 50* 54* and 58*. For me, the gap between OS 45* and 588 56* was to big.

I'm going to buy cleveland cg 12, have tried a few cleveland wedges, and have loved them all.

But if you don't want to spend to much money, you could just buy a 50* wedge, and buy some more wedges next season if you feel you need it. But I will recommend to buy a 50 degree (not OS).

[kregan]

All the replies are helping a lot, Thanks!

I picked up the OS irons in mid summer for 399
new. The prices are now falling hard, 2008 is
coming!

If I can pick up a used 50* OS wedge for under $30-35
I think I will go for that for now and then take my time
and shop around for a nice 3 wedge set.

With a pitching wedge at 45* I am thinking a wedge set should
be 52-56-60. Is that OK or is it to big of a gap between the
45* pitching wedge and the 52* ?

Maybe 50-54-58 ?

Thanks again for all the help

[LBlack14]

If ya get a forged set, they can always be bent. The ones in my signature were 52, 56 & 60. Had the 52 bent to 50 and the 56 bent to 55.

[eirvev]

  kregan said:

With a pitching wedge at 45* I am thinking a wedge set should

A 52-56-60 degree setup is not a bad idea. It's more about personal needs. There are many threads about the 60* Lob wedge on this website. Some of them might help you;-P

Personally i don't fell that I need a 60* LW. But what you need, I cant tell. But since the PW is 45 degree, the gap would be big if you went for the 52-56-60 setup. 7 degree gap between the PW and GW. Anyway, good luck with the golfing PS: Rac OS are lovely irons

[Shindig]

  kregan said:

All the replies are helping a lot, Thanks!

Experience on this board - and in general - seems to indicate that the sixty degree lob wedge causes more misery for high handicappers than any other club. On the other hand, some folks had a great experience with it. I had a great experience with my 58, until I tried a 56 and loved it that much more. I think 50-54-58 would be good. You know about bounce on a wedge, right? If not, that's something we should explain before you go and buy them -- you'll want one of those, probably the 54, to be high bounce (10-14), unless you have compact sand on the entire course.

[kregan]

I think you are right about the 50-54-58. I tried a demo 60 and 58 at a short game facility and the 58 just felt better to me.

Laxplayer... thank you for all the links, very helpful. I looked at the other RAC lines and only one offers a 50*, don't recall the name, but it was in the $79 range. I hate to spend anothe 250 -300 on 3 wedges right now until I play a little longer. Bounce... Yes I have read about the bounce. I play public courses in Maryland mostly. Timbers of Troy one time, and Bowie about 5 times. I have only played about 7 times total so my experiance with different courses is almost non existant. Another reason I am thinking of just filling the gap and use what I have for a while.

  Shindig said:

I think 50-54-58 would be good. You know about bounce on a wedge, right? If not, that's something we should explain before you go and buy them -- you'll want one of those, probably the 54, to be high bounce (10-14), unless you have compact sand on the entire course.

[Laxplayer201092]

no problem..

as for bounce, yes it matters...but honestly, i doent see a whole lot of difference in different bounces until you get to a very low handi...at least i dont


yes, buying new wedges is expensive.. but for the 80 dollars it owuld cost for thos rac's (i belive thos are the ones you are speaking of) i picked up two TP Blacks in 52 and 60*. both were almost brand new, but mismarked. just head over to a golfgalaxy, golfsmith, something, they often mismark stuff.

[follyforhire]

You've received some great advice so far (and I'm jumping in a little late), but if you decide to go with different wedges, don't dismiss trying a 52* as your gap wedge. Depending on your irons (I don't know much about the RAC OS) and the way you hit them, your launch/flight with the 45* PW compared with the launch/flight you'll get with most of the more popular wedges out there might mean that the distance gap isn't as large as the lofts would suggest.

I'm unsure whether this makes any sense. If it doesn't, I apologize. It's late.

[albatroz]

Try Ebay for a three wedge system from Titleist . Vokeys have very good reviews from both amatuer and Tour players . 52.56.60 combination is just fine . Will probably cost $90 plus shipping for a 3 wedge set . Good Luck .

[kregan]

I have been looking around.... 90% of the wedge sets on Ebay
are 52-56-60.

I stopped into a Mammoth Golf store and looked at wedges, I saw
RAC Satin, not available in 50, Cleavland CG 11, 12's, and 14's.

NO Titleist in stock. They said the Milled Spin is not going to be produced
again. Titleist wants a wedge that will conform to the new groove
standards and will be releasing a new wedge.

I have no idea if this is true, just what they told me.

I looking hard at the CG11's, but my mind is changing by the hour!

[kregan]

I can't believe I forgot I have 16000 "Builders Club Points"!!! They carry the Vokey wedge's - spin milled, tour chromed, oil can and spin milled in oil can!

They also have all the other popular brands, RAC satin TP, all the Cleavland's - CG11, Cg12, CG14, 588's.

All the wedges run 4005 points each! Sweet, a free wedge set!

OK here is the question:

Spin Milled 54, 56, 58 and 60 what do I do about a 50 or 52? oil can or chrome. 54 is only available in oil can

200 series 52-56-60 oil can or no ?

Cleavland CG 12 black pearl is available in all the lofts I have talked about.

CG 14's same as the 12's