Wedge advice

[cromulent]

Hi all,

First time poster here, apologies in advance if this question has come up dozens of times before, but my exhaustive 5 minute search came up blank. I'm thinking about adding a wedge to the bag now that I'm looking to improve my short game. I've been using my sand wedge (55*) a lot around greens (50 yards and in), but obviously am getting a few thin shots on tighter lies. 

If you guys were just to add one wedge, would you go with a 50, 52 or a 60? Whichever would have low bounce obvs...

[David L Yskes]

well this is one of those, never ending questions.....   i've messed around with several wedges before settling on a 50/8    56/8--(bent to 55 )    56/11   and a 60/4 

while my PW is a 47*  and i usually hit it about 110 yards, i usually only hit my 50* about 90 yards..  

 i mean my first thought would be to tell you to get a 50 / 8 wedge     

not sure what your bounce is on your 55,   but if you have a high bounce on it, that could be why you are getting thin shots with it...  

[Piz]

Your pitching wedge and 9 iron have less bounce.  One alternative to adding a club is developing a different shot with one you already have.  Opening a club even a minute or two can make a big difference in the way your mind interprets the force required.  

[BamaWade]

I couldn't get around my home club course without a 60deg (mostly for around the greens to tight pins) - that applies to most courses I play, as well here in the SE USA.  But I have a pretty good shaft lean/lag w/my wedges, too, which delofts things a bit.

I think it'd come down to your wedge play style & the style of the courses you play over there.  I've never played over there (it's on my bucket list!) so not sure on that.

As said above, you can order custom bounce on your wedges to fit your style...and probably want to think low-bounce w/the thin strikes (or hard/tight lies).

BamaWade

[Natural Patrick]

I carry a 59 and a 64deg.

[cromulent]

Thanks guys. It's interesting you carry the 55 and 56 with different bounces David, it's something  I've considered briefly and dismissed again, but I see why you might use both. 

I reckon a 58 or 60 08 might be the way to go- reduce the thins but maybe give the opportunity to learn a few new shots. That said I also see the need for a 50 or 52 for those 70-80 yards shots.

BamaWade, hope you get to check us off that bucket list- we've some stunning courses, but don't forget your wet gear!

 

[Valleygolfer]

Honestly if you are hitting it thin,  you need to work on your technique. Otherwise a properly swung 60 would be ideal. Being fitted for your swing style would also help. More than likely you are flipping your club and incorporating more lag in your swing will help with distance and consistency.

[TourSpoon]

I have my pw bent to 48, and have a 54/10 and a 60/8 and have been playing with that combo for the last 10 years. I have tried the 48, 52, 56, 60 before and it's just easier for me to have 3 wedges and to really have the full shot 95%, the 3/4, the 1/2, and the 100% if I ever need it for an extra 3-5 yards. I can cover my gaps better than the 4 club set up. With the 4 wedge setup I had too many options to keep track of. With that being said, if I got more modern lofts, I would have to cover the gap between a 46 degree pw to my strong sw because 10 degrees is to big to cover. 

I tried a 60/4, but in the conditions I play in most of the time it was a trench digger. The 60/8 is versatile enough for tight lies, fluffy lies, sand, etc. 

[WUTiger]

Being that you're in Northern Ireland, do you have a lot of tight lies and hard turf in your rounds?

If so, what is the bounce on your SW? If you have hard turf and a high-bounce SW, chances are you might have a skip-shot (club bounces off turn and hits ball in belly) on occasion.

Also, what is your swing pattern on shorter shots? If you have a steep angle of attack and hard turf, you increase your chances of a skip shot or thin shot close-in.

If you now have just a PW and a SW, you might add either a GW or a LW.

To be honest, we could give you better advice if we knew:

• The specs on your current wedges (model, loft and bounce)
• The turf conditions you normally face
• Whether your downswing is steep, medium or shallow.

[onthehunt526]

2 hours ago, WUTiger said:

Being that you're in Northern Ireland, do you have a lot of tight lies and hard turf in your rounds?

If so, what is the bounce on your SW? If you have hard turf and a high-bounce SW, chances are you might have a skip-shot (club bounces off turn and hits ball in belly) on occasion.

Also, what is your swing pattern on shorter shots? If you have a steep angle of attack and hard turf, you increase your chances of a skip shot or thin shot close-in.

If you now have just a PW and a SW, you might add either a GW or a LW.

To be honest, we could give you better advice if we knew:

• The specs on your current wedges (model, loft and bounce)
• The turf conditions you normally face
• Whether your downswing is steep, medium or shallow.

As John just stated a GW or LW would help you in this situation... The issue I have is my 54° and 58° both have 14° of bounce... I thought of having TE grind the bounce of my 58° down to about 8° but I like having 2 sand wedges... technically I don't carry a lob wedge. In my honest opinion, a lob wedge has to meet both of the following conditions: It has to have at least 58° of loft (my most lofted wedge does) AND it must have no more than 10° of bounce... (mine does not)... but BOTH of my wedges do meet my definition of a sand wedge, at least 54° of loft, and more than 10° of bounce... So technically, I play D, 4w, 7w or 3h, 4h or 4i, 5i thru 9i, PW, AW, 2 Sand wedges and a Putter.

That last sentence was a little off topic.

With thinning if your technique is good, a low bounce wedge might help you, whether it is a 50 or 52, or 58 or 60... I would personally stay away from the 58 or 60 for now and get a low bounce 50 or 52. Another thing you could do is get a 52 and bend it to 50 or 51 to reduce the bounce even more.  If you had a 52° with 8° of bounce, and bent it to 50, you'd have 6° of bounce on it.

Just my 2 schillings 

[dave s]

No recommendations here, but can share my wedge philosophy with you.

My iron set (ordered) came with 45* PW and a 50* U (utility / gap) wedges.  I also carry 54* and 58* wedges.  The 'gaps' in my wedge lofts provide distance yardages on full swing shots from 115 to 80 yards.  The 58* wedge is used at 80 yards and closer most of the time.  The 58* is also my go-to around the greens from rough, sand, over hazards, etc.

Yardage by wedge: PW - 105-115; UW - 100 - 105; 54* - 85 - 95; 58* - 80 and closer

The 54* and 58* are Vokey "M" Grind wedges because I play in a northern climate, (wet a lot of time) on bent grass fairways and rye/bluegrass roughs.  These wedges are designed (bounce and grind) to slide through both a tight lie around the green and get through rough without issue.

Two major goals for my wedge set:

1. Predictable and consistent full-swing yardage from each wedge

2. Greenside wedge game consistency

Hope the above makes sense and possibly helps sort out the short side of your bag.

dave

[cromulent]

Thanks lads, very helpful stuff as always. I played a round this morning (first in a few weeks), and had this topic very much in mind while playing. A couple of issues came through very prominently, in particular the gap wedge or need thereof. I hit a couple of shots at about 70 and 80 yards- the 70 yarder came up short from the sand wedge and the 80 yarder I hit with the PW and thinned it, flew through the back of the green. There's a clear need there for a 50 or a 52. 

There were only a couple of situations where I needed to get the ball up high a short, and the SW did the job reasonably well on both occasions.

WUTiger, I'm using Mizuno MX 19 irons- I think the PW is 46* and the SW 55*. The lie on courses really depends on quality, but the ground tends to be on the soft on account of our damp climate. I really don't know how steep my downswing is- I've not really thought about my swing in those terms, I'm still primarily concentrating on swing path I suppose.

[WUTiger]

3 hours ago, cromulent said:

WUTiger, I'm using Mizuno MX 19 irons- I think the PW is 46* and the SW 55*. The lie on courses really depends on quality, but the ground tends to be on the soft on account of our damp climate. I really don't know how steep my downswing is- I've not really thought about my swing in those terms, I'm still primarily concentrating on swing path I suppose.

As far as steepness of downswing, most players just go with what comes naturally. A somewhat inexact test: Find a slightly plush lie, and hit a few half shots with each wedge. If you...

• just clip/shave the grass a little, probably a shallow downswing.
• take a divot a couple of inches long that you really can't replace, probably medium.
• take a good chunk of soil and grass that you can pick up and replace, probably steep.

As for MX.19, the spoiler contains the iron model's specs.

Spoiler

Mizuno MX-19 Irons Set Specifications

Club	LH	Loft	Lie	Offset	Length	Bounce
4	Yes	23	60	.230	38.25	-.5
5	Yes	26	60.5	.210	37.75	0
6	Yes	30	61	.190	37.25	1
7	Yes	34	61.5	.170	36.75	2
8	Yes	38	62	.150	36.25	3
9	Yes	42	62.5	.130	35.75	4
PW	Yes	46	63	.110	35.50	5
GW	Yes	50	63	.090	35.25	6
SW	Yes	55	63	.070	35.25	10

*Loft, Lie, and Bounce numbers are in degrees

The PW is 46° loft and 5° bounce.
The GW, if you can find one, is 50° / 6°
The SW is 55° / 10°

So, the MX-19 wedges PW and GW are somewhat low bounce, and the SW is more medium bounce. To complicate matters, a wedge has the rated bounce - static measurement; and effective bounce, the functional bounce as the clubhead interacts with the turf. Sole grind influences your effective bounce. 

Club designer Ralph Maltby used to have an "all about wedges" link on his website, but that link is no longer active.

Is you have a good local clubsmith, maybe he (or she) would be willing to explain the details and help you decide what you need.

[cromulent]

@WUTiger I suppose my downswing probably falls into a mix of the first two- as in not the steepest of swings. Wet behind the ears as I am I have no idea whether that's a good thing or a bad thing! But my guess would be that I'd be more prone to thin than fat shots,  and that less bounce might be better?

I've certainly tried to pick up that MX 19 GW,  easy enough to come by in the US or the UK,  but shipping costs to the Rep of Ireland almost double the price. I'm looking at picking up a Mizuno MP T4 or something similarly cheap as chips... There's a healthy enough used clubs  market over here.

 

[WUTiger]

If you have a medium-ish swing, you may be OK on bounce.

Just go with the natural descent of your club. Don't try to change it to something not natural.

Too much bounce would tend to cause thin shots. If it's an occasional thin shot, you might check your set-up. With your two other wedges, the T4 GW should work. It comes in 50° / 6°b and  52° / 7°b.