Golf Beginner Club Question

[VeryShagadelic]

16 hours ago, Lagavulin62 said:

You guys and your wedges. Could it be if we worked more on our 200 to 150 approach ranges we wouldn't need a bag nearly half full of wedges? 

You are right that I am not at the point where I need to get specialized wedges, but I'm not sure I understand what you mean by this.

Also, thinking about the various equipment setups is fun for me

[Kalnoky]

A used lob wedge is not going to kill you. I love mine, one of the most useful clubs I have. I never hit it full swing either.

Of course, if I could reliably hit all my approach shots I could lose a wedge and bag something more interesting. For now I need those "scalpels" to get out of, over, and around all the mounds, bunkers, and long grass the architects so lovingly placed all around the greens.

 

[DaveP043]

17 hours ago, Lagavulin62 said:

You guys and your wedges. Could it be if we worked more on our 200 to 150 approach ranges we wouldn't need a bag nearly half full of wedges? 

The problem as I see it is the manufacturers.  In order to be able to advertise that their 5 iron goes further than your current 5-iron, they strengthen the loft so it plays like a 4 iron.  After 30 years or more of this trend, a 5-iron is more like a really old 3-iron, the pitching wedge is like an old 8, and there's nothing in the standard set for shorter shots.  so we take the 2 and 3 and even 4 irons out of the bag, and replace them with wedges, and end up right where we started, the same set of lofted clubs, just with different labels.

Besides, even the best players in the world miss a lot of greens from 150 yards and out, the rest of us mortals certainly aren't going to eliminate the need for short-game tools any time soon.

[VeryShagadelic]

22 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

The problem as I see it is the manufacturers.  In order to be able to advertise that their 5 iron goes further than your current 5-iron, they strengthen the loft so it plays like a 4 iron.  After 30 years or more of this trend, a 5-iron is more like a really old 3-iron, the pitching wedge is like an old 8, and there's nothing in the standard set for shorter shots.  so we take the 2 and 3 and even 4 irons out of the bag, and replace them with wedges, and end up right where we started, the same set of lofted clubs, just with different labels.

Besides, even the best players in the world miss a lot of greens from 150 yards and out, the rest of us mortals certainly aren't going to eliminate the need for short-game tools any time soon.

haha, this makes a lot of sense. Better to focus on the distance itself rather than the 'name' of the club. As the trend inevitably continues, I wouldn't be surprised to see a 5th wedge eventually. I wonder what their marketing genius will decide to name it

[DaveP043]

5 minutes ago, VeryShagadelic said:

haha, this makes a lot of sense. Better to focus on the distance itself rather than the 'name' of the club. As the trend inevitably continues, I wouldn't be surprised to see a 5th wedge eventually. I wonder what their marketing genius will decide to name it

The 2 iron

After all, nobody will be carrying one any more, so the name will be available

[Lagavulin62]

2 hours ago, VeryShagadelic said:

haha, this makes a lot of sense. Better to focus on the distance itself rather than the 'name' of the club. As the trend inevitably continues, I wouldn't be surprised to see a 5th wedge eventually. I wonder what their marketing genius will decide to name it

True, and by my calculations I have the equivalent of 3 wedges. (9, wedge, and sw). If we have the clubs through 50 loft and a sand wedge we should be covered, unless we just want specialization. I agree with you that the manufacturers are just attempting to sell us less of a set for the same price. 

OP, sorry if you thought I was advising you personally and indirectly making some  judgement of your needs. I don't support that and my thing is only you know whats best for you.

No I was addressing all of us in that regards. Meaning all of us have a range we are comfortable in, regardless of our handicap or experience.  Some its 150, others 100, etc. Practically all of us can develop some form of competence with 8-wedge. So I just meant if we feel a problem is occurring consistently within that range, maybe the issue is not club related? If I hit a 5 iron 170 yards out and muff the shot, making my next shot a half wedge into the green, my problem is not needing a higher lofted wedge. I just need to work on my 5 iron. That's what I meant by working on 200-150 range shots. 

But it could be a club management issue? Meaning if I continually find myself needing a half wedge into a short par 4, I may need to tee off with a 3 wood instead of driver. (A problem I only wish I had often) 

Now I realize many times its just a matter of advancing every shot as far as possible and when we finally get within confidence club range there is no judging what the distance will be. But still my position is that no matter how many wedges we carry, we still won't have the correct loft when we need it. So we are back to creating the right shot. And thats ok because it's nice to hit a shot you at least know is within range. 

And after all of that I completely understand the experimenting and wanting everything out there? It's always fun to add a new tool. 

 

 

 

 

Dave my first paragraph was addressed to you. The rest to the OP.  I thought I selected the right quote.  Lol

[VeryShagadelic]

20 hours ago, Lagavulin62 said:

True, and by my calculations I have the equivalent of 3 wedges. (9, wedge, and sw). If we have the clubs through 50 loft and a sand wedge we should be covered, unless we just want specialization. I agree with you that the manufacturers are just attempting to sell us less of a set for the same price. 

OP, sorry if you thought I was advising you personally and indirectly making some  judgement of your needs. I don't support that and my thing is only you know whats best for you.

No I was addressing all of us in that regards. Meaning all of us have a range we are comfortable in, regardless of our handicap or experience.  Some its 150, others 100, etc. Practically all of us can develop some form of competence with 8-wedge. So I just meant if we feel a problem is occurring consistently within that range, maybe the issue is not club related? If I hit a 5 iron 170 yards out and muff the shot, making my next shot a half wedge into the green, my problem is not needing a higher lofted wedge. I just need to work on my 5 iron. That's what I meant by working on 200-150 range shots. 

But it could be a club management issue? Meaning if I continually find myself needing a half wedge into a short par 4, I may need to tee off with a 3 wood instead of driver. (A problem I only wish I had often) 

Now I realize many times its just a matter of advancing every shot as far as possible and when we finally get within confidence club range there is no judging what the distance will be. But still my position is that no matter how many wedges we carry, we still won't have the correct loft when we need it. So we are back to creating the right shot. And thats ok because it's nice to hit a shot you at least know is within range. 

And after all of that I completely understand the experimenting and wanting everything out there? It's always fun to add a new tool. 

 

 

 

 

Dave my first paragraph was addressed to you. The rest to the OP.  I thought I selected the right quote.  Lol

Great points. I think for now I am going to sit tight on my current setup and work on figuring out my average distance with my clubs. Once I have a solid base of ranges, I will revisit adding some new tools to play with