59 or 60 degree wedge.....

[lee34]

My PW is CG16 set of irons and a strong 44 degrees.

I have 2 Mizuno wedges. A 49 degree and a 54 degrees.

So was thinking is it worth me getting a 59 or 60 degree wedge or do you think 54 degree is plenty for a high handicapper ?

[lee34]

Also would this help play those delicate shots where you don't have much green to work with.

[boogielicious]

39 minutes ago, lee34 said:

My PW is CG16 set of irons and a strong 44 degrees.

I have 2 Mizuno wedges. A 49 degree and a 54 degrees.

So was thinking is it worth me getting a 59 or 60 degree wedge or do you think 54 degree is plenty for a high handicapper ?

You really want to think about distance gaps more that the degree loft. The static loft on a club is only one measure. The real factor to pay attention to is launch angle and distance. How far do you hit the PW and two Mizuno wedges with full swings, 3/4 and 1/2 swings? That is the question you need to answer.

I play a 58 and have heard from a lot of sources that 58 is about as high as you want to go. Some folks like the 60, but it is harder to hit and doesn't come in higher bounce options. Bounce is your friend.

I use the 58 as a lob wedge or for pitching and chipping when I need to get the ball really high. But I generally use my 54 for everything else or my 54, PW,GW with partial swings.

[Hatchman]

IMO, It depends on when a game is ready to perhaps fine tune the wedge game, and bounce grinds, for a shot or two with that much of a lofted club such as a 60 or 64 degree wedge. 

[NCGolfer]

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

You really want to think about distance gaps more that the degree loft. The static loft on a club is only one measure. The real factor to pay attention to is launch angle and distance. How far do you hit the PW and two Mizuno wedges with full swings, 3/4 and 1/2 swings? That is the question you need to answer.

I play a 58 and have heard from a lot of sources that 58 is about as high as you want to go. Some folks like the 60, but it is harder to hit and doesn't come in higher bounce options. Bounce is your friend.

I use the 58 as a lob wedge or for pitching and chipping when I need to get the ball really high. But I generally use my 54 for everything else or my 54, PW,GW with partial swings.

This.  Please mind your gaps. 

I think you will find yourself needing something with a little more loft than a 54.  I personally use a 58 degree as well.  It has enough loft for me to play lob shots but can still de-loft it to a point where I hit lower, running shots.  It is the wedge I use for most shots around the green.  If I have a lot of open green to play lower chips then I will use a PW or even 8i.

[JxQx]

Another thing to think about is the frequency of shots that need a club with very high loft. It may not be worth taking up a spot in your bag if it is rarely used.

[rehmwa]

I had this previously

44, 50, 56, 60 pretty much based on my gaps (120, 110, 100, 75 - though you probably won't really do full swings on the loftier wedges normally....)

I switch my SW and LW out for the Callaway Mack Daddy 2's and to get the same distances

44, 50, 54, 58

result was the same gaps, but those two wedges have better spin, touch, and more bounce (which I needed)

 

As for a LW?  I love having a LW - 58 or 60?  meh, I treat the new 58 just like the old 60, minor adjustment.  YMMV - some people have a hard time with a LW, some don't

 

[Big C]

As others have said, it all depends on your game. For a high handicapper, a 54 degree wedge is probably going to be sufficient. When faced with those delicate short game shots, most of us (single digit cappers included) would probably be well served to ignore getting it close and just focus on getting the ball somewhere on the putting surface. And if that is the goal, a 54 degree wedge will usually work just fine.

That being said, I traded out one of my long clubs last year for an extra wedge, and I'm really happy with the result. I now have a 50/54/58. The gaps give me full swing options that I didn't always have with my 52/56. And a 58 gives me all the loft I need without the temperament (for lack of a better term) of a 60. 

If you are thinking about making the change, my advice would be to ignore the 60 and get a 58 instead.

[p1n9183]

44 (P),48(W),51(G),56(S),60(L) wedges.

130,120,105,90,80 yards. Then i use 60LW for everything around the green.

You need to fill your gaps and if you feel confortable with a 60° wedge then use it, it´s usefull for every shot and moreover with lob shots.

[Kalnoky]

You can probably open up your 54* and hit lots of different shots with it. Try it.

 

[WUTiger]

7 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I play a 58 and have heard from a lot of sources that 58 is about as high as you want to go.

A couple of years ago Golf Digest had a piece on wedges on the PGA tour. GD reported about half the pros had a 58* as their highest lofted wedge. I used a 58* as my highest one (with CG14s) for a long time.

This fall I redid wedges to the Callaway MD family, and now have a 60*/10 MD/PM  with a U-grind. The U-grind has a slight concave, hollowed area in the sole, and it works great for touchy shots around the green. Ping Glide wedges offer a more pronounced version in their ES Grind  (Eye sole).

I hit the MD/PM several times before I decided I could handle a 60*. It just depends on what works. (Also, I'm going to be able to play more golf in the future, so I will have a bit more time to work on things.) How much time will you have to work on your game?

6 hours ago, NCGolfer said:

I think you will find yourself needing something with a little more loft than a 54.  I personally use a 58 degree as well.  It has enough loft for me to play lob shots but can still de-loft it to a point where I hit lower, running shots.

Along this line, you might pick up a Mizuno 56* SW, and have the 49* bent to 50* if need be for gapping. Muzuno specialty wedges most all have a 35.25" shaft length, so you wouldn't have much to worry about for shaft length influencing distance gaps.

Go with what works. Let us know what happens.

[lee34]

Thanks I will probably try out a 58 degree and see how that feels....

[boogielicious]

43 minutes ago, lee34 said:

Thanks I will probably try out a 58 degree and see how that feels....

If there is an outdoor range or demo event near you, that would be a good place to try them out.

[graham57]

I carry 4 wedges - PW (46)/ 52/56/60 - and typically use all of them for full swing shots during a round, depending on distance (my full swing 60° shot is around 70-80 yards). Around the green, I use mainly the 56 or - for shots over hazards with little green to work with - the 60. Someone else pointed out that the bounce is just as important as the loft. My 56° wedge has 11° bounce and my 60° LW 4° bounce, so my choice also depends on whether I have a tight lie or the ball is sitting up high. In Thailand, where we often play, the Bermuda grass sometimes holds the ball up so high that a lower bounce wedge goes clear underneath it! The wedges in the set I keep there all have higher bounce angles than in the set I use in Europe.

My handicap is similar to yours, but I feel that having a variety of wedge options helps cut down my score and compensates for losing points on account of long, but wayward drives. I find there are usually several ways to make longer shots, but in any given situation, having the "right" wedge in your bag is a real benefit.

[lee34]

Yeah maybe I could do with looking at the bounce when I get this wedge. As I do tend to thin a few pitch shots here and there.

[shanksalot]

For a high lofted lob wedge unless you are going to hit full shots I don't believe you need to worry about 1* of loft. I rarely hit my sw or LW full out, but usually just hit 1/2 or 3/4 shots and hit chips around the green plus sand shots. 

[paininthenuts]

Honestly, unless I am stuck behind a high bunker with a choice of either a PW or SW, I use an 8 iron to pitch and run. Believe it or not my short game is pretty decent. 

[StefanUrkel]

You probably can't tell the difference. Or, you could get it bent to 59.5.  Or get the 73 degree one online