Which Two Gap Wedges Should I Add?

[Petrocelli]

I have a Cleveland Smartsole 58 degree sand wedge.

I recently bought some M4 irons.  The pitching wedge is 43.5 degrees.

What two gap wedges should I buy?

FYI, I am an 18 index and hit my pitching wedge about 105 yards.  I hit my sand wedge about 65-70 yards.

Thanks in advance.

Edited January 28, 2019 by Petrocelli
typo

[NM Golf]

So you are wanting to go to a four wedge setup PW, GW, SW, LW? You have 43.5° PW and a 58° LW. First, that is a very strong PW (my 9 iron is 42°) so you have a bit of a gap to fill. You have a couple options; you could go strong and put in a 48° and a 52°. That gives you 4.5°, 6°, and 6° gaps. Or you could go with a 50° and 54°. Personally, with the distances you stated I would go strong or I would just put in a 50° wedge and add another long club. 

What I want to know is how long until people start carrying 5 wedges because of how strong the loft is becoming on the modern day pitching wedge?

[Petrocelli]

13 minutes ago, NM Golf said:

What I want to know is how long until people start carrying 5 wedges because of how strong the loft is becoming on the modern day pitching wedge?

Thanks for your response.

I am a typical bogey golfer, although I have shot as low as 81 in the past year.  I have a lot of game improvement clubs.  The Cleveland Smartsole 3.0 58 degree sand wedge is designed to help golfers who have trouble with bunkers.  (That would be me.)  Also, I carry a Cleveland Smartsole 3.0 chipper to use around the greens.

So if I get two more wedges, I would have 5 wedges!  

FYI, I carry only one wood -- a 5 wood that I hit solidly.  I just can't hit a 3 wood with any consistency, so I don't intend on adding a longer club.

I will consider adding a 50 degree wedge and then see if it makes sense to add a 54 degree wedge.

Thanks again!

[Patch]

My 9i is 44 degrees, and I go 48-52-56-60 degree wedges from there. I very seldom use all 4 wedges in a round of golf. These days I could easily get by with two, or three wedges. 

In the OP's case, I agree with what @NM Golf posted, especially the part about adding one wedge, and a longer club.

As for when someone will start the craze of carrying 5 wedges, it is already happening I think. I have seen two LWs in a golfer's bag. 

[boogielicious]

2 hours ago, Petrocelli said:

Thanks for your response.

I am a typical bogey golfer, although I have shot as low as 81 in the past year.  I have a lot of game improvement clubs.  The Cleveland Smartsole 3.0 58 degree sand wedge is designed to help golfers who have trouble with bunkers.  (That would be me.)  Also, I carry a Cleveland Smartsole 3.0 chipper to use around the greens.

So if I get two more wedges, I would have 5 wedges!  

FYI, I carry only one wood -- a 5 wood that I hit solidly.  I just can't hit a 3 wood with any consistency, so I don't intend on adding a longer club.

I will consider adding a 50 degree wedge and then see if it makes sense to add a 54 degree wedge.

Thanks again!

As @NM Golf stated, it is really about your yardage gaps. Get a good idea of how far you hit your PW and 58, then pick wedges to evenly fill the gaps.

BTW, when I was a kid Rico Petrocelli was my idol!😀

[gbogey]

Carry as many wedges as you want.  I scrapped my 3W for an extra wedge - I can hit my 5W just as far off the deck.

If you only want one wedge, go with a 52.  If you want two, based upon what you said about your game, you may want to consider the AW that matches your irons plus a 54.  

[cooke119]

The AW for your set, (M4) is a 49* wedge. As gbogey suggested, you may want to go with that to match your set then a 54*. How do you hit your Cleveland 58* out of the sand? I go with a 56* for a SW, although 2* probably wont make that much of a difference.

[Petrocelli]

On ‎1‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 6:24 PM, gbogey said:

If you only want one wedge, go with a 52.  If you want two, based upon what you said about your game, you may want to consider the AW that matches your irons plus a 54.  

This is what I did.  I got a Taylormade M4 approach wedge, and a Cleveland 54 degree CBX wedge.

Thanks to everyone for their advice.

[GAA]

Sounds like a logical decision on the matching GW and the 54*.

But bagging a "chipper" as well?

[Cantankerish]

Honestly, in my experience, chippers were for people who had sorta given up improving.  Doesn't sound like what you are going for, Petrocelli.  Do you really need it?

[Petrocelli]

Twice this weekend, I used the chipper in nasty lies to chip within 2 feet of the hole.  As an 18 index, I don't get a lot of up and downs.

I just got all new clubs.  My goal is to get to a 16 index by the end of the year.  I think the chipper will get me a stroke a round.

[tinker]

You don’t need a club for every 3 degrees. Practice ball position to loft or shut the face with what you have. Easier to master 2 clubs than 5 clubs.

[GAA]

Excellent point tinker.

[Petrocelli]

2 hours ago, tinker said:

You don’t need a club for every 3 degrees. Practice ball position to loft or shut the face with what you have. Easier to master 2 clubs than 5 clubs.

In theory, that's a good idea.  In practice, I'm not that good of a golfer to be able to adjust my wedges like that.

[Piz]

36 minutes ago, Petrocelli said:

In theory, that's a good idea.  In practice, I'm not that good of a golfer to be able to adjust my wedges like that.

I'm guessing that you already do...to some "degree".  Any shot played with the face open, like a bunker shot, will launch higher.  Try playing a "bunker" shot with your chipper.  You won't have to open it much (about 5 minutes on the dial) to see a different result.  

P.S.  I carry a left-handed chipper myself.  Although it has a wide flange it is still relatively easy to manipulate.  

[ChetlovesMer]

On ‎1‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 3:58 PM, NM Golf said:

What I want to know is how long until people start carrying 5 wedges because of how strong the loft is becoming on the modern day pitching wedge?

I think it's already happening. Take a look at Titleist AP1 irons they offer PW, GW1 and GW2. You can then at your own sand and lob wedges. 

With AP2's the PW comes in at 43, the GW1 comes in at 48, and the GW2 comes in at 53.... I guess you'd add either a 56 and a 60, or just a 58 depending on your needs. 

[tinker]

One problem is manufacturers insisting on making low lofted irons to try to sell distance. Double digit golfers are best served by generous loft. Why less skilled golfers buy high lofted drivers and super low lofted irons makes little sense. 

[Patch]

14 hours ago, Petrocelli said:

In theory, that's a good idea.  In practice, I'm not that good of a golfer to be able to adjust my wedges like that.

That's why we practice with our clubs. Part of practicing is learning how to expand what we can do with the tools we have.