I have one, but I only use it for full shots from 85 yards that I want to stop quickly on the green, hitting over a sand trap, and hitting out of a steep sand trap. Disclaimer - I’m no expert.
I found that the lob wedge is way easier to mis hit though, so I generally use my sand wedge for almost everything around the greens.
Some lob wedges are 58, and some sand wedges are 54, so the 56 should be plenty of loft for everything you need while you improve.
I’d suggest learning the rule of 12 and following short game chef for how to hit the 50 yard pitch shot on YouTube.
Golf equipment is really fun to shop for, but you can always create a little more loft/take off some distance by opening up the face of the club, or take a bit of distance off by choking up on the club / taking a smaller backswing.
I think most people have too many wedges.
Assuming you were right handed, are you talking about bending your right knee and creating your own extra loft? That's what I do at the moment, it works a bit albeit feels like a bandaid.
I've also been reading about the lie of the ball. Say you are hitting a ball on an uphill slope, I'd probably still need to do this knee drop thing regardless hey?
Not sure about the knee drop, I’m talking about opening the face / weakening the grip. You can create more loft by opening the club face - think about the club laying flatter on the ground behind the ball - this can be challenging because there is less face for the ball to come in contact with and you need to hit the correct amount under the ball to hit a perfect shot and to prevent thinning the ball (hitting off the leading edge and missing the face) or hitting too far underneath the ball and having it go nowhere.
I think I follow what you're saying. If I open the club face a bit, would you also have the hands/grip position a bit more slanted to the right as well? (Assuming you were right handed)
Edit: sorry, I realise I've completely misunderstood what lie is. Will do some more reading, cheers!
I have a 60 that plays 61 and a 64 that plays 65 that I rotate depending on where I play and conditions . But they are very flexible for full and half shots
It depends on how long you hit your PW realistically. If you feel there is a big gap in between the distance you hit your PW and the distance you hit your SW (more than 15 yards), then I would go with the GW.
When it comes to the LW, I would probably wait a bit, most new players will be much better off learning to chip with a SW than trying to faf around with a LW.
A Pw at 42 just seems crazy to me, I have a standard 46 Pw . With those lofts being so low I don’t even know if a club will be considered a Lob wedge at the degrees you will be at .
If you still havent reached 14 clubs in your bag it’s better to have more wedges to close the gaps and be able to cover better distances 100 yards in. It will also give you more bounce options around the green for different type of grass and conditions. In my bag I have 60, 56, 52 and PW
If your sw is 54 and you have no plans to change it get a 48, and it will fits you when you want more wedges in the future going with a 52 and 56 and even a 60.
Usually i'd recommend the GW. Having a Gap of 12° is very big. You can prolly extimate between 4°/5° its usually 10 yards, obv depending on swing speed and impact conditions. BUt given that, you would have a 20yard+ gap. Sooner of later that will be annoying.
A lot of ppl say, a LW is just not needed and is difficult to play. Whilst this is mostly true, depending on your usual course conditions, sometimes a Lob Wedge can come in Handy, especially on some PItches.
My course for example has very hard greens, so the ball basically always bounces and runs out. Because of that, i use my LW for those Pitches, cause i can generate the Height w/o having to worry about adding Loft at impact. If the greens are soft or generally slow, a 54° is totally fine.
Most of the times, amateurs get more of having a longer club, like a 3 wood rather than carrying a LW.
In the end, its up to you. GW with around 47/48° is still quite strong but is workable. For you to have the best gapping, a 60° would suit as highest lofted club. I wouldn't go for a 58 or a 62 since that would make that gapping just a little weird. But i guess thats just personal, since i love my 10 meters gapping in between my wedges on full approach shots.
Thanks for this! I havent heard to degree/yard ratio (rule of thumb ofc) before, so that helps. I think I'll go with a GW now and think about a LW (60) later.
I have a a P wedge at roughly 42.0 as well, and my next wedge is a 52.00. The gap between pitching and 52 is by far the largest in my bag and it is right a yardage I have into greens frequently. I would like to add a 48ish degree wedge to fill it, but I’m in no hurry. For now, I focus on learning partial shots with the P Wedge and how to shape the 52 to get the most out of it.
In short, if money is no object, go ahead and get the GW to fill. If, as a new player, you don’t want to spend more money right now, I think you’ll be just fine learning to work with what you’ve got.
Edit to add: You are probably fine sticking with SW rather than adding a LW at this stage.
Appreciate that, cheers!
Would you ever use a SW, say 30m from the green, instead of a partial PW shot? I think I'm *trying* to do partial PW shots at the moment but sometimes rocket them instead
Yes, but that’s all personal preference. Plenty of folks like to play primarily bump and run chips around the green with 7-PW or even a fairway wood.
I hit bump and runs on occasion, but I mostly use my higher lofted wedges close to the green because I have more control over landing zone and stopping power with the lofted wedges.
I would take your SW to the range and practice green. Figure out what your standard carry distance is on the SW, then try a 3/4 swing and determine carry distance on that as well. Then, you have two yardages you know you can hit with SW and you can play to those if you like it.
Then, take that SW & PW to the practice chipping green and work on chipping. PW chips will come out lower and roll longer. SW chips should go a bit higher and stop faster. You’ll likely find the SW more likely to dig into the ground or skull one across the green, but practice a lot of both so you can be confident pitching/chipping around the green.
Yes you should get a gap wedge. And the pitching, gap and sand wedges will be your 3 primary short game clubs. Pw for chipping. Gap & sand for when you need to pitch it with more height.
Also skip the lob wedge. Or at least wait until you break 90 somewhat regularly. Most amateur golfers have one in the bag and it costs them more strokes than it saves. If you’re going to get a lob wedge you should look for something more forgiving like the Cleveland cbx, Callaway cb wedge, or TaylorMade high toe.
I picked up a second hand 50 and got it bent 2 degrees strong. Even at that I find the gap between P wedge and 48 large enough that I have to take a bit of the p wedge frequently
Oh sorry, I already have a SW but wondering if its worth getting a halfway option between PW (42) and the SW (54). The consensus mostly seems to be stick with what I have til I get familiar with what I've got.
Not sure what a SW loft should typically be, but guess I'll just use the SW for now
Oh, you’re right. Thanks for correcting me. On that note, I have a LW too. Lee Trevino once said that amateurs shouldn’t even have a LW as they simply don’t know how to use it. I continually prove Mr. Trevino right!
Good to know! Pretty difficult to use? I can tell from some other comments here than my 6 is a 4, SW is a PW based on loft etc so maybe a LW would actually be my SW? Confusing stuff for a newbie
Ya, de-lofting of clubs is a big one. I personally don’t know if that has made it’s way into the wedge world. I’m a 17 handicap, play regularly and have learned to leave the LW in the bag more often and use my SW as it offers more flexibility. But as I say, I’m a 17 handicap.
I (think) I'm a 20-22 handicap, so this is definitely helpful! Based on this and other comments here I think getting the GW and buying a LW when I'm better is the way to go. Cheers!
Truthfully both. A GW is a good 100-115 yd club for me. A LW is great around the green or out of the sand if you need to pop the ball up more to land softer. Typically, 56 or 60 degrees on LW. It's really determined by which you feel more comfortable hitting.
Thanks mate. I'm taking a few lessons and hitting the range 2-4 times a week, aiming to get better. Sounds like I should bite the bullet and go for a full loft range.
As other commenters said, LW is not the easiest club to hit consistently. You'll use the LW on more touchy, finesse shots than anything, at least I do.
It's pretty assuring hearing that, since yeah the GW seems important but the LW more a thing to think about when I get better.
Just out of curiosity, what happens if you put full force into a 60deg LW? Does it go 60 metres (ish) and stop dead or go bugger all ?
Depends a lot on lie. If I pure my 56 degree I get about 80-90 yds, about 75 meters so a 60 degree would be a little less. Depending on spin you get on the ball, it could stop dead, roll forward a little, or even land a go backward. Since the club is so lofted, a common miss is thin or fat.
If you have an uphill lie, it's not hard to get under the ball. Hitting a high lofted club on an uphill lie, the ball usually just goes straight up, not much forward.
Cobra darkspeeds. I tried TaylorMade stealths and Titleist ones too, ended up going with these. By the sounds of it they're very low loft compared to others?
It can depending on skill level and conditions of your home course. I play on real tight fairways etc. I see tons of guys blading and chunking their lob wedges. You may need to hit a true flop maybe 1 every round or so if that. I play 58. Play around scratch and have for many years.
Dub digit refers to a 10 or higher handicap. Not a knock just a way to gauge what may be a good option. To be fair, I have played with plenty of dubs who actually played 60s and were great around the green. Just not the norm.
Ah, I see. Googling flops I think I usually use a putter or real soft PW in those moments. Maybe in the meantime I should use a SW. Fair play on the dub digit, I score 50-55 in a round of 9 but want to bring that down to 40!
Update: thanks everyone for your advice, I'm glad I asked! I'll order in the GW tomorrow and potentially ask the wifey for a gift voucher for Christmas (towards a LW if it feels worthwhile, skill-wise).
When exactly did a 4 iron become a strong 2 iron?
A decade ago
42P, 48G, and 54S should be fine IMO.
Thanks! Out of curiosity, what would the advantage be of having a 60+ loft wedge ?
I have one, but I only use it for full shots from 85 yards that I want to stop quickly on the green, hitting over a sand trap, and hitting out of a steep sand trap. Disclaimer - I’m no expert. I found that the lob wedge is way easier to mis hit though, so I generally use my sand wedge for almost everything around the greens. Some lob wedges are 58, and some sand wedges are 54, so the 56 should be plenty of loft for everything you need while you improve. I’d suggest learning the rule of 12 and following short game chef for how to hit the 50 yard pitch shot on YouTube.
Cheers again for the tips. I'll check out your recommendations tonight 👌
Golf equipment is really fun to shop for, but you can always create a little more loft/take off some distance by opening up the face of the club, or take a bit of distance off by choking up on the club / taking a smaller backswing. I think most people have too many wedges.
Assuming you were right handed, are you talking about bending your right knee and creating your own extra loft? That's what I do at the moment, it works a bit albeit feels like a bandaid. I've also been reading about the lie of the ball. Say you are hitting a ball on an uphill slope, I'd probably still need to do this knee drop thing regardless hey?
Not sure about the knee drop, I’m talking about opening the face / weakening the grip. You can create more loft by opening the club face - think about the club laying flatter on the ground behind the ball - this can be challenging because there is less face for the ball to come in contact with and you need to hit the correct amount under the ball to hit a perfect shot and to prevent thinning the ball (hitting off the leading edge and missing the face) or hitting too far underneath the ball and having it go nowhere.
I think I follow what you're saying. If I open the club face a bit, would you also have the hands/grip position a bit more slanted to the right as well? (Assuming you were right handed) Edit: sorry, I realise I've completely misunderstood what lie is. Will do some more reading, cheers!
Lots of variables. If I were you… I’d try to just get the normal pitch and bump and run shots down before messing with the flop shot.
Advice much appreciated, thanks 🙏
Yeah, I use it also out of a sand trap. There I love a 60 degree wedge. For other situations I nearly never use it.
I have a 60 that plays 61 and a 64 that plays 65 that I rotate depending on where I play and conditions . But they are very flexible for full and half shots
42 pw, 27 7 iron, Jesus!
Longest clubs yet!
His 4 iron has less loft than my 2 iron!!!
😂
I don’t think you need a lob wedge until you get pretty good with your sand wedge. I’d say a gap wedge is a higher priority than a lob wedge.
Fantastic, thank you. This is what I'll go ahead with I reckon
It depends on how long you hit your PW realistically. If you feel there is a big gap in between the distance you hit your PW and the distance you hit your SW (more than 15 yards), then I would go with the GW. When it comes to the LW, I would probably wait a bit, most new players will be much better off learning to chip with a SW than trying to faf around with a LW.
Insightful, thanks for the heaps up! I'll try hitting 30 odd PW then 30 off SW at the range and see if its worth it
A Pw at 42 just seems crazy to me, I have a standard 46 Pw . With those lofts being so low I don’t even know if a club will be considered a Lob wedge at the degrees you will be at .
Good point, I think I need to imagine that each of these clubs is '+1' whatever it is in order of loft 😅
If you still havent reached 14 clubs in your bag it’s better to have more wedges to close the gaps and be able to cover better distances 100 yards in. It will also give you more bounce options around the green for different type of grass and conditions. In my bag I have 60, 56, 52 and PW
If your sw is 54 and you have no plans to change it get a 48, and it will fits you when you want more wedges in the future going with a 52 and 56 and even a 60.
Usually i'd recommend the GW. Having a Gap of 12° is very big. You can prolly extimate between 4°/5° its usually 10 yards, obv depending on swing speed and impact conditions. BUt given that, you would have a 20yard+ gap. Sooner of later that will be annoying. A lot of ppl say, a LW is just not needed and is difficult to play. Whilst this is mostly true, depending on your usual course conditions, sometimes a Lob Wedge can come in Handy, especially on some PItches. My course for example has very hard greens, so the ball basically always bounces and runs out. Because of that, i use my LW for those Pitches, cause i can generate the Height w/o having to worry about adding Loft at impact. If the greens are soft or generally slow, a 54° is totally fine. Most of the times, amateurs get more of having a longer club, like a 3 wood rather than carrying a LW. In the end, its up to you. GW with around 47/48° is still quite strong but is workable. For you to have the best gapping, a 60° would suit as highest lofted club. I wouldn't go for a 58 or a 62 since that would make that gapping just a little weird. But i guess thats just personal, since i love my 10 meters gapping in between my wedges on full approach shots.
Thanks for this! I havent heard to degree/yard ratio (rule of thumb ofc) before, so that helps. I think I'll go with a GW now and think about a LW (60) later.
I have a a P wedge at roughly 42.0 as well, and my next wedge is a 52.00. The gap between pitching and 52 is by far the largest in my bag and it is right a yardage I have into greens frequently. I would like to add a 48ish degree wedge to fill it, but I’m in no hurry. For now, I focus on learning partial shots with the P Wedge and how to shape the 52 to get the most out of it. In short, if money is no object, go ahead and get the GW to fill. If, as a new player, you don’t want to spend more money right now, I think you’ll be just fine learning to work with what you’ve got. Edit to add: You are probably fine sticking with SW rather than adding a LW at this stage.
Appreciate that, cheers! Would you ever use a SW, say 30m from the green, instead of a partial PW shot? I think I'm *trying* to do partial PW shots at the moment but sometimes rocket them instead
Yes, but that’s all personal preference. Plenty of folks like to play primarily bump and run chips around the green with 7-PW or even a fairway wood. I hit bump and runs on occasion, but I mostly use my higher lofted wedges close to the green because I have more control over landing zone and stopping power with the lofted wedges. I would take your SW to the range and practice green. Figure out what your standard carry distance is on the SW, then try a 3/4 swing and determine carry distance on that as well. Then, you have two yardages you know you can hit with SW and you can play to those if you like it. Then, take that SW & PW to the practice chipping green and work on chipping. PW chips will come out lower and roll longer. SW chips should go a bit higher and stop faster. You’ll likely find the SW more likely to dig into the ground or skull one across the green, but practice a lot of both so you can be confident pitching/chipping around the green.
I'll have a crack at this tomorrow. Thank you!
Yes you should get a gap wedge. And the pitching, gap and sand wedges will be your 3 primary short game clubs. Pw for chipping. Gap & sand for when you need to pitch it with more height. Also skip the lob wedge. Or at least wait until you break 90 somewhat regularly. Most amateur golfers have one in the bag and it costs them more strokes than it saves. If you’re going to get a lob wedge you should look for something more forgiving like the Cleveland cbx, Callaway cb wedge, or TaylorMade high toe.
This is exactly what I think I'll do, cheers!
I picked up a second hand 50 and got it bent 2 degrees strong. Even at that I find the gap between P wedge and 48 large enough that I have to take a bit of the p wedge frequently
What’s the SW loft you’re looking for?
Oh sorry, I already have a SW but wondering if its worth getting a halfway option between PW (42) and the SW (54). The consensus mostly seems to be stick with what I have til I get familiar with what I've got. Not sure what a SW loft should typically be, but guess I'll just use the SW for now
SW IS 53-57°, but almost always 56. IMO a 12° difference is too big to ignore. I’d fill it with a club in the 48° range.
Much appreciated!
Sand wedge.
I think he said he’s decided on a SW but also asking if he should have clubs on either side of it.
Oh, you’re right. Thanks for correcting me. On that note, I have a LW too. Lee Trevino once said that amateurs shouldn’t even have a LW as they simply don’t know how to use it. I continually prove Mr. Trevino right!
Good to know! Pretty difficult to use? I can tell from some other comments here than my 6 is a 4, SW is a PW based on loft etc so maybe a LW would actually be my SW? Confusing stuff for a newbie
Ya, de-lofting of clubs is a big one. I personally don’t know if that has made it’s way into the wedge world. I’m a 17 handicap, play regularly and have learned to leave the LW in the bag more often and use my SW as it offers more flexibility. But as I say, I’m a 17 handicap.
I (think) I'm a 20-22 handicap, so this is definitely helpful! Based on this and other comments here I think getting the GW and buying a LW when I'm better is the way to go. Cheers!
As a new player, you’re probably better off with fewer wedges. PW & SW should do you fine for now.
Cheers!
No your gapping is fine. It’ll just add more confusion to which to use. Master what you have
Cheers!
Yes
Sure, you can never have enough golf stuff 😂
Feel that, it's bloody addictive
Truthfully both. A GW is a good 100-115 yd club for me. A LW is great around the green or out of the sand if you need to pop the ball up more to land softer. Typically, 56 or 60 degrees on LW. It's really determined by which you feel more comfortable hitting.
Thanks mate. I'm taking a few lessons and hitting the range 2-4 times a week, aiming to get better. Sounds like I should bite the bullet and go for a full loft range.
As other commenters said, LW is not the easiest club to hit consistently. You'll use the LW on more touchy, finesse shots than anything, at least I do.
It's pretty assuring hearing that, since yeah the GW seems important but the LW more a thing to think about when I get better. Just out of curiosity, what happens if you put full force into a 60deg LW? Does it go 60 metres (ish) and stop dead or go bugger all ?
Depends a lot on lie. If I pure my 56 degree I get about 80-90 yds, about 75 meters so a 60 degree would be a little less. Depending on spin you get on the ball, it could stop dead, roll forward a little, or even land a go backward. Since the club is so lofted, a common miss is thin or fat.
If you're facing an strong uphill battle then, could it help to think of the LW as a SW?
If you have an uphill lie, it's not hard to get under the ball. Hitting a high lofted club on an uphill lie, the ball usually just goes straight up, not much forward.
What irons are these?
Cobra darkspeeds. I tried TaylorMade stealths and Titleist ones too, ended up going with these. By the sounds of it they're very low loft compared to others?
If that’s the set up you could add a 52 and 58. Judging by the clubs you’re prob a dub digit. No need to f with a 60. 58 plenty of loft.
What is a dub digit? Good to know about the 58, thanks. Does it become messy going 60+ in loft ?
It can depending on skill level and conditions of your home course. I play on real tight fairways etc. I see tons of guys blading and chunking their lob wedges. You may need to hit a true flop maybe 1 every round or so if that. I play 58. Play around scratch and have for many years. Dub digit refers to a 10 or higher handicap. Not a knock just a way to gauge what may be a good option. To be fair, I have played with plenty of dubs who actually played 60s and were great around the green. Just not the norm.
Ah, I see. Googling flops I think I usually use a putter or real soft PW in those moments. Maybe in the meantime I should use a SW. Fair play on the dub digit, I score 50-55 in a round of 9 but want to bring that down to 40!
Keep grinding!!
Update: thanks everyone for your advice, I'm glad I asked! I'll order in the GW tomorrow and potentially ask the wifey for a gift voucher for Christmas (towards a LW if it feels worthwhile, skill-wise).
Damn my PW is 48.5 and Gap is 52.5
A 42 degree PW These are some strong lofts no?
I wish it was standardised, would make researching for beginners a lot easier!
You are definitely going to need the GW in this set, I’d recommend not buying the 4I. If you are a beginner you don’t need a LW
Dude needs a gap wedge for his gap wedge
Are you using Brysons clubs? Those lofts are horrible and not accurate in normal sets.