Gap Wedge: Match your iron set or specialized wedge?

I was watching some of Mark Crossfields chipping videos he did with James Ridyard. One of the things James said was that he does the bulk of his chipping with his 60*. That got me to thinking about the clubs I use and I would guess 99% of my shots around the green are played with either my 56 or 60 leaving my 50 primarily for 3/4 to full swing shots from the fairway. Since it is being used more as an iron instead of a specialized club I'm now considering putting the gap wedge in the bag that came with my set. I doubt the change will be significant but I may get a little more forgiveness for those times I do mishit one.

Just curious what everyone else does.

I use the 50 degree GW from my set for the same reason. I only hit fulls and 3/4 with that club so the slight increase in forgiveness is helpful.

I match from set as its more of a 3/4 to full swing club, its one of my fav clubs in the bag.

I wish I would've ordered a GW with my cobras. I've found that stock set wedges are A: obviously a better match and B: fly a bit further for whatever reason. That and with the sole grind and bounce of these irons, it would suffice as a specialty club just as well.

Hi... I am in this kind of situation too. I recently bought yamaha iron set, 5 to P. Should I get the matching set Aw and Sw from yamaha iron set ?

OR,

I recently found Aw (50) and Sw (56) in golf shop which I feel more comfortable and more balance : Cleveland 588 rtx 2.0 cavity back. They are more comfortable than my existing wedges mizuno T4 for chipping. So, Which one do you people recommend ? Thanks for your recommendations.

I gave this a lot of thought as well and decided to get the gap wedge to match my PXG (5-PW) rather than get a specialised wedge. 54 and 58 are not PXG. The matching gap wedge gives you confidence, distance and forgiveness.

I play all Cleveland wedges from PW to LW, 46, 50, 54, and 58...

Gap is matching to my irons if possible because I 95% of the time am using it for full shots. Occasionally I may chip with it depending on roll out Im looking for but not very often. Usually take less lofted club for chipping and try to get it on the green and let it do the work. 54 and 58 used mainly for creating shots around the green and 54 is 50/50 for knock down shots and full shots but I have been getting better results with a GW that matches my set.

My (Ping i15) 50* "U-Wedge" is from my set. It's very consistent to my short irons and forgiving too.

I never try to flop or do delicate shots with my 50* so I got the set wedge.

Gap wedge is really just the old standard wedge loft (or less), so I use my i25 gap wedge and look at it as my wedge. I've even gone back to the 54 i25 wedge, which says SW on it but is my "gap wedge". I don't try to get cute until I get to 58 degrees.

I wish I would've ordered a GW with my cobras. I've found that stock set wedges are A: obviously a better match and B: fly a bit further for whatever reason. That and with the sole grind and bounce of these irons, it would suffice as a specialty club just as well.

Legit wedges will normally spin more vs. set wedges, so more distance.

I was using a Cleveland gap wedge for all my shots around the green. It really started bugging me how differently it felt from my X2 Hots, though, so I ordered the sw (54°) to match my set. Since I started using it instead, I've had a stupid number of chip ins and pitch ins. It's either finally the club that allows my enormous talent to shine through, or it came with some sort of Mephistophelean deal for which I've neglected to read the small print. (I suspect the latter.)

I didn't have the option of getting a GW with my set, so I use my SM5 50* from around the green if I have a decent amount of green to work with. Past that, it's my 110-120 club or 105 club as a knock down.

I switch between a Gap Wedge from my set (Ping 30 U Wedge) or from my specialty wedges (Ping Glide 50 SS). Right now I'm playing the Glide wedge and feel that it's better for short chips and I'm not giving up too much forgiveness on 3/4-Full shots.

48/52/58* user here. irons go 5-9.

52* is my gap wedge which is used for the majority of shots around the green as well as the full 115 yard shots. i can only use the 58* in bunkers, deep rough and when i need to flop i high.

PW,48*,52* and 56* for me. PW is 110-115. 48 is 98-105. 52 is 75-9-85. and 56 is for all the rest. But will do short bumps and runs with the 52* 48*,52*, and 56* and wedge clubs . PW came with my set and is 44*. Just my bag setup.

My gap wedge does not match my irons. I went with it because of added versatility due to the grind.

I switch between a Gap Wedge from my set (Ping 30 U Wedge) or from my specialty wedges (Ping Glide 50 SS). Right now I'm playing the Glide wedge and feel that it's better for short chips and I'm not giving up too much forgiveness on 3/4-Full shots.

@timmy8151,

"For relaxing times, make it Suntory Time!" Lost in Translation is one of my favorite movies - nice avatar. ;-)

Have a Vokey 50* for my GW. Set did not come with one. I alternate at times between keeping the three iron in and going 46(set PW) 52 - 58 and taking out the three iron and going 46 - 50 - 55 - 60.

I use the 60 for chipping for the most part, the 55 for sand and 3/4 shots, and the 50 for full shots and low spinners. I can belly that 60 easier than the other clubs. I'll chip with the 50 (no wrist putter swing chips) some too.

My gap wedge matches my irons. Play 3/4 to full swing with it.

The 50 is great for 3/4 or full shots. I match mine to my set. In my mind the CB forgiveness helped my confidence to execute the shot well. It's ok for chipping around the green. If I need to loft it on a chip I can use my 54 or 58 bladed wedges. For chip and runs I also use 8-pw as required.

The GW now is essentially a PW with the lofts of clubs now, so if you played a specialized PW then you may prefer a specialized GW now but I will always chose to match my set.

no gap wedge

pw / 54 / 58

Cleve 588/sp49/LB....in the bag for 10 years now....

I play the set A wedge with my XR pro's. I just got a set of apex mb's to play around with and will probably play a 50 or 52 md3 with them.

Most current GI sets with a PW of 44* or 45* usually come along with a gap (G) or approach (A) with a loft of 49* or 50*. These are essentially the pitching wedge of before (loft of 48* or 49*). You can always drop the set's G/A wedge in favor of a more versatile 50* wedge.

For those playing CB sets with a PW of 46* or 47* or 48*, they prefer dedicated wedges depending on their style of play. I play either 52-58 or 54-60 depending on the PW of the set I am playing.

I was playing a vokey sm4 50° until recently when I found an AP2 GW on the bst. I'm liking the set wedge better. It's longer, higher and more forgiving even though the lofts are the same.

I have several sets of irons. I always use the gap wedge that goes with the set. They are all 49 or 50 degrees. The Sw (54) & LW (58) are Ping glide wedges. Whatever set I use the wedges do not change.

The gap wedge gives you much more versatility. I would not switch!!!