Do your wedges match your iron set?

For the longest time, I figured I would get Glide 3.0 wedges to go with my 919 Hot Metal irons. Then I came across the GW, SW and LW that match the 919s (new and on sale).

Is there a benefit to buying wedges that match your iron set? Are the wedges such as the Glides “better”?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Currently, my wedges and irons have the same project x 6.0 shafts. Feels good.

Yes, and it's an OCD thing with me......must play the same brand as my irons. I know, retarded reasoning but I don't care lol.

I go Srixon to Titleist. A lot of free agents play vokeys even if they have different irons

"Better" would be subjective to testing and the real numbers produced by both. I guess the benefits of sticking with the wedges from the set would most likely be:

-same shaft options as your irons

-progressive shaft length, loft and lie to match your set perfectly

-head profile that will blend cleanly

-same finish to keep the look at address the same.

And in your case with them being on sale, price.

Cons:

-less loft and bounce options

-no "specialty" wedges in terms of sole grind, toe height and length

-off the rack might not have a shaft that works the best for you. That being said the stock shaft on the set wedges might not be the best for you either, but at least you know what to expect.

I personally don't use wedges that match my set, I don't even use wedges from the same manufacturer. Whatever works, works.

I play PING irons and I always get the matching wedges. It's a look/feel thing...

theyre the same OEM but they dont match the set. I dont use the PW/AW/GW from the set, I use regular wedges or pro models for those.

I'm not sure I understand. If the lofts are the same, what’s the difference or advantages of regular wedges over the SW/LW from the iron set? Is there more control with regular wedges? Are they less forgiving?

Forgiveness is always relatively the same if you hit the sweet spot on them all.

Standard/pro model wedges look better and are more workable. I find scoring clubs need more workability - YMMV on that. Many times the PW/Aw/GW from a 'set' will be bulky and chunky looking. I dont like that.

Nope. I can’t think of a time when they did either..

I’m not sure what your referring to.

The question in the title..

I play the set PW/GW/SW and then have some other LW in the bag (usually lower bounce/thinner sole but not always).

I've also played with forged CBs and Cleveland wedges.

I don't want to switch every other round but either is fine if you stick with it and know what you can/can't easily do...

Some players find a line of specialty wedges (G, S & L - and sometimes a non-set PW) and stay with them. Their scheme: it's easier to mesh a 9 iron on down to a set of wedges than redo wedges for a new iron set. People who get a set of specialty wedges "calibrated" don't want to have to redo short game just because they changed irons.

By specialty wedges, I mean those not made specifically to match some iron set. Examples are Vokeys, Cleveland RTXs and Callaway MDs.

In recent seasons I played Callaway X20 Tours and had much newer Calla MD3 and MD4 wedges for PW, SW and LW. When I switched to Tour Edge irons, the MD family 48-54-60 meshed well with the yardages on the CB Pro irons, so I kept the MDs.

Another issue is whether to play wedges that are made specifically for an iron set. In case of Ping, the G410 "middle earth" model offers P, U, S and L as set wedges. The i500 and i210 irons, however, only go up to UW (same as GW). The i irons are in the players and players distance category, and designers assume i users would be more likely to mix and match the Glide wedges rather than buy set wedges.

For G410 users, the decision would be whether to play the set wedges, or go directly to the Glide model for better control. Glide offers four different sole grinds which more adventurous shotmakers like. For players who hit basic square-face wedge shots, the set wedges can do quite nicely.

Also, the cutoff for hitting full shots is often the UW / AW / GW. Golfers who use the PW mainly as a "10 iron" rather than a true wedge often keep the set PW and then get specialty wedges for the remainder. At a fall golf sale, one of the reps for a golf club shop said his operation was reluctant to carry specialty GWs. The reason: many players just bought the GW for their iron set.

I was the same way and out of nowhere i exploded with a mix of clubs and im ok with it lol i was all nike then all callaway and odyssey. Now im callway bag driver 3wood hybrid wedges. Honma irons. Taylor made putter. Man.. ive really become someone else...

I have had trouble distance wise with set wedges. Probably just me. I come up short. But when i switched to not set wedges i hit my marks. Think it comes down to specs of the clubs. Fitting is the true way to go.

I play whatever wedges happen to be a good value, when I am looking for a wedge.

I play wedges exclusively out of the crap (desert where I play primarily), and I usually burn thru one wedge every 6 months or so.

I certainly agree that some wedges feel better than others, with shafts all over the place. As a player who bounces between 8-12 hcp, I am sure that there is some variance based on shaft and club, but not enough to make it too important to me.

I have Ping irons and Vokey wedges, but the same PX LZ shafts in all of them. Shrug.

No. Never have.

PW is really part of my iron set. Don’t think I will buy one separately

most recently, I also bought a gap wedge wedge when getting an iron set. Sand and Lob are going to different than the iron set. I think that’s the same for many golfers.

Honestly it is up to the individual and what you prefer to look down at. My preference is that I get a similar view for all wedges so for the last ~15 years or so my PW has been the same make as my other wedges so an iron set I only play down to the 9i before transitioning to the wedge set. The b*tch of this is that if I need to replace a wedge all need to go, thus the reason I haven't moved on from the Nike Forged wedges after almost 5 years as I can't find a set I like from the 47* down to the 59*.

its personal preference. My PW and GW are used mainly for full shots so I play a PW and a GW that match my irons. This helps me with gaping and distance control. My SW is different but I would consider getting a matching SW if they made one for my irons.

I have 919 HMP's, 4-PW and picked up the 919 GW (50*) and SW (55*) wedges. The PW is 45* so these fit in with loft spacing so my OCD is satisfied ,haha. I'm a 9.3 with a good short game and these wedges do anything I need them to do. Also, you can order them from Mizuno with any of the shafts they offer with no up-charge (I believe). I still have a Volkey SM6 60* (7* bounce) that is worn and I will replace soon with probably a Mizuno T20. The 60* is my speciality wedge and rarely will I hit a full shot with.

Refreshing to hear. I generally shoot on the border of low 90/high 80. So I'm glad to hear someone much better than I uses the GW & SW (LW too?). It's also really nice to hear that you find that you can do anything with them, so I'm assuming they are fairly workable?

I guess I also wonder the 919 HM wedges are more forgiving than "specialty" wedges since the Hot Metals are Game Improvement irons? (I apologize if that is a dumb question).

Hey Ned, not a dumb question, I feel that they are a tad bit more forgiving, especially with the high on the face miss (due to the ball sitting up in the rough). Also, just started playing on bermuda and I will play the toe down and heel off the turf on tight lies (sticky into the grain) and these wedges work with that chipping/pitching technique. Use the 55 out of the sand with confidence. Finally, the fresh “Quad Cut Grooves” do provide good spin, but I have not compared it to the Glides. Hope my rambling helps...

I like my gap wedge to match iron set (CF19) but 54 and 58 prefer to be different. Go back and forth from Vokeys and Glide 3.0.

No. I have mizuno MP18 MMC down to PW and wedges are Edel. 50,54,58.

I'm in the 7-9 range and prefer the set GW and SW too. The GW is a no-brainer to me (not that different than an old PW). I like the SW for 1/2 to full shots where you still miss slightly from time to time. Obviously you give up some flexibility with partial shots but I'm not sure it matters much. I usually have a lower bounce/thinner sole LW in the bag when needed. My short game is pretty average for my skill level.

Net-net, I think the set wedges are underutilized for people in this range but understand why many don't like them.

I already had the GW and am going to add the SW now. Still trying to decide on the LW, though.

Which by the way, my irons and GW are Modus 105 Regular. The SW and Lob are Modus 105 Stiff. Does the different flex present a problem? It doesn’t appear I can get these in a Regular unless I did a special order.

It's personal preference. If you plan to take a lot of full shots with all your wedges then it would be best to have your wedges match the rest of your irons for consistent feel and gap yardage throughout the set.