Do you carry a Lob wedge or is 56 Degree enough?

[WilCox]

I like having a 60 in the bag, but I use it sparingly. It has never been my "go to club" or "everything inside of 75 yards club." Everyone does what works best for them and so do I.

[JDCON]

I currently have both a 56 and 60. I find I need a GW/AW, however as there is a huge hole between my 48* PW and the 56* SW.

[iGuy]

Back when I used to be a "player" (well a 6 hc) I played around with many different wedge setups. 4 wedges...3 wedges...etc... Then I read somewhere that Ernie Els uses a 56 degree for everything inside 100 yards. He decided that it was better to get very comfortable with one club around the green knowing exactly how it would play...out of the bunker, rough, fringe, etc... He was quoted as saying if he needed more or less loft he would just shut down the face or open it up accordingly but he felt the strength of this was that he knew how this club would always roll out in each of these situations. Not sure if he is still doing this but at the time it just made a lot of sense to me so I decided to try and I have never looked back. Works great if you practice. So my setup is PW, GW, 56deg...always.

 

Now I have tried 58 and 60 degree wedges but found that I had to learn the way they reacted in each of those situations as well so I figured I would just pick one and decided on 56...it also gave me a full swing club that I like. To each his own but this is the route I took and I will never change as I do not have to re learn each new wedge.

 

As long as it is a 56 deg... :golfer:

[dciccoritti]

Back when I used to be a "player" (well a 6 hc) I played around with many different wedge setups. 4 wedges...3 wedges...etc... Then I read somewhere that Ernie Els uses a 56 degree for everything inside 100 yards. He decided that it was better to get very comfortable with one club around the green knowing exactly how it would play...out of the bunker, rough, fringe, etc... He was quoted as saying if he needed more or less loft he would just shut down the face or open it up accordingly but he felt the strength of this was that he knew how this club would always roll out in each of these situations. Not sure if he is still doing this but at the time it just made a lot of sense to me so I decided to try and I have never looked back. Works great if you practice. So my setup is PW, GW, 56deg...always.

 

Now I have tried 58 and 60 degree wedges but found that I had to learn the way they reacted in each of those situations as well so I figured I would just pick one and decided on 56...it also gave me a full swing club that I like. To each his own but this is the route I took and I will never change as I do not have to re learn each new wedge.

 

As long as it is a 56 deg... :golfer:

 

Nothing wrong with that but I believe he now carries a TM 60 ATV wedge along with his 56 and 52. Perhaps faster greens left him no choice :-)

[IsleOfMan]

My walking bag tops out at 50/54 but it was setup when my home course had MUCH less sand. My gamer bag has always topped out 54/58 and recently the 58 has become a wide-sole model to help get out of traps more consistently. I haven't walked my new home course with my walking bag (when I walk now it's my Gamer bag on a push-cart) and I think if I did, I'd have to pull the 58* wide-sole from my gamer bag just to feel confident with the amount of sand that's in play. I also use it for approach shots off tight fairway lies fairly often, especially on a few short tight par-4s where a lot of people try to drive the green and end up OB or in held up in a fairway bunker while I'm always hitting 3w or 5w and sitting ~60-70 out in the fairway.

[Hit em good]

You can get along fine with just a 56*. Tom Watson still does that. I used to do it, and I was very effective with distance control, because I used 56* for everything.

 

However, I eventually noticed that I was having to open the face for every pitch (not for chips), and realized that I could be more consistent by using a 58* and just setting up square. It took alot of pressure off my chipping game. Also, with the open faced 56*, every so often I would blade a shot over the green.

 

Hit em good

[sterilized]

I go 50/58 with my PW(10iron) being 45 degrees.

 

I'm comfortable hitting 95% of shots inside 120 yards with this setup. Occasionally I have a shot that a 54* would be perfect for but I usually can make it work with the 50*.

 

How's your bounce/grind situation on your 58?

 

I've been thinking this could work for me, but it just so happens both my current 50 and 58 are pretty low bounce and I feel like that might hurt sometimes.

[Munich77]

I use a PW, 56 and 60. The 60 is my chipping and pitching club - early do I hit full swings with it.

[dnalepoca]

I go Pw, 52, 56, 60. I was actually thinking of dropping the 60 because i dont really use it that much because the 56 is used around the green for most chips and i can open the face a bit if i need to. i like to use the 52 and pw around the green if i feel like running it a bit. same for if im further out and want to run it in to a back flag location. But this tuesday i actually had to use it twice in my 9 hole round. first on a par 5 i came just short of reaching in two, was left with a shot over a bunker and the flag was maybe 4 yards on the green, so not much to work with. i played a flop and was able to make par. then i needed it on a par 3 where i just missed the green and short sided myself in some pretty thick rough. popped it out to 3 feet. made par again. looks like the 60 solidified itself in my bag

[Sanders74]

well its sounds like the lob wedge is worth carrying. Thanks for all the feedback

[glm]

The older I get the worse I get with a lob wedge. I still carry one but only use it in bunkers and as a Texas wedge around the greens.

[vallygolf]

My practice time is limited so I always used the one tool for the job approach. From 85 yards in I use a 60 almost exclusively. I manipulate ball position and open or shut clubface to change the shot. Short game is easily the best part of my game, as a high or low shot is no problem with the 60 based on ball position. If I could get out to play or practice 2-3 times a week I would probably change it up.

[SammyShaf]

I walk and carry 4 wedges. If you go 56 only, make sure you have a suitable bounce and grind for bunker conditions you encounter. One could do it, I don't see reason in limiting score irons.

You dont need a particular grind for particular bunkers if you learn how to hit the shot.

 

So people who carry a high bounce SW and A low bounce LW are doing it wrong?

[jslane57]

I walk and carry 4 wedges. If you go 56 only, make sure you have a suitable bounce and grind for bunker conditions you encounter. One could do it, I don't see reason in limiting score irons.

You dont need a particular grind for particular bunkers if you learn how to hit the shot.

 

So people who carry a high bounce SW and A low bounce LW are doing it wrong?

They are absolutely not doing it wrong. But they may very well be doing it excessively. At least in the minds of folks who get along with one wedge just fine...

[Sir edward of putternut]

Really, you should be able to bit any shot with any wedge when ur close, but i prefer at most

 

46, 51, 55, 59

Or

46, 52, 56 if i need extra wood

[rmofo83]

Many golfers would benefit from getting more wedges in the scoring area, I use a 60 degree for all shots within 50 yards with a little practice you get better feel and can knock it to any height desired

[B-Nads]

I tried this at the beginning of the year with the logic that being solid with one wedge is good enough for me - lasted three rounds, then went back to the GW/54/58 set-up. What I learned, apart from the fact that I use the 58* pretty much exclusively around the greens and in the sand, is that even the 54* is more of a gap wedge for full swing carries to 105 or so, so in a sense, I am only playing one wedge as a wedge, and the 58* is more versatile than the 56* for my swing.

[WilCox]

Many golfers would benefit from getting more wedges in the scoring area, I use a 60 degree for all shots within 50 yards with a little practice you get better feel and can knock it to any height desired

 

For me it all depends on the lie. Some folks can hit lob from anything, I'm not one of them.

[GolfguyCA]

I've gone with a 50-54-58 combo and rarely use the 58 from inside of 10 yards. I play the 58 primarily from the 30-80 yard distance when I want to throw a high spin/low trajectory into a green that will check. I'm sure I might gain a bit with a 60 degree wedge, but distance control is the priority for me.

 

Greenside, I tend to play my 54-degree wedge when I am short sided. Even with a 12-degree bounce on a tight lie, I have little problem opening the face and popping a shot high and soft.

 

In general, I just find the lower the loft, the easier for me to gain consistency.

[Joe85]

Easiest lob wedges I've hit ever:

 

 

Eye 2 (consequently a 61 degree) and my Solus (also a 61 degree).

 

 

If/when my game comes back around, those are the lob wedges I keep in my bag.

[Geaux Gators]

I have never been able to hit a 60 degree. It's a skull monkey fro me. And I don't have a slot for one with my 5wood

[Hogan9]

I know I'm going against most short game gurus, but I only carry two wedges: 45* PW and a 56* SW. I have a 50* but found I wasn't using it that much. I've learned to hit a variety of shots with these two clubs and so far, my scoring hasn't suffered.

[MG115]

i used to rock a 46,50,55,60 but walking and most of the time i didn't use all wedges and to save some weight now i jus use a 46,54,60 it's not hard to hit the 54 like 50. jus make sure your bowed at impact to deloft the club. sometimes i'll jus use a 50 and 60 depends where i'm playing at. if your want a 56 i'd get bent 1° strong and make a 55. loved my 55 i have

[mootrail]

First, it depends on the courses you play. I switched to playing a 56° SW (again, finally) because it's the most versatile SW loft regardless of wedge gapping. I walked a number of courses with just the 56° in a go light experiment and found I real suffered short-sided around elevated greens and in deep bunkers. On flat courses with low lying bunkers, no problem. So I added a LW first and finally gave in and added an AW back in.

 

My play ratio is; 56°SW most of the time, 64° LW occasionally and the 50° AW rarely. But on some courses, I can go 50/50 with the SW & LW and on others I can go 50/50 with the SW & AW. On bad days with lots of poor approach shots and I use the LW a whole lot more.

 

Secondary, and maybe more importantly, it depends on you. Some better players I know don't carry a lob wedge because they are rarely in a position to need one. Phil's has his multitude of lob wedges he likes to carry, but no doubt he could pull off every lob wedge shot with just a 56°.

 

I think the need for full wedge shots and wedge gapping is phoney bolony and carrying 4 wedges does not make you a better player.

[BearQ]

Im in favour of a 58 or bent up to 59. Just for me mentally I don't want the club head at 60 lol.

 

I've always seemed to hit better 3/4 and pitches with the 58 and I don't really miss the extra air time with 60

 

48 53 58 setup and I like this moving forward

[Kylekoz17]

I've gotten down to scratch without ever using anything more than a 56. Just find one you can open up to add loft when you need to around the greens. I like having one club around the greens because most of us can't practice enough to know how more than that will react on each shot.

 

I don't know many people that can hit a lob wedge well very consistently

[cqueen]

I went from playing just a 56* to now using a 53* and 58* set. Having just the one club was nice but now using the two just makes it so much easier and able to pick and choose how I want to hit the ball and for what type of shot to play. I primarily use the 53* for 110 and in and the 58* is for my bunkers and around the greens. Unless it's an elevated green I'll use the 53* for everything just because of the municipal courses around me. It's nice having the 58* for elevated greens and coming out of the bunkers and rough green side and also for the occasional nice course played.

[cbole22]

50,54,58 works best for me

[seven dewey]

I carry a 60 and a 64.

 

My PW is 45, AW is 50 and SW is 55 but I really only use those for full shots. The 60 is my go to club around the green, but the 64 is my preferred club for bunkers and escaping trouble. If I short side myself it gives me a realistic chance of getting up and down.

[OKMrazor]

A 56 is enough - and I played that for many years. I've also played 53 + 59.

 

But I play a 52 56 60. I just prefer a 60 out of many sand shots and for a flop once or twice every couple of rounds. Also the different grinds can give more flexibility (I feel) when encountering different conditions / soggy or hard fairways.

 

I don't feel the need to add another wood or hybid, so realistically the 14th slot takes a wedge or goes empty. Might as well add the flexibility around the green.