Choosing Jacked Iron Lofts to Allow Adding a Wedge

[drumdude96]

I know we have had a billion threads about jacked lofts, and this topic may have even been covered somewhere, but I have been looking at a set of Callaway Steelhead XR Pro irons and they are pretty strong-lofted. At first I was put off by the 6 iron having the same loft as my 5 iron, but then I got to thinking. These stronger lofts would likely allow me to get rid of a club in the long end of the bag (most likely the 4 hybrid, since that same loft is now the 5 iron) and add in another wedge. Have any of you guys been doing this at all? It would be pretty nice to put a 64° wedge in the bag for when I'm short-sided or have really short approaches to the green.

[WristySwing]

Yes, very common. Most ams have a harder time with longer clubs; the longer they get the worse the result. So it isn't uncommon to find some sort of 22/23* hybrid to play the role of both a 4h and 5h and then play 6i-AW (~26*-~50*) then have a 56* and 60* to give them 4 wedges without the need to remove a club from their bag they otherwise would need at some point (5w/18* club, 3w, driver, etc.). I don't know about the 64*, seems like a low % wedge in the first place but I can see that and the 3i/4i having a good debate about who is more useful over the long haul.

[Fuscinator]

The pw will likely be 44°. If your gw is 52°, will you be comfortable with that? If not, you might have to go with the set's aw (at 49.5°, I'm guessing), 54°, 58° and 62°.

[BPetry]

My Cobra Forged Tec’s are very strong lofted and I had to go to 4 wedges (including PW) to get my yardages gapped right. I use a 44 PW then a 48, 52, and a 56. After actually playing a few rounds on different courses, I am wondering if I need to do that though. I hardly ever use my 48 for full shots, mostly half swings to keep the flight down or get more spin, and bump and runs. I may switch to 2 wedges and go 50 and 56. I used to carry a 60, but it was about 50/50 on good shots to completely horrible shots. My 56 is money though...

[drumdude96]

The PW is 45°, so it would be 45° PW, 50° GW, 55° SW, 60° LW, and then the added 64° HLW. I already play 4 wedges as it is, but if I get those Steelhead Pros, the long-end of my bag is definitely going to get changed up, so I'm thinking I may as well add the 64°. I've had one in the past and it was pretty handy at times.

[Fuscinator]

"You'll shoot your eye out, kid." I have a 63° that's trying to sneak its way back into my bag. My problem is I tend to use it like ketchup.

[drumdude96]

Ha! That's funny. Back in the day when I used a 64°, I would actually hit full shots with it. I found it was great for shots up to 75 yards. I'm not nearly the golfer that I used to be though, so if I do bag it again (actually still have the same one), it'd only be used for delicate shots that I need to stop on a dime. Sure, I can open the face up on the 60°, but you can hit a lot of shots with a 64° without having to manipulate the face as much. They are a fun club, when used properly.

[jb640042]

This makes sense to me. I have seen plenty of golfers at my club doing it.

[ChipNRun]

Sounds like you might want two "fourteenth" clubs. A 64* LW for courses with small tight greens, or a second hybrid to help out if you have 200-ish approach shots.

[drumdude96]

I really only play one course, for the most part. I have a membership at a local muni and will only play other courses a few times a year. My 5 hybrid is my 205-210 yard club right now, so I'm thinking the 27° 6 iron would pretty much fill in that spot. It would more than likely only go about 200 yards or so due to shorter length, but I'm fine with that. I don't hit the 27° hybrid really much further than an iron of the same loft because I play my hybrids at iron length or close to it. I think I better take the 64° out to the course and just mess around with it to even see if it would be of benefit. It definitely USED to be a stroke saver, but the golfer I used to be is unfortunately long gone, mainly due to short game woes. I get a glimmer of hope every now and then that I might be able to get back down to a low-mid single digit, but then I make a triple or a quad on a hole and reality smacks me in the face like Rick James. No sense changing up the entire bag for a wedge that I might really suck with now. Of course, this is WRX, so.....

[Fuscinator]

Another advantage to so lofted a wedge is for those times when putting the ball back in one's stance is desired.

[Sean2]

I put a 62º wedge in my bag, and it's great for short-sided shots around the green, flop shots, as well as out of the bunker when you don't have a lot o0f green to work with.

[drumdude96]

The only club that I put the ball back farther in my stance than it really should be is my driver. I hit more fairways with a slightly negative AOA. I play wedges with the ball in the middle of my stance for full swings. Lots of guys can hit a 64° 75 yards. Anybody who can hit a 60° around 100 yards can surely hit a 64° about 75 yards. No need for snide underhanded comments. If there was some other intent to your post then please explain.

[Flyers99]

I too have gone to modern irons and it has opened up a spot in the bag. I used to play irons starting at 23* which was a 4 iron. Had no trouble hitting. New set, Cleveland UHX starts with 5 iron for me at 23*. Basically the same loft coverage but with 1 less iron. Allowed me to put another wedge in bag since

[Fuscinator]

"Snide underhanded comment"? What's wrong with you?

I've seen Mickelson hit this shot with a 64 degree wedge.

[BiggErn]

It’s not just ams, even most good golfers aren’t gonna be knocking down flag sticks from anything close to 200+ yards. I don’t carry a 3 wood because I hit my 5 wood almost as far, better off the deck, and it wasn’t worth taking up a spot for a shot I might pull off a couple times out of 10. I have 5 wedges from PW-64*.

[Chuck905]

I actually had my 60 open to 62. I wanted more height, spin, bounce and reduced offset. I found more priorities around the greens with the LW vs from the fairway, so weakening the loft bailed me out.

I did the same with my 54 SW to 56* to offset the gap from the fairway with partial shots. I learned to get comfortable with the partial SW from spots where I use to hit a full LW.

[WristySwing]

I'm leaning that way. My 5 wood is money 100% of the time, the 3w can be a bit hit and miss. I do have a decent carry difference between the two (about 20 carry) but it's tough to know where the 16* is going all of the time while the 21* is predictable.

[drumdude96]

Crap, sorry! I thought you were being a smart a$$ about someone being able to hit a 64° 75 yards by delofting the heck out of it or something, lol. My apologies. You just never know sometimes what someone means when they post.

[Sean2]

Works for me as well. I rarely take a full shot with my sand wedge or lob wedges. I find it gives me a bit more control. I don't think I have ever taken a full shot with a lob wedge, lol.

[Fuscinator]

No problem.

[drumdude96]

Okay, I took the 64° out today and my God, it is one hell of a stoke saver. I chipped in twice with it and it's great for chips and pitches that you need to stop in a hurry. I hit some 3/4 shots with it too from about 65 yards and surprisingly they went a smidge too far. Still on the green, but just a little deeper than I anticipated. So, I'm headed off to ebay to pick up that jacked loft iron set I've been eyeing. Already got a deal on a 24° "5" hybrid to round out the bag. I also picked up a few Cleveland CBX wedges in 50°. 56° (which I will bend to 55°) and 60° and they are sweet too. Very easy to hit and feel great. Hopefully the short game will get a bit better and scores will go down. I shot a 77 today (par 71 course) that could have been much better had it not been for poor putting on the front side, but in my defense we have a new course superintendent and he likes to set some very diabolical pin placements. Needless to say, I'm not a fan of him. He also REALLY likes long rough, and lots of it. Hopefully enough of the members will complain and he'll change his ways, lol.

[driveandputtmachine]

I have Cobra Speedzone, in what I call the 4,5,6 irons. Extremely strong lofted. I have bent them and ordered them to have 5* gaps. I am a fast swinger of the club, but not a high ball hitter. I also realize the two and 2.5* gaps that were in most long iron sets, didn't create much of a gap in the top end and a bigger gap in the bottom end. So I have 5* gaps up top, and go to 4* gaps as I get shorter. This ended up basically cutting out a mid to long iron I would have had in my set and I now have more wedges.