Why do we accept this gap wedge thing

[kiwihacker]

It's funny that the 52° 'Gap' wedge was introduced to fill the 8° gap between a 48° PW and a 56° SW. Show me a modern set with a 48° PW? Most players irons are 46-47° and GI irons 43°-45°.

 

So since the SW has remained 55-56° the Gap wedge still needs to be approx 50°. How do you get to a 50° GW when you're starting with a 21° 4 iron?

 

Answer: increase the loft increments in the scoring clubs from 4° to 5°.

This effectively eliminates one club from your set which helps to add a LW if you so desire.

 

Traditional lofts Modern lofts

3i -21° 4i 21°

4i -24° 5i 24°

5i 27° 6i 27°

6i 31° 7i 31°

7i 35° 8i 35°

8i 39° 9i 40°

9i 43° PW 45°

PW 47° GW 50°

GW 52°

 

So with my old traditional lofts i need 8 clubs starting at a 24° 4 iron to get to a GW whereas with these modern lofts it only takes 7 clubs to get to the GW starting with a 24° 5 iron. Leaving room to add a LW which i don't have in my curret setup. Works for me. ;)

4

[pmcuk]

I didn't say it did change anything. In fact I was implying that it really doesn't change anything.

 

But my point was only that your comments were all primarily centered around "comfort" and being able "to relate" to different options or perceived versatility of a club as well as and a strong desire to stick with the specific club (the 52*) and less an objective evaluation of actual distance gaps - at least with respect to the information you provided. There certainly might have been more going on in the though process that you didn't share.

 

No - that's spot on. I'm atypical as a short hitter, because my shorter clubs get bunched up anyway. So the priority is clubs I relate to, and I prefer the 52 to the 54. So the rest kind of follows. I have Ping Tour-S 47* PW and 52* which I relate well to. The issue is where the 9 iron goes, if the 8 iron is 35*. Could go anywhere between 35* and 47*. I can always have the clubs bent a little, like 47* down to 46*.

 

Interestingly, in polls of most used clubs in the bag, the 9i is usually the least used iron (except for 4i down..)

 

But like others said and the LPGA examples I gave, PW at 46/47* then 52-58 is quite common.

 

 

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[kiwihacker]

I know we are discussing jacked up ĺofts here but what about shaft length, swing weight, kick point, club head design etc? Is a modern 31° 7 iron really identical to my 31° 6 iron or are there other factors that determine how high and how far I'd hit that club meaning it would play more like my 35° 7 iron or is it going to take the place of my 31° 6 iron? One reason I ask is that my buddies play with GI irons with modern jacked up lofts yet we all hit our 6 iron or our 8 iron about the same distance?

[kiwihacker]

I didn't say it did change anything. In fact I was implying that it really doesn't change anything.

 

But my point was only that your comments were all primarily centered around "comfort" and being able "to relate" to different options or perceived versatility of a club as well as and a strong desire to stick with the specific club (the 52*) and less an objective evaluation of actual distance gaps - at least with respect to the information you provided. There certainly might have been more going on in the though process that you didn't share.

 

No - that's spot on. I'm atypical as a short hitter, because my shorter clubs get bunched up anyway. So the priority is clubs I relate to, and I prefer the 52 to the 54. So the rest kind of follows. I have Ping Tour-S 47* PW and 52* which I relate well to. The issue is where the 9 iron goes, if the 8 iron is 35*. Could go anywhere between 35* and 47*. I can always have the clubs bent a little, like 47* down to 46*.

 

Interestingly, in polls of most used clubs in the bag, the 9i is usually the least used iron (except for 4i down..)

 

But like others said and the LPGA examples I gave, PW at 46/47* then 52-58 is quite common.

 

 

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I'm an exception to the norm then because I use my 9 iron a lot. One of my favourite irons (along with my 7 iron).

[dlygrisse]

14 club limit just like it has been for the last 80 years or so

[Shilgy]

Do not buy off-the-shelf -- at the store, one can order a set in 3-Gap, or 5-Gap, 7-Gap, etc. You just have to wait a week or so.

If you are a fortunate player that stock fits most shops would sell you the 5-PW if you want it and break up the set. They want/need the biz and do not want you to walk.

[Lancj1]

It really depends on how far you hit your clubs. And the courses you usually play. If your 46 PW goes 100, then going to a SW is fine. If your 46 PW goes 150, you're going to want a couple clubs in between. The wedge game is very personal. I go from 47 to 54 just fine...

 

You know, on Fri I forgot my gap wedge after chipping on my lawn. Played PW (44) and SW(54) - made no difference....

[Medic]

I know we are discussing jacked up ĺofts here but what about shaft length, swing weight, kick point, club head design etc? Is a modern 31° 7 iron really identical to my 31° 6 iron or are there other factors that determine how high and how far I'd hit that club meaning it would play more like my 35° 7 iron or is it going to take the place of my 31° 6 iron? One reason I ask is that my buddies play with GI irons with modern jacked up lofts yet we all hit our 6 iron or our 8 iron about the same distance?

 

Excellent post.

 

I know my modern 8 iron goes about 5 yards further than an identically lofted 8 iron from only three years ago. Frankly it feels softer too - one of the amazing things about the XR irons.

 

People seem to get all locked in on what their lofts are for each iron instead of the important piece of the info puzzle - how far do you hit each loft? Knowing your distances allows you to fill gaps on both ends - short clubs and long. And it helps you to plan out what you should have in your bag at a certain course or for certain weather conditions.

 

I accept that my modern set is nothing like what I played 20 years ago. Doesn't bother me one bit that my modern 8 irons goes well past what my 1997 set of Titleist went. As long as the owner enjoys whatever is in their bag I don't see a big deal. Like I said before it's one of the special things about Hogans. They don't have some arbitrary number of an iron on them - they have the loft.

[North Butte]

I've played everything from Cally X-forged '09 to Ping g20 irons to Vokey wedges and Ping Eye2 wedges. If you tell me the actual loft of an iron or wedge I know within give or take about 3 yards how far flush-hit shot will go.

 

Of course they vary considerably with regards to how easy it is to hit shots flush and how often. But a 47 degree club goes 47 degree distance. Of course I have never played irons with extreme trampoline "hot" faces.

[Medic]

I've played everything from Cally X-forged '09 to Ping g20 irons to Vokey wedges and Ping Eye2 wedges. If you tell me the actual loft of an iron or wedge I know within give or take about 3 yards how far flush-hit shot will go.

 

Of course they vary considerably with regards to how easy it is to hit shots flush and how often. But a 47 degree club goes 47 degree distance. Of course I have never played irons with extreme trampoline "hot" faces.

 

The ball does literally "spring" off of the face of my XR irons. It isn't that much past what my old irons went - same loft is maybe 3 to 5 yards. Certainly not a whole iron further but enough that I have to be careful not to accidentally overclub. It's a nice problem to have actually.

[YoungJedi]

So you want me to go from 145 pw to 115 SW? Sounds good. Great post.