Players who went from 4 wedges back to 3, why?

[bamagolf]

Presently I am using P, U, S and L. But I’m old school and should we really consider a 45 or 46 degree club a “wedge”?

[driveandputtmachine]

With current club lofting, I guess I am technically a 4 wedge player. My previous set I had my PW bent to 49*(BS J40 CB's) and then played a 54 and 60. When I started looking at new irons, pretty much everything had 46* PW and 50* GW, which was pretty close to my 9 iron and PW of old sets.

 

I currently have a 56(bent to 55)* high bounce and a 60* low bounce wedge beyond my sets "wedges".

[mizunoMX25]

I had lost some distance and wanted to add a 2 hybrid to the bag. As my elbow got better I recently went back to my trusty 46-50-54-58 setup. On really long courses I'll pull out the 50 and put back in the 2.

[bogeypro]

..

[marmaduk]

I dropped the sand wedge to simplify

I go from Gap 50 to Lob 60. I use the 50 for 115 yards and in to about 20yards then I use the 60 for bunkers and around the green. Found myself second-guessing approach shots from 120 yards to 50/60 yards and found that my consistency has dramatically improved by just using one club for different types of shots. I didn’t need the extra space at the top of my bag so now I carry a four iron and a four hybrid but I suppose I can easily switch out that four iron for anything I want

[MelloYello]

One weird thing that can happen with excess wedges is having multiple overlaps between say, 50 and 100 yards.

 

I never quite liked the clock- or Pelz-systems of creating "reliable" yardages because you might go from a three-quarter Sw to a half-Gw to a full-Lw and then back to the Sw in seemingly random order. Something about that always just seemed nuts to me.

 

It's pretty clear from this thread that most people want to feel as though their decisions are driven by ranges in yardages much like their irons are. Then again, I doubt it's quite that simple.

 

I think good wedge players are good because they can create shots. So long as you have the tools, it's really on you the player to execute the shot. Having gone both ways (3 and 4) I can't really report that I ever felt _better_ with one or the other.

[NRJyzr]

> @MelloYello said:

> > @iceman1118 said:

> > Went PW, 52, 56 and 60 for years. As my short game progressed I started tinkering with a 58. Late last year I went to PW, 52 and 58. Great decision for me. PW covers 135-120 yards, 52 is 120-100 yards and 58 is everything 100 and in. This has simplified my short game with zero indecision by learnings to hitting multiple shots with these 3 clubs and quite frankly it has translated through my entire bag. It was a mild adjustment but worth it in my book.

>

> You've got me thinking about blending my 56 and my 60 into a single 58 now..._thanks!_

 

That's more or less what I did last year, though I dropped a 55/60 combo to do so. The difference is my playing a 52* PW last year; I was switching to a two wedge system. 2-pw with a 58*, allowing me to plug a 1 iron or a hybrid in the 17* slot, between the 2i and 3w. I also played a few rounds with a 50/58 setup, didn't see much difference.

 

It may be obvious but i tend to play older irons, LOL. When I drag out something newer, like a set with a 47* PW, I tend to go 52/58 on top of that. Basically the same setup as the 2-PW/SW setup mentioned above, just different numbers on the clubs.

 

It's the lofts that are important to how I set up the bag, not what's stamped on the sole.

 

Also not a fan of hitting full shots with wedges with more loft than 52* or 53*, so I see no reason to go with 4* gaps in my wedges.

[mizunoMX25]

> @MelloYello said:

> One weird thing that can happen with excess wedges is having multiple overlaps between say, 50 and 100 yards.

>

> I never quite liked the clock- or Pelz-systems of creating "reliable" yardages because you might go from a three-quarter Sw to a half-Gw to a full-Lw and then back to the Sw in seemingly random order. Something about that always just seemed nuts to me.

>

> It's pretty clear from this thread that most people want to feel as though their decisions are driven by ranges in yardages much like their irons are. Then again, I doubt it's quite that simple.

>

> I think good wedge players are good because they can create shots. So long as you have the tools, it's really on you the player to execute the shot. Having gone both ways (3 and 4) I can't really report that I ever felt _better_ with one or the other.

 

Me either. I hit every shot 80 yards and in with a 58, but could do so with 54, 50, or PW if I needed to. I really added the 54 back in and went back to 50 from 52 because I didn't like the 52 from the bunker on those mid range bunker shots. I could definitely get by with just PW-54-58 but there are scenarios where the 50 comes in handy.

 

[3_Jack_Par]

My PW is 48*, and I also play a 53* and 58* wedge most of the time. I have a grind on my 58 that makes it easy to open up and play all the shots I need. The 3 wedge setup allows me to carry a 3 wood and a driving iron or 5 wood between my driver & 3 iron. This is the setup I use probably 80% of the time.

I also have a 62* wedge that I sometimes put in on shorter courses. I usually drop the 3 wood and keep the driving iron or 5 wood in when I know I'll get more out of being able to hit soft shots around the greens than having another option for tee shots.

But generally, I get a lot more out of having additional options at the top end of the bag than having another club that I mostly use around the greens. I'm pretty comfortable hitting less than full shots with wedges than trying to take a little off or really go after it with a longer club.

[Barfolomew]

I dropped the 56 cause yardages were all bunched up and never used it....so Im running 52 and 60. I chopped the bounce off the 60 for flops so I have a 64 w bounce for sand. I play the 60 up to 90 yards then the 52 easily takes over.....

 

and I only use 13 clubs so its a choice to play 2 wedges from the grass as the 64 is just for sand.

[OSUBuckeyeFan8]

This is my second time going from 3 to 4, back to 3, back to 4 and now back to 3 again. I have had two distance gaps in the past either having only one club to fill 3w to 4i (4 wedges) or the gap from PW (46*) to SW (54*) if only carrying 3 wedges. My old setup was 18* hybrid, 4-PW (46*), 50, 56, 60. I changed my bag recently due to my home golf course adding about 500 yards in the past 2 years to the back tee but to accomplish this I have also modified my lofts. I am now carrying a driver, 3w, p790 UDI (17), 3-PW (20*-48*, 4* gaps throughout), 54, 60. I feel like this set up is going to give me the best mix of no gaps in the long game and allow for all shorter distances to be covered.

[stanger37]

I have 46* PW, 52*, 56* and 60*

 

I took out the 50* because I hit it sky high and it goes straight down, no distance. My 52* launches lower and goes further. I have never been able to figure it out and added the 60* for fun, will throw in a 7W and take out the 60* at times.

[StackMan1]

My PW is 47* and last year I played 50/54/58. Seemed to create too much confusion on shots from 115 and in. This year I’m simplifying things and going 52/58.

[Mrgreen36]

I have no idea what degrees any of my irons are, but I just play a PW, 52 and 56. 56 does everything from about 105 in. I used to play a lob wedge and I think it usually cost me strokes.

 

[azgreg]

I've been predominately a 4 wedge player but lately I'm giving the 3 wedge setup (48, 53, 59) a try in order to add another club at the top of the bag. Only a couple of round so far but I'm liking it.

[Dave22]

Always used 4 as I don’t play or practice enough to hit partial shots. Had a 3w and 3 iron at the top. I barely used my gap as I hit it full or nothing. Added a 5w and now using 47, 54, 60 and always have partial shots anyway as it is hard to be right on a number 130 and in. Have a 3 iron and 5 w at the top that gives more flexibility with wind conditions. Played over 10 rounds now and no issues. I use the 5w more than I used the 52 when it was in play.

[Jimjam651]

46 / 52 / 60

I could give you reasons around keeping it simple but the truth is it's just cheaper to replace two specialist wedges when they wear out instead of three B)

[Dan Drake]

The number of wedges (3, 4, 5) is a hard question to answer, without some definition of what constitutes a "wedge." Is it a club that the manufacturers stamp with a letter? Is it a club that has less than a certain number of degrees of loft? Is it a club that we use more for partial or short game shots than full shots?

With the amount that I use my "pitching wedge" for anything less than a full swing (maaaaybe 5% of the shots hit with it), I hesitate to call it a wedge anymore. It really is a 10 iron. Heck, I hit more partial shots with my 4i than I do my Pw because my 4i is my main "punch-out-of-the-trees" club! You could just about say the same thing for my "A" wedge at 50°, which has a specific short game job, but I still hit far more full shots with it than short game shots, mainly due to the type of golf courses that I play.

 

Here's my basic wedge usage breakdown: I hit 90+% of my chip shots with my 50°, 90+% of my partial wedge shots (40-80 yards) with my 54°, and 90+% of my bunker shots with my 58°. Short game shots that aren't chip shots are divided pretty evenly between the 54° & 58° based on the shot at hand.

 

So, by the letter/number of the club, I have 4 wedges.

By the usable loft of the club, I think I have 3 wedges.

By the shot specificity of each club, I think I have 3 wedges.

And by the frequency of short game shot usage of each club, I clearly have only two wedges!

 

But the OP asked for reasons (that's the "why" in the OP, right?), so I believe they are looking for some rationale to wedge setup. So I'll give mine:

 

Unless a certain skill listed below is one of your A#1 skills, I believe you should have one club essentially dedicated to the listed shot:

Putts (lol, I figured I would start with the obvious one!)

Sand shots - You don't have to be Seve, but you have to get out of the bunker in 1 shot the VAST majority of the time.

Partial shots - Solid contact, middle of the green. No other fluff is required.

"Your" shot - This is the shot that you face the most often, based on your course conditions, skill level, and comfort of playing a particular shot a particular way.

 

Now, if you are a wizard at one of these shots and can pull them off with an assortment of clubs (this is the category that most playing pros fall into), then congratulations! You don't need a dedicated club for that shot and that means you get to allote that extra spot in the bag to help in some other way! You can have a 2 hybrid, a different grind on a wedge to help with something, two drivers, a 64° wedge, or whatever you want. But, if you aren't a magician at one of these 4 shots (and nobody in the world is good enough putting with a wedge for it to be feasible to leave the putter out of the bag, I only put it in there as a goof and exaggerated example to help make my point), then you need at least one club that does each one of these jobs really, really, really well, relative to your skill level. And here's the thing, being able to do those 3 jobs really well supersedes everything else. Brand loyalty, full swing yardage gaps, OCD loft gaps, identical grinds, specialty grinds, super sweet stamping, old grooves, new grooves, the price of tea in China, EVERYTHING ELSE. If the three clubs that you end up with that do those jobs the best all have 58° of loft, but different lengths, grinds, swing weights, heads, shafts, etc., then so be it, these three shot are that important!

 

Bobby Jones said that the secret to playing good golf was turning 3 shots into 2, but I still believe he left off the end of the quote. He should have added "and when things are against you, avoiding turning 3 shots into 4 or more."

 

You don't need to become Phil Mickelson with the wedges here, so let's be realistic:

1. Get the easy ones up and down at a reasonable rate, relative to your skill level

2. And get on the green and two putt when you face a not-so-easy one, again, relative to your skill level

 

However many clubs (wedges?) it takes you to accomplish those two goals is the right number, in my honest and humble opinion.