Reducing the number of wedges in your bag?

[jjfcpa]

I currently have 4 wedges in my bag - PW (43*), GW (48*), SW (54*), and a LW (58*).  I personally think this is just too many wedges and actually makes me much less consistent.  I remember reading that Jack Nicklaus played with a PW and SW.  I can see how this would make one more consistent because you'd learn how to use that SW in a lot of different circumstances.  Open it for lobs and reduce the loft for bump and runs or controlled chips.  

 

I've found that when I carry the 58* wedge, I tend to use it too much... and the 54 seldom gets used.  However, before I put a 58* in the bag, I used my 54* for everything. The other side of this is that each wedge requires its own practice time, although I don't spend a lot of time with the PW or GW on the range.  I just need them to fill gaps.  The 54* and 58* just don't have that much of a gap between them.  Consequently, I ordered a 56* and will pull the 54* and 58* and reduce the number of clubs to 13.

 

Anyone else done this and if I'm not thinking of this correctly, let me know.

[tw7878]

good idea - ive been 52 56 60 forever - switching to PW 54 60 soon - I can hit my PW from 130 to 100 no problem.

 

 

[jonesry09]

I’m on board with what your saying. I go back and forth with my love/hate for me 58.  Some days it’s dialed and the up and down are automatic.  Other days I can hit it 3 times in a row within 50 yards of the green.  A person with a worse temper would have snapped it long ago hahaha

[Chuck905]

I like both the SW and LW for different reasons. I play a higher bounce SW with a sharp leading edge and a round leading edge in the LW which allows me to do many things from low spinners, pitches and super flops around the greens.

 

Personally, I think 14 clubs is plenty so I carry the allowable in case I do need that one shot.

Edited August 21, 2020 by Chuck905

[LUXOR54]

I've never carried a bunch of wedges, right now I go from PW (48°) to a 51° bent to 52°, and then a 58°. PW I can pretty much hit from 120 and in, 52 can open up easily and is great for around the greens (I have a Pelz Winn grip on it that's almost 1.5 Times a regular grip length for choking down making it even more versatile) and the 58 is only used out of bunkers or when I really need to get it up in the air and stopping. I don't feel like I'm coming up short with the setup I'm running. 

[3putt4thewin]

3 wedges total for me...50 and 58 after the pw.  Can do everything I need greenside to 105 yards out with the 50 and 58 and not nearly as much to think about when trying to decide which club and what kind of shot.

[setter02]

It's easier if you don't think about a 43* club by what the OEM's put on the bottom of it.  

[vmann]

1 hour ago, jjfcpa said:

I currently have 4 wedges in my bag - PW (43*), GW (48*), SW (54*), and a LW (58*).  I personally think this is just too many wedges and actually makes me much less consistent.  I remember reading that Jack Nicklaus played with a PW and SW.  I can see how this would make one more consistent because you'd learn how to use that SW in a lot of different circumstances.  Open it for lobs and reduce the loft for bump and runs or controlled chips.  

 

I've found that when I carry the 58* wedge, I tend to use it too much... and the 54 seldom gets used.  However, before I put a 58* in the bag, I used my 54* for everything. The other side of this is that each wedge requires its own practice time, although I don't spend a lot of time with the PW or GW on the range.  I just need them to fill gaps.  The 54* and 58* just don't have that much of a gap between them.  Consequently, I ordered a 56* and will pull the 54* and 58* and reduce the number of clubs to 13.

 

Anyone else done this and if I'm not thinking of this correctly, let me know.

Jack Nicklaus had more loft on his PW than your GW.  So, your 4 wedges aren't much different than his two.

[gdb99]

I have been playing 45, 52, 56, 60.

I dropped the 60 a few rounds ago.

 I’m thinking tomorrow I might try 52, 58.

[GHIN n Juice]

I grew up playing 3 wedges, pw, 52 and 56.  I was very good at manipulating the lofts for different shots but it required a lot of practice.  When kids and work came along and I wasn’t at the practice facilities 5-6 days a week my ability to make shots diminished.  I can’t imagine going back to that setup now that life has gotten in the way.

[J13]

All depends on your iron gapping.  Longer players will favor a 4 wedge setup due to gapping issues and also the fact they hit more full wedges into par 4's.

[azgreg]

Playing in a MGA event this Sunday on a shortish course so i'm taking my minimalist bag. It goes 44° 9i, 50° gw, and 56° sw. It's really all I need from 145 yards in.

 

[rkillian]

I’m leaving my 58 home the next few times I get out to see what happens. My partial shots have been a mess lately and of all my scoring clubs the 58 is the least consistent. Even in the practice area, I am more consistent with my 54 from the same spot. Even with a wide sole grind, I can open up the 54 and get the height I need. So the 58 will stay home so I’m not even tempted to try it until I sort things out. 

[setter02]

39 minutes ago, J13 said:

All depends on your iron gapping.  Longer players will favor a 4 wedge setup due to gapping issues and also the fact they hit more full wedges into par 4's.

 

I actually think it's the opposite for longer players as they can generate more spin, so playing 1/2 and 3/4 shots is easier for them vs. a slow swing player (obviously exceptions exist).  I very rarely hit full wedges as it is, on any hole, but if I was, then I know I'm either playing a very short course or the wrong tees.

 

The only reason that 'the 4 wedge setup' exists is because of OEM's changing the number on the bottom of the clubs.  No one in their right mind should ever think that something that is 43* is a 'PW'.

Edited August 22, 2020 by setter02

[chippa13]

I had been playing the 45*, 50*, 55*, and 60* for about a year. Then for about a month I started either chunking or blading the 60*. I just couldn't find the right swing anymore with it so I took it out about a month ago and have found much better results using the 55* in those former 60* situations.

[EDT501]

Ignore the numbers or letters on the club. I think its best to think of any club you regularly use for a full swing as an iron. For you, Im guessing, the 43*/48* are used that way. Treat them like a 10/11 iron. Wedges were originally designed to fill a different purpose other than irons - hitting short shots from varied (ie - non fairway) lies around the green.

My 9 iron is at 45* and the PW (10 iron) 50*. I have two "wedges." A 55* with plenty of bounce and some hell/toe relief that is my go to club out of bunkers and around the green. I can hit full shots with it, but I usually try and leave myself a full or 3/4 PW rather than a full SW. I also carry a very low bounce, aggressively ground 60* that is my get out of jail club. That mix suits me, but others prefer different things. 

[TourSpoon]

Back in JN's days the PW was 50* and the SW was 55-56*. Then came the bumping of the lofts. I played 48-54-60 for 20+ years and finally settled in on 46-50-54-58. The 46 is what I consider to be a 9+ iron and the gap at 50 is a PW. I tend to use the 54 more than any other club and the 58 in the bunkers and when its needed to get up quickly. Keep it simple but don't think anything less than 48* is really a PW, because its not. 

[EMA1]

I carry a 50, 56, and 60. Full shots with my 50 and 56, 56 around the green, and 60 only when absolutely necessary.

[bazinky]

I changed my set-up this year and dropped my 50 and 54 degree wedges for a single 52 (so my current wedge set-up is now 46-52-58). 

 

Biggest benefit is that it simplifies my decision-making. 

[oikos1]

If your scoring stays the same or improves when you drop a wedge, then perhaps you don't need four wedges.  If it gets worse if you drop a wedge, then four might be a good thing.  It really is that simple.  No right or wrong, no magic formula.

 

I carry four, but they are gapped the way I prefer with my other irons so I don't think of them as "wedges", more so as scoring clubs. 

[llewol007]

with the lofts of your Pw and Gap, you are actually carrying two wedges. Haaaaa haaaaa. 

 

[Chuck905]

1 hour ago, TourSpoon said:

Back in JN's days the PW was 50* and the SW was 55-56*. Then came the bumping of the lofts. I played 48-54-60 for 20+ years and finally settled in on 46-50-54-58. The 46 is what I consider to be a 9+ iron and the gap at 50 is a PW. I tend to use the 54 more than any other club and the 58 in the bunkers and when its needed to get up quickly. Keep it simple but don't think anything less than 48* is really a PW, because its not. 

I use to think anything less than 48* is not a PW. My Ping i210 PW@45* does everything my Cally Apex MB@49* can do. They both get to the same yardages in different ways via trajectory, spin rates, carry  and roll out.

 

 

Edited August 22, 2020 by Chuck905

[Doyouevenblade]

4 hours ago, jjfcpa said:

I currently have 4 wedges in my bag - PW (43*), GW (48*), SW (54*), and a LW (58*).  I personally think this is just too many wedges and actually makes me much less consistent.  I remember reading that Jack Nicklaus played with a PW and SW.  I can see how this would make one more consistent because you'd learn how to use that SW in a lot of different circumstances.  Open it for lobs and reduce the loft for bump and runs or controlled chips.  

 

I've found that when I carry the 58* wedge, I tend to use it too much... and the 54 seldom gets used.  However, before I put a 58* in the bag, I used my 54* for everything. The other side of this is that each wedge requires its own practice time, although I don't spend a lot of time with the PW or GW on the range.  I just need them to fill gaps.  The 54* and 58* just don't have that much of a gap between them.  Consequently, I ordered a 56* and will pull the 54* and 58* and reduce the number of clubs to 13.

 

Anyone else done this and if I'm not thinking of this correctly, let me know.

 

There is no rule that you have to use your highest lofted club around the greens.  Use whatever you feel comfortable with and gets you the best score. 

 

There are situations that loft helps though....  

 

50yrds to a middle/back pin, use whatever you like.  

 

50yrds to a front pin on a raised green, that extra few degrees of loft will come in handy.  

 

Use the 58 as an emergency club vs an every shot club. 

[ChipNRun]

Two seasons ago I replaced my wedges and went from 46-50-54-58 to 48-54-60.

 

I found the 46 and 50 were duplicated in a couple of cells in the partial wedge matrix. So, I went with a 48 to split the difference. (I quickly included half and 3/4 swings with 9i to fill a gap).

 

At Thanksgiving, I picked up a slightly used Calla MD4 LW in 58*, and it knocked the 60* out of the bag after 20 minutes at practice green. The 58 has more consistent distance, plus I can hit a 3/4 shot with it that doesn't work with the 60.

 

Finally... three wedges is much easier to practice, and much easier to manage on course than four wedges.

[harlequine]

In my modern bag i have T300 irons with a pw 43* and a gw 48*. These ”wedges”  are same style as the other irons and l dont see them as wedges, they are 10iron and 11iron. Then i go to a SW at 56* as my only wedge. In my retro MB iron set pw is 50* and l still see that pw as an iron because of the sole grind. I only use a 56* sw in this bag too.

[roundersmitty]

11 hours ago, erikalfstad said:

I carry a 50, 56, and 60. Full shots with my 50 and 56, 56 around the green, and 60 only when absolutely necessary.

Im in this boat.  I do find I shortside myself often and am very good with the 60.  But any ball that's puttable gets putted.

[Lumpy930]

I’ve gone back and forth over the years on 4 wedges to 3.  PW, 54*, 60* for 3 wedge and the thought was to simplify as others have mentioned, but in my experience reducing the number of wedges required more practice.  You “can” it all kinds of shots with a 54*, but to do it well it took lots of practice.  I find that PW, 52, 56, 60 is easier to play “standard” shots and not have to modify swings, loft, lie as much.  My PW is 47* for reference.  If you have a “modern” 43* PW, I can’t see anyway to reasonably go to 3 wedge setup unless you max out at 56*.
 

i have found that reducing wedges to get another hybrid, 5w, etc is not a good trade in my opinion for my game, as I would rather have to hit a non-stock shot from 220+ maybe once or twice a round vs wedge shots which make up a big total of the total shots on a round.  This is very dependent on each persons game and the course, but frequency of clubs used and narrowing in the range/consistency in an area that you hit a lot of shots is an important factor.

 

 

[Ivyguy]

15 hours ago, gwelfgulfer said:

It's easier if you don't think about a 43* club by what the OEM's put on the bottom of it.  

Essentially the set PW (in many iron set) should be named a 10 iron. 
 

keep in mind, TW and Jacks PW was at 50 degrees. 

[ThinkingPlus]

Clubs are clubs.  Labels are irrelevant.  I swing every club full (except putter - I have never acquired the feel for it) so I can cover the max distance range from a 3W down to LW with a full swing.  I arrange my lofts to minimize gaps across that range of clubs (15 yards or less).  I pick the most appropriate club for each shot I face based on effective distance, lie, and how I plan to play the shot.  All this results in 4 "wedges" : 45°, 49.5°, 54°, and 58°.  I can't think of any good reason to change.

[Jack Pearsall]

JP learned with pw and sw. you had the odd numbered irons and woods so between shots were always there. 

JP thinks it made him a better scrambler, but that is just opinion.

he likes having 14 as it reduces some variability

pw,52,56.

 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2020 by Jack Pearsall