Gap Wedge between 46-52: do you carry and do you use?

[RoyalMustang]

What is the consensus on carrying a 49-50 degree wedge?  Do you carry one?  I hit my 46 degree 140-145 on a full swing and 130 if I choke down a lot and swing easy.  My 52 degree is pretty much a 110-115 club.  I wouldn't mind a traditional full-swing 120 yard 49-50 degree PW, but do any of you carry one between your 46 and 52?  This is the largest gap in lofts in my iron set yet it is arguably a very important slot.  

 

 

[wsomol]

I’ve been playing with a gap wedge for a long time even going back to the Tommy Armour 845s set I had. I’d never go without one because of the yardage gap it fills in between a pitching wedge and sand wedge. It’s mostly a full swing club for me with finesse work around the green done with a sand or lob wedge.

[cfmgolf]

Sounds like you answered your own question.  A 30 yard gap is way to much to try and finesse something in between.  

[goaliedad30]

I have carried 4 wedges for quite a while. For "full" shots, I get the following:

 

46* PW = 115 (choked down 1" = 107-110)

50* GW = 105 (97-100)

54* SW = 90 (80-85)

58* LW = 75 (65-70)

 

That setup gives me a single swing for pretty much any distance between 65 and 115 yards, simply by choking down a wedge if I need to. With these clubs, my "full" swing is really a smooth 3/4 motion that pretty much guarantees solid contact.

[Exactice808]

Mostly short course where I play, So Dont need extra clubs at the top of the bag.  To me as I get closer to the hole I need the most amount of options and efficiencies.

More wedges for me works out the best.

I have a 50* to fit my gaps,

 

46* PW  (Cobra Amp Cell Pros & 714 AP2s) - 130y Full normal Shot

50* AW 10* Bounce (Vokey SM5 and replacing with an SM8 whenever it actually comes in) 115y full normal shot

56* SW 12* bounce Vokey SM7- 100y full normal shot

60* LW 8* bounce (SM4, replacing with the SM8) - 85y full normal shot 

 

About a solid 15y gap through the wedges. 
 

130y and in is my most critical shots,  that I am willing to give up a club at the top for it. (I use the wedges more than I do a driving iron or hybrid off the tee or in the fairway.)

 

[shanx]

52 degree is my 100 to 120 yd club, I use it frequently.

 

Its also my "hop and stop" chipping club.

[RoyalMustang]

So then:

46 degree "set" PW (130-145 depending on swing, without finessing a short swing)

50 degree wedge (TBD)

52 degree wedge (105-120 depending on swing)

56 degree sand wedge (95-105).  

60 degree lob (no full swings; too easy to get under and hit 60 yards)

 

As long as that 50 degree is a 115 or so, I should be pretty solid.  My old Ping Eye 2 PW was 50 degree and 130-135 in distance, but that club launched more than these Mizunos; a modern forged wedge should be shorter. 

 

Sound about right? 

 

 

[Jarlaxle]

Yes, have a 46 PW and 50 GW (both Titleist AP2) and then 54 and 58 wedges to round things out.  I'd rather have a large gap at the top of my bag than the bottom. 

[Matt614]

4 minutes ago, RoyalMustang said:

So then:

46 degree "set" PW (130-145 depending on swing, without finessing a short swing)

50 degree wedge (TBD)

52 degree wedge (105-120 depending on swing)

56 degree sand wedge (95-105).  

60 degree lob (no full swings; too easy to get under and hit 60 yards)

 

As long as that 50 degree is a 115 or so, I should be pretty solid.  My old Ping Eye 2 PW was 50 degree and 130-135 in distance, but that club launched more than these Mizunos; a modern forged wedge should be shorter. 

 

Sound about right? 

 

 

I would probably get rid of the 52 and replace it with the 50 instead of adding a 50 and keeping everything. 

[kmay__]

50* Here with a 45* set PW, 50s my easy 100 shot, can push it to around 110-115. But 100-105 is my go to 50* shot.... also what I aim to have in on par 5s I cant reach in 2. (which is most of them). 54* can creep up on it sometimes though, a hard 54* will go 100, but I'm looking to pop in the golf shop and have my 54* bent to 55* to fit better between my 50* and 60*, plus add a touch more bounce. 

[LoopySwing13]

I play 47-52-58 and do not play one. I tried in the past but always found more options hurt me more than helped.

47 - 135

52 - 120

58 - 100

 

i can do enough to shorten the swing or smooth out tempo to find the gaps.

[gsrjc]

49 degree Edel wedge and full shots go 110. 
 

45 PW 

49 Edel wedge

54 Edel wedge

59 Edel wedge. 

Edited September 2, 2020 by gsrjc

[Skhacker]

46-52-58.  Perfect gapping for me and can play any shot type.

[jol]

45, 50, 54 & 58. Iron Set Pitching wedge and three Ping Glide 3 wedges.

Covers everything I need from full swing to pitch to chip and bunker shots. 

Took me a while to find just the right combo of grinds and bounces to cover the different courses I play. But now I’m set.

[Krt22]

46,50,55,60. There is no need for a 5th wedge

[wsomol]

1 hour ago, RoyalMustang said:

So then:

46 degree "set" PW (130-145 depending on swing, without finessing a short swing)

50 degree wedge (TBD)

52 degree wedge (105-120 depending on swing)

56 degree sand wedge (95-105).  

60 degree lob (no full swings; too easy to get under and hit 60 yards)

 

As long as that 50 degree is a 115 or so, I should be pretty solid.  My old Ping Eye 2 PW was 50 degree and 130-135 in distance, but that club launched more than these Mizunos; a modern forged wedge should be shorter. 

 

Sound about right? 

 

 

That’s one to many wedges IMO, maybe I misunderstood your first post.  Pick either the 50* or 52* as your “gap” wedge for a total of 4 wedges.

 

To dig in a little more, I tend to hit non-set wedges a little shorter than set wedges. So I prefer the set gap wedge and, again, mainly use it for full to 3/4 shots and that fills the gap to a full SW.  I find it easier to back off a wedge and hit it a little shorter than step on one where the ball tends to just go higher and not really longer. 

[Chadwickog]

I play 47-52-58 and have no trouble with gapping.  The 52 is usually good for that distance if I need to step on it a bit or bring it down a bit while still having a full swing.  I find a full swing swinging easier is more predictable than a 3/4 swing.

[COL_B]

47* 718 MB PW - 120-130

 

50* SM7 F - 105-120

 

52* SM7 F - 90-105

 

56* SM7 M - <90 and sand

 

 

[Myherobobhope]

Let's ignore club lofts for a second, and just talk gapping.

 

My personal belief is to have gaps get bigger as the clubs get longer... I don't really care about a 20 yard gap between my hybrid and my 4 iron... If i'm 220 out from the pin, I'm more focused on missing left or right than hitting an exact number.

 

From 200-150, I want consistent gaps... then I get into wedges.

 

You hit your PW 140-145... are you confident with the 130 yard swing and does it perform consistently? If so, I wouldn't necessarily fill that gap... Instead I'd be worried about the club between 130-115. Honestly, if you have that 130 swing mastered, get something that goes 125 that you are comfortable stepping off and hitting 110. Then you've got your sandwedge for 105 and less. 

 

If you aren't comfortable with the short PW, you'll likely need to add a club. Get something that goes around 130. 

 

You have 14 slots in your bag... it's up to you to cover as many distances as you can. 

 

My personal belief right now for my next bag rebuild is going to be set PW, forgiving GW with a high spin face (Cleveland or Mizuno, most likely), then more blade wedges for work around the green.

[BigBlue7]

My 50 degree is one of my most used wedges.  Love flighting down approach shots with it and will hit it anywhere from 125 to 90 yards (my 54 sand wedge goes 105 with a full swing, but I would rather hit a controlled 50 if the shot allows)

[ChipNRun]

For several seasons I played a Calla iron set PW 46* and Cleveland CG14 in 50 - 54 - 58. The four gave good coverage on full and partial shots, although I had several 

cells of duplicated distances in my wedge matrix.

 

By 2017 I had pulled the46* and replaced the specialty wedges. I went with Callaway 48 -54 -58 mix shown in my sig line. This has two benefits:

• Much easier to practice and manage, three instead of four
• With the old mix, the 46* and 50* were pretty well interchangeable for short shots around the green. So, I split the difference and went with 48*.
• Note: I include the 9i in the mix for half and 3/4 swings to prevent void around 110 yards.

Initially I had a 60*/10 MD.PM U grind, but I had trouble with distance control. The MD4 in 58* knocked the 60* out of the bag in about 15 minutes of practice green testing. 

[Nebraska]

2 hours ago, goaliedad30 said:

I have carried 4 wedges for quite a while. For "full" shots, I get the following:

 

46* PW = 115 (choked down 1" = 107-110)

50* GW = 105 (97-100)

54* SW = 90 (80-85)

58* LW = 75 (65-70)

 

That setup gives me a single swing for pretty much any distance between 65 and 115 yards, simply by choking down a wedge if I need to. With these clubs, my "full" swing is really a smooth 3/4 motion that pretty much guarantees solid contact.

These are my lofts too.   I don’t choke down with wedge if the lie allows I’ll play the ball forward for less distance and back for more.  If the lie doesn’t allow then it’s like throwing a ball I just throw it a little shorter not even sure what is different in the swing it just works.

[TLUBulldogGolf]

I play the following:

 

JPX 900 Tour PW bent 1* weak to 47* - Goes 140 on a full swing

54* - 120 is about max

60* - 90 is about max

 

I have thought about moving from a 60 to a 58 because I would like to be able to hit that club 100, but I've just gotten comfortable with this set up. I don't like to take full swings with my wedges if I can avoid it.

[NickMay17]

50 minutes ago, ChipNRun said:

For several seasons I played a Calla iron set PW 46* and Cleveland CG14 in 50 - 54 - 58. The four gave good coverage on full and partial shots, although I had several 

cells of duplicated distances in my wedge matrix.

 

By 2017 I had pulled the46* and replaced the specialty wedges. I went with Callaway 48 -54 -58 mix shown in my sig line. This has two benefits:

• Much easier to practice and manage, three instead of four
• With the old mix, the 46* and 50* were pretty well interchangeable for short shots around the green. So, I split the difference and went with 48*.
• Note: I include the 9i in the mix for half and 3/4 swings to prevent void around 110 yards.

Initially I had a 60*/10 MD.PM U grind, but I had trouble with distance control. The MD4 in 58* knocked the 60* out of the bag in about 15 minutes of practice green testing. 

 

I'm thinking of doing the same as you. Ditching the 45* and 50 for the 48 or 47.

Edited September 1, 2020 by NickMay17

[puttmaster]

46 - 50 - 54 - 58

[JosephNewton293]

My irons are old school set so my PW is 47*. I play vokey sm6 blacks in 52*-58*.  One of my playing partners is scratch and plays modern day irons with a 43* PW bent to 42*. That's one degree stronger than my 9 iron. So if I club off him (same swing speeds) it requires some math. Just seems ridiculous to buy a set of irons that are so strong you need to then buy 4 wedges to fix a gaping issue below your 160 yard PW.

[RolandofGilead]

46/49/53/57. My set PW is 46, then I have an old PW bent from 47 to 49, GW at 53, and SW bent from 56 to 57. All of the wedges are > 10 years old and well worn, and I game them out of my disdain for spending money. Those wedges fly about 140/130/120/105 on full swings - no real gaps, but too bunched.

 

I will likely keep the PWII as I just love chipping with it. The grooves are worn enough so that I never over-spin chip shots with it, which is pretty liberating. I will probably end up bending it another degree weak to 50 (it’s a forged club so no issues there). I hit my SW too far for a highest-lofted wedge and that will drive me to eventually add a ~60 degree LW. I just bought a new iron set and need to wait before buying more clubs, or risk sleeping on the couch indefinitely. My final set up will be something like 46/50/55/60.

[azgreg]

Love my gap wedge. I use it as much as any other club in the bag if not more.

 

[Celeras]

44.5, 49.5, 54, 58

PW is obviously kind of strong in my set so I consider it three wedges, but the gapping works out.

[jomatty]

I can’t imagine you want a 50 and a 52.  Id pick one or bend one to 51, and then go with a 54 and 58, or 56 and 60, whichever you prefer.  With a 46 degree pw I think you are likely right to go to 50, but no need for the 52 at that point.