Anyone using a 60+ degree wedge?

[chipa]

My home course is very hilly with elevated greens as well as adjacent drop offs. Plus the greens are small and hard and if you don't have the right trajectory or spin it will bounce right off. It's hard to hit the ball short and bounce it up because again most are elevated.

 

Taking this into account and my inability to make a decent flop shot by opening the face I've ordered an off brand 68 degree wedge to see if I can pick up 5-6 lost strokes(at least) a round to missing it where I shouldn't.

 

I wonder if anyone else out these is using 60+ degree wedges?

[LeoLeo99]

Highest i go is 56. I have a hard time swinging hard enough with a high lofted wedge.  Good luck!

[PhlashPhace]

I recently made the switch from a 58 to a 60 because I was losing strokes around the green.  It took me some getting dialed in from 95-100 with the 54 but now I'm much more effective around the greens and one of the things I didn't anticipate was I'm much better from 95 yards with the 54 because it hits and stops rather than generating tons of spin.

[1Mordrid1]

49 minutes ago, chipa said:

My home course is very hilly with elevated greens as well as adjacent drop offs. Plus the greens are small and hard and if you don't have the right trajectory or spin it will bounce right off. It's hard to hit the ball short and bounce it up because again most are elevated.

 

Taking this into account and my inability to make a decent flop shot by opening the face I've ordered an off brand 68 degree wedge to see if I can pick up 5-6 lost strokes(at least) a round to missing it where I shouldn't.

 

I wonder if anyone else out these is using 60+ degree wedges?

The higher the loft the more likely you will get a "glancing blow" from less than perfect contact. It's worth a try, but hitting a 68° wedge requires precision and a very confident swing. So when you do start practicing it, just remember you cannot be timid with it.

[chipa]

2 minutes ago, 1Mordrid1 said:

The higher the loft the more likely you will get a "glancing blow" from less than perfect contact. It's worth a try, but hitting a 68° wedge requires precision and a very confident swing. So when you do start practicing it, just remember you cannot be timid with it.

 

I realize now that all the greens at my home course have a side that drops off, and most are on the left where I miss it with my draw. I am losing tons of strokes and I need to do something. I don't have a problem making an aggressive swing, I just don't like doing it with the face open because inevitably the toe sticks up because I'm only 5'6'. I think I'm going to cut the 68d to 35" to make sure I'm sufficiently upright.

[MPAndreassi]

My home course small, fast and sloping greens. When I play there I carry a 64 degree wedge to help pop it up out of the thick rough around the greens, but when I play other courses I drop the 64

[Fairway14]

Cleveland RTX 64* wedge. Good for 50 to 70 yard carry shots.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Fairway14

[dubbelbogey]

I always have a 60* in the bag, and use it a fair amount, but that's as much for the fact that it has low bounce (4*) as it is for its loft. I like options for bounce depending on turf/sand conditions.

 

I used to carry a 64* wedge when I regularly played a course where every green is both elevated and surrounded by berms. That club was my "rescue" club for that course when I short sided myself. But, I don't play there as much these days, so the 64* sits in the garage.

[farris207]

I carried a 62 for a while, but felt like I should either just stick with the 60 or go big for the 64. I never hit my 56 or 60 full so bagging a 64 in the future may be the ticket.

[Nelson.br.1515]

Carry a 64 degree Callaway PM grind. Use 56 for most shots but 64 is nice when you need it. 

[Phil Major]

I still carry Callaway original PM Grind 64* for those shots and short side bunkers.  I can’t live without my 64* wedge! You can close it little bit to get more spins. I never need to play it open , just straight or close it.

 

 

Edited October 20, 2020 by Phil Major

[jmkenn0]

I have an SM6 60* bent to 64* - I actually use it for full shots, but also use it for flops or just popping the ball up without opening up the face of another wedge.  Good luck!

[chipa]

Thanks for all of the insight, I don't feel so bad getting a 68 degree. If it proves too much I'll try the 64 degree.

[steventoo]

On 10/21/2020 at 4:21 AM, Phil Major said:

I still carry Callaway original PM Grind 64* for those shots and short side bunkers.  I can’t live without my 64* wedge! You can close it little bit to get more spins. I never need to play it open , just straight or close it.

 

 

Me too! Although mine is definitely due for replacement.

 

I often play it with a full swing but I love playing with the face so a full swing might just be 30 metres over a bunker to a tightly tucked pin, or whatever. The course I usually play is pretty hilly and the rough is kind of tight but fluffy in places - if I'm on the side of a hill behind a green (say I've overshot) I can open the face right up, play off the down-hill, and still get the ball to stop. And out of sand... magic. I keep a 6 degree gap between pitching (46), 52, 58 (PM), and 64 (PM) and don't feel as though I've got yardage gaps because I rarely use the loft on the 58 or 64 for full approach shots, only special shots from weird locations. Flops, bunkers, hills, etc.

 

I don't know if I'd get the same versatility from just the 58. Maybe. Dunno.

[scooterhd2]

I love me some loft. Use my 60 a ton around the greens. 68 seems pretty crazy to me though. Seems like you'd have to play it square all the time, whereas I like being able to open the face for different turf conditions. 

[aenemated]

A buddy of mine found a ... 70° or 72° or something in the used rack at Roger Dunn for like $20. Brought it out for a round and we all played it on a short par 3.

 

Thing was impossible to not just slide under the ball and send it maybe 20 yards. Kinda fun and funny buuuuuut pretty sure I wouldn't waste space in the bag on one.

[EaglesGolf99]

64° here. 

[nitram]

@chipa Years back I had a 68* Vega I toyed with off and on for a season for that 10-20 yd shot I needed to elevate and couldn't make the 58 work. I eventually ended up dropping it and the 58 for a 60 bent to 61 and have been happy ever since. This wedge and the others 63-77* have a function and your reasoning for getting one is a valid one IMHO. But you're gonna have to practice with it and play it pretty well "straight up".  As previously mentioned, you can't be timid with it. It will surprise you how firm you have to squarely strike the ball for it to go 25 yards in your intended direction. Be sure to play it in the center-back of your stance with a little positive shaft lean. 

 

Let us know how it goes and I wish you luck my friend.

[hybrid25]

When you hit the shot perfectly with a high lofted club I can imagine doing some fabulous things. But the higher the loft the more difficult the shot is to pull off in my opinion. I suspect most people will see negative results with too high of a loft on their lob wedge. Rather than saving you five or six strokes I can see a club like a 68 degree lob wedge costing you five or six strokes .

[LeftyMatt24]

Hi toe 60 for me. Works wonders out of sand or when I’m short sided. Most of the time if there is green to work with I use a PW

[Jetierney13]

I have a 64* Hi-Toe but that only goes in the bag when I play the local short course. Few of the par 3’s are under 80 yards. 

[chipa]

34 minutes ago, nitram said:

@chipa Years back I had a 68* Vega I toyed with off and on for a season for that 10-20 yd shot I needed to elevate and couldn't make the 58 work. I eventually ended up dropping it and the 58 for a 60 bent to 61 and have been happy ever since. This wedge and the others 63-77* have a function and your reasoning for getting one is a valid one IMHO. But you're gonna have to practice with it and play it pretty well "straight up".  As previously mentioned, you can't be timid with it. It will surprise you how firm you have to squarely strike the ball for it to go 25 yards in your intended direction. Be sure to play it in the center-back of your stance with a little positive shaft lean. 

 

Let us know how it goes and I wish you luck my friend.

 

Thanks bud. I'm going to give this a 68 a try to save some strokes when I'm way below the green mostly. Maybe when I get the hang of it and some confidence I'll get a 64 degree. My wedge play and putting have always cost me strokes but I hope to change that - the putting is already better after I saw that people here were using round grips. One guy said he had too many "lines" to line up, the grip and the face etc. and honestly I think he was right. I improved with the round grip then got a half mallet and now I only have one "line" to line up and I have never putted so well.

[nitram]

Simpler is almost always better for me, especially in putting. On your new wedge, just remember to not play it forward of center or you're talking chili-dip city. Start by playing it in the center and progress to your back foot. it'll fly plenty high. 

[cbjuhr]

I gave a 64 degree a go a couple years back. I found I wasn't using it enough to justify a place in the bag. If your home course favors a 64 I would say you would need to generally practice more with this club than a regular lob or sand wedge. Contact is glancing and speed needs to be kept up. But honestly at nearly all courses you don't need a 64 if you are good with 60.

[GeauxGolfLSU]

I've played a 64° PM Grind since February, and it's like cheating out of the bunker. Also extremely easy to use around the greens, but I can't seem to hit a full shot with it, so it's not extremely versatile.

 

Came across a 62° JAWS wedge for a good price and put it in the bag yesterday. Much easier to hit full shots with, and is still nice around the greens. Further testing is necessary, particularly out of bunkers, which I didn't get to do yesterday (always a good problem to have). 

 

I would rather a specialty club like a wedge of this sort in my bag than something else at the top of the bag that I won't use very often at all.

[lefty1978]

[iNeedMoreGolf]

I use a 60 here and there and before that only a 58... i chip much better with lower lofts but obviously there are some situations that call for a high lob shot. I use it maybe once or twice a round... i also like chipping with it in the summer because its a c grind 8 bounce and it does well in firm/medium turf over soft or soggy. The lobs require practice for sure.

[bombs]

Carry a 60. Always have.

 

Great for chipping to elevated greens, deep bunkers and flop shots. Probably use it 4-5 times per round. 

 

Very rarely do I hit full shots with it. 

[snuggyph1]

Against all "Amateur" recommendations, I carry a RTX4 62 and use it routinely.  I feel very confident using it and have not found a club to replace it with in my bag.  

[chipa]

My 68 degree wedge just arrived and it looks like a spatula it's too big. I need to find something a lot smaller and I expect it will be 60-64 degrees.