3 or 4 wedge setup?

[adamnbomb]

Just switched to a three wedge setup in favor of adding a 5 wood in. Old setup was 47/52/56/60. Dropped the 52 due to only using it for shots between 110-120 yards. Never was a fan of it and feel much more comfortable taking some off the 47 and using a little course management to stay out of the 110-120 yard range.

[trilerian]

Technically, I play 4 wedges, but loft wise it is 3.  My PW is 43*, so can't really count that one.  My set AW is 48*, then I play a 54* and a 60*.  To be honest, I'm trying to figure out what to do with my wedges, there are very few shots that I use my 60 on that I can't use my 54 on, and most of the time, I would probably be better off using the 54, which is what I have been trying to do.  So it feels like I can get rid of the 60.  There are only 2 shots that I like my 60 for; short floaters and low spinners.  Oddly enough I can't hit low spinners with my 54, but they are still inconsistent with the 60 unless I practice them a lot.  Another issue is my set AW, the face is pretty hot and I have a hard time chipping with it.  The ball just springs off the face way to easy.  

 

I guess what I'm trying to say, I'm not happy with my wedge setup, but don't really know what to do, lol.  I have a 52 F grind I can try, and a 58 M grind that I hate.  

[MTgolfer]

16 hours ago, sadclevelandsports said:

Do you feel like it's necessary to have 2 different partial wedges hitting the same distances without it being redundant? What would the advantages be other than trajectory differences?

I like having the redundancy in yardages with wedges. It’s mostly about being able to choose a trajectory for me.

[BallerNate]

20 hours ago, sadclevelandsports said:

Sorry to revive this thread, but I'm trying to understand why everyone says 4 wedges "better for gapping." I currently have a 3 wedge setup 46-52-58. Really trying to convince myself that I don't need a 4th. My PW carries 132, Gap carries 120, Lob carries 106. Even if I "improve" my gaps from 100-130, my lob wedge will take almost 100% of the shots from 30-100 yards, so where are the gaps that I'm missing out on by not having a 4th wedge? Serious question, because I've almost pulled the trigger on a 4th wedge several times today, and trying to stay rational.

What I’ve found for me personally is that I have a tough time getting consistent yardages from my Lob Wedge on full swings. I’ve tried 60* and 58* in the LW spot, and that’s the main detractor for me in the 46-52-58 setup.

 

Maybe eventually once my wedge game is more advanced, I’ll try the 46-52-58, but for right now I think the 46-50-54-58 wedge setup is best for me because I don’t have to rely on full swings with any of those clubs.

[DaveGoodrich]

I play 4 wedges, and my pitching wedge is 48 or 49 degrees, depending on the set!  But for me, its about bounce/turf interaction, more than gapping.  I play a variety of public courses, so conditions can vary quite a bit, even within a single course on a single day (wet overgrown rough, bare lies, firm or soft bunkers, etc.).  

 

So I carry a 53, and both a high bounce 57 and a low bounce 60.   Those are tight "gaps" but I think that always having the optimal tool for the job around the green saves more strokes than I could possibly save  by adding another hybrid/fairway wood.  

 

Saving shots on long approaches is mostly about shot selection/risk management anyway.  Most of us don't have enough "significant digits" on our long iron/hybrid/fairway wood swings to take advantage of tighter gaps at that end of the bag.  Except for elite players, distance dispersion for long approaches is going to be dominated by strike quality, and that can't be fixed by tightening loft gaps.  So I've found versatile hybrids that I can hit solidly, and I pick targets where a small miss won't cause me big problems. Then I use all those wedges to save me when I (inevitably) miss some greens on long approaches.        

 

 

[MTgolfer]

17 hours ago, BallerNate said:

What I’ve found for me personally is that I have a tough time getting consistent yardages from my Lob Wedge on full swings. I’ve tried 60* and 58* in the LW spot, and that’s the main detractor for me in the 46-52-58 setup.

 

Maybe eventually once my wedge game is more advanced, I’ll try the 46-52-58, but for right now I think the 46-50-54-58 wedge setup is best for me because I don’t have to rely on full swings with any of those clubs.

Full lob wedge shots are pretty much a mess for everyone. Best for most of us to avoid doing it. 

[BallerNate]

4 minutes ago, MTgolfer said:

Full lob wedge shots are pretty much a mess for everyone. Best for most of us to avoid doing it. 

Yup, agreed. We're on Week 5 of golf courses and driving ranges being closed here in Ontario, so have been spending that time at the local parks working on my wedge game. And among many takeaways from that extra practice time has been how much easier it is to control distance and dispersion with a 54* vs a 58*. Once we're able to get back on the course, I'll be hitting a ton more partial shots with the 54* over forcing stepped on 58* swings which I've had a long history of missing on.

[the_Danimal]

agreed. I went through this whole thread and it took me until page 8 to see the turf/bounce issue which I think is the biggest catalyst for carrying 4 wedges. unless you have the time to practice and swap out wedges based on the course you play.

 

I carry 4 (46*, 52*, 56* 60*). I prefer to use my 60 around the green and within 70yrd +/-10, but not every course/condition allows me to use my 60*/4*. I run into a lot of scenarios where i use my 56*/8* bounce for an entire round just because of the turf/lie. Same goes for 60* and not using my 56*. The loft between 56/60 doesnt translate into much difference. If you manipulate the club face, you can hit a lot of shots with either. Whether i use one or the other is purely based on the bounce/lie. 

 

16 hours ago, DaveGoodrich said:

I play 4 wedges, and my pitching wedge is 48 or 49 degrees, depending on the set!  But for me, its about bounce/turf interaction, more than gapping.  I play a variety of public courses, so conditions can vary quite a bit, even within a single course on a single day (wet overgrown rough, bare lies, firm or soft bunkers, etc.).  

 

So I carry a 53, and both a high bounce 57 and a low bounce 60.   Those are tight "gaps" but I think that always having the optimal tool for the job around the green saves more strokes than I could possibly save  by adding another hybrid/fairway wood.  

 

Saving shots on long approaches is mostly about shot selection/risk management anyway.  Most of us don't have enough "significant digits" on our long iron/hybrid/fairway wood swings to take advantage of tighter gaps at that end of the bag.  Except for elite players, distance dispersion for long approaches is going to be dominated by strike quality, and that can't be fixed by tightening loft gaps.  So I've found versatile hybrids that I can hit solidly, and I pick targets where a small miss won't cause me big problems. Then I use all those wedges to save me when I (inevitably) miss some greens on long approaches.        

 

 

 

 

[MTgolfer]

1 hour ago, the_Danimal said:

agreed. I went through this whole thread and it took me until page 8 to see the turf/bounce issue which I think is the biggest catalyst for carrying 4 wedges. unless you have the time to practice and swap out wedges based on the course you play.

 

I carry 4 (46*, 52*, 56* 60*). I prefer to use my 60 around the green and within 70yrd +/-10, but not every course/condition allows me to use my 60*/4*. I run into a lot of scenarios where i use my 56*/8* bounce for an entire round just because of the turf/lie. Same goes for 60* and not using my 56*. The loft between 56/60 doesnt translate into much difference. If you manipulate the club face, you can hit a lot of shots with either. Whether i use one or the other is purely based on the bounce/lie. 

 

 

 

Great point.

[adamnbomb]

My overall thought process is that your full swing 100-105 yds wedge should be your most aggressively ground and also mid-low bounce. Then get really comfortable with it and be able to hit it high-mid-low with varying amounts of spin on less that 100 yard shots and in the short game.

 

Hot take: I think you can do more with a mid-low bounce, more aggressive ground 56 than you can with a 54,58 or 60.

[Woolly159]

4 Wedge Setup

PW-46^o, GW-50^o, SW-54^o, LW-58^o 

 

The course I currently am a member has very frim and fast greens, there are a lot of tricky situations so I find having that extra wedge very helpful.

 

My old course was very flat and the greens were slow so I was playing three wedges there with an extra long iron. 

[nosedive32]

5 Wedge set up that isn't really a 5 Wedge set up given the numbers on my irons and the lofts are hilarious.

 

PW - 42

GW - 48

54

60

64

 

If we're being honest that's a 9 iron, set PW, and 3 wedges.

[BallerNate]

9 hours ago, nosedive32 said:

5 Wedge set up that isn't really a 5 Wedge set up given the numbers on my irons and the lofts are hilarious.

 

PW - 42

GW - 48

54

60

64

 

If we're being honest that's a 9 iron, set PW, and 3 wedges.

That's crazy...OEM's are definitely taking the jacked lofts thing way too far!! 😳

[Fairways_and_Greens]

I was thinking of going from 4 back to 3 wedges, ala the "Stan Utley Method"

 

This is based on the 2021-2022 season 50-125 yards proximity... I wish they published strokes gained, but they do not.

 

 

• 3 of the top 15 play 3 wedges, the rest 4.
• 5 of the top 15 play their set wedge.
• Most the variability in bounce was in the 54/56 wedge range.
• 4 50° wedges vs 8 52° wedges.