HELP! Need help deciding between 54 and 56 Wedge

[Spearman]

I currently have a 49* gap wedge, and an 60* lib wedge and am looking to fill the space i between with either a 54* or 56* wedge. I’m leaning more towards the 56* but I’m wondering if it’s going to leave too much of a gap between it and my GW. Suggestions?

[tbowles411]

Have a 54 bent to 55 to add a bit more bounce.  This should give you almost 5 degrees of bounce between your wedges.

[wcdixon]

Bending a 54* to 55* one solution...or just go with a 54* you like and use a 3/4 swing for shorter shots into greens. Always easier to take a little off a swing then having to jump all over a 56* to get it where you want.

[Cptwiggly]

Hit them with full swings and see what the yardage is. Choose the one that’s gets you the full swing yardage that you want/need. I play a 54 because that is dead nuts perfect for a smooth 100 yard shot for me. You might want to pick the one that you know you will hit more on your normal course like if you know you have a really short par 3 or you know you are left with a certain yardage on a layup hole. 
 

Not enough people set their bag for the course they play the most. 
 

Or just bend to 55 degrees and live in the middle. 
 

I go 49, 54, 59 with my wedges. 

[Feelingofgreatness]

I use to game a 54* and recently changed to a 56*. I prefer the 56* around the greens because it checks up better and I can also use it from greenside deeper bunkers. It's only about 4-5 yards shorter on a full swing so I would rather have the greenside versatility.

I see a lot of guys gaming a 54* and 58* when a 56* does everything those two wedges do.

A 60* is a bit of a different animal and probably should even be played by most guys with an 8+ HC.

[Nick_E]

I like 4 degree gapping.  46 p, 50 g, 54 s, 58 l.

 

I need to be able to hit full shots with all of those and have a decent gapping.  I previously played 56 and 60, but ended up rarely using the 60 for full or 3/4 shots.  I was only using it for lobs or sand shots.  That was not adding enough value for me.  I also like chipping with both the 54 and 58.  

[JohnKHawk]

If you have a 49 degree gap wedge I'm guessing you probably have a 44 degree pitching wedge. If so I would go with the 54 degree sand wedge. That way you have a consistent 5 degrees between those clubs. Then depending on how you use the lob wedge just leave it at 60 or bend it to 59 degrees.

 

I have a 6 degree gap between my Sw & LW but I only use the lob for finesse shots around the green etc.

[nitram]

I'm with tbowles, split the difference (55) and you should be golden.

[jbrunk]

Hi @Spearman & welcome to GolfWRX!  What are your partials with GW & PW?  If I’m figuring right, you may be able to cover your gaps against a 56° with 3/4 GW & PW.  Partials w/54° (in my experience) duplicate partial 60° yardages.  Here’s what my grid would look like in those lofts.

 

Loft	Full	3/4	1/2
44	120	100	80
49	105	90	75
56	85	70	55
60	72	60	48
54	90	75	60

So I’d go 56° ...but I’ll always go 56°. Ymmv.

[drscott266]

I vote 54 as well. Fits your gaps well, and if you pick the right grind for that and your 60 you can cover all shots. I have 54 Vokey s grind for full swings, chips, and pitches. I have the L grind 60 for higher shots or shots that need more spin. Either work out of bunkers so I just have to feel out the lie and particular shot to pick a wedge. I rarely take full swings with lob, so the 54 gives me a little more firepower than a 56 from 100 yards comfortably. Time was I could hit a 56 100 yards easy, but that was years ago. No difference in pitches or chips honestly. 

[Milfordlefty]

Is this wedge about distance or height? If distance, I would go with 54°, if height, with 56°. How often do you hit your 60°? If you use the 60° every time you need to get over danger (bunker, water, tree) between your ball and the green, I would say 54° is the choice. Just my opinion.

[bombs]

Gapping wedges is seriously overrated given that people (should) hit very few full shots with 53+ degree clubs. 

 

What is more important is having versatility in grind/bounce options to play a variety of greenside shots from all lies. 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2021 by bombs

[jjfcpa]

I went with a 54* in the MD5 Jaws and find that I can use it as a sand/pitching/lob wedge.  I used to carry a 60* wedge and found that I hardly ever pulled the 54*.  I then decided to use the 54* and only pull the 60* when I really needed it... well, I quickly discovered that with the MD5 I could open it up and use it as a lob wedge and be just as effective.  I did this for two months and the 60* became a weight in my bag.  Finally pulled it and only carry a 48* (approach) and 54* for everything else.

 

Works for me but ymmv

[BallerNate]

I’ve been struggling with trying to decide on the right wedge setup as well, but for what it’s worth I would choose the 49, 54, 60 option as well. You’ll get better distances and a wider range of shots with the 54, and you can hit similar shots with the 60 as you could with a 56...just 2 cents from another guy trying to lock in the right wedge decision! (After going back & forth with different wedge setups this year, I’m going 47, 52 @ 53, 60 @ 59, but my 47 is a PW)

Edited January 7, 2021 by BallerNate

[Aviador Naval]

3 hours ago, bombs said:

Gapping wedges is seriously overrated given that people (should) hit very few full shots with 53+ degree clubs. 

 

What is more important is having versatility in grind/bounce options to play a variety of greenside shots from all lies. 

 

 

Hard +1.

[RogerinNewZealand]

Spearman,what make,model wedges?Whats your58/60 for SandSaves?.I use 54 just because its 5 to 8m longer, then 50 then 9i 44.Is there a special requirement in the mid wedge,eg ease of use, ok4 long bunker shots etc? Good call on higher spin 56 useage vs longer but less spin/checkup on a 54.Hence what do YOU need?

[ChipNRun]

Assuming 44* PW, if you can get out of bunkers OK with 54 go with it. If not, go with 56* and bend your 49* to 50*.

 

You could live with 44-49-54-60, or 44-50-56-60, as long as you had the distances dialed in. (Many people use LW just for partials)

 

Also for partial-finesse shots inside 100 yards, do you use a Pelz {wedge x clockface distance} matrix, or rely mainly on tempo and feel? 

 

 

Edited January 7, 2021 by ChipNRun

[ShAMbotay]

Here's the hot take: I personally play Edison Forged wedges that have odd numbered lofts to begin with, and I play a 55 and a 59. They're dumb good wedges, so that's my vote. If all else fails, I agree with the 54 bent to 55, but not the 56 bent to 55.

[PorkChopExpress]

Put both in the bag

[FlopShotGang]

I prefer a 56. For me I want more loft when chipping/pitching around the greens and getting out of bunkers. I also feel like the 54 isn’t versatile enough.
 

To be honest 54 or 56 likely won’t make a difference for you unless you’re a low handicap player or really really really practice with your wedges. My suggestion is you should more-so be considering what bounce is optimal for your swing and playing style.

[vtpachyderm]

I have a 50, 56 and 58 setup right now, but am thinking of going 52 and 56 only (46 PW) so I can put a driving/utility at the top of the bag. Based on the courses I play, i found that I could do everything with the 50 and 56, and used the 58 as a bailout for the near green misses. Was thinking of getting a 56 that I can open up and that should cover everything from 60 yards and in.

[GeauxGolfLSU]

I used to be a 56° guy and thought that 54° wouldn't suit me. But now I'm all in on 54°. It's a better full shot club for me, and I can open it up for shots around the green just fine. I use my 60° from the bunker more than I would either a 54° or 56° anyway due to the sand conditions at the courses I play.