4 wedges or a driving iron ?

[MountainKing]

On 1/29/2022 at 2:53 PM, Ripken08 said:

No need for anyone to carry 4 wedges in my opinion.  Go driving iron.

 

I'd agree if PW were still 50 degrees. 

[Justsomeguy]

If your total driver distance is under 300 yards (avg), you don't need a driving iron.

[DCCarpenter]

21 minutes ago, Justsomeguy said:

If your total driver distance is under 300 yards (avg), you don't need a driving iron.

Wouldn't the exception be if you play windy courses? I've played a few right on the water where my driver and fairway wood  shots were blowing off course (I do have a high trajectory on my shots). I had a 24 degree Wilson utility club and hit it off the tee after the first 3 blown off course drives and managed par/bogey golf the rest of the way which is good for me. 

 

 

[AP76]

I carry a driving iron and 4 wedges as both are necessary. I'm not the most accurate off the tee and tend to use the driving iron a lot. I also need the 4 wedges as I'm quite strong with irons/wedges and the gaps would be too big otherwise. Also they have different bounces for different scenarios which comes in handy a lot of the time.

[TwistedSister]

On 1/29/2022 at 7:10 PM, Cactus Jack said:

I would focus on gapping.
 

For example, the PXG PW most likely performs like a 9i vs. a traditional PW, GW like a PW etc. As such, if you ignore the stamping on the bottom of the club, you’re likely not be carrying four wedges. 
 

Another consideration would be the courses you play. If short courses where driver and 3 wood are too much the driving iron makes sense. However, if that’s not the case I think most folks will find themselves in the scoring zone more often. 

I don't look at the P, G, S or L  just the loft . 4* apart.   As to the 61* it is for the slopey, fast greens we have at my club and the occasional short side. 

[Dan Drake]

13 hours ago, MountainKing said:

 

I'd agree if PW were still 50 degrees. 

Exactly.  What is a “wedge?”  
 

In my mind, I carry two wedges.  The “P” & “A” that match my iron set are exactly that to me, irons.  Sure, I use them chipping and on a looong bunker shot once or twice a year, but they are really just irons to me.  

[MountainKing]

2 hours ago, Dan Drake said:

Exactly.  What is a “wedge?”  
 

In my mind, I carry two wedges.  The “P” & “A” that match my iron set are exactly that to me, irons.  Sure, I use them chipping and on a looong bunker shot once or twice a year, but they are really just irons to me.  

 

Since we identify irons based on what's on the bottom, anything that ends with the word "wedge" would be a wedge.  Despite the fact that the loft makeup has changed over the years it's still a wedge, so I carry 4 of them.  

Edited February 14, 2022 by MountainKing

[lggolf42]

Driving iron all day.

[Dan Drake]

9 hours ago, MountainKing said:

 

Since we identify irons based on what's on the bottom, anything that ends with the word "wedge" would be a wedge.  Despite the fact that the loft makeup has changed over the years it's still a wedge, so I carry 4 of them.  

Fair enough.  "What's in a name....." after all.  

 

Here's the issue with this question, every time it comes up: Everybody tries to solve the puzzle by talking about lofts, shafts, grinds, and least importantly, what club they have to decide between.  Heck its the same problem that resides in every question of the same ilk, regardless of the club type that one is pondering.  

 

Almost no one ever truly records, understands, and then discusses how the clubs will be used and how those shots ACTUALLY affect their scores.  

 

Heck, I mean if you look at my bag and the names/style of the clubs, you could say that I have 4 wedges and TWO driving irons.  There's space in there, if you truly consider the shots that you need each club to hit, but the dive is deeper than some want to go!

[Haroputt]

3 wedges for me.  I used to just have two wedges    3 wedges around the green suits me as well. Learning 4 wedges would be too much for me.  I prefer having room for longer club. 

[chisag]

On 2/13/2022 at 9:00 PM, Justsomeguy said:

If your total driver distance is under 300 yards (avg), you don't need a driving iron.

 

 

... There are just waaaaaay too many variables to make a statement like this. Some just hit their irons better than woods and especially better than hybrids. Some like myself play hard, fast fairways and the accuracy of a DI with a ton of roll makes it an ideal choice and my driver distance is 260-270 measured in a fitting last week. My DI can easily produce drives around 230-240 here in the desert and is more accurate them my woods/hybrids. 

[ChipNRun]

On 1/30/2022 at 8:24 AM, Kale_m said:

How far do you hit your driver? 
 I am a low cap and hit it farther then most. 
 

I would opt for another wedge 

A few seasons ago, I met a former small-college basketball forward, about 6-foot-5 with quick hands. He had switched to golf.

 

He had a five wedge set-up because he hit his PW 150 yards. He needed the other four wedges to get some options inside 100 yards.

[Kale_m]

59 minutes ago, ChipNRun said:

A few seasons ago, I met a former small-college basketball forward, about 6-foot-5 with quick hands. He had switched to golf.

 

He had a five wedge set-up because he hit his PW 150 yards. He needed the other four wedges to get some options inside 100 yards.

yah that is what I mean, Hitting it further you are going to have more wedges into greens. Every one will have more success with more full shots then having to "feel"them in there and manufacture shots. 

 

I go driving iron, (PW is 45) 50/55/60 

[RolandofGilead]

I would always go for the extra wedge if that’s what it takes to keep full swing gaps below 20 yards. I think it would be easier for most good players to blend two long clubs into one with some tweaks to the club and/or how you swing it. Getting close from inside 150 is huge for good players and I find that much easier with smaller stock yardage gaps.

[Obiwan21]

I'd always lean towards the wedge. That said, if you can hit a 3 iron consistent and you trust it, go that way. I just think that the closer you get to the hole the more precision/control you need and a set of good wedges has bailed me out more times than I can count.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ezpz]

You have to check for yourself if a driving iron is for you and how much you will be using it. Having 4 wedges helps me a lot with dialing in distances <115y. And the 60 is so versatile around the greens and bunkers. Driving irons are very tricky because they are extremely 1 dimensional unless you have a lot of speed, they do look cool and for some reason people are attracted by low iron shots off the tee making them feel safe. If you have acces to any kind of fitting facility or store where you can try different stuff on a monitor it would be wise to compare DI to similar lofted hybrids/woods. Also consider in what situations you want to use the club, you havent mentioned your speed/distances but if you are frequently out 200y+ to greens on long par 4s a driving iron wont help you much.

[jomatty]

Personally I would never go PW, 56, 60.  That just doesn’t make sense to me, if I was reading it right.  If I was set on having a 60 I would get a gap wedge.  PW, 52, 58 seems like a fine option though.  
personally I like to have 4 wedges.  It just makes it easier to play whatever distance and trajectory shot may be presented.  If I was hell bent on playing a PW, 56, 60 type setup I would lean towards getting a Vokey or some other specialty wedge as my PW.  You will need a lot of different partial shots and a specialty wedge will be a bit more versatile.

[LeftyMatt24]

I think for me short game is more important so I carry 4 wedges. In my bag I still have a DI but if I had to choose, the DI would be gone before any of my wedges. 

[karstens_ghost]

21 hours ago, jomatty said:

Personally I would never go PW, 56, 60.  That just doesn’t make sense to me, if I was reading it right.  If I was set on having a 60 I would get a gap wedge.  PW, 52, 58 seems like a fine option though.  
personally I like to have 4 wedges.  It just makes it easier to play whatever distance and trajectory shot may be presented.  If I was hell bent on playing a PW, 56, 60 type setup I would lean towards getting a Vokey or some other specialty wedge as my PW.  You will need a lot of different partial shots and a specialty wedge will be a bit more versatile.

Maybe, but isn't there a very popular guy that went PW48 56/60 and won 83?

 

I think there's been some really good advice on here about playing to the conditions. Driving irons to me aren't so much about wind, rather being an iron that runs out. Even with a hybrid that's relatively the same number more or less, the landing situation is extremely different. Some grounds will reward a DI, some won't. The Gap Wedge is good for runout chips and a gap between P and S; clue is in the name. Pros are mostly 50/50 on it, and a lot of it depends on the loft of the PW.

 

Tiger playing a 48º PW basically gave him a modern gap wedge. That said 8º is often considered extreme. Feel guys usually stick to 6º. Pelz grid guys stick to 4-5º. If OP sticks to 52-58 AND the PW he gets isn't some 43º loftjacked thing, he wins a DI.

 

For me, I'll play a hybrid 90% or a DI 10% of the time. I want my 4º options in wedges. If I was back in Phx, the DI comes out in the summer. If I'm in Dallas, the hybrid rarely makes the bag. But I don't mess with my wedge options. If you want the wedge & DI, and the DI is your 3-iron, drop your 5-iron.

[jomatty]

41 minutes ago, karstens_ghost said:

Maybe, but isn't there a very popular guy that went PW48 56/60 and won 83?

 

I think there's been some really good advice on here about playing to the conditions. Driving irons to me aren't so much about wind, rather being an iron that runs out. Even with a hybrid that's relatively the same number more or less, the landing situation is extremely different. Some grounds will reward a DI, some won't. The Gap Wedge is good for runout chips and a gap between P and S; clue is in the name. Pros are mostly 50/50 on it, and a lot of it depends on the loft of the PW.

 

Tiger playing a 48º PW basically gave him a modern gap wedge. That said 8º is often considered extreme. Feel guys usually stick to 6º. Pelz grid guys stick to 4-5º. If OP sticks to 52-58 AND the PW he gets isn't some 43º loftjacked thing, he wins a DI.

 

For me, I'll play a hybrid 90% or a DI 10% of the time. I want my 4º options in wedges. If I was back in Phx, the DI comes out in the summer. If I'm in Dallas, the hybrid rarely makes the bag. But I don't mess with my wedge options. If you want the wedge & DI, and the DI is your 3-iron, drop your 5-iron.

There are always exceptions and if this guy has the shot diversity of Tiger he certainly can make it, or any other setup work.  That doesn’t make it ideal for most of us imho.  Your point is certainly valid though, and if he is good enough with his wedges ahe can make it work.

[Bdck]

I hear a ton of "longer players need 4 wedges" talk.

 

What kind of courses are you big hitters playing?

 

Being a longer hitter myself (mid 190 ball speed) - having more options off the tee and into longer par 4s & 5s is far more valuable to me.

 

My setup is

Driver - 6.5⁰

3 wood - 14⁰

2 iron - 17⁰

5 wood - 19⁰

3 iron - 21⁰

5-P (48⁰)

54

60

 

Handicap peaked at +5.2 last year, at +4.3 right now.

[amace04]

Both.

 

I've got good distance, and at the top end of my bag I don't need two fairway woods.  It's very uncommon that I'm sitting more than 260 out and need a 3w off the deck.  The SIM UDI 2i is a stinger machine.  Into wind, or anytime I want a low driving flight, that's a great option.  The 4w will launch way higher and land softer, so they're two very different clubs.

 

I also don't buy the idea that a 3w off the tee is the "Safe" option if you need to hit a fairway.  I'm just as capable of missing a fairway with a 3w as I am a D, and I leave myself with a much longer 2nd shot.  If I really want to play it safe, longer iron or the UDI is the play.

 

I go:
D

4w (5w turned up to 17)

2i UDI

4H

5i-9i, PW, UW  (wedges part of the iron set)

56, 60

[Chef Otto]

I have played my current set up pretty much for the past 20+ years. I have tweaked it from time to time but always settle on this set up.

 

D

3w 15*

DI 2 iron  17*

4iron 21* thru PW 45*

then 3 more wedges 50,54,58

 

My biggest yardage gap is from 3w to 2i but I have to hit a shot in that range a lot less then short yardage and chips around the green so I prefer the option 4 wedges gives me. I am fine hitting the 2 iron of the fairway and use it quite a bit and off the tee on short par 4's

Edited February 21, 2022 by Chef Otto

[Typhoon1992]

I think too many people carry a driving iron thinking it makes them " look" like a playa...  I'd carry the gap wedge.  If you're a low handicap you should be able to find the fairway good enought with a low lofted hybrid or even get creative and hit a sawed off stinger driver.  These clubs your more used to hitting on a regular basis vs. some kind of specialty club, that's not easy to hit anyway, coming out once or twice a round.

[Yuck]

If you have a set with a 47 PW, 52 / 58 works real well.  Every year there are few options for a set with the 47.  I have TCB’s and went 1 degree week just for that option.

[R5Two]

Hiw many times do you hit your gap wedge in a round? There is your answer. 

 

I need a 56 and 60, and have 110 into about 3-5 greens at my local club. I have to carry 4 wedges. 

[Doyouevenblade]

I tried this experiment and found the lack of options from PW and in very limiting. 
 

Between wind and pin placements the ability to come in low/high in the area of the course you need to be scoring or saving par trumps that extra option off the tee.  

[Wonderboy]

Go with the driving iron and pull a wedge.

[Auzzman3]

I personally play 4 wedges, but also love the functionality of a driving iron and so I have a U500 as my 4 iron that doubles as my "tight par 4" club--smooth 235-240 for me. This setup works well for me because I hit it pretty far off the tee and so the likely hood that I have a wedge in hand for my second shot is super high so having more wedges gives me more distances to work with and ultimately I score better. 

[TJ83]

I went the 4 wedge route. 

 

Driver

3w 15*

20* driving iron

4-pw

50,54,58. 

 

Perfect setup for me, my distance and the courses I play.