Settle a debate for me. Extra Hybrid or an Extra Wedge?

[TheBiles]

I removed my 60 from the bag when I realized that I could hit 99% of the shots with my 56. I would only pull the 60 if conditions were perfect because a miss with the 60 was awful.  I almost never full swing a wedge either.  I added a hybrid because I can’t hit the same shot with my 4W or 4i.  It just isn’t possible for me to take a little off a fairway wood or flight down a long iron to hit that distance. Even if I could, the ball flight would be totally different from a hybrid. The bottom of my bag is now Pw (44), Aw (49), 53 (bent from 52), and 57 (bent from 56). No way would I ever add that 60 back in when the extra long club adds so much more versatility. 

[CDLgolf]

I would rather have more wedges than hybrids.

I use a 3, 4, and 5 hybrid and 45, 50, 55 and 60 wedge.

My lowest iron is a 6.

[hitnfades]

I carry 4 wedges (set pw, 48, 52 & 56) to cover me in scoring positions. I have good control into/around the green. Plus, I am comfortable opening the face up with wedges as needed. Then, I focused on closing the gaps at the top end of the bag. I have a variety of club options and decide what to carry based on the course layout and distance. I regularly carry 13 clubs, but will add the 14th club based on the course. At the top end of the bag, I always carry the Epic Speed 9*, Apex UW 17* (this club kicked my 3 wood out of bag due to my ability to hit it from the tee/fairway/rough) and Epic Flash 20*/23*hybrids. So, adding a club for me could be a 3 wood or longer hybrid/iron. 13 clubs work well for me generally since I trust my distances (+\- a few yards) for each club. But, some courses I play in my area having different landing zones and require a different club options. I really just focus on the scoring areas and a quality tee shot.

[Flip4000]

I think it depends on your game. I have significantly more wedges into greens than I do long irons or woods so I don’t mind gaps for a shot I might hit 1-2 times around vs 7-10 times 

[RoryDawg27]

Whatever distance you have more when playing. I benefit exponentially more from an extra wedge than another long club. 

 

Score from 100 in! 

[Feelingofgreatness]

If you learn how to use a 56 well, there is no need to have a lob wedge unless you a different bounce and grind. I can do anything with my 56.

I prefer more clubs at the top end. 

[BagofToast]

Depends on your game but I would say extra club at the top end for me. 3 wedges cover all the shots I need from 130 and in. Prefer options at the top, wedges make my life more confusing lol

[SE Gamer]

I carry 4 wedges (PW, GW, SW, LW). Also still carry a 3i, but thinking of swapping that out for a 5w or hybrid. Personally, I get a lot more benefit from the wedges than I would be shrinking their numbers in favor of the top of the bag. Hit the ball far enough that anything beyond a a 5 or 6i really doesn't see a ton of use. 

[Bobb3rdown]

I kind-of did both. Recently dropped my 3w and 4i. Now go 5wd, 4hy, 5hy, and at the bottom of the bag I play a set pw, gw, then blade 50, 56. Only a few rounds with that setup, I likely need to weaken the 50 2 degrees. But it's been working well.

[DShark1]

Play what works for you. That is what you have to figure out and don’t worry with what other people say you should have. Golf is a sport where your in control and you will only play well when you’re brutally honest with yourself. I play clubs that I hit well period. Driver, 5w, 5 iron-PW and putter that’s nine clubs. No need for a 4 iron because I would rarely use it I didn’t hit it very accurately but I do the 5 iron. I also hit my 5w really well and will choke down 2 inches and cover my 4 iron. So I have a lot of room in the bottom end. I carry a 50.08-54.12-56.10 I also looked at my game and wanted a low bounce wide flange wedge for hard pan lies so I put a 58.6 which I strictly use maybe only once every 3rd round but it gets me out of some bad spots.. I know people will say why do I have a 54* and a 56* it’s because different bounces and different grinds. My short game is really good so I save a lot of pars and chip in for birdies a bunch. 4 brides today 2 were chip ins. Play your game. 

[tatertot]

A lot of it depends on the loft of your 9 iron ... I carry 4 wedges, but one of them is 43 degrees - is that really a wedge?

 

I vote for the extra wedge ... that's were the strokes are.

[Cactus Jack]

I play a traditional 48, 52, 56, 60 wedge setup. For full swings the gapping works out well. However, my goal this year is to learn partial shots and build an effective wedge matrix.
 

I’ve found my distance control is not good enough to take advantage of the precision of the tighter loft gaps. I find my 1/2 and 3/4 shots often overlap leading to redundancy and limiting the benefit of the additional wedge. Ideally, I’d like to hit 3 distinct distances with each shot, but I’m not there yet.
 

I think I’m going to drop one wedge and focus on dialing in 1 or 2. In the meantime I’ll likely add another tee club. As I get better with my wedges I might add one back, or see how good I can get with larger loft gaps. 

[SwingBlade]

Personally, I go with the concept of an “anchor” wedge.   A wedge that can handle any shot from 75 or 65 with relaxed confidence.   Needs to be capable of both open faced and square shots, high flops and lower check shots. Green side shorted and sand ups and downs.   For me it has been a 60 for 22 years. Sometimes it was a TM Y cutter before they got outlawed.  From that point on it has pretty much been either Vokey SM, Vokey Wedge Shop, or Miura.   From there I build the wedge section.  At 4 degree intervals.   If it’s a course with small harder greens, I’ll add in a 64.   Otherwise it’s 48, 52, 56 mid bounce & 60 low bounce, all of which can easily open.  When the day comes that the 56 can’t go at least 95-100, then I’ll rethink to maybe 48, 54, 60?  Either way, an optimum wedge set never gets sacrificed for a hybrid or a FW.  

[ChipNRun]

On 5/24/2022 at 5:07 AM, hartonjok said:

Makes me wonder, should I get a 3 hybrid or 7 wood instead? Seems like 7 wood is all the rage these days, and I am curious to see if that could fill the gap between my 2 hybrid (240 carry) and my 4 iron (210 carry). But to be honest, I've never been in a situation where I thought to myself "damn, I wish I had a 230 club".

 

Ah yes, the LW! Forgive me, but learned to play golf in the misty yesterday of the 1960s.

 

Drivers and fairway woods were actually - gasp! - made out of persimmon wood. Golfdom had two wedges, the PW and the 55* or 56* SW. And, golfers knew how to hit lovely greenside cut shots with the SW.

 

On 5/24/2022 at 5:07 AM, hartonjok said:

I'm starting to feel like there isn't enough difference between my 56 and my 60. ... bunker. ... chip/pitch...saucy-saucy flops. If anything, I use the 56 on all of those. 

 

Ah, laddie... You're having a Brigadoon moment!

 

Back to reality: From 5 + decades of golf, I have learned that you don't need a LW - until you do. For me, I shifted form 60* to 58* and suddenly had much greater control of the LW.  From inside 30 yards, I use mostly a 7i chip or a LW cut (not lob, too risky). This often depends on the manicure preferences of the greens crew that morning.

 

If you open up a slot on the long end, it depends on what you can actually hit. A 3H likely would mesh best with the 4i.

 

You have a unique mix. Two single-digit guys I know have 3W, 2H and 4H, with the 4H replacing their 4i.

 

In parting, remember the Second Law of WRX: Whatever works! (the First Law: Go get fit!)

 

Your 56* has a bit more loft than my 54*, so it might work as the ultimate short-end club. 

[bladehunter]

You can have both of you drop the longest iron and get more loft on a hybrid. And learn to hit that hybrid both ways to create a 30 yard variance.   
 

but this only works for long hitters.  That hybrid is a 205-225 club for me and it’s 23 degrees. 7 wood is 220-235 club on the fly -5 iron is 195 in the air.  And usually rolls a touch.  So you’ve got the gap covered up top.as crazy as it sounds I use 7 wood off the tee a ton.  If it’s firm out I get 225 carry off the tee easily , and 12-15 yards of roll.  Trouble comes up at 250 a lot on older courses.  My 3 wood is 255-265 carry off the tee. So I actually neee those yardages covered up top.  For years I played with 3 wood 3 iron and no coverage up top.  And wondered why my scoring was sporadic . It was because I was constantly hitting into trouble - good shots too long. Or the reverse. Laying back way too far to avoid trouble but being too far back to attack. 

 

  I’m currently wondering if I won’t drop my 50 degree wedge and add a 64.  I rarely use the gap. I don’t like it. For whatever reason it isn’t a consistent club for me.  If you hit it well it will fly 120. If you miss it a hair it’s 95 yards.  Huge gap for its performance.  It’s a set gap same as my iron set. And it sucks. I am a pitching wedge person.  I can vary trajectory and shape and cover  108-140 no problem.  And tend to see a ton of 90  and closer shots and very few 105-115 shots.  
 

 

[lefthack]

I really only carry my 52* which I use as my wedge for tight lie pitches (lower bounce) vs my 56* that is for heavy rough and sand pitches. Not really ful swing clubs, but can be. My set pitching wedge is a full swing club. 

[bomberman]

Depends on your game and your set. Is your PW 44* or less, if so I feel you need 3 extra wedges, maybe 4 but then you probably end at a 5 or 6 iron in the set so you have room. It depends on your course as well, do you have alot of 200+ yard approaches, then you can benefit more at the top of the bag.

 

Last year I primarily played a 7200 yard course with a couple monster par 3s (240 and 260) and par 5s that were surrounded by water, I put 2 hybrids in play along with my 4 wood. This year i joined a private club that is shorter 6700 yards and my hybrids largely gather dust, I could and may re-jig my set or could easily play with 12 or 13 clubs.

 

I disagree with the comment about long clubs not being scoring clubs, if I can get the ball on or near a green from 220-250 yards it is generally about 2 more strokes to get in the hole, that means a birdie on a par 5 or a par on a long 4 or 3. If I layup to 80 yards I will almost certainly hit the green but getting inside 10 feet maybe 1/2 the time and inside 5 feet not all that often, which means more pars on the 5s and more bogeys on the long par 4s. Granted my short game is decent and get up in down often provided I don't short side myself.

[woodbooger]

I carry PW, 50, 54, 58, and 60. The 58 has high bounce and the 60 low, so they're used very different. I am going to drop one of the lobs for a 3 hybrid as right now I'm driver, 4 wood, 4 iron. So something in between the wood and iron would be nice. However, I just don't find myself missing that gap very often. Not as often as I find myself using the 58 or 60. 

 

Ultimately it's looking like I may go with a low bounce 58 and the hybrid though. There are times I'd really like that hybrid off a tee.

[rich_mahogany]

I played with 4 wedges all last season and would usually find I had one wedge I'd rarely use (usually the GW). 

 

I've since added a DI to the top of the bag (giving me a high/low option with my 7w) and now go PW / GW / LW. Though I switched to a vokey PW which has helped with half shots and shots around the green.

[hagimihale]

4 wedges in the bag:  44 (set PW), 48, 54 and 60.  60 only gets used inside 40 yards, but I've had enough short-side shots to justify its space in the bag.

 

But I also game 2 hybrids:  19 (dialed down to 18) and 21.  I pulled my 5i (the least used club in my bag), figuring I can choke down on a 4 if needed.  Its been a year, I haven't missed the 5i