Wedge Shaft Lengths

[Warrior42111]

So I am a taller person at 6'4 and my irons are fitted to me at +1" so a 36.5" PW in my case.

 

Honestly always bought wedges off the rack, but for a GW which is a full shot club for me it seems like I would want +1" or even match my PW. length if it's different. My question is what about the SW/LW or clubs that are used around the greens, and half shots etc.?  Would I want that +1" or would the shorter std length club be better for squaring it up more often, like a shorter vs longer driver.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Billfitz]

By and large wedges tend to be the same length or closer to it than irons so that the gapping is primarily determined by loft alone, rather than loft and length. The result is smaller gapping for more precise club choice when your target is the pin, rather than just the green. But as with all things personal preference rules, so you may or may not want to have your wedges the same or close to the same length. Squaring up usually isn't a concern. 

[alittleoverpar]

I am 6'7" and play all of my wedges at the same length as my PW.  Personal preference.

[hurley999s]

Lot is personal preference. I play all of my wedges the same length. Others will have GW a step down from PW, then SW and LW same as GW. Others will do PW/GW same and SW/LW same.

 

Really depends what you’re comfortable with. 
 

Something I found as helpful is find out what the *shortest* length you are comfortable is, and make sure your LW is no shorter than that. Then you’ve got your range to play in and experiment. 
 

For example, if your PW is 36.75, and shortest club you are comfortable with is 36, that’s your range. 

[Cellis]

Like the common saying above, all personal preference. For me, I play my GW 1/4" shorter than my PW. and my GW & SW the same length as a 1/4" under my GW, which makes my GW,SW, and LW still over standard. I also do not take any full swings with my SW and LW. That may be a piece you want to think about when you play them a little longer in length.

[Pepperturbo]

I am a mere 5'10, and always had my SW & LW at PW length, 35.75, but recently adjusted to 35.5".  My wedges shafts are Stiff - MMT 125g, 4 wraps + grip, and heads are black Vokey SM9. 

 

Not sure what the Vokey head weight is, but with 4 wraps at 35.75" swing weight was D7 for 52' and E1 for 58'.  Too much for me these days, so shortened each club to 35.5", ended up at D6 swing weight for each wedge.

 

Point if you lengthen wedge shafts, with heavier wedge heads, swing weight will need to be addressed in some way.

[NHenson815]

I play a 64 degree jaws significantly  shorter than my other wedges (can’t remember exact length, but at least a few inches shorter).  
 

It looks like I’m swinging a little kid club and people might laugh at me, but I only use it for partial swings, so why bother with all that length.  It makes a notoriously difficult loft not really all that difficult.  

[Billfitz]

It's not that the 64 is difficult to hit, it's because when you're faced with a shot that needs that much loft you're probably more concerned with going too long than leaving it short. That leads to not finishing the swing, which leads to a flubbed flop. I can see how making the shaft a few inches shorter would help remove the fear of going long, so you finish the swing and don't flub the flop. If it works for you that's what matters, so again it comes down to personal preference. I had a 64, could never force myself to swinging it full from 20 yards, ended up taking it out of the bag.

 

 

[BabyCarrot]

I'm 6'3" and play all my wedges at 36 inches. Have been experimenting with 1/8 spacing into the GW and LW. Standard practice is 1/4 spacing. For you, maybe 36.25 GW and 36 LW. Depends on the shaft weight too.

[Flip4000]

I am 6’3 and I have mine set to the same length as my PW. I am not super tall but off the rack wedges still feel super short to me. I play my irons at +.75

[WildGoose8]

I have the same question, my irons are 0.75 over and my new wedges standard. Now I feel these are to short. So want to re shaft them so I can also go to a stiffer shaft but have some concerns.

How did you guys handle swing weight. If im going longer and stiffer shaft (probably heavier) this will add quite some swing weight right?

[Billfitz]

It will add both swing weight and net weight, but they're still going to be too short for you to notice much of a difference, not like you might with a long iron. Stiffer doesn't necessarily mean heavier, you can go stiffer and lighter. The problem lies in knowing how a replacement shaft compares to your current shaft, because there is no standard for what R/S/X actually mean.

[WildGoose8]

I’m thinking about going from the original wedge flex (dynamic golf s200) to the dynamic golf onyx black s400. Add 0.5 or 0.75 inch in length and go with a midsize grip. Will this mess my swingweigth big time?

[Stuart_G]

On 6/29/2022 at 12:58 PM, Warrior42111 said:

So I am a taller person at 6'4 and my irons are fitted to me at +1" so a 36.5" PW in my case.

 

Honestly always bought wedges off the rack, but for a GW which is a full shot club for me it seems like I would want +1" or even match my PW. length if it's different. My question is what about the SW/LW or clubs that are used around the greens, and half shots etc.?  Would I want that +1" or would the shorter std length club be better for squaring it up more often, like a shorter vs longer driver.

 

The short answer is for most - yes.

 

The more complicated answer is "maybe".     

 

Fitting for iron length is about 2 things.  1) making sure the shortest irons in the bag do not get too short.  2) making sure the long irons do not get too long.

 

However it makes it a bit silly to think that anyone can really figure that out by hitting a mid-iron.  Yet that is how most people are fit for iron length.     So basically after most people get fit for iron playing length, they really don't know where that "too short" or "too long" point really is for them.   So that's the question you need to answer - at what point do the wedges get too short for you?   And that's something only you can answer through trial and error testing.   No one here will be able to answer that for you.

 

Playing length in the wedges and shortest irons is almost ALL about posture - it has nothing to do with being able to "square up" the club.  It's nothing like the driver where posture will never be the issue.  For half+ and bigger shots, there should generally be little difference in mechanics (in theory) so little difference in at what point the club becomes too short to the point of getting in the way of the mechanics.     Shorter shots (e.g. chipping) the point can certainly be different.

However, one thing to be careful of when going longer in the wedges - is that 'b' weight heads for wedges are more rare than for iron sets.   So adding 1" will likely end up with a heavier swing weight than you currently are used to.  This isn't inherently bad - some like heavier swing weights in the wedges - especially for the shorter shots around the green.  But not everyone does so it' is something to be aware of.

 

Personally, IMO anyone who does not fit their SW/LW for use in full swings is throwing away tools - but that's your choice.

 

Edited July 6, 2022 by Stuart_G