Playing 5 wedges with strong lofted players distance irons

[Wilko6]

45 minutes ago, Pens #1 fan said:

Unfortunately a lot of golfers are finding this out with iron lofts. You either have to change you wedge lofts, 44,48,52,56,60 or learn to hit different shots with both 44 and 50. The issue is the loft maybe 44* but the ball is coming off at 8 iron ball speed. You could always bend and go 3*. Also have to consider how often you have that yardage when you play. Depending on my set that day 50 or 52 are hardly ever used 

 

Yep very true with the ball coming off at 8 iron ball speed. I find I have a lot of shots in to greens between 100-130m (majority of courses I play here in Aus are 370-400m par 4's) so if I get a good drive away to 260-270 I have that distance left in.

 

I am rarely challenged at the other end of my bag where I need something 3 wood distance and don't have it. My 5 wood and 4 hybrids are fairly versatile and great options. Only going 5-PW gives me the option of adding another club, so to me it makes a lot of sense to add a 120-125 club in the bag which would be a 46 vokey. Regardless of what the lofts are and to @KGrinols point, no one cares what lofts you use to get the ball to the green as long as that gapping is correct for my swing.

[jomatty]

9 hours ago, Arlin964 said:

This is elite level WRXer status and I am sooo here for it. 

Nah.  Elite level has to replace the wedges every time you can see some groove wear.  Otherwise they will worry that deep down they are being robbed of an infinitesimal amount of spin and won’t be able to sleep at night. 

[MountainKing]

15 hours ago, JDIL said:

Not what you want to hear, but you are likely hitting your PW too long. Rule of thumb is the PW should go half your driver carry. So 130m for you. Weaken the loft and/or swing a little softer. 48/49, 54, 58/60.

 

Like I said - probably the unpopular opinion here.  The thought of doing something to give up distance around here is generally laughed at or ignored.  With the type of irons these are, the distance is probably coming from it being a lower spin head and the decrease in loft.  The situation can either be band aided with another wedge, or fixed correctly by having the loft adjusted accordingly.  I guess it depends on how important it is to be able to say you hit your PW 140 yards, which essentially how far a touring pro is hitting theirs but they have a 325 yard driver to match that.

[dabohammer]

18 hours ago, Climbhard said:

Your yardages are spot on with mine except I go:

G(48)-115

Vokey SM9s 

54-95

60-80

If I need that 100-110 shot I have this great little three quarter punch I hit with my Gap.  At the top end I only carry Driver and 4 wood, 20* and 24* hybrid, 6-gap for 13 clubs total.  My bag weighs less that way.

 

This thread got me thinking about getting down to 4. I can definitely get there, the 48 and 52 overlap. I might experiment with bending the 48 up to 50

[jomatty]

14 hours ago, dabohammer said:

 

This thread got me thinking about getting down to 4. I can definitely get there, the 48 and 52 overlap. I might experiment with bending the 48 up to 50

When I was in a similar situation I found I was better off just getting rid of the 52 but leaving the 48 as is.  The issue for me with bending the 48 to 50 was that both my pw and gap wedge were full swing clubs that I want precision from.  The gap was just too long and I found it difficult to hit all the partial numbers needed with my PW.  I had a much easier time needing to play more shots with my 48 and 54, so that gap never really was an issue at all.  
It also helped when I went away from a set gap wedge to a less hot and more versatile specialty wedge (I’ve still got a jaws md5).   Once I did that I never missed the 52 at all.

[buckethat72]

I play 48 - 53 - 58, with the last 2 being vokeys. 

 

I got a bit hung up on this issue too for a while but probably shouldn't have.

[North Butte]

8 hours ago, buckethat72 said:

I play 48 - 53 - 58, with the last 2 being vokeys. 

 

I got a bit hung up on this issue too for a while but probably shouldn't have.

The only period in my life when I was decent with my wedge game (meaning it was a relative strength rather than a relative weakness for me) was during the decade or so when I had a set of Vokeys 50, 55, 61 degrees with my shortest iron being 44.5 degrees. That seems ridiculously large "gaps" but because I was actually practicing wedge shots and because I used exactly the same loft "gaps" for a long period, it didn't feel like gaps at all. I got my yardage, sized up the shot and one of the three wedges just seemed right so I used it.

 

To say I've been "hung up" or overthinking this issues in recent years is an understatement. This past decade I've probably purchases, no joke, 30 or more different wedges in every possible loft, from almost every possible brand. Three wedge sets, four wedge sets, even a two wedge set one time. I doubt I've ever played 100 rounds in a row with the same setup during that time.

 

I could have saved literally a couple thousand dollars by just keeping on replacing my 50/55/61 Vokeys with a new set when the grooves wore out. And when I had an urge to go wedge shopping, just go spend a few hours trying to knock down the 75 and 50 yard flags at the driving range with the wedges I had.

 

But there's something sexy and alluring about all the different shapes and styles of wedges. I just can't help but keep switching around.