Anyone have a wedge setup like pw/48/52/56/60?

[RCGA]

I play a wedge-fest course and would like some better gapping. Apart from the par 5s, I almost never have a yardage more than 140y into a green. The course I play has a lot of elevated greens with mounds so I need a 60* over a 58 (which would have made gapping a little easier). 

 

I hit my set PW like a 10 iron, but my wedges I max out at around a 3/4 swing. All yardages +/- 5y. 

 

Current setup 

PW at 46* 135y

Vokey 50 - 120y

Vokey 56 - 95-105y

Vokey 60 - 80y and under

 

Thinking of 

PW @ 46* - 135y

Vokey 48 - 125y

Vokey 52 - 115y

Vokey 56 - 95-105

Vokey 60 - 80y and under

 

I realize this is a ton of wedges, and I would need to drop another long iron (thinking of going 2-4-6 driving irons, then 7-pw in a set makeup).

 

Am I completely out to lunch? Anyone else go all in with the wedge setup? 

[Pnwpingi210]

9 minutes ago, RCGA said:

I play a wedge-fest course and would like some better gapping. Apart from the par 5s, I almost never have a yardage more than 140y into a green. The course I play has a lot of elevated greens with mounds so I need a 60* over a 58 (which would have made gapping a little easier). 

 

I hit my set PW like a 10 iron, but my wedges I max out at around a 3/4 swing. All yardages +/- 5y. 

 

Current setup 

PW at 46* 135y

Vokey 50 - 120y

Vokey 56 - 95-105y

Vokey 60 - 80y and under

 

Thinking of 

PW @ 46* - 135y

Vokey 48 - 125y

Vokey 52 - 115y

Vokey 56 - 95-105

Vokey 60 - 80y and under

 

I realize this is a ton of wedges, and I would need to drop another long iron (thinking of going 2-4-6 driving irons, then 7-pw in a set makeup).

 

Am I completely out to lunch? Anyone else go all in with the wedge setup? 

Thats an interesting take.

 

i would be more apt to get  swap out the current 56 for a 54.

 

However, it’s much easier for me to control the distance and flight on a wedge than with a long to mid iron.  Sounds like you might be playing a course under 6000 yards so it does make sense to lean out the top of the bag a bit.

[mstuewe]

I’m exploring this concept right now.  It depends on which irons I go with for 2024.  1 potential set has a 44 degree PW and the other is 45.5.  Depending on the irons, I’ll either go 48 or 50 for my next wedge, and then the next wedge would either be 52 or 54.  If 52, then I’ll also throw in a 56.

[st1800e]

Using 46,50,54,58

[DoughBack18]

I used the exact setup that you have when I had P790’s in the bag last season. The PW was basically a 10 iron, then used 4 wedges below that, exact loft gaps you have listed. So in essence a 5 wedge setup. Bag at that point was D, 5w, 4-pw, W, G, S, L, and putter
 

I moved back to Srixon Z785s now, and the 9 iron is a little less lofted than the 790’s, so changed the gapping a bit to 46-51-56-60 with no set pitching wedge (from the z785s).

 

I am a strong believer in giving yourself the most options where you score. I think that for myself having tighter distance gaps on the short end is more valuable to my scoring than having an extra longer club in the bag. May not be the same for all. 

Edited January 8 by DoughBack18

[caniac6]

48,52,56, but no 60

[OnTheBag]

My PW is 47°, but I then go 52 and 56 (low bounce).  No 60.  The grind I put on the 56 allows me to manipulate the face and hit almost any shot I need.

 

Most folks my age never had a 60 option, so we learned to use a 56 for those shots.

[gator022]

I think this concept is very common now that we have PW's in the 43-45 loft range.  With a 43-44* loft PW, I can see how it makes sense.  No sense in 10-12 yard gaps at the top of your bag where you're just hoping to get it greenside or within 25 yards.

[ShortGolfer]

My bag right now for wet winter golf

48* AW  Primarily for fairway to green shots.  Especially when there is a lot of elevation to cover.

52/10S gap wedge  best wedge out of the rough

54/10S sand wedge  54 works better for me than a 56.

58/6 TS low bounce  lob wedge for picking the ball off the dirt,  wet sand, or mud

58/8Z lob wedge

I have  bag full of wedges these are the ones that work best right now.

 

 

Edited January 8 by ShortGolfer

[cgasucks]

Using 49 (since the 990 PW is 49d), 52, and 56.  Don't need a LW since I have all the loft I need by simply opening the face of my 56.

[Brentwood]

I experimented with this setup last year. My pw is 44* so I went with 4* gaps and had 48/52/56/60. It was nice in the sense that you have the right tool regardless of your distance from 140 and in. However, it didn't take long before I realized that I would prefer to have an additional club at the top of the bag. With that many wedges, it seemed like I didn't get to use some all that often and the pros were outweighed by my desire to have another wood or driving iron. 

 

What I went to was the exact same wedges but with 5* gaps. So I go from pw at 44* to 49/54/59. For being a mid handicap golfer, there hasn't really been too many instances with my current setup where I wish I had another wedge. I don't think you are crazy for considering it, there are obviously pros and cons. For me personally, the four wedge setup suffices for my level of play.

[Auleran87]

I haven't done it but I had the exact same thought. Almost trying to match the distance gapping between clubs with the avg. left/right dispersion. Like do you really need to have a 180 club and a different 190 club? just hit the 190 club and if you pure it you're only 10 yards past. Seems more important to have more precise short clubs. 

[dcmidnight]

I have played PW/46/50/54/58 all season. 

 

For me, it works perfect. I simply dont need a bunch of options in my bag to cover the 220-240 range at my home course, I just dont. 

 

It really depends on your home course and it sounds like you're in the same boat I am.

[RoyalMustang]

I have a 46/48/50/54/58 setup that I play with occasionally. 

 

Here's the thing: the 46 is a regular cavity-back PW and will fly 140-150, but even it gets a little hot at times. But my 48 is an RTX4, gets more spin and has a different s400 shaft, so it spins up and is crazy sharp at that 135-140 range. 50 goes 125-130, 54 is 115, and 58 is something I pull out under 50 yards normally. I suppose the best thing would be to buy a 46 in that same RTX4 blade but I haven't yet. I just feel more confident with it than my regular PW-46 degree but still need that gap distance as my 42 degree 9-iron will carry 165 when flushed in warmer weather. It would be silly to play the 9-iron and the 48 degree.

 

I'm really confident with that 48 in that 130-140 distance and love playing with it. On shorter courses and where I don't need a 3W off the tee or a 4-iron (gotta lose one or the other) I'd rather play with this setup. I used to play a 6600 yard course from the tips where I'd have those drive+130 yard shots all day; it made a lot of sense.  I'd go several rounds without hitting the 4-iron (ditto for 5) due to the nature of the holes there. I had a ton of distance control with that 48: it was one of those clubs that if I was the right distance out, knew I could get within 5 yards of the pin. 

 

Where I play now, 7000 yards with fewer opportunities for driver-wedge due to different hole layouts, it's not as useful of a setup. I only hit the PW 3 times a round on average. 50 degree is used twice. I don't need to have 3 clubs to cover 5 shots, especially when that 4-wood is essential on a couple of par 3's when set up long at 215 or when the wind is up. Without it, I'd find it really tough to hit those par 3s: 215 is my "perfect" ball on a 5-iron and something I can't easily replicate, and 215's too short for my 3H, even with the club choked down. I can't ditch the 3W as I need it on multiple holes as a club for the tee.  

 

On your normal course, map your most used clubs and look for where you can add value. If you need precision in those wedges, don't be afraid to use them. One school of thought is that you are splitting hairs: another would say "horses for courses" and on a shorter course, play what gives you confidence. 

[RoyalMustang]

12 minutes ago, dcmidnight said:

I have played PW/46/50/54/58 all season. 

 

For me, it works perfect. I simply dont need a bunch of options in my bag to cover the 220-240 range at my home course, I just dont. 

 

It really depends on your home course and it sounds like you're in the same boat I am.

 

Isn't that normal gapping? I thought the OP was referring to a standard PW, which would be 46 degrees, he is asking about essentially adding an additional gap wedge to split the 46/50 or 46/52. Your gapping is my setup with different numbers on the clubs: 9-PW-Gap-Sand-Lob (42/46/50/54/58) with a Mizuno MMC and Clevelend RTX4 wedge setup. The 4 degree difference is what most better players will use with a full bag. 

Edited January 8 by RoyalMustang

[Poor Mans Ty Webb]

I'm experimenting with 46/50/54/58/62.

 

My home course's "standard" tees for men are around 6000 yards.  My average approach distance from these tees is routinely under 125 yards, with about half a dozen uphill approaches.  It's a wedge fest.

 

My weakest yardage range is around 70-90 yards, so in adding an extra wedge, I wanted to be able to better cover that distance.  I chose to take my low bounce 58* (highest lofted wedge previously - would only use it around the greens) and replace it with a higher bounce 58 so I had more stability on longer pitch shots with it.  The 62* has mostly just replaced the old 58 around the greens.

 

I'd say it makes sense to go 46-48-52 if you have a lot of approaches from this range and could use the greater variety of options.  If that yardage range is not a problem for you, maybe 46-48-52 is not a solution.

 

If you don't have one specific problem gap but just want more versatility overall, maybe you could also consider just going with smaller gaps across the wedge lofts.  Something like 46-49.5-53-56.5-60.  There's no harm in trying stuff out.

Edited January 8 by Poor Mans Ty Webb

[Edwijn]

I play 46, 50, 54, 58, 64 with the 64 around greens 60 yards and in. Its deadly!

[klharper]

I used to play 48/52/56/60 behind a 44 PW.  I always use 56 or 60 within 75 yards, so after a while, I found myself rarely pulling the 52 - only pulled it out for the easy swing 95 yard shot.  I ended up dropping the 52 and bending the 56 to 54.

 

Now I’m playing 49/54/59 and find it easier to make a club decision and commit to a shot, rather than contemplate all the ways I could miss the green from 90 yards 🤣

 

PW: 115-130

GW: 100-115

SW: 50-100 (definitely gets most use)

LW: specific shots up to 75

 

I’ll admit there are a few 97 yard shots where swinging the SW full gets me yippy.  I’m always happy to pull the gap wedge and swing really easy in those circumstances though

[rsballer10]

44, 49, 55, 60.

 

I couldn't imagine playing that many wedges. I think too many people depend on a "stock shot" instead of learning distance control.

[KansasHacker]

Yes, PW/48/52/56/60, but it probably is too much...

I use the 60 the most, 56 or 52 the least.

[Pepperturbo]

Out to lunch, maybe, but you're not lunching alone. 😊 Plenty of people on Golfwrx are out to lunch.  😎 LOL 

 

I play different courses where tees range from 5800yds to 6500yds.  Seldom use Driver or 3wd when playing 6100yds or less.  Hitting the ball relatively straight, bomb and gouge is just too easy.   I get my jollies using all my T100 3i-46' PW, 52' Gap and 58' LW.... 6° of separation, for no gaping issues and a more balanced bag. 🙂

 

[azgreg]

nm

 

Edited January 8 by azgreg

[KnoxvilleReb]

I switched to PW (44) / 48 / 52 / 56 / 60 this year. It does take being comfortable with some gaps at the top of the bag (I go Dr - 4w - 7w - 5H - 6i). My bag gaps appropriately through the 5H, and then the 7W is 20 yards longer and the 4W is 20 yards longer than that. On long par 3's teeing up the 5H eats into that 20 yard gap. My thought process was twofold: (1) My home course isn't all that long and I hardly ever have more than a 5H into a green, so I like the tighter gap in the scoring clubs trying to stick it close as a trade off for the 20 yard gaps at the top end that I may encounter once or at most twice a round; and (2) We had our second child in May, so I knew practice time would be virtually non-existent this past year. The thought of maintaining multiple wedge feels seemed far fetched. With the new setup I know each number on my "normal" wedge swing. I know I can spread my feet a bit to add 3-4 yards, and bring my arm down a hair to take off 3-4 yards.

 

It accomplished what I wanted it to - tight wedge game without much practice - and created really nice 3-4 yard gaps from 60 - GW. Despite more time to hit balls this year I don't see myself going back to my old set up.

[Tinkerer]

PW at 43, thereafter 48, 52, 58. No need for another wedge in my case. 

[golfheaven69]

My exact setup and use all four. 

[Shilgy]

4 hours ago, DoughBack18 said:

I used the exact setup that you have when I had P790’s in the bag last season. The PW was basically a 10 iron, then used 4 wedges below that, exact loft gaps you have listed. So in essence a 5 wedge setup. Bag at that point was D, 5w, 4-pw, W, G, S, L, and putter
 

I moved back to Srixon Z785s now, and the 9 iron is a little less lofted than the 790’s, so changed the gapping a bit to 46-51-56-60 with no set pitching wedge (from the z785s).

 

I am a strong believer in giving yourself the most options where you score. I think that for myself having tighter distance gaps on the short end is more valuable to my scoring than having an extra longer club in the bag. May not be the same for all. 

Nothing that 1° is huge but the Z785 9 iron is 41° and the P790 9 iron is 40°.

[bekgolf]

5 hours ago, RCGA said:

I play a wedge-fest course and would like some better gapping. Apart from the par 5s, I almost never have a yardage more than 140y into a green. The course I play has a lot of elevated greens with mounds so I need a 60* over a 58 (which would have made gapping a little easier). 

 

I hit my set PW like a 10 iron, but my wedges I max out at around a 3/4 swing. All yardages +/- 5y. 

 

Current setup 

PW at 46* 135y

Vokey 50 - 120y

Vokey 56 - 95-105y

Vokey 60 - 80y and under

 

Thinking of 

PW @ 46* - 135y

Vokey 48 - 125y

Vokey 52 - 115y

Vokey 56 - 95-105

Vokey 60 - 80y and under

 

I realize this is a ton of wedges, and I would need to drop another long iron (thinking of going 2-4-6 driving irons, then 7-pw in a set makeup).

 

Am I completely out to lunch? Anyone else go all in with the wedge setup? 

 

You are not out to lunch.

 

Get the new wedges but keep the old ones, switch depending on course and time of year.  My experience has been that I spent far too much money buying and trading wedges so I decided to just buy and not trade or sell.

 

 

[Jayjay_theweim_guy]

5 hours ago, RCGA said:

Am I completely out to lunch? Anyone else go all in with the wedge setup?

Not at all, but I had a 44° set PW, so going every 4 was easier.  I had thought it was 46 or 48 when I bought my 52 and 56.  Oops.  For your use case, I think it's excellent.  Should have a dense wedge matrix to play with.

 

For me, remaining with that 4 degree gapping on down would've cut the top part of the bag, as you note. So I ditched (for now) the set PW, bent the 9-iron to 41°, the 48 to 46, the 52 to 51, and left the 56 alone.  1/4" shaft gaps though between the 9 through 56, not 1/2.  I'm sure the next set of wedges a few years out will be different still, re grinds and bounces.

 

 

[Jayjay_theweim_guy]

17 minutes ago, bekgolf said:

Get the new wedges but keep the old ones, switch depending on course and time of year. 

I've a 588 Tour Reg BeCu that I'm sure will make its way back into the bag at some point this year.  Maybe if I play a course with actual sand vs sand-like concrete?

[bekgolf]

2 minutes ago, Jayjay_theweim_guy said:

I've a 588 Tour Reg BeCu that I'm sure will make its way back into the bag at some point this year.  Maybe if I play a course with actual sand vs sand-like concrete?

 

I've found myself putting out of those hard and unkempt bunkers if there isn't a lip.