Why is there no gap wedge in many issued iron sets?

[North Butte]

21 minutes ago, CDLgolf said:

Maybe it's all about selling more clubs. They sell you 4 thru pw and the loft of the 4 is 19* and the 5 is 22*. You can't hit the 4 or 5 so you put them in the closet and buy a hybrid or 2. 

On the bottom end your pw is 44* so now you need to buy a 48* & 52*, to go with your 56 and 60.  So after you buy your set of irons you need to buy 3 or 4 more clubs to fill in the gaps.

Go look in Dick's or Golf Galaxy and report back to us how many iron sets you see with a 4-iron. Or without a GW for that matter. 

 

You're recycling 15-year out of date loft jacking rants. 

[CDLgolf]

I'm not going to GG, but looking thru TGW id say it's about 50- 50 sets you can get 4 - pw or 5 - gw. Lofts on 4 irons were between 19 and 21*.  And several sets had pw in the 44* range. That's all I said and I'd bet plenty of people order them both ways.

[North Butte]

27 minutes ago, CDLgolf said:

I'm not going to GG, but looking thru TGW id say it's about 50- 50 sets you can get 4 - pw or 5 - gw. Lofts on 4 irons were between 19 and 21*.  And several sets had pw in the 44* range. That's all I said and I'd bet plenty of people order them both ways.

You "can get" a lot of stuff. But the clubs 90% of people actually buy (i.e., at retail without special ordering) haven't had a 4-iron included for years now. Pretending some great conspiracy is forcing people to buy and discard unwanted 4-irons is fantasy. 

 

But that hasn't stopped there being one or more active "loft jacking" threads on this forum every single day since forever. 

 

 

[brutusflash]

No one above a 1 or 2 should even think about carrying a 4 iron.  Better players want specific shapes for their scoring irons. No company forces you to buy a 3-P anymore, you can get whatever you want.  Next we’ll start complaining about hollow bodied irons because they launch to high and they’re just too darn easy to hit. Once people figure out golf clubs need to fit specific gaps and landing angles, etc, all this mental punch a clown is moot.

Flash

[ChipNRun]

On 5/23/2024 at 2:37 AM, Foxx said:

But those wedges are basically blades. Why would most people prefer playing a full shot with a blade?

 

Some specialty wedges are blades, some are not. In the kingdom of Cleveland...

RTX are not blades, but they are tour template.

[GDB67]

Tiger goes PW(47) to 56* sw 

so we all should. 

gap wedges are for the weak. 😂😂😂

 

[ChipNRun]

19 hours ago, brutusflash said:

No one above a 1 or 2 should even think about carrying a 4 iron. ...

 

Next we’ll start complaining about hollow bodied irons because they launch to high and they’re just too darn easy to hit. ...

 

My prior set of irons was Tour Edge CB Pro Tungstens (hollow-body). The off-the-rack 4i was iffy to hit, until I refit it with a SF 780 HLS hybrid shaft. The made a great driving iron, as the lighter shaft really improved launch.

 

In my current Mav MAX set, I dropped the 4i because the clubfaces are hotter, and the 5i gaps nicely with the 4H; and I learned to hit stinger with 4H. (Plus, I could add back a GW).

 

Note: Hollow-bodies were great in longer clubs, but proved to be unstable for yardage in short irons and wedges.

[ChrisATL]

I think it also comes down to preference - some prefer a set gap wedge while others choose an aftermarket. I use my gap only for full swing shots, so I prefer the set wedge but am considering switching to another option due to gapping. 

[95124hacker]

A lot of golfers who play 50+ rounds annually tend to replace their GW, SW & LW every 1-2 years, so it’s harder to replace a “set GW” because it would be discontinued once the next iron model is released. Whereas you could always buy the next-gen model specialty wedge easily.

[lefty1978]

On 5/25/2024 at 9:21 PM, GDB67 said:

Tiger goes PW(47) to 56* sw 

so we all should. 

gap wedges are for the weak. 😂😂😂

 

Tiger's pw is 49°

[rainkingjr]

Wilson offers a GW in their Staff Cb's and Mizuno does in their 923 tours. I know Cobra offered a gap in their blades at one time. I love the GW in my Staff CB's, but with others sets, I have preferred getting a none matching 50 or 52 depending on my loft progression. I find the more traditional type wedges to be much more versatile.

[GDB67]

12 hours ago, lefty1978 said:

Tiger's pw is 49°

A thousand apologies. 
was just going by the iconic p-7TW specs. 
maybe he should strengthen them lofts these days. 
But really nobody cares anymore 

[CROUSE99]

I have noticed that some of the DTC companies don't offer a matching gap wedge for their GI irons.  Examples are MacGregor, Takomo and Caley.  My guess is they are buying their heads from the same factory and it doesn't offer the gap wedge.

[DKgolfAZ]

I was in between getting the gap in my iron set vs a specialty wedge. I got better launch and spin with the 50* specially… so I went that route… but I’d say most offer it, not all but most.

 

so really it’s all about the fit and how it works in your bag.

[Archimedes65]

On 5/25/2024 at 3:44 PM, brutusflash said:

No one above a 1 or 2 should even think about carrying a 4 iron.  Better players want specific shapes for their scoring irons. No company forces you to buy a 3-P anymore, you can get whatever you want.  Next we’ll start complaining about hollow bodied irons because they launch to high and they’re just too darn easy to hit. Once people figure out golf clubs need to fit specific gaps and landing angles, etc, all this mental punch a clown is moot.

Flash

 

I fluctuate between a 4 and 6 index, and I hit my 4-iron 2-4 times a round (i230).  Pretty reliable club and it fits directly between the yardages of my 4 hybrid and my 5 iron.  Fits perfectly at a yardage I have multiple times a round at my club.

 

On topic, the i230s can be ordered with a gap wedge, which I needed because I have a 30 yard difference between my PW and my 56 degree.  My only complaint with it is that it’s 10 yards shorter than my PW and 20 yards longer than my 56 degree.  Wished it was right in the middle, but I’m too lazy to have the lofts adjusted on my wedges.

[DKgolfAZ]

7 hours ago, Archimedes65 said:

On topic, the i230s can be ordered with a gap wedge, which I needed because I have a 30 yard difference between my PW and my 56 degree.  My only complaint with it is that it’s 10 yards shorter than my PW and 20 yards longer than my 56 degree.  Wished it was right in the middle, but I’m too lazy to have the lofts adjusted on my wedges.

Haha, I was reading thinking “just adjust the loft!” Til I hit that last line. 😆

 

my P is 46*, then I go to 50* for my gap, 55 (54 bent to 55), and 60. Gives me great gapping. 

[MN Moose]

On 5/28/2024 at 5:39 AM, lefty1978 said:

Tiger's pw is 49°

That's the same as my PW, I must be at Tiger's level!