Wedge Gapping

[MrBandit]

I have a question, always have had 56, 60 degrees wedges, and depending on the set I have had a GAP wedge. Currently I have a 50 Degree wedge, and I want to replace it with maybe another 50 or a 52 to be closer to my other wedges. My Pitching wedge is a 46. 

What is the best direction, of the the 56 or of the 46.

 

[cnosil]

I have a question, always have had 56, 60 degrees wedges, and depending on the set I have had a GAP wedge. Currently I have a 50 Degree wedge, and I want to replace it with maybe another 50 or a 52 to be closer to my other wedges. My Pitching wedge is a 46. 

What is the best direction, of the the 56 or of the 46.
 

Wedge gapping is about distance and since the gap wedge or sand wedge is the breaking point between set and specialty wedges you really need to hit them. If we want to generalize 4* is the loft difference between wedges.

With a 46* PW the general guidance would be a 50, 54, 58 setup.

If you did your normal 56, 60 then you may have to figure out how to fill in some yardages. Often specialty wedges spin more and carry less than set wedges so you may have a significant gap to fill.

I would suggest taking your wedges and hitting them on a launch monitor to ensure proper gapping.

[Shankster]

There are several different ways to do it.  I have a gap to fill myself.  Some players benefit Freon having a 4 wedge set. PW, GW, SW, LW... some a 3, PW, SW, LW... and many other combos
 

44° PW

missing link

52° Gap

58° sand/lob

 

like @cnosilsaid, go see what they fly.  If you don’t have a launch monitor. Pace them out.

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

Currently I am in the market and am deciding between matching my specialty wedge set with a 48* or going with my iron set GW which is 48*.

Currently my PW is 45* then I go into the specialty wedges of 52* 56* 60*. I will have to get rid of something on the high end but what I have realized is I need more versality within 140 yards, not to mention hitting 1/2 PW is not always easy.

And of course as previously stated yardage is key, luckily I know that the 48* will fill my missing 110-130 gap.

[cnosil]

 If you don’t have a launch monitor. Pace them out.

The best way without a launch monitor is to be the longest club. Leave your bag where you hit from and walk to the center of your pattern and use a laser to shoot your bag. Could also use a GPS that does s*** length. Then take the next club and hit back toward the bag. Walk to center of pattern and laser you bag. Subtract wedge2 from wedge 1 and you have the next distance. Repeat until you are through your clubs.

[Buffly]

30 minutes ago, cnosil said:

 

The best way without a launch monitor is to be the longest club. Leave your bag where you hit from and walk to the center of your pattern and use a laser to shoot your bag. Could also use a GPS that does s*** length. Then take the next club and hit back toward the bag. Walk to center of pattern and laser you bag. Subtract wedge2 from wedge 1 and you have the next distance. Repeat until you are through your clubs.

 

Old school meets the new school = love it. 

(Laser and GPS are the new school)

[Kansas King]

I think gapping is important but I think the first step in choosing wedges is choosing the wedge you like to use around the green the most. If that is a 60, then you fill the gaps the best you can between your 46 and 60. Maybe with a 50/51 and 54/55. I don't think being off one degree here and there is a horrible thing as most pitches inside 100 yards are almost always going to be some version of a partial swing. It's just a matter of becoming familiar with what you have. I currently have a 6* gap between my i15 U (50*) and my PM grind 56. I find this manageable but I wouldn't want any larger of a gap. The closer you can get to a 4*-5* gap, the better.

My wedge fitting philosophy is that you will probably save more strokes using the loft of wedge you want around the green than if you are you're hitting a 54 instead of 55 from 70 yards out. 

[Buffly]

34 minutes ago, Lacassem said:

Currently I am in the market and am deciding between matching my specialty wedge set with a 48* or going with my iron set GW which is 48*.

Currently my PW is 45* then I go into the specialty wedges of 52* 56* 60*. I will have to get rid of something on the high end but what I have realized is I need more versality within 140 yards, not to mention hitting 1/2 PW is not always easy.

And of course as previously stated yardage is key, luckily I know that the 48* will fill my missing 110-130 gap.

This screams 5° gaps: 45° PW, 50° GW, 55° SW, & 60° LW

If you can't find 55° then have a 54° or 56° bent to 55° which will either add or subtract 1° of bounce. If you add 1° to 54° then bounce goes up 1°, and the same in reverse. 

And 6° gaps if you want to lose a wedge: 45° PW, 51° GW, to 57° SW/LW (Cleveland made 51° and 57° wedges)

[MrBandit]

I know how far my current wedges fly, so the questions becomes what to I want to deal with. I'm having a feeling that the GAP between the PW -and 52 or 50 will be the issue. and have to decide new yardages for 100-125 range.
example:
PW - 125-135
50 - 110-115

And have become so familiar with these loft that to change them, I would think it would screw up my game.. 
56 - 85-100
60 - 75-85

[Kansas King]

1 minute ago, MrBandit said:

I know how far my current wedges fly, so the questions becomes what to I want to deal with. I'm having a feeling that the GAP between the PW -and 52 or 50 will be the issue. and have to decide new yardages for 100-125 range.
example:
PW - 125-135
50 - 110-115
56 - 85-100
60 - 75-85

Question, do you only have 12 clubs in your bag? If you're concerned about gapping and you have room, add another wedge. Maybe go 46, 50, 54, 58, 60 or 46, 49, 53, 56, 60, etc. If you're looking to get closer gapping the ultimate answer is more wedges and based on your set shown in your signature, you have room for more clubs. 

[MrBandit]

4 minutes ago, Kansas King said:

Question, do you only have 12 clubs in your bag? If you're concerned about gapping and you have room, add another wedge. Maybe go 46, 50, 54, 58, 60 or 46, 49, 53, 56, 60, etc. If you're looking to get closer gapping the ultimate answer is more wedges and based on your set shown in your signature, you have room for more clubs. 

Yeah, I tried to simplified my bag with the clubs I used more frequent and not just carry irons that I would hit MAY BE once a round.

Yeah.. maybe keep the 50 and add 52(bend to 53)

 

 

[cnosil]

I know how far my current wedges fly, so the questions becomes what to I want to deal with. I'm having a feeling that the GAP between the PW -and 52 or 50 will be the issue. and have to decide new yardages for 100-125 range.
example:
PW - 125-135
50 - 110-115
And have become so familiar with these loft that to change them, I would think it would screw up my game.. 
56 - 85-100
60 - 75-85

Your ranges are a bit confusing. Most people identify a single distance for a club; which would be center of shot pattern. The gap between clubs should be about 15 yards and you should be able to fill the gaps with each club. So if you PW is 135, 50 is 115, 56 is 100, and 60 is 85 you have gaps that are pretty much where they should be. Ideally with your PW you can cover 135,130, and 125. 120 would be the distance that would be a gap since your 50 starts at 115.

[MrBandit]

1 minute ago, cnosil said:

Your ranges are a bit confusing. Most people identify a single distance for a club; which would be center of shot pattern. The gap between clubs should be about 15 yards and you should be able to fill the gaps with each club. So if you PW is 135, 50 is 115, 56 is 100, and 60 is 85 you have gaps that are pretty much where they should be. Ideally with your PW you can cover 135,130, and 125. 120 would be the distance that would be a gap since your 50 starts at 115.

Correct, the 135yds is the most I can consistently hit that club, but a minimum dial down to 125yds..

The GAP max would be 115yds..so yes. .that 120yds would be the key..

[Kansas King]

9 minutes ago, MrBandit said:

Yeah, I tried to simplified my bag with the clubs I used more frequent and not just carry irons that I would hit MAY BE once a round.

Yeah.. maybe keep the 50 and add 52(bend to 53)

 

 

Nothing wrong with simplifying. I think the reality is that most people have some favorite clubs in their bag that they will use to cover a wider range of yardages than what is "normal" for a club. For me that is my Maltby 21* FDI and my Ping 50* i15 gap (U) wedge. Those are my go to clubs on the top and bottom end of my bag if I'm not real confident with my swing. I will also hit knock-down 8-irons and 7-irons all day if I'm not hitting my short clubs well for whatever reason. 

I would be curious to see if average scores really changed much if golfers could only hold 10 clubs instead of 14. I think having a more simple set make-up allow us or maybe forces us to be more creative and less technical/mechanical with out thought process throughout the round. 

[MrBandit]

2 minutes ago, Kansas King said:

Nothing wrong with simplifying. I think the reality is that most people have some favorite clubs in their bag that they will use to cover a wider range of yardages than what is "normal" for a club. For me that is my Maltby 21* FDI and my Ping 50* i15 gap (U) wedge. Those are my go to clubs on the top and bottom end of my bag if I'm not real confident with my swing. I will also hit knock-down 8-irons and 7-irons all day if I'm not hitting my short clubs well for whatever reason. 

I would be curious to see if average scores really changed much if golfers could only hold 10 clubs instead of 14. I think having a more simple set make-up allow us or maybe forces us to be more creative and less technical/mechanical with out thought process throughout the round. 

For me my scores have improve, since I hit the clubs in my bag more often and now more consistently.. now is fine tuning those yardages so i can improve my scoring.

 

[JalanK]

A couple years ago I bought a new set of irons on ebay which were 3 - PW, AW, SW, LW. The gaps from PW, which is 45º, to LW were 5º each. After playing them a little while, I decided on different wedges and went with 54º S and 58ºL. I enjoy a few extra yards with the 54º over my previous 56º on full swings, and I'm able to dial it in on less than full shots; the 58º is as good as my 60º was in previous sets. I like the consistency.

[GregGarner]

I grew up with four wedges - PW from the iron set, 52, 56, 60. In college, I dropped down to a three-wedge setup (PW, 52/54, 58; deciding between the 52 and 54 depending on course conditions with 52 being my standard). This opened up a spot at the top of my bag for a 2-iron, which was basically my driving iron before driving irons were a thing. These days, I'm back to the four wedge setup, but my set PW is stronger, so now it's PW, 50, 54, 58. 

The only other thing I'll add to this besides just yardage gapping is bounce. If you prefer less bounce, you might find more success taking a stronger loft and bending it weak (or vice versa if you like more bounce). For example, if a manufacturer doesn't offer lots of bounce options on, say, a 55-degree wedge, you can get a 56 with higher bounce and then bend it stronger to pick up a couple yards. Just be aware that bending the loft affects bounce at a 1:1 ratio. Useful for a 56-12 that you want to play as 55-11 that isn't otherwise offered but not worth it if you have a 52-09 bending to 50-07 and the manufacturer sells a 50-08, for example. (Heck, depending on who you order from, they might be able to bend it as part of the build for no upcharge.)

[heavygolffeels]

I think wedge gapping is overrated. If you are taking a ton of full swings with wedges you are doing it wrong. So much harder to control distance, height, and spin if you are max swinging a GW so that it is only 10 yards shorter than your PW. And who cares how far you can hit your LW. Short of a needing to hit over a tree, I can't imagine why I would pull LW from 80 yards or whatever. 

Your SW and LW should vary in bounce or grind so that one of them is more preferable in sand or fluffy lies and one is better from a tight lie. Drop the set GW and pickup a specialty wedge that you feel comfortable with around the greens and can hit some bump and run shots, assuming you cant already do those things with your PW.

[Mattz]

On 11/18/2020 at 9:56 AM, cnosil said:

 

The best way without a launch monitor is to be the longest club. Leave your bag where you hit from and walk to the center of your pattern and use a laser to shoot your bag. Could also use a GPS that does s*** length. Then take the next club and hit back toward the bag. Walk to center of pattern and laser you bag. Subtract wedge2 from wedge 1 and you have the next distance. Repeat until you are through your clubs.

 

I've always just gone to the range and shot the flags and estimated distances in between. I imagine the margin of error on this + range balls makes your suggestion a significantly more accurate method. Thanks!

5 hours ago, scooterhd2 said:

I think wedge gapping is overrated. If you are taking a ton of full swings with wedges you are doing it wrong. So much harder to control distance, height, and spin if you are max swinging a GW so that it is only 10 yards shorter than your PW. And who cares how far you can hit your LW. Short of a needing to hit over a tree, I can't imagine why I would pull LW from 80 yards or whatever. 

Your SW and LW should vary in bounce or grind so that one of them is more preferable in sand or fluffy lies and one is better from a tight lie. Drop the set GW and pickup a specialty wedge that you feel comfortable with around the greens and can hit some bump and run shots, assuming you cant already do those things with your PW.

I agree with everything you said here, but I'm not sure what I would drop my GW in favor of. Even if I'm comfortable hitting a soft PW or a bump and run to fill the gap to the SW, why wouldn't I want a "specialty club" that could give me more loft to reach greens that I'd have to crank my SW (at high risk for me) to get to?

[heavygolffeels]

11 hours ago, Mattz said:

I agree with everything you said here, but I'm not sure what I would drop my GW in favor of. Even if I'm comfortable hitting a soft PW or a bump and run to fill the gap to the SW, why wouldn't I want a "specialty club" that could give me more loft to reach greens that I'd have to crank my SW (at high risk for me) to get to?

I'm not advising for everyone to drop the gap wedge. I play a gap wedge myself in a 46/50/56/60 setup. The GW is basically the pitching wedge of the past. And I have no need to drop any of the wedges to pick up another long distance club that I would only use once or twice a round. That being said, you see alot of guys on tour that have a ton of speed and naturally bigger gaps at the top of their bag move into a 46/52/58 setup. I'm sure I could play that just fine in a 13 club bag and not skip a beat. The wedge gapping police might disagree. 

[MrBandit]

I appreciated everyone comments and suggestions, just to give you an update. I replaced the 50 with a 52, keeping the 56, 60 grouping. The Irony to this was as soon as I put the new wedge in play, I had yardages that were on my 50s range, so I was short on most of those shots. I just need to learn where that new number is for the 52. Not sure I would put another wedge in my bag.. I will adapt and overcome. 13 clubs is enough.. lol

Because I'm so used to using the 56, 60 combinations and have great feel for those wedges with the bounces, switching them would have been a disservice.

 

Is like when they put you in the baseball game, and the first ball hit, is coming your direction..

 

 

[Duct Tape]

This has been a good discussion, thanks. I’m using my set PW and AW, 44* & 48* (Apex 19) plus 54 and 58 wedges. Might play some with the bounce and grind options.  Looking at the Ping forged ones vs Glide 3 or Vokey. 
 

jon

[hartrick11]

I like this discussion, and I go back and forth on this myself. I have a set PW & GW at 46* and 50*, and then a Vokey 54* & 58*. That means I don't have room for both the hybrid and driving iron at the top of the bag. At some courses I have removed driver, some I have removed the 50 (I can dial down the PW or hit a 3/4 9 iron, but need to get better at both), but usually I just keep the driving iron out of the bag as I would only hit it 1-2 times per round at most of the courses I play.

I have been toying with a 52* wedge to replace the 50 and 54 and give me back the slot at the top of the bag, but am probably just going to wait until I get my next set of irons in a year or two to make the change.

[3GZ4ME]

On 11/30/2020 at 5:33 PM, scooterhd2 said:

Your SW and LW should vary in bounce or grind so that one of them is more preferable in sand or fluffy lies and one is better from a tight lie. Drop the set GW and pickup a specialty wedge that you feel comfortable with around the greens and can hit some bump and run shots, assuming you cant already do those things with your PW.

I have to agree with this. I have been gaming a set of 52/56/60 Callaway Jaws MD5 wedges with all different bounce and grind combinations as well. With lie dictating the selection for the most part inside say 40 yds I feel I have more versatility around the greens and short pitch shots which is where I was losing a ton of stokes at the beginning of the year. 

[Scooby456]

This has been good to read. Currently play 50 GW, 54, and either 58/60 depending on conditions. Debating if just playing a 56 would pay off, takes away the option of trying to fire at tucked pins with the higher loft and the bigger numbers that can sometimes cause, play to the middle and let the putter roll which is a stronger point of the game. 

[MrBandit]

What has been funny the past few weeks is how much I need it a 50 instead of a 52.  I have found myself in need of a 50 more often lately, which was not the case before, or not a prevalent as it has been lately.

[golferguy27]

I have 45 PW, 50 GW, and an assortment of sizes with more loft.  Was gaming 54/58 to Karl 4 degree loft gaps BUT my yardage gaps are too wide.  So I hope to do some wedge fitting to smooth out those gaps. For me the gaps I mention are full swing.

a related question - what is your max loft full swing club? I use full swing up to 58 but have been  reading quite a bit about people using partial swings for 58 territory distances to get better trajectory and control.  What’s your strategy?

[Scooby456]

The ‘max’ full swing I’ve gone is 58. I say ‘max’ in that I always try to swing at say 90% with my approach shots for control. I’m comfortable cranking that up to 100% on P and up if needed. For whatever reason can’t get comfortable with anything outside 50yds with a 60. Probably mental but that’s my strategy. 

[golferguy27]

@Scooby456 thanks - that describes me as well.  I once made the mistake of trying a friends 64 degree lob in a golf dome - full swing - not recommended as the guy in the swing bay above me saw a ball go nearly vertical .... there are better ways to make friends I must say

[SlowNLow]

I can't really gap these clubs, I'm not accurate enough to hit the center of the face to dial in distances. Yes. I need them to work around the greens, for full shots, I can't hit them solidly enough every time to know how far each one will go.  So I use my 56 from inside 100 yards. The 60 is so inconsistent,  so I'd rather hit a light 56 if needed. The 60 is ok around the greens.

These are feel shots, for me it works better to use one club with the best feel for distance,trajectory, spin. etc. Thats Mr. 56.  Just like putting, we use one putter, and use it from 50 ft or 5 ft.