Iron & Wedge Yardage Gap

DiscipleofPenick · January 30, 2021

Why have my gains not countinued into my wedges?

Lucky me, I gained since distance on my irons this past year! I've had the Titleist 714CB in my bag for 3 years now and I went down a club 4-PW. I used to hit the PW 135, now 145.

The 115-125ish used to be a bad gap in the bag. I added a 50* Vokey to go with my 54/58. This solved my 120 yard gap problem. Though now, that I hit the PW further, I still only hit the 50* 120. Now the 130-140 is a gap problem. Yes, I can always 3/4 swing the PW.

The PW is 47*, and everything L/L/L is standard. I have X100 shafts in the irons and wedge flex in the Vokeys. Looking for any theories. Thanks!

Take Dead Aim

Kansas King · January 30, 2021

It seems rather common that wedges tend to max out on distance. The difference could be the shaft, swing weight, and spin. The grooves in your Vokey are likely cut more aggressively than on your PW, causing the ball to probably spin more but not go farther with a faster swing speed. The shafts and overall club weight is also a contributing factor as Titleist typically puts a 130 gram shaft in their wedges vs. the 121 gram x100s. So swing weight and total club weight may be fighting you a bit. The other thing is that a 5 MPH swing speed increase may not mean every club will have an equal yardage gain. Higher lofted clubs will probably have less of a distance gain vs lower lofted clubs. If you really need the extra yards you may want to see a fitter or try bending your 50* to a 49*. Heck, you might even find out your 50 is actually a 51 or 52. Putting an X100 in your 50* may also help increase your swing speed a little and lessen the distance gap.

I personally have a hard time hitting my wedges as far as my irons relative to loft since there swing weight is higher but that is what I like feel wise for control.

aerospace_ray · January 30, 2021

My distance gaps improved when I went to ~4 deg loft gap and/or experimented with soft stepping shafts in 9, PW and GW. While I don't necessarily from a swing speed perspective fit to firm/stiff flex steel shafts, I like the feel and was able to achieve distances and feel I desired through soft stepping the firmer/stiff steel shafts in those clubs.

DiscipleofPenick · January 30, 2021

It seems rather common that wedges tend to max out on distance. The difference could be the shaft, swing weight, and spin. The grooves in your Vokey are likely cut more aggressively than on your PW, causing the ball to probably spin more but not go farther with a faster swing speed. The shafts and overall club weight is also a contributing factor as Titleist typically puts a 130 gram shaft in their wedges vs. the 121 gram x100s. So swing weight and total club weight may be fighting you a bit. The other thing is that a 5 MPH swing speed increase may not mean every club will have an equal yardage gain. Higher lofted clubs will probably have less of a distance gain vs lower lofted clubs. If you really need the extra yards you may want to see a fitter or try bending your 50* to a 49*. Heck, you might even find out your 50 is actually a 51 or 52. Putting an X100 in your 50* may also help increase your swing speed a little and lessen the distance gap.
I personally have a hard time hitting my wedges as far as my irons relative to loft since there swing weight is higher but that is what I like feel wise for control.

Thanks for the suggestion. I may look into getting the X100 put in the 50.

Take Dead Aim

DiscipleofPenick · January 30, 2021

My distance gaps improved when I went to ~4 deg loft gap and/or experimented with soft stepping shafts in 9, PW and GW. While I don't necessarily from a swing speed perspective fit to firm/stiff flex steel shafts, I like the feel and was able to achieve distances and feel I desired through soft stepping the firmer/stiff steel shafts in those clubs.

My irons do have the 4 degree gap, and so does my wedge setup 50-54-58. So the only 3* gap is PW and 50*. I'm not familiar with what soft stepping is.

Take Dead Aim

Tom the Golf Nut · January 30, 2021

I just received a wedge I ordered from Sub -70. I had them bend a 56 degree to 55 and use a KBS Tour 105 shaft and soft step it to get my gaps better. I now go 50 - 55 - 60. If the weather would give me a break I would go out and try it. Nothing worse than something shiny and new staring you in the face for over two weeks now.

Soft stepping is a term for adjusting the stiffness of the shaft. It's like putting an 8 iron shaft in a 9 iron. Then you trim the butt end to get the correct length.

So in my case we used a stiffer flex shaft for weight but soft stepped it for a little more flex down toward the tip section.

aerospace_ray · January 30, 2021

49 minutes ago, Tsmithjr9 said:

My irons do have the 4 degree gap, and so does my wedge setup 50-54-58. So the only 3* gap is PW and 50*. I'm not familiar with what soft stepping is.

Take Dead Aim

So soft step for example would be when you take a 8 iron shaft (tip prep / "how much is trimmed") and install in a 9 iron. The 9 iron is still the same length it just has a now weaker tip flexed shaft. It helps one achieve a similar albeit possibly softer feel (pending make/brand shaft) but plays a half a shaft flex weaker. That may be all it takes to regain a little lost distance/spin.

Stepping shafts is very subjective regarding like feel and for many all it would do is increase possible spin and not achieve desired distance. I just offer this idea up as something you may try some time.

Many take old clubs first and experiment before jumping all in with their gamers. From my experience the make/model/design of the shaft affects whether or not one achieves what they are after when stepping shafts. Being a club maker I have experimented with soft stepping and hard stepping shafts for a lot of years. It can work for some and some it does not at all as there are just so many variables in place when it comes to distance/spin/shot height, etc.

Buffly · January 30, 2021

2 hours ago, Tsmithjr9 said:

Thanks for the suggestion. I may look into getting the X100 put in the 50.

Take Dead Aim

That would be my first recommendation as well - putting your iron shaft in your full swing wedge - like your Gap.

I'm thinking your wedge flex might not "feel" identical causing either a timing issue or might even be drooping.

In my experience, the sole design and turf interaction from my set irons to the wedges is very important to play attention to. It is possible that the sole design on your Vokey isn't optimized for your swing dynamics - just a guess. Also, drastically different bounce will create different turf interaction.

DiscipleofPenick · January 30, 2021

So soft step for example would be when you take a 8 iron shaft (tip prep / "how much is trimmed") and install in a 9 iron. The 9 iron is still the same length it just has a now weaker tip flexed shaft. It helps one achieve a similar albeit possibly softer feel (pending make/brand shaft) but plays a half a shaft flex weaker. That may be all it takes to regain a little lost distance/spin.
Stepping shafts is very subjective regarding like feel and for many all it would do is increase possible spin and not achieve desired distance. I just offer this idea up as something you may try some time.
Many take old clubs first and experiment before jumping all in with their gamers. From my experience the make/model/design of the shaft affects whether or not one achieves what they are after when stepping shafts. Being a club maker I have experimented with soft stepping and hard stepping shafts for a lot of years. It can work for some and some it does not at all as there are just so many variables in place when it comes to distance/spin/shot height, etc.

Thanks to you and@Tom the golf nut for explaining. I think I'll have some experimenting to do when the weather breaks in hopefully 6 weeks.

Take Dead Aim