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What Wedges should I (a beginner) have in my bag??


Mark D

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Hey Everyone,

I picked up golf just before Lockdown! Since then I've been having lessons and been fitted for clubs as well as gifted a few (lucky me). When it comes to my Irons, I have Wilson D7 5i - Sw with a Gw too. Max lost is 56. Should I have a 60 degree in the bag? Everyone keeps saying short game is king and I am trying to find a balance. Or tell me whats missing, if anything remembering I am a beginner. 🙂

For info, in the bag currently I have:

Mizuno STz driver - fitted

Callaway Big Birtha 3 wood - gifted

Wilson D7 irons with Pw,Gw & Sw - fitted as mentioned

Ping Darby putter - gifted - Edel en route!!

MD

Playing since :Mar 2020

Driver: Mizuno STz, Fujikura Atmos Black 6 Tour Spec, Loft 10.5 - Fitted

Woods: Callaway Big Birtha 3 wood

Irons: Wilson Staff D7, Uniflex - Fitted

Wedges: Wilson Staff D7, Uniflex - Fitted

Putter: Ping Darby - Hand me down

Shot Scope V3

Handicap - 39 (unofficial)

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You probably don’t need a 60 and there’s been multiple teaching pros who say that beginner golfers don’t need lob wedges.

But since you are taking lessons talk to your pro and see what he thinks. He will be able to tell you 1) if you should play a lob wedge or not 2) what type of grind and bounce 3) how to properly use the wedge 

Driver: PXG 0811 X+ Proto w/UST Helium 5F4

Wood: TaylorMade M5 5W w/Accra TZ5 +1/2”, TaylorMade Sim 3W w/Aldila rogue white

Hybrid: PXG Gen2 22* w/AD hybrid

Irons: PXG Gen3 0311T w/Nippon modus 120

Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 50*, Tiger grind 56/60

Putter: Scotty Caemeron Super Rat1

Ball: Titleist Prov1

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The purpose of irons and wedges is to hit the ball a specific distance.  Some people add 60 degree wedges to help them hit a specific distance; some people learn how to hit the 56 or other lofted club those same distances.   There are no set specific ways to setup your bag.  Figure out what clubs you need to be effective.  I personally use my 54 for most shifts under 75 yards.

Driver:  :ping-small: G400 Max 9* w/ KBS Tour Driven
Fairway: :titelist-small: TS3 15*  w/Project X Hzardous Smoke
Hybrids:  :titelist-small: 915H 21* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype
                :titelist-small: 915H  24*  w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype        
Irons:      :honma:TR20V 6-11 w/Vizard TR20-85 Graphite
Wedge:  :titleist-small: 54/12D, 60/8M w/:Accra iWedge 90 Graphite
Putter:   :taylormade-small:TM-180

Testing:   SPGC_logo.jpg

Backups:  :odyssey-small: Milled Collection RSX 2, :seemore-small: mFGP2, :cameron-small: Futura 5W

Member:  MGS Hitsquad since 2017697979773_DSCN2368(Custom).JPG.a1a25f5e430d9eebae93c5d652cbd4b9.JPG

 

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Learn what bounce is, what it does, and have at least 1 wedge with a lot more bounce than your other wedges.  6 degrees is low, 16 is high.  Typically a sand wedge has 14 or 16 degrees bounce, so if your Wilson set includes a sand, as you say, it prob. has the big bounce.  Nothing wrong with trying a 60 degree, most golfers have 1 wedge they use the most.  I love Mizuno wedges, the grain flow forged (GFF), a theoretically superior piece of metal with highest uniformity of the molecular structure.  hoo hah!  but they feel very responsive.    I have a 6 year old 52 degree 9 bounce that is my best club.  I bot a spare too, nevermind the latest model.

Driver: PXG 0211, A flex Evnflo Riptide (2021). And an old Callaway 454 TI (2004) on regular flex.

3 W: Callaway Steelhead Xr A flex Tensei CK 55 gram. The rest are Regular flex.

5 W : Titleist TSi 1 on Aldila Ascent regular flex.

Driving Iron: Mizuno MP 18 MMC 3 18 degree, on Mamiya Recoil reg flex.

4 iron:  Mizuno Fly-Hi, 24 degree hybrid iron, GFF, even tho it is a hollow body iron.

6,7,8,9,wedge: Ping I 500, on Recoil reg flex shafts.

Gap wedges: 52 x 9 Mizuno forged S5, wedge shaft; 60 x 6 Mizuno forged T7, wedge shaft.

Sand: Old original Hogan Sure Out on Apex original shaft, probably 56 / 12.

Chipper:  (yep I carry a chipper) old Don Martin "Up n In" bronze? copper? 🙂

Putter: Just switched Jan 2024 to a Odyssey Stroke lab "R" Ball with the 2 piece, multi material shaft.🙃

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I'm a 16.5 hdcp and I carry a 54*SW & 58* lob wedge.

 When Ping recently offered the free Arccos sensors (to ping club owners), I realized that after 90 holes, I have used my 58* exactly ZERO times :-(.  

I thought I carried it to get me out of really deep bunkers, but I come to find out that I prefer to open up the 54* for those shots. 

So now it's time to replace the "like new" lob wedge with another hybrid or a heavenwood.  Or I just might get a chipper :-).

ROGUE ST MAX 9* - Mitsubishi TENSEI AV White 65 Graphite stiff

GBB Epic Pro Tour 15* - Matrix Radix HD 7 stiff

Cleveland Mashie 20.5* - Miyazaki 5G Stiff

PXG O211 4-G - Steelfiber I95 Stiff

Callaway Mac Daddy CB 54* & 58* - KBS shafts.

PXG Battle Ready Bat Attack - PXG Multi-Material M16 Putter Shaft plumbers neck 

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you have a wedge now you need a sand wedge, any brand that looks good to your eye i'd suggest one 56 degree wedge bounce 12 degrees.. learn how to use it open the face, get's the ball up, close the face it'll run, when you open the face make sure you open the face then grip it .. learn how to shallow (tiny or no divot) and how to come into the ball steep (deep divot), good luck and happy golfing! In a year you'll know if you want to add a lob wedge.

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Agree with most that a 56 degree will serve you best and a 10* bounce will work both out of the sand and fairway.   I personally like the Vokey wedges.  A 60 degree wedge is difficult to master and takes years.  I have been playing since 1985, am 75 and use the wedges that came in my Titleist T300 set up thru the 53 degree wedge, then I use a 58.12d Vokey.  It is all about feel and what works and managing your distances.  

Just now, ChuckZ said:

Agree with most that a 56 degree will serve you best and a 10* bounce will work both out of the sand and fairway.   I personally like the Vokey wedges.  A 60 degree wedge is difficult to master and takes years.  I have been playing since 1985, am 75 and use the wedges that came in my Titleist T300 set up thru the 53 degree wedge, then I use a 58.12d Vokey.  It is all about feel and what works and managing your distances.  

Might add that I was fitted for all my clubs by a Titleist certified fitter.  

 

Driver - TSi3 10.75* - Fujikura Speeder 661 TR

Fairway - TSi2 14.25* - Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 6.1 

Fairway - TSR1 17.0* - Fujikura Vista Pro 65S

Hybrid - TSR1 20.0* - Fujikura Atmos Red Tour 75  

Hybrid - TSR1 23.0* - Fujikura Atmos Red Tour 75

Irons - T350 (2023) - 6-48W - True Temper AMT Red 95g-107g

Wedges - Vokey SM9 - 52.08F, 56.10S - True Temper AMT Red 94 

**  GolfPride MCC +4 Midsize Grips  (all woods/irons/wedges)

Putter - 2023 Scotty Cameron Super Select Squareback 2 35" 

**  Superstroke 1.0 Pistol Grip  

Golf Ball - TITLEIST - Prov1s (2023)                                                         

Golf Bags - TITLEIST  - Cart 14 (black), Mid Size Tour (black/white)

Golf Glove - FootJoy (StaSof), Shoes, Apparel and Outerwear        

Rangefinder - Bushnell Pro XE

 

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14 minutes ago, Rob W. said:

I'm a 16.5 hdcp and I carry a 54*SW & 58* lob wedge.

 When Ping recently offered the free Arccos sensors (to ping club owners), I realized that after 90 holes, I have used my 58* exactly ZERO times :-(.  

I thought I carried it to get me out of really deep bunkers, but I come to find out that I prefer to open up the 54* for those shots. 

So now it's time to replace the "like new" lob wedge with another hybrid or a heavenwood.  Or I just might get a chipper :-).

Get a chipper.  No brainer.  I have 2 from the 1950s or 60s.  I use a Don Martin Up-n-In, bronze, grooveless, the orig grip is a square brown leather, loft is probably a 2 iron.  I also have a Stan Thompson, famous guy for the Ginty designs.  He made a ClosUp, a nice chrome wide groove job, loft is prob. 3 iron.  The Martin is better for smaller greens, closer use, the Close-Up I would use where the greens and fringes are larger and you are making longer chips.  Both guys were in southern Calif.   Ebay, baby, Ebay, or maybe try club finder or your local $5 bargain barrels.  Right now I see both on ebay.

Driver: PXG 0211, A flex Evnflo Riptide (2021). And an old Callaway 454 TI (2004) on regular flex.

3 W: Callaway Steelhead Xr A flex Tensei CK 55 gram. The rest are Regular flex.

5 W : Titleist TSi 1 on Aldila Ascent regular flex.

Driving Iron: Mizuno MP 18 MMC 3 18 degree, on Mamiya Recoil reg flex.

4 iron:  Mizuno Fly-Hi, 24 degree hybrid iron, GFF, even tho it is a hollow body iron.

6,7,8,9,wedge: Ping I 500, on Recoil reg flex shafts.

Gap wedges: 52 x 9 Mizuno forged S5, wedge shaft; 60 x 6 Mizuno forged T7, wedge shaft.

Sand: Old original Hogan Sure Out on Apex original shaft, probably 56 / 12.

Chipper:  (yep I carry a chipper) old Don Martin "Up n In" bronze? copper? 🙂

Putter: Just switched Jan 2024 to a Odyssey Stroke lab "R" Ball with the 2 piece, multi material shaft.🙃

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8 minutes ago, Riverboat said:

Let me start by saying this is a serious question, not being argumentative, I'm honestly curious. What is the advantage of a chipper? Why not just use the club with the loft you are looking for and chip with that? You only have 14 spots.  Is the chipper that valuable?

1.  Length of the shaft.

2.  Lie angle.

3.  Size and type of sole, flat, bounce, wide, etc.  i.e. grind.

4.  Material made from.

5.  Groove or in case of Don Martin, no groove.

6. Grip style.

7.  And while I am not yet very good, injury/ spine like Stacy Lewis before her surgery, I think many golfers can ditch a long club.  How many clubs do you actually use between your driver and your 5 iron?  Or as one person on this topic said, he found out he never used his 58 degree wedge.  I carry a 60, but if I ever needed to drop a club, I can hit very accurate with my Mizuno 52/09.  I almost never need to try a Phil Mickelson style flop shot with the 60 deg wedge.

So, while the pros and 3 hdcp folks can do the work with their 58 or 60, it takes many more hours of practice compared to a few hours of practice with a dedicated chipper.  Everything about my 7 or 6 iron is designed for the full swing and contact from fairway.  Those become un-friendly when chipping.  I used to chip all the time with a 7 iron but the chipper is way more accurate.  Especially, as I wrote, the Don Martin for smaller greens, the Thompson if I play on large greens.

Driver: PXG 0211, A flex Evnflo Riptide (2021). And an old Callaway 454 TI (2004) on regular flex.

3 W: Callaway Steelhead Xr A flex Tensei CK 55 gram. The rest are Regular flex.

5 W : Titleist TSi 1 on Aldila Ascent regular flex.

Driving Iron: Mizuno MP 18 MMC 3 18 degree, on Mamiya Recoil reg flex.

4 iron:  Mizuno Fly-Hi, 24 degree hybrid iron, GFF, even tho it is a hollow body iron.

6,7,8,9,wedge: Ping I 500, on Recoil reg flex shafts.

Gap wedges: 52 x 9 Mizuno forged S5, wedge shaft; 60 x 6 Mizuno forged T7, wedge shaft.

Sand: Old original Hogan Sure Out on Apex original shaft, probably 56 / 12.

Chipper:  (yep I carry a chipper) old Don Martin "Up n In" bronze? copper? 🙂

Putter: Just switched Jan 2024 to a Odyssey Stroke lab "R" Ball with the 2 piece, multi material shaft.🙃

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For $20 or $30 you can get one of these chippers on ebay right now and give it a try.

Driver: PXG 0211, A flex Evnflo Riptide (2021). And an old Callaway 454 TI (2004) on regular flex.

3 W: Callaway Steelhead Xr A flex Tensei CK 55 gram. The rest are Regular flex.

5 W : Titleist TSi 1 on Aldila Ascent regular flex.

Driving Iron: Mizuno MP 18 MMC 3 18 degree, on Mamiya Recoil reg flex.

4 iron:  Mizuno Fly-Hi, 24 degree hybrid iron, GFF, even tho it is a hollow body iron.

6,7,8,9,wedge: Ping I 500, on Recoil reg flex shafts.

Gap wedges: 52 x 9 Mizuno forged S5, wedge shaft; 60 x 6 Mizuno forged T7, wedge shaft.

Sand: Old original Hogan Sure Out on Apex original shaft, probably 56 / 12.

Chipper:  (yep I carry a chipper) old Don Martin "Up n In" bronze? copper? 🙂

Putter: Just switched Jan 2024 to a Odyssey Stroke lab "R" Ball with the 2 piece, multi material shaft.🙃

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A chipper is a high loft club that you don’t have to learn on how to open the face on a wedge. Works well as a basic club in rough or bunker shots. Not as flexible but unless you learn how to open the face and use the bounce to slide under the ball, a standard wedge is not used to full advantage. Better and aspiring better golfers don’t rate chippers well. In any event, short game skills need to be developed for better scoring. One doesn’t need to be as good as Phil M. but being able to have high and low shots into the green improves scoring. Chippers only develop low runners. 

Titleist TSR 11 degree, HZRDS Red R 44.75 LH

Titleist TSR-1 5/7 Woods LH

Titleist TSR-1 23 Hybrid LH

Titleist T200  7-48 - T350 6 Tensai AMT Red LH

 Titleist SM9 50-54-58 TT AMT Red LH

Scotty Phantom X 7.5 RH

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My suggestion for wedges for beginners is to go with cavity back models as they are alot more forgiving than traditional wedges. Options would include the Cleveland CBX and the Callaway Mack Daddy CB wedges. I have the Cleveland CBX wedges in 46, 52 and 56 degree lofts and they work much better for me than anything else I have tried. For a sand wedge, you could also consider the C3i 65 degree wedge ($99), as with those, there is no need to open the club face or open your stance, so I find that it makes bunker shots a lot easier.

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10 hours ago, Mark D said:

Hey Everyone,

I picked up golf just before Lockdown! Since then I've been having lessons and been fitted for clubs as well as gifted a few (lucky me). When it comes to my Irons, I have Wilson D7 5i - Sw with a Gw too. Max lost is 56. Should I have a 60 degree in the bag? Everyone keeps saying short game is king and I am trying to find a balance. Or tell me whats missing, if anything remembering I am a beginner. 🙂

For info, in the bag currently I have:

Mizuno STz driver - fitted

Callaway Big Birtha 3 wood - gifted

Wilson D7 irons with Pw,Gw & Sw - fitted as mentioned

Ping Darby putter - gifted - Edel en route!!

Good for you picking up this crazy game, and welcome to the forum.  I remember being a beginner, and I had the same thoughts as you.  My feeling is... it depends whether or not you need/want a LW.  Foremost is, can you hit one reliably?  I immediately got a 60º because everyone else I played with had one; I couldn't hit it.  That said, 25 years later my 60º Callaway PM Grind is now my most favorite club for all shots around the green.  

You can certainly make all the shots that you would use a 60º for with your GW and SW.  The advantage of using your set wedges is they have the same shaft and feel as your other clubs, which is good when making full shots.  The disadvantage is that they may not be the best fit for less than full, feel shots around the green.  That's where the wedge brands with multiple bounce and sole grinds are beneficial.  One day, you may want to replace your SW, or even your GW, with a name brand wedge.  If/when you do, consider the shaft as well as the head specs.  It's important!!

As a beginner, I think you should use your current wedges and work with your coach on the short game.  It will pay dividends quickly.  When you feel comfortable, try out a LW if you think there are shots you need that you may not make very well with your SW.

We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.”

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1 hour ago, Riverboat said:

Let me start by saying this is a serious question, not being argumentative, I'm honestly curious. What is the advantage of a chipper? Why not just use the club with the loft you are looking for and chip with that? You only have 14 spots.  Is the chipper that valuable?

 

1 hour ago, WiTerp50 said:

A chipper is a high loft club that you don’t have to learn on how to open the face on a wedge. Works well as a basic club in rough or bunker shots. Not as flexible but unless you learn how to open the face and use the bounce to slide under the ball, a standard wedge is not used to full advantage. Better and aspiring better golfers don’t rate chippers well. In any event, short game skills need to be developed for better scoring. One doesn’t need to be as good as Phil M. but being able to have high and low shots into the green improves scoring. Chippers only develop low runners. 

WiTerp  I disagree.  My chipper is for shots near or on the fringe, not sand or heavy rough.  The loft is a long iron, not wedge, the bounce is minimal.  The ball gets 12" to 18" off the ground.   My sand is another classic oldie, the Hogan Sure-Out, pretty sure it is a 56 deg 14 b. with a huge sole.  In the rough close to the green, I use either Mizu wedge or maybe the shallower bounce and narrow sole on my Ping I 500s, 7,8,9, W, depends on each lie.  In real bad rough, maybe the Hogan with 14 deg bounce fits the bill.  Sometimes I bring my Ginty 2 copper sandwedge tho, it has a lot of weight and a sharp leading edge for rough, or longer yardage than I like for the Up-N-In. 

Driver: PXG 0211, A flex Evnflo Riptide (2021). And an old Callaway 454 TI (2004) on regular flex.

3 W: Callaway Steelhead Xr A flex Tensei CK 55 gram. The rest are Regular flex.

5 W : Titleist TSi 1 on Aldila Ascent regular flex.

Driving Iron: Mizuno MP 18 MMC 3 18 degree, on Mamiya Recoil reg flex.

4 iron:  Mizuno Fly-Hi, 24 degree hybrid iron, GFF, even tho it is a hollow body iron.

6,7,8,9,wedge: Ping I 500, on Recoil reg flex shafts.

Gap wedges: 52 x 9 Mizuno forged S5, wedge shaft; 60 x 6 Mizuno forged T7, wedge shaft.

Sand: Old original Hogan Sure Out on Apex original shaft, probably 56 / 12.

Chipper:  (yep I carry a chipper) old Don Martin "Up n In" bronze? copper? 🙂

Putter: Just switched Jan 2024 to a Odyssey Stroke lab "R" Ball with the 2 piece, multi material shaft.🙃

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7 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

You probably don’t need a 60 and there’s been multiple teaching pros who say that beginner golfers don’t need lob wedges.

But since you are taking lessons talk to your pro and see what he thinks. He will be able to tell you 1) if you should play a lob wedge or not 2) what type of grind and bounce 3) how to properly use the wedge 

I'm not a beginner.... and I sure as hell don't need a lob wedge! 😂

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If you're just getting started, what you have should suit your needs pretty well.  My highest lofted wedge right now is 58* (I carry 50*, 54*, 58*).  Get good with basic shots (not manipulating the face) with the wedges you currently have.  At some point, you may try to start opening up the face of your wedges and find that the heel gets in the way.  That's when you'll want specialty wedges.  If the D7 gap wedge is like the D7 Forged gap wedge that I have, it's more like an 11 iron than a wedge.  

The chipper mentioned above is a good call for certain people, but I'd actually recommend picking up a hybrid or two and learn to putt with them as well as hitting full shots.  The putt with a hybrid is a dead-simple shot to learn (seriously, you can pick it up in about 30 minutes - just adjust for the lively face), and a wide-soled hybrid is even more forgiving than most chippers.

What's in the bag:
Driver - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Wood (13.5*) - :titleist-small: 980F 
4 Wood (18*) - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Hybrid (19*) - :taylormade-small: RBZ
4i - PW - :wilson_staff_small: D7 Forged - Recoil 760 ( S )
52* - :cleveland-small: CBX
58* - :cleveland-small: CBX Full Face 2
Putter - :ping-small: Craz-e
Bag - :1590477705_SunMountain: 2.5 (Blue)
Ball -  :titleist-small: AVX
Instagram - @hardcorelooper
Twitter - @meovino
Facebook - mike.eovino

 

 

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Lots of great advice in this thread, like others have mentioned I'd talk with your pro and work on various types of shots with your current setup. Doing that is a great way to learn how various clubs & lofts react to doing different things in different course conditions. 

I've in the past used a chipper as well as a wedge designed to get out of the sand easily. However, once I learned how to chip with different irons and how to get out of the sand "properly", I ditched both clubs because they can be one-trick ponies. 

Honestly, even now my highest wedge is 58* and over the course of 18 holes I'll pull it maybe once or twice. For a long time my highest wedge was 54* and I learned to do so much with it over time that I'm very comfortable with it in different situations. You may find that the same thing happens with you as well with a particular club. Good luck, and have fun!

In my  :wilson_staff_small:  carry bag:
:mizuno-small: ST-X 10.5* Kai'li Blue R Flex
:mizuno-small: ST-Z 15* Kai/li Blue R Flex
:mizuno-small: ST-Z 4h Linq Blue R Flex
:cleveland-small: Launcher 5h
:cleveland-small: Launcher CBX 6i-PW
:cleveland-small: CBX 54* & 58*
:cleveland-small: Huntington Beach #10
:bridgestone-small: e12 Contact
CURRENTLY TESTING - Mizuno Long Game

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On 7/22/2021 at 9:00 AM, Mark D said:

Hey Everyone,

I picked up golf just before Lockdown! Since then I've been having lessons and been fitted for clubs as well as gifted a few (lucky me). When it comes to my Irons, I have Wilson D7 5i - Sw with a Gw too. Max lost is 56. Should I have a 60 degree in the bag? Everyone keeps saying short game is king and I am trying to find a balance. Or tell me whats missing, if anything remembering I am a beginner. 🙂

For info, in the bag currently I have:

Mizuno STz driver - fitted

Callaway Big Birtha 3 wood - gifted

Wilson D7 irons with Pw,Gw & Sw - fitted as mentioned

Ping Darby putter - gifted - Edel en route!!

 

As you can tell from the many responses on here, wedges are quite a personal choice.  Here's a few thoughts:

  • Don't worry about a 60* wedge until you are a much better golfer and have more experience that'll help you decide if you need one.  Every beginner, I've ever seen try to play a 60 ends up doing more harm than good.
  • As others have said, chances are the wedges you have are likely fine for now (and by 'for now' I mean for the next several years)
  • I like wedges with a good bit of bounce myself so I have 2 Cleveland Smartsole 4 wedges (C - Wedge and Gap Wedge) and a Callaway Sureout 2 (58*).
  • I've learned to only use the Sure out to get out of Sand or when I have to go over something for stop VERY short (short sided).  Any other situation produces results that are just less predictable than the Clevelands.  It is rather fantastic at getting out of the sand, BTW.
  • That 'C' wedge is something some people would call a chipper.  It's similar.  I can hit that thing with a full swing and it's 120 yards consistently and it is so easy to hit (feel like I just throw the club head at the ball and good things happen).  Hit my only hole in one with it on a short par 3.  It's great for the bump and run around the greens (which is what it's really for and how I use it the most).  I used to use a 7 or 8 iron but when I bought new irons found myself struggling with consistency around the greens.  That C wedge has a shorter more upright shaft and since it's a Smartsole it has a lot of bounce.  When I score well it's often because I have a good day with this club.
  • If you turn out to be like me, getting new clubs is part of the fun of golf.  I've been looking at replacing my Gap wedge with a Cleveland CBX2 because there's a particular distance I'm looking for.  I still have enough good days with that Gap wedge, however, so it's stayed in the bag because that 30 yard shot is more important than the full swing distance gap I want to eliminate.  I swear sometimes I get something new and my scores get worse...but I still enjoy leaning and adjusting to the new gear.  This is another thing that's personal for players.  Some players hardly ever change clubs, love their stuff and just enjoy the game.  For others part of the fun is new gear in addition to player (to each their own).

-elvis14, Hacker, Engineer, Dad, CG Camper, Co-Founder of From Your Neighbor

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1 hour ago, elvis14 said:

Don't worry about a 60* wedge until you are a much better golfer and have more experience that'll help you decide if you need one.  Every beginner, I've ever seen try to play a 60 ends up doing more harm than good.

This right here...I'm a 3.2 handicap right now and a flop shot is one of my specialty shots and still only use my 60* when I am inside 50 yards. I cannot for the life of me hit a consistent full swing shot with my 60*. For the longest time if I was anywhere near the green I pulled my 60* and tried to play the hero fly it to the hole shot. Sometimes it worked, most times it did not. Now when I miss a green I take my 60, 56, and 52 with me and evaluate the lie and shot that will best give me a chance to get up and in. you rarely really need to hit a true flop shot and will get more consistency from something like the 56*. 

As for brands, that is very personal. I play a Cobra 60, ping 56, and titleist 52. When I tried to swap to a Ping 52 I literally shanked 40% of my shots with it and ended up giving the club away and going back to my worn out 52*. That was a year ago and I still have not replaced it. Upgrading to new wedges really only helps if A) the ones you have don't fit your game, or B) you play in a lot of wet weather. In dry conditions you still get plenty of spin from a pretty worn wedge. 

 

 

Driver: :titelist-small: TSi4 8* w/ Tensei AV Raw White 65gr X shaft set to D-1 Hosel
3 wood: :taylormade-small: M1 13.5* Head set open w/ Fade bias weights. 
Irons: :ping-small: I-Blades PW-3i, 2* up standard length.
Wedges: :ping-small:Glide 1.0 TS 60*, :ping-small: Glide 2.0 56 ES, :titelist-small:Vokey 52* 
Putter: :ping-small: Sigma G Kushin .
Ball: Various: Testing: :titelist-small: AVX, :bridgestone-small: BX, :taylormade-small: TP5x 
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I would argue your wedges in your Wilson set are perfectly adequate for the time being. Generally speaking, most wedges you see on the shelf such as Vokey's are akin to playing a muscle back blade iron. They simply don't offer any extra forgiveness that your Wilson wedges will provide. With that said, there is nothing wrong with playing something like a Vokey, even as a beginner. 60 degree wedges generally aren't necessary but everyone is different. I would recommend not adding a wedge higher than a 56* if you have a difficult time with good turn interaction. If you swing in good way where you're relatively confident in how the club is going to interact with the ground, there really isn't any wedge you shouldn't play. Even if you aren't confident in your swing there aren't any clubs you can't play, you just won't have some of the forgiveness that set wedges or wedges like the Cleveland CBX may provide.

My general philosophy for newer golfers is that if you have a reasonably decent set of clubs, just go out and play as much golf as you can. It's okay if you don't know what you want when you start. The only way to determine what you feel you want or need is to actually get out and play. You don't need to have a an expensive or even fully fit set of clubs to start out with. You happen to have a fit set of irons which is great and the wedges in that set should give you the ability to play 98% of shots that are possible around the green. Specialty wedges offer some grinds that may give you the opportunity to play higher flop shots or play off tighter lies but the general thing that comes with most wedge grinds that allow that is less forgiveness. I personally like the PM grind wedges as the sole provides a great balance of forgiveness and playability that most other dual grind wedges don't provide. 

One thing I would say about certain things in golf, especially wedges and the short game, is to not be afraid of trying something new or more challenging. You can't learn to play a flop shot if you never try it. You can't learn to play soft landing spinny wedge shots if you never try it. Nothing wrong with having a 60* club in your bag to have fun with. Worst case scenario is that the 60* wedge or specialty wedge doesn't work real well for you and you only use it for practice. So at the end of the day, buy whatever you want and have fun but if you are trying to score well, maybe go with the higher percentage shots you know you can hit well. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

So this is where I find myself.  Based on the Arccos data, I don't use the 58* (once in 7 rounds).  I don't really need a 19* club between my 3w/4h cause I can adjust my 3W swing, but the data also shows that I often miss greens short and roll into the collar of the green.  I have around 10 shots per round where I putt of the fringe/fairway or chip with 7/8i with various results.  So it looks like that would be about 10 opportunities to use the chipper.

As far as the "one trick pony" comments, I could learn to putt with my hybrid, but I prefer to carry a one trick putter 🙂

  

ROGUE ST MAX 9* - Mitsubishi TENSEI AV White 65 Graphite stiff

GBB Epic Pro Tour 15* - Matrix Radix HD 7 stiff

Cleveland Mashie 20.5* - Miyazaki 5G Stiff

PXG O211 4-G - Steelfiber I95 Stiff

Callaway Mac Daddy CB 54* & 58* - KBS shafts.

PXG Battle Ready Bat Attack - PXG Multi-Material M16 Putter Shaft plumbers neck 

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Welcome to the forum and THE game. Agree with others that I would delay getting the 60 until later - if ever. I have carried a 60/12 Volkey but honestly for every shot that lands 2 feet from the pin there are 5 that are terrible. You need more practice that for me is not justified. I will use my 54 instead. 

Driver :ping-small: G400 SFT 9

3 Wood :ping-small: G400

4 Hybrid :taylormade-small: SIM2 MAX

Irons :taylormade-small: SIM2 MAX 5-AW

Wedges :vokey-small: 254/10, 260/12

Putter :ping-small: Anser 2 Cadence

Ball :taylormade-small:Tour Response

Bag Stitch SL2, :Arccos:

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  • 1 month later...
On 8/3/2021 at 5:43 PM, mariopepperdd said:

Callaway Big Birtha 3 wood - how much does it cost? really interested to know..

 

It was a hand me down from my Uncle.

MD

Playing since :Mar 2020

Driver: Mizuno STz, Fujikura Atmos Black 6 Tour Spec, Loft 10.5 - Fitted

Woods: Callaway Big Birtha 3 wood

Irons: Wilson Staff D7, Uniflex - Fitted

Wedges: Wilson Staff D7, Uniflex - Fitted

Putter: Ping Darby - Hand me down

Shot Scope V3

Handicap - 39 (unofficial)

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Even as a highish handicapper, I play the crap out of my 60*….albeit for very specific shots.  It’s really a 20 yard and in club at most; for short flop shots.  And even then, it has to be from a decent lie.   But short fairway, on an approach that just didn’t quite make it…it’s money.

it’s probably the other wedges in the bag I need to adjust a bit.  I’ve got a 60…then 54.  Probably need to trade that out for a 56 here at some point 

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Set configuration issues are hard to resolve before the aspiring player begins to make good, consistent contact. 

We don't really settle on our approach to playing until we understand what we do well.

I've seen high handicap players stripe 2-irons because they're strong and have upright swings.  

But it applies to wedges as well.

I didn't know what wedge setup was best until I was good enough to attempt to contrive shots, only to discover that I didn't have the right club for it.

Whatever you like now as a beginning player is not necessarily what you'll want two years from now.

First get to where you're happy with how you're hitting the ball.  Everything else falls into place after that.

 

 

Louisville Golf Persimmon___2, 4, 5, 7-woods;    Epon AF-906___driving iron;   Titleist T100 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-irons; 

Titleist T100S___48°;     Edison 2.0___53º;     Titleist SM-9 (T)___58º;   Tad Moore Otto Hackbarth___putter;   

Titleist Pro V1x___ball

 

 

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On 7/22/2021 at 12:44 PM, Donn lost in San Diego said:

Learn what bounce is, what it does, and have at least 1 wedge with a lot more bounce than your other wedges.  6 degrees is low, 16 is high.  Typically a sand wedge has 14 or 16 degrees bounce, so if your Wilson set includes a sand, as you say, it prob. has the big bounce.  Nothing wrong with trying a 60 degree, most golfers have 1 wedge they use the most.  I love Mizuno wedges, the grain flow forged (GFF), a theoretically superior piece of metal with highest uniformity of the molecular structure.  hoo hah!  but they feel very responsive.    I have a 6 year old 52 degree 9 bounce that is my best club.  I bot a spare too, nevermind the latest model.

A 36 handicap offering advice to a 39 handicap? Hmmmmmmmm...........

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The Wilson set likely provides more forgiveness than anything off the shelf. Sometimes less is more early in. Don’t get to inundated with learning how to hit every shot you can. If you play smart you may never need the 60deg. Some guys I see in the course can never generate that loft and will play low pitch shots or runners all day. Rarely do I see the older guys hitting high wedge shots but time after time they are in the green having a par putt while the younger guys are still messing around to get on the greens with specialty clubs

:taylormade-small: Stealth 2 Plus 9deg Kai' li Red

:taylormade-small:Stealth 2 13deg Aldilla Rogue Silver

:taylormade-small:Stealth 2 15deg Aldilla Rogue Silver

:mizuno-small: JPX 921 Hot Metal 4-PW Nippon Modus 120s

:vokey-small: SM8 54 and 58deg Dynamic Gold Wedge Flex

:titleist-small: Scotty Cameron Newport 2

Titleist ProV1

:ping-small: Hoofer Stand Bag

Stewart Q Follow Electric Caddie

:callaway-small: 300 PRO Rangefinder

Official Nippon Regio B+ Driver Shaft Review

Official Stewart Q Follow Review

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

First off, welcome to the greatest golf forum/family on the planet! And welcome to the most rewarding/frustrating game on the planet.

There's definitely a lot of great advice given and as you can see, there are a hundred different ways to skin the wedge game cat. As a new golfer you're being bombarded with so many different thoughts and techniques and ideas. As you probably know, golf isn't a game of 1 particular skill set. It's a game that requires some decent mastery of multiple skills, and even sub-skills just to become decent. I like to look at golf as a game with 3 levels. Ultimately we're all trying to hit a ball from the tee to the green to the hole and move on.. but a level 3 golfer will do and see all of that much differently than a level 1. 

I Know I'll probably get reamed for saying this but get through level 1 before messing with a high-lofted wedge.. or any wedge above PW. Things like 60°, bounce, grind, etc won't make much sense to you until about level 2 or even 3. Even if you understand what these things mean, the physical application of them comes with a lot of time and practice, and feeling what these really mean.

At this stage, you're just trying to get the ball from within 50yds to somewhere on the green and you can more easily do that with a 7-PW. All the precision stuff will come later. Learn how to choke down on a club to make it shorter and just get consistent with brushing the ground to create space between the ball and ground and getting that ball effectively moving forward. Think Mr Miyagi and the Karate kid. mastering simple but effective techniques that might seem extremely basic, will eventually blossom into a quiver of skills and precision killer moves.

An example is my dad. We golf often and he sees how I'm able to work various shots with my wedge but he doesn't see how much time I've put into building my wedge game. He's not very good with his wedges at all and just won't put in the time because they're so difficult to get good at. He's bought at least 5 different wedges over the space of 2 years thinking that the next one was going to solve some issue. Finally this year I banned him from carrying anything greater than a PW. I told him to just focus on learning to move the ball with what he has. Mentally they are easier to look at and have more success more often. Well wouldn't you know it, his short game actually improved substantially. He was making more consistent contact and effectively putting the ball closer to the hole. Well then his motivation and confidence picked up. Eventually I let him earn his Gap wedge and he's taking the same baby steps with it. 

Hopefully my long-winded explanation allows you to see where I'm going with this. Golf is a game that allows you to be as creative as you'd like but make sure you know your own limitations first before you try to go deeper into the water. Otherwise you'll find yourself drowning and just not enjoying the game. 

If it means anything, I'm currently around a 6 handicap with what I consider a fairly strong wedge game. I effectively use a 56° for as my swiss army short game club. I have a 50° that I rarely use on anything but a full shot, and I pretty frequently use my 7, 9, and PW for short chip shots. While my dad (28 hdcp) is doing it to just make better contact, I'm doing the same thing but at a much higher level of play so it stays relevant as you improve. 

 

   PXG 0311 Gen 5 9°/ Fujikura MotoreX F1 6X
:cobra-small:  F6 3 Wood 14* / Kuro Kage Silver 65X
:cobra-small: F8 6 wood 20* / Fujikura MotoreX F3 6S

:cobra-small: RADSpeed Hybrid 24*
post-76102-0-38507100-1525284411_thumb.jpg TS1 4-GW / FCM Precision 6.5 Rifle
post-76102-0-38507100-1525284411_thumb.jpg  TSW Wedge - 56/12
:edel-golf-1:  EAS 1.0 / Grip master 2.0 

MAXFLI  Tour CG

 

 

 

 

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