Does 1 degree of loft make a big difference in wedges?

[NewYear_NewClubs]

Looking for some wisdom from fellow MyGolfSpy members.

My wedge set up used to be 48-PW, 52-GW, 56-SW and 60-LW which worked out perfect.

My new set that I will be getting soon will have 45-PW so I changed my gap wedge to 50 degree loft and I am caught in a dilemma on what I should do with my SW and LW.

- I can adjust my SW to 55 degrees so I can keep a constant 5 degree gap throughout all my wedges (45, 50, 55, 60)

- I can change my SW and LW to 54 and 58 degrees to keep 4 degree gap throughout (45, 50, 54, 58)

- Or just keep my set as is (45, 50, 56, 60)

 

I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on how big of a difference a 1 degree of loft on wedges?  

[Kenny B]

Do all of your wedges have the same shaft?  Different shafts can affect distance.

I wouldn't adjust your SW and LW 2 degrees because you are reducing the bounce, which for those wedges I think is more critical than loft.  You could adjust 1 degree if you want, but I seriously doubt you would see much difference.  These wedges should be played flighted anyway IMO.  If you make full swings them and can consistently hit your yardages, then maybe.  My wedges are 48 PW, 54 SW, 60 LW and I play lots of shots with my 54 and 60... none of which are full swing.  

Personally, I would play the 45, 50, 56, 60 and see if there are gaps that you can't cover by gripping the club differently and flighting the ball.  

[cnosil]

18 minutes ago, NewYear_NewClubs said:

I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on how big of a difference a 1 degree of loft on wedges?  

I think it is player dependent since the performance of a club is driven by you. The loft will influence launch, spin, and distance.   If you are able to hit the distances you need with the clubs you have then that is the correct setup,  it really isn’t  based on having some specific loft gap between clubs.   

[NewYear_NewClubs]

12 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

Do all of your wedges have the same shaft?  Different shafts can affect distance.

PW has Steelfiber PR i95 Stiff and GW, SW, LW have same modus 105 Wedge shafts. 

Thanks for your feedback!  As per your suggestion, I think I will keep my wedges way they are for now and make any changes if I truly feel the need. 

[ctg44]

I found that my distance gapping was VERY sensitive to shaft differences, so I basically must have the same shafts in my wedges as are in my irons. I use the Nippon 1150gh (stiff) in all of my clubs) and my wedges (Vokey 50 / 56-->55 / 60) are all them built using a 9 iron shaft because A) I could not get a wedge shaft in that exact shaft, and B) I did not want a "wedge flex" shaft.

What I am currently fighting is deciding whether to keep the Mizuno Pro 223 PW or I should have ignored my fitter and kept the Vokey 46 degree wedge I had. Yeah, it's been a year and I am still indecisive. I think a lot boils down to the fact that the PW is the one club in the Pro 223 that sets up w/ any significant offset, and the Vokey has very little, especially in the SM9.

I say all this because sticking w/ the Mizuno PW was the biggest reason for my gapping decision at 50 / 55 / 60 in the first place, rather than what I went into my fitting thinking I wanted, which was 48 / 54--> 53 / 58. Because I was looking to add a 3 iron at the top of the bag due to how short I'd been hitting my old irons, I was looking to get to 3 wedges instead of 4, but the Mizuno 223s let me get to 215+ yards w/ the 4 iron, so I didn't need the 3 iron option anymore. Thus, the top of your bag might affect your gapping at the bottom of your bag too, because it did for me.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[RickyBobby_PR]

All things being equal 1° is 2-3 yards of distance. 
 

Once you introduce any kind fj variable it can change launch and spin and this affect distance 

[Badams69]

In my humble opinion.

 

The gapping seems to only make sense in terms of DISTANCE in the two least lofted wedges.  Ones you might hit stock type shots with.  

Once you get beyond that and moving back into those first two for this also, so applies to all four, it seems to be much more about preference and utilization in "shots", not stock numbers.

So - as long as you have two or so that cover anywhere inside 125y (or wherever that distance begins for you) and down to about 40-50y.  As long as you have that covered then the rest is about various situational shots around the greens or out of trouble etc.

For me .......... all anyone needs is one wedge at or more lofted than 56.  But if one wants two that's fine.  It simply comes out of the other end of the bag somewhere which is not nothing for sure.

I personally do not think it is worth it to bend or fool with a wedge for the sake of some arbitrary "gapping" number that some espouse because they've heard it said and simply think they would sound crazy not to repeat that it is "how it is".   

Gapping is not  realistically an issue under 100 yards.   It is strictly about having options you can trust.  I am not saying someone is foolish for wanting more options, just that it is simply that - a want of options, not a necessity.  For me I have a 56 and a 50 and haven't encountered any shots that left me optionless.  Less clubs, possibly a bit quicker to hone in on proficiency.

It may or may not be ideal, but MOST DEFINITELY not enough difference can come from 1* change to risk fouling up a perfectly good wedge.  I've had a few wedges bent here and there (not by me) and NOT ONE has ever felt right after that.  Not that they were not usable, but they simply never felt as good as they did prior.

Open or close the face a smidge and you're right there!

Good luck

[Badams69]

3 hours ago, NewYear_NewClubs said:

- I can change my SW and LW to 54 and 58 degrees to keep 4 degree gap throughout (45, 50, 54, 58)

- Or just keep my set as is (45, 50, 56, 60)

 

I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on how big of a difference a 1 degree of loft on wedges?  

I wanted to make more clear the point I was making.  Just as you zeroed in on the prior sets wedge setup, you will with this one as well.

I've had a 52, 56 setup and now have 50, 56.  Don't see much of a difference, actually if I had the option to go back to 4 separation or keep what I have now, I'd stand pat.  50 is far better for me than 52 on anything remotely full and much more versatile around the greens as it can be a chipping club a bit easier.

If you were my son talking about this bending to reach some mythical phantom 4 separation and had yet to even play with them, I'd threaten to take his clubs away for being too much in his head.

Certainly, don't do anything based on some answer you get here.  

Play with them for a couple months first and see where you are then.

Bending is not foolproof ya know.   

And the numbers/gappings are not like some magic combination to a golfing treasure safe.   

My bet is you'll shoot no better nor worse with either current or past setup.  It may take time to get used to what each wedge produces, but that also is independent of the loft degree, it also happens with any new clubs of all lofts and flexes etc.

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest   -

 

[NewYear_NewClubs]

3 hours ago, Badams69 said:

Play with them for a couple months first and see where you are then.

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest   -

 

Love it!  Thanks!

[revkev]

On 6/20/2023 at 10:24 AM, NewYear_NewClubs said:

PW has Steelfiber PR i95 Stiff and GW, SW, LW have same modus 105 Wedge shafts. 

Thanks for your feedback!  As per your suggestion, I think I will keep my wedges way they are for now and make any changes if I truly feel the need. 

Let’s get back to this shaft choice - it’s a tour players. Aero tech stiffs even at that weight are x’s. 
 

You should start there before you concern yourself with 1 degree. Seriously - 

 

Beyond that does it fit the gap, launch window, carry distance and spin that you want? 

That’s what matters.

[GolfSpy_APH]

There should be a small distance change when changing lofts, but in terms of wedges my worry is more often how it will impact the turf interaction because the bounce and sole will be changed when adjusting lofts. 

[YamYam]

On 6/20/2023 at 2:46 PM, NewYear_NewClubs said:

Looking for some wisdom from fellow MyGolfSpy members.

My wedge set up used to be 48-PW, 52-GW, 56-SW and 60-LW which worked out perfect.

My new set that I will be getting soon will have 45-PW so I changed my gap wedge to 50 degree loft and I am caught in a dilemma on what I should do with my SW and LW.

- I can adjust my SW to 55 degrees so I can keep a constant 5 degree gap throughout all my wedges (45, 50, 55, 60)

- I can change my SW and LW to 54 and 58 degrees to keep 4 degree gap throughout (45, 50, 54, 58)

- Or just keep my set as is (45, 50, 56, 60)

 

I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on how big of a difference a 1 degree of loft on wedges?  

I know exactly what you mean.

This is the manufacturers continually looking for ways to force you to buy new clubs.

A must read are the books by Tom Wishon, (The search For The Perfect Golf Club).  Tom highlights the problem of the "disappearing loft disease".

It is a problem occurring at both ends of the range.  The 1. 2 and 3 iron are being forced out of bags and becoming obsolete because the loft on iron sets is reducing so drastically.  Some bags now only carry up to a 5 iron with the 4 iron being tossed out too.

The lofts on the longer irons would have to be reduced by the same proportion which makes them even harder to hit.  The 1 iron almost reaches a negative loft situation.

The replacements for the long irons are hybrids and utility irons which are designed to get the ball up quicker, but they aren't as controllable as the old irons.  A 1 or 2 iron is far better into a breeze than any hybrid "equivalent".

I feel it has taken a lot of skill out of the game.  I have almost forgotten how to hit a 3 iron and yet 10-15 years ago before all this lot really got going, I could hit 1 and 2 irons.

You don't see many YouTube videos instructing on long iron hitting these days.

Of course the delofting of the mid irons also has an effect on the short irons.  Where a wedge originally had 50° and all you needed was a 56° sand iron, (and possibly a 60° lob), you are now faced with a 9 iron playing nearer to a 7 or 8 forcing you to rethink the pitching wedges, some of  which are now coming in at a ridiculous 43°, (Titleist being one of them).  In turn this forces you to rethink all of the wedges and the gaps between them, but don't worry (ha ha!), the manufacturers have created the gapping for you.  All you have to do is buy them at around £160 a throw!

At the end of it all, you have to make up your mind whether you need to compensate at the long end of the set, or if you rely heavily on your short game, the short end.  But you are still governed by the Rules of Golf where you are only allowed to carry 14 clubs, when actually the manufacturers need you to carry several more to enable you to play the game.

In answer to your question, my club setter as always maintained that 1° equates to 3 yards of carry either way.  You may need to confirm that.

I'd be interested in what you find out, but if you get a chance, read those books.  

  

Edited June 27, 2023 by YamYam

[drb1956]

Here we go with "loft jacking". PITA as far as I am concerned. Really is changing the game as we know it. Yup, gotta stick another wedge of some kind to fill gaps at the low end, if you want to play with 56*, 60* wedges. Not responding to this topic any further!!

[gajrsports]

Only if your gapping is off will it make a difference, making 2 clubs too close together and almost same yardage distance.

[RoverRick]

It is said, and repeated many times already in this thread, that 1° equals 2-3 yards. All things being equal. But all is probably not equal, unless you are taking a club and having it bent 1°. 
 

The head design makes way more difference than loft. Couple that with the timing device called a shaft, angle of attack, the dynamic loft, the weighting system, etc. I have “delofted” my driver 1-2° and hit it higher because while adjusting the static loft down, it effected the dynamic loft and strike point up. 
 

I routinely add or subtract yards from my wedges by varying my angle of attack. 
 

I’m pretty sure you didn’t just buy a newer set of your old club design except 1° stronger. So like many others have said, play them and see if you need to alter other clubs to fix your gaps. 

[toncol]

Play with them for a couple months first and see where you are then.

The above is the best piece of advice you've gotten here.  There are WAAYYY too many variables to take any action before you actually play your new wedges.  You should get a minimum of a dozen rounds in - along with some practice time - ideally in a variety of conditions, so you can get to know how they behave in the real world.  Gapping is real, but Gapping numbers (degrees) are only a guide.  It doesn't matter what it says on the sole of the club, as long as you can consistently hit it the distance and trajectory you want, both for the individual club and relative to the ones either side of it in your set.  Enjoy the new sticks.

 

[Jono Horn]

For me it is all about feel, especially with wedge play - most of the shots are likely to be less that a full shot. I do not believe in bending the clubs too much as this will impact the bounce. 
Play with the new ones as they are and get used to the spin and trajectory which should happen in a few rounds. 
My set is 46/50/56/60 .

Good luck and enjoy !

[dlygrisse]

I worry more about short game performance.   If I happen to have a bit of a gap between a couple of wedges it comes into play so rarely that I don’t worry about it.  I’m also pretty good at taking a bit off of a longer wedge if need be to hit a yardage. I’d play a couple of rounds before I’d start bending. 

[richk9holes]

It's already been stated, but bending a club's loft will change the bounce. 

As an example a 50°/10° bent 1 degree weak will be a 51°/11°. The loft has only gone up 2% which is marginal. But the bounce has gone up 10% which is significant.

When I changed irons, I decided to keep my wedges because the bounce is where I want them. It results in PW of 45° a gap wedge at 52/10° and my sw 56/12°. After about 30 rounds I've decided I can game this setup. I rarely take full swings with wedges so the 7° gap doesn't come into play.

[Tsecor]

On 6/20/2023 at 9:46 AM, NewYear_NewClubs said:

Looking for some wisdom from fellow MyGolfSpy members.

My wedge set up used to be 48-PW, 52-GW, 56-SW and 60-LW which worked out perfect.

My new set that I will be getting soon will have 45-PW so I changed my gap wedge to 50 degree loft and I am caught in a dilemma on what I should do with my SW and LW.

- I can adjust my SW to 55 degrees so I can keep a constant 5 degree gap throughout all my wedges (45, 50, 55, 60)

- I can change my SW and LW to 54 and 58 degrees to keep 4 degree gap throughout (45, 50, 54, 58)

- Or just keep my set as is (45, 50, 56, 60)

 

I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on how big of a difference a 1 degree of loft on wedges?  

1 degree only matters if you are applying the same exact strike each time. Dynamic loft is much different than static loft so unless you are applying this exact loft at the strike point, these are just numbers....most amateurs do not apply the same dynamic loft on each full or half strike......This is way pros can be fit with such accuracy. Amateurs not so much. 

[rapa7846]

I play 50-55-60 setup. I delofted a 55-13 for a overall higher bounce, and have a standard bounce of 9 and 8 on 50 and 60.

Just FYI, same lofted wedges, but a different bounce will affect the distance as well. Bounce makes the wedge interact with the ball differently.

 

That being said, my gapping wasn't based on my full shots -- I don't remember the last time I had to put a full swing on my lob wedge.

My gapping is based on where I feel my club's partial swings.

 

For example, I have a swing that feels to me as I take it back knee high.

For 55-degree wedge that's 35 yards.  Waist High, that's 50 yards. 

60-degree wedge distance is 20 yards and 30 yards.

All numbers are different which is the way I like it.

 

I played a 56 and a 60 before, but a waist-high 60-degree swing was the same as a a knee-high 56-degree swing. 

I think all these affected why I wanted to play a 55 rather than a 56 or a 54.

[Julius]

On 6/20/2023 at 3:46 PM, NewYear_NewClubs said:

Looking for some wisdom from fellow MyGolfSpy members.

My wedge set up used to be 48-PW, 52-GW, 56-SW and 60-LW which worked out perfect.

My new set that I will be getting soon will have 45-PW so I changed my gap wedge to 50 degree loft and I am caught in a dilemma on what I should do with my SW and LW.

- I can adjust my SW to 55 degrees so I can keep a constant 5 degree gap throughout all my wedges (45, 50, 55, 60)

- I can change my SW and LW to 54 and 58 degrees to keep 4 degree gap throughout (45, 50, 54, 58)

- Or just keep my set as is (45, 50, 56, 60)

 

I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on how big of a difference a 1 degree of loft on wedges?  

Looks like there is a lot of sound advice here, my own view would that it doesn't make a huge difference and  you should use what is most comfortable.  The differences between 54/56/58/60 as you move one to the other are not huge, but the difference between 54 and 60 are more noticeable.  Shaft, bounce, swing speed all will affect it more than the 54 vs 56 for example.  Your set of 45/50/56/60 is actually what I am using now and find that I use the 60 rarely but it has its time, and the 45 I use the most frequently even close in as I am just comfortable with that club and adjust my tempo to the distance and topography.  I just find it more versatile than the higher lofts.  

[RwsGolf1]

I agree with comments concerning shaft.  One option could be to tweak your GW and possibly your PW to strengthen loft a degree to make the difference more in line.  I furthermore agree regarding SW especially with bounce differences.  When I changed my irons 12 months ago, I also did the 1 degree bump on the GW and the same lofts for SW and LW as you.  I have considered changing my shafts in the SW and LW to the Steelfiber as well to match my irons but have not as of yet.

I think it best to wait until you either notice the need to adjust or replace.

[NewYear_NewClubs]

On 6/20/2023 at 10:14 AM, ctg44 said:

I say all this because sticking w/ the Mizuno PW was the biggest reason for my gapping decision at 50 / 55 / 60 in the first place, rather than what I went into my fitting thinking I wanted, which was 48 / 54--> 53 / 58. Because I was looking to add a 3 iron at the top of the bag due to how short I'd been hitting my old irons, I was looking to get to 3 wedges instead of 4, but the Mizuno 223s let me get to 215+ yards w/ the 4 iron, so I didn't need the 3 iron option anymore. Thus, the top of your bag might affect your gapping at the bottom of your bag too, because it did for me.

I'm in a very similar situation..  I have 2 clubs that I choose to game pending the course I am playing.  3 hybrid at 19 or Callaway GBB 4 iron at 20 (My 4 iron in my iron set is 22 so GBB 4 iron subs as my 3 iron).  If I play both the 3H and GBB 3 iron, I have a perfect gap between my 3 wood and 4 iron but I need to lose one wedge...  If I keep 4 wedges, I need to drop one between 3H and 3i which will leave me with a bigger gap than I would like between 3 wood and 4 iron...  But since I will be using my wedges much more on the course, I opted for the 4 wedge option for now.

[funkyjudge]

On 6/20/2023 at 9:46 AM, NewYear_NewClubs said:

Looking for some wisdom from fellow MyGolfSpy members.

My wedge set up used to be 48-PW, 52-GW, 56-SW and 60-LW which worked out perfect.

My new set that I will be getting soon will have 45-PW so I changed my gap wedge to 50 degree loft and I am caught in a dilemma on what I should do with my SW and LW.

- I can adjust my SW to 55 degrees so I can keep a constant 5 degree gap throughout all my wedges (45, 50, 55, 60)

- I can change my SW and LW to 54 and 58 degrees to keep 4 degree gap throughout (45, 50, 54, 58)

- Or just keep my set as is (45, 50, 56, 60)

 

I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on how big of a difference a 1 degree of loft on wedges?  

I were going to alter the loft on any of those wedges, it would be to bend the loft on your 56* wedge to 55* and leave the rest of the wedge lofts as-is. However, this is only if you use that wedge for full shots. If you only use that 56* wedge for partial shots, then I would leave all of your wedge lofts as they are.

[NewYear_NewClubs]

2 hours ago, RoverRick said:

I’m pretty sure you didn’t just buy a newer set of your old club design except 1° stronger. So like many others have said, play them and see if you need to alter other clubs to fix your gaps. 

I think that's what I wanted to do all along and just needed some reassurance!   Thanks!

[Albert]

3 hours ago, toncol said:

Play with them for a couple months first and see where you are then.

The above is the best piece of advice you've gotten here.  There are WAAYYY too many variables to take any action before you actually play your new wedges.  You should get a minimum of a dozen rounds in - along with some practice time - ideally in a variety of conditions, so you can get to know how they behave in the real world.  Gapping is real, but Gapping numbers (degrees) are only a guide.  It doesn't matter what it says on the sole of the club, as long as you can consistently hit it the distance and trajectory you want, both for the individual club and relative to the ones either side of it in your set.  Enjoy the new sticks.

 

Completely agree with the above.  Play with them a few rounds to see how well you hit them.

If you have access to a launch monitor (GC3, Trackman, Uneekor/AboutGolf or an indoor driving range where you can hit real golf balls), go hit a bunch of the shots and compare your carry distance and launch trajectory to see how you like the clubs.  I think at PGA Superstore, you can rent indoor hitting bays.  I think it will be money well-spent for you to get a more accurate gapping and carry distance of the clubs.

I bought a GC3 when they were released in 2021 and recorded all the average carry distance (on good hits) of my whole bag.  I found playing the carry distances of the clubs helped improving the GIR and scores.

[puttnfool]

On 6/20/2023 at 8:46 AM, NewYear_NewClubs said:

Looking for some wisdom from fellow MyGolfSpy members.

My wedge set up used to be 48-PW, 52-GW, 56-SW and 60-LW which worked out perfect.

My new set that I will be getting soon will have 45-PW so I changed my gap wedge to 50 degree loft and I am caught in a dilemma on what I should do with my SW and LW.

- I can adjust my SW to 55 degrees so I can keep a constant 5 degree gap throughout all my wedges (45, 50, 55, 60)

- I can change my SW and LW to 54 and 58 degrees to keep 4 degree gap throughout (45, 50, 54, 58)

- Or just keep my set as is (45, 50, 56, 60)

 

I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on how big of a difference a 1 degree of loft on wedges?  

I went to 54/58 a few years ago and I like it. The 58 is a bit "easier" than the 60 and the 54 doesn't tend to spin as much as the 56 so it doesn't shed distance when I hit it a little bit "spinny."

For reference, I have ZX7 PW and GW.  I'm not 100% sure, off the top of my head, what their lofts are. Could be 46/50.  Could be 45/50. Could be 46/51. I dunno.  Somewhere around there.

[fozcycle]

My set has a 43* PW, 48* GW, then I have a 53* SW and 57* LW.

First two have Fubuku Senior shafts and the last two have KBS PGI shafts, just a bit stiffer than the PW.GW. Gamed them for 6 months, so far so good.

Distances are:

PW 105-110

GW 90-100

SW 75-85

LW 60-70

 

[DrRob1963]

I think it's a matter of working out the most lofted wedge you want in your bag, then take the loft of your iron set Pitching Wedge and then fill the gaps evenly at 4*-6* spacings. In my Hogan TK-15's, I had wedges at 48*, 53*, 58* and 63* which was great for someone who loves loft! My 'second' set of Mizuno MP-18 MMC and T-20s had wedges at 46* (set wedge), 50*, 56* and 62* which I was happy with as well.

Just as long as your set doesn't have a PW loft of 37*! That's no typo - Thirty-seven degrees.... Thank You, Yonex! Hahahahaha!