What Wedges Should I Carry?
When it comes to the loft, today’s iron sets are getting stronger and stronger. With newer iron sets, it’s common to see pitching wedges with a loft around 45*(rewind to a decade ago and that would be a 9 iron). So, when you have a pitching wedge with a loft around 45, you need to properly fit your wedges to that iron set and your needs. The rule of thumb is that all irons should have a 4* gap. This 4* gap provides you with consistent distance throughout the set.
4 Tips For Determining What Wedges To Carry
1. Determine the loft of your current/new pitching wedge
– Using the rule of 4 degrees, you now have a starting point for determining what wedges to carry.
2. Determine the distance your pitching wedge travels.
– Use this distance to help you know what distance gaps you have.
3. Determine what type of shots you use near and around the green.
– This will help narrow the loft and bounce type for the wedges you’ll need to carry.
4. Fill in your bag using the above rules to determine the necessary wedges to improve your game.
– Experiment with different wedge lofts/bounces to gauge the feel of the shots.
For example, when you have a 45* pitching wedge you would need, at minimum, 49*, 53* and 57* wedges. You then need to know how far your new or current pitching wedge travels. It’s also important to think about what types of shots you play around the green (chip/pitch shots, tight lies, lots of rough).
Should you stray from this guide your wedge gapping will be off and it could cause you to lose strokes around the green. Do you need help determining what wedges you should carry? Email our PGA Professionals!
See some of our most popular golf tips:
- 3 Keys To Shaping The Ball Any Way You Want
- Every Golfer Should Focus On These 2 Things
- 30 Seconds To Master The Proper Ball Position
- 3 Tips To Hit The Stinger Off The Tee
- 3 Secrets To Uneven Lies That Everyone Misses
- Want More Distance? Here’s 3 Ways To Do It
- How To Hit More Fairways In 1 Minute
- 3 Simple Chipping Techniques For Precision & Accuracy
Alan Unruh
Alan Unruh is a Class “A” member of the PGA of America, and holds PGA Certifications in General Management, Golf Operations and Player Development. With these certifications, he is among the 1% of PGA members that hold multiple PGA Certifications. He has a profound passion for the game of golf along with extensive experience and knowledge regarding planning and strategy for golf operations, rules of golf, tournament operations and golf swing fundamentals. Alan has also played a crucial role helping manage multiple high profile tournaments throughout his career including the USGA Women’s U.S. Open, PGA and LPGA Tour events, and multiple NCAA and AJGA events.