Wedge Gapping Question

Otis32

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So I found a good Black Friday weekend deal on a set of Cleveland CG16's and pulled the trigger. The lofts are stronger on these irons than my current set of TA-7's so I need to re-work my wedges too.

My current wedges are CG14's in 52-degree (gap) and 56-degree (SW). My thoughts are to go 50, 54 & 58. When I look at available sets of CG16's and even the ATV wedges the 54-degree always seems to be the SW.

Must be my lack of short game sophistication but why is the middle wedge in the set the SW and not the 58-degree? That 54 will fill a pretty critical gap for me around the 100-115ish yards area and my distance control with full swings and the sand wedge (bounce?) has not been very consistent.

I know I could probably pick up these clubs in the configuration I want "ala carte" but is there something I'm missing in the short game that makes the 58-degree lob wedge so much more important or versatile than a 58-degree SW?

Is it for "flop" type shots around the green? I honestly seem to score better with standard chips/pitches and living with the extra roll-out.
 
I think a 50, 54, 58 set up would be fine.

As far as versatile, I bet a 58 ATV would serve well as both a sand wedge and a lob wedge, heck, I've been playing the 56 ATV since July as a single high lofted wedge, it's pretty versatile!
 
I have a LW but it is 60*. To answer your question, I use my LW for every shot out of the bunker. I feel more comfortable taking an aggressive swing with the higher lofted wedge. I used to try a SW out of the sand but mentally had a tough time swinging aggressively with it and found myself hitting again from the bunker.
 
I play a 58* sand/lob wedge and it's my favorite wedge ever. It's 58/12 and performs great from a varying array of bunkers and inside of 75 yards.

Look at distances instead of loft.
 
I play 50, 54, and 60. Most people say you should be aiming for a 4* gap in wedges. I prefer a 60 it gives me mors options around the green and more importantly out of bunkers
 
Loft, and the gaps between, is more important than a label.

I will use my 51*, 54* and 57* in the bunker. It all depends on the distance I need and what I have in front of me. For most bunker shots, I use my 54*. If I'm really tight either to the edge of the bunker or the pin and need more height, I'll either open the 54* or use the 57*. I've had better success using the 57* as a "lob wedge" rather than a 60*. For me, the margin of error on a 60* is too high.
 
My highest wedge is a 58 bent down to 57. I use it for almost all greenside sand shots, chipping, pitching, etc. Probably my most used wedge.
 
Must be my lack of short game sophistication but why is the middle wedge in the set the SW and not the 58-degree?


It's not your sophistication level, but historical more than anything.

Im general the more loft the better for sand shots, and a thwack of players use their lob (58-60) wedges out of the sand now. I use a 64 deg most often out of greenside bunkers.

However, historically, a sand wedge used to be the most lofted club anyone would carry - so that's where it got its name. And there wasn't torqued degree pitching wedges so gap wedges werent needed and two wedges was common ... Sand and Pitching.

However, even then folks would open up their SWs to add loft, and those who use a SW in there still do. So, it opens to over 60deg when all is said and done anyway.
 
Looks like a fair amount of support for skipping the Sand Wedge and just getting standard bounce/weight wedges with logical gaps. I understand the concept when it comes to full swing shots and chipping since I do feel the heavier club head and extra bounce contributes to some of my distance control issues.

Do you guys who play the standard (high loft) wedges from greenside bunkers ever/often miss the extra weight and bounce? I do find it helpful from the sand.
 
I play 50, 54, and 60. Most people say you should be aiming for a 4* gap in wedges. I prefer a 60 it gives me mors options around the green and more importantly out of bunkers

These are my loft gaps as well, especially since my PW is 46* so, its a nice 4* gapping for me which works nicely
 
Looks like a fair amount of support for skipping the Sand Wedge and just getting standard bounce/weight wedges with logical gaps. I understand the concept when it comes to full swing shots and chipping since I do feel the heavier club head and extra bounce contributes to some of my distance control issues.

Do you guys who play the standard (high loft) wedges from greenside bunkers ever/often miss the extra weight and bounce? I do find it helpful from the sand.

I have 11° of bounce and it works just fine from sand among other places. I use it everywhere from there to tight lies, opened up, from the rough, etc. It's a pretty versatile set up for me.
 
Look at distances instead of loft.
This, this, and this. Doesnt matter what loft it is as long as it fits your yardage gaps.
 
I use my 54* for everything all the way up to full shots, but with my 58* it is my go to sand wedge with more bounce and I rarely take a full swing with it.
 
I play a 58* sand/lob wedge and it's my favorite wedge ever. It's 58/12 and performs great from a varying array of bunkers and inside of 75 yards.

Look at distances instead of loft.

I too had a 58/12 wedge, it was my favorite wedge ever, so awesome out of the Sand and rough


'Wingin' it with Tapatalk
 
I have been struggling with this question as well. My iron set is 4-AW with the AW being 50* and I carry a 56* wedge for everything inside of 100yds. including the sand. I've been trying to figure out the logical gaps that would help, either get rif of the 56 and get 54/58 or just add a 53 and keep the 56.
I do sometimes struggle with a shot around 110-115 and have to either take some off of the AW or really juice the 56*..
usually with poor results
One problem I see so far is that I can't find a cleveland cg12 in 53* and my OCD won't let me have 2 different brand of wedge in my bag... Hoping for a win in the Holiday cheer to pick up some SCOR wedges but until then I still struggle with what do do as I love my 56*...
 
TeedUp - I carry a 53° wedge that was originally a 54° I had bent.
 
I have been struggling with this question as well. My iron set is 4-AW with the AW being 50* and I carry a 56* wedge for everything inside of 100yds. including the sand. I've been trying to figure out the logical gaps that would help, either get rif of the 56 and get 54/58 or just add a 53 and keep the 56.
I do sometimes struggle with a shot around 110-115 and have to either take some off of the AW or really juice the 56*..
usually with poor results
One problem I see so far is that I can't find a cleveland cg12 in 53* and my OCD won't let me have 2 different brand of wedge in my bag... Hoping for a win in the Holiday cheer to pick up some SCOR wedges but until then I still struggle with what do do as I love my 56*...

TeedUp - I carry a 53° wedge that was originally a 54° I had bent.

You could absolutely bend a wedge up or down to get the loft/bounce that you want. Personally I was in the same situation as you (same irons and only a 56°)and decided to add more wedges and eliminate my 4i. I felt that tighter gaps on the low end was more important. So I'm playing a 56°, 60° and will soon add a 52°.
 
This has me thinking about my wedge setup. Right now my AW is 50*, my SW is 55* and my lob is 60*. I very seldom use my SW (it is an extra I bought as part of my R11 set). If I'm playing a course with bunkers I usually use my LW to get out. I only use the SW for full shots between my AW and LW and it hasn't been very consistent for me. I never considered that it might have a different degree of bounce than the others and don't even know where to find that information. I've never seen bounce listed on the specs anywhere.

Maybe I need to get rid of the SW and go with a more utility type wedge for that spot. Hard for me to do it since it matches my set and I paid about $100 for it. But if I'm not using it in the sand and I don't trust it, it really isn't doing me much good.
 
I have thought about bending one before but didn't know enough about how it would affect the wedge. Have there been any interesting side effects?
 
You could absolutely bend a wedge up or down to get the loft/bounce that you want. Personally I was in the same situation as you (same irons and only a 56°)and decided to add more wedges and eliminate my 4i. I felt that tighter gaps on the low end was more important. So I'm playing a 56°, 60° and will soon add a 52°.
I'm only playing with Driver/3W/Hybrid at the top of the bag so I have room for an additional wedge but I'm comfortable with the 56 under 100, the only gap I seem to have is 105-115
between the 56* and the 50* AW
 
I have thought about bending one before but didn't know enough about how it would affect the wedge. Have there been any interesting side effects?


None at all. It dropped the bounce by a degree, but that's a tiny amount.
 
I'm only playing with Driver/3W/Hybrid at the top of the bag so I have room for an additional wedge but I'm comfortable with the 56 under 100, the only gap I seem to have is 105-115
between the 56* and the 50* AW

I have that same gap right now. You've just got to try some options out and see what feels best to you.

I've messed around with a 52° Vokey and thats what I'll be filling the gap with. I know it will be very close to my AW but I feel that is the right club for the gap I want to fill. If I were after perfectly even degree gapping I would go 53, 56, 59 but with my preferred wedges the 52, 56, 60 works well for me.
 
I'll have to look into that then, I saw some CG 12's on sale for real cheap over the weekend that could do the trick. Thanks
 
I carry four wedges since removing the 2 iron and it has helped my scoring significantly. I am currently carrying 47, 51, 55, and 59 in the bag, which covers me from 140 to the green, with approximately 12 yards difference on full swings.
 
Otis, make it easy on yourself and stop giving the names or letting the manufacturer give the clubs the names....gap wedge, sand wedge, lob wedge.
Just use the degree of loft as a reference. I carry a 52, 56, 58 wedge set and I have used every one of those in bunkers. The name does not matter...what you want to do with the ball is the important thing.
You can almost always get wedges with differing bounces or get them ground to fit your needs.
 
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