So, I'm about to break down and buy one or two wedges for play around the green. I am a 10-12 handicap, and usually use a 60 degree wedge to chip around the green. I need a good SW-type wedge for 100-110 yard shots, and a good 58-60 degree wedge for that 60-70 yard shot. Right now, I hit a partial SW for shots under 100 yards because my 60 degree always bounces too much and I usually catch the ball thin. Any suggestions/recommendations for wedges I should look at? I'm thinking the obvious: Cleveland and Titleist. Thoughts?
I love my Cleveland wedges. Find a store where you can hit them, or find out when there's a demo day at a nearby club and go check out a bunch of different kinds. And don't feel like you have to buy a set. Just get one and practice with it until you know whether you really like it. Then get the next one.
the biggest reason to increase your wedges is not for around the green play, but for accuracy from 120yds and in. you should probably never be chipping with a 60 degree wedge. there's no reason to put the ball in the air that much. if all you need is work in that area, work on chipping with other clubs and save your money. buy a copy of Dave Pelz Short Game Bible and work on his 4-wedge system if you really want to better your game and accuracy on approach. currently i use 4 wedges (P, 52, 56, 60) and being able to control distance with different swing lengths has been one of the reasons i can now not play for a long time and still go out and shoot a good number. but if you just want a brand rec, i like Cleveland. Edit: sorry after reading your post again i see you don't really want wedges for greenside play....however i still think you need to work on your chipping b/c a 60 is not the one to use. for what you want you need a wedge every 4-5 degrees from 48(normal P) to 60-62.
Thanks, Johnny. I use a 60 or a SW for all of my chipping. I keep my hands forward a bit on chips to avoid poor strikes, so my 60 is like using a SW and my SW is like using a PW. My 60 is just plain old, and the grooves have lost a lot of bite. Thus, I want some new wedges, to get more spin on the ball from 100 yards in. Looks like the consensus is Cleveland. Has anyone tried the Titleists? Does anyone have an opinion on the degree of bounce? I've read less bounce if you play on firm/tight lies, and firm sand. More bounce for softer conditions.
I used to be the biggest fan of Cleveland wedges, but I feel that they have dropped in quality lately. I believe that the Titleist Vokey wedges are the best on the market For you I would get a 54 and a 60. The newest models will be out soon.
I have both the Cleveland CG wedge (52 degree) and Titleist Vokey wedge (60 degree) and both are great. You really can't go wrong, IMO. Your description of bounce is accurate. It also has to do with your swing plane... If you have a vertical swing plane, you need a high bounce wedge or you'll dig too much. Opposite is true for a shallow swing plane. If you are looking to use the new wedge out of the sand, get a high bounce wedge. Just about every course I play out here has sand that is too soft for a low bounce (they just end up digging too far into the sand).
I agree w/ johnny; my ping pitching wedge which came with my iron set is old, so it's a 52 degree wedge, and my 9 iron is closer to todays PW's. . I spaced out the next two wedges at 56 and 60. The 56 has more bounce so it's the one i use out of bunkers as well. It is my primary short wedge now, as the 60 has low bounce and has its uses but I am not comfortable hitting a full shot with it from the fairway generally. I can sometimes open it up and hit a delicate little flop from near the green, but unless the green is fast and hard I can usually find a better solution. My two SW's are Cleveland 588 wedges. I am happy with them.
I use a Volkey 52 to hit off the deck from about 110. That has really filled a gap for me and I use it a lot. I dont chip or pitch with it, just full or 3/4 swings. Works great for me.
so if my SW and PW are about 5 years old, what would be the loft on them? I need a wedge that's in between those. I hit my PW about 110-120. SW about 60-75ish. I was thinking I might need two wedges for in between those. Johnny, so you're saying you don't use SW around the greens?
I'm a somewhat intermediate level golfer trying to get better. Right now my main wedge is a 56 from Calloway. That's worked very well for me lately. In a nustshell, at what distance should I be using each wedge? What will a 52 do versus a 56 versus a 60?
It will obviously vary greatly by golfer. I'll use my numbers as an example though... 7 Iron ~ 155 yrds 48 degree PW ~ 110 yards 52 degree W ~ 95 yards 56 degree W ~ 80 yards 60 degree W ~ 60 yards
Die, Thanks for the info. Do you consider yourself a powerful hitter? Do you think those distances are average, above average, or below average in general? Like I said, I'm a beginner to intermediate level but Mrs. Deadhorse is just getting into golf. We were having discussions about what types of clubs to use and when and all I had to offer was general info. Then, we were watching the Colonial on TV over the weekend and they were talking about how Mickleson was carrying 5 wedges or somesuch. That got me wondering exactly how far each wedge is designed to go.
I consider myself to be average distance (assuming a 150 yrd 7 iron is average, which I think it is). A lot of the pros can knock a 9 iron over 150 yards so they need a lot of wedges to fill in those gaps from 140 to 60 yards. I carry 3 wedges myself and am in need of a 4th (a permanent 56 degree). The only way to know for sure what wedge you need to be using is through trial and error. When you are at the range, find a green thats nearby (~80 yards) and start hitting at it. Zero in on the pin by using a variety of wedges. Once you manage to find the right wedge for the job, aim to carry the green and again to land short of the green. For most people, those 3 shots will require 3 different wedges assuming the green is of ample depth and that should give you a good idea of your ranges with each wedge.
Wedges aren't necessarily designed to go any distance. The point to having a lot of wedges is that you can have a wedge/swing combination for every 5-10 yard increment. Get a copy of Dave Pelz Short Game Bible. I'm not saying Mickelson and all the pros follow his system, but it's a good one. He suggests carrying 4 wedges and having three swing lengths. That gives you 12 different shots that will go different distances. That way, when you are 62 yards out, you're not trying to screw around with clubs/swings...you just say "that's my 60 degree, 9 o'clock swing". Don't worry about what the pros do. They hit everything longer for the most part. What you need to worry about is hitting your clubs a consistent distance with a repeatable swing.
Just bought the Callaway Vintage X Forged 56 and 60 wedges with mack daddy groves and the 60 with c-grind sole. Freakin awesome.
what does it matter when it says "bounce" as an option? I have a problem like the OP where my ball bounces too much after it lands even when I get a loft of loft on it. I figure it is probably bc I am not putting any spin on it which I don't know how to do.
bounce has nothing to do with the ball bouncing/spinning. roughly speaking, you need more bounce when you are hitting out of fluffy sand or your swing is steep. the bounce will help keep your club from digging into the grass/sand. when you're hitting out of firm sand or the fairway, less bounce is usually preferred. however, don't get too carried away worrying about bounce. in fact, forget about it completely.
Bounce is the angle of the sole. The lower the bounce angle, the less likely the club is to "bounce" off the ground when you hit the ground and more likely to dig. Low bounce is good for tight lies but bad for soft lies and sand (it will cause the club to dig into the ground if you're not careful). High bounce is the opposite. And for the most part, as stated above, ignore it. Try and get something middle of the road (the "Std" bounce option or 2 dot option on Cleveland wedges).
yeah, i noticed that if you get X loft on a wedge, you don't have many options on the bounce anyways. Ignoring it looks correct. I am going to go buy the Titleist Vokey Spin Milled today. thanks for all the help.
