Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: How many wedges?

Published

7 years ago

Apr 23, 2019

From the feedback I get, many golfers are not entirely confident…or are completely confused…about how many wedges they should carry. Those of you who know my work and writing over the past 25 years or so also know that I am a proponent of carrying a carefully measured “set” of wedges that give you the shotmaking control you need in prime scoring range. But what I’ve learned over those many years is that the number of wedges that is “right”, and the lofts of those wedges can be very different from one golfer to another.

The reason I think getting this right is so important is that your scores are more heavily influenced by your play from wedge range into the green, and your shotmaking around the greens, than by any other factor. The right “set” of wedges in your bag can make all the difference in the world.

As I repeatedly preach, taking your guidance from the PGA Tour players might not help you achieve your goals. These guys spend hundreds of hours each year perfecting their wedge play, and you simply cannot do that. The good news is that you can add some science to your wedge set make-up that can help you have more shot choices when you are in scoring range or trying to save par from a missed green.

My basic premise on the subject is that the answer can be approached scientifically for each golfer, and it is a multi-step process

Begin by knowing the loft of the 9-iron and “P-club” that came with your set of irons, as optimum gapping begins there. The industry challenge of producing longer-hitting irons has led most OEMs to strengthen lofts throughout the set. Along the way, it was apparently decided to widen the gaps between the short irons to 5 degrees from the traditional 4 that stood for decades. What this does is increase the distance differential between your 9-iron and “P-club” from what I would consider optimum. For golfers of slower swing speeds, that 5-degree gap might well deliver a 10-12 yard differential, but my bet is that most of you are getting a difference closer to 15 yards, or even more. That just will not let you get the distance control precision you want in prime scoring range.
The second step is to be honest with your distances. I am a big proponent of getting on the golf course or range with a laser or GPS and really knowing how far you carry each of your short irons and wedges. Hit a number of shots from known yardages and see where they land (not including roll out). My bet is that you will find that your distances are different from what you thought they were, and that the differentials between clubs are not consistent.
Figure out where to start. If your actual and real distance gap between your 9-iron and “P-club” is over 12-13 yards, maybe the place to start could be with a stronger P-club. You can either have your loft strengthened a bit or make the shaft 1/4 to 1/2” longer to add a few yards to that club.
Figure out what lofts your wedges should have. From there, I suggest selecting lofts of your wedges to build a constant yardage difference of 10-12 yards between clubs. Depending on your strength profile, that may require wedges at four-degree intervals, or it might be five – each golfer is different. Those with very slow swing speeds might even find that six-degree gaps deliver that distance progression.
Challenge the traditional 52-56-60 setup. Those lofts became the “standard” when set-match pitching wedges were 48 degrees of loft. That hasn’t been the case in over 25 years. Most of today’s P-clubs are 45 degrees, which leaves a very large distance differential between that club and a 52-degree gap wedge. Some enlightened golfers have evolved to carry a wedge set of 50-54-58, which is a step in the right direction. But you can get whatever loft precision you want, and you should do that. At SCOR, we made wedges in every loft from 41 to 61 degrees, and our wedge-fitting tool prescribed lofts of 49-53-57-61 to many golfers, based on that 45* “P-club” and their stated distance profile. Those who took that advice were generally very happy with that change. We fitted and sold many sets at 49-54-59 as well. Though no company offers wedges in every loft, you can bend even numbers to hit your numbers exactly. Just remember, bending stronger reduces the bounce and bending weaker increases the bounce.

What many of you will find with this exercise is that it suggests that you should be carrying more wedges. That’s probably true for the vast majority of recreational golfers. I have come to realize that more wedges and less long clubs will usually improve your scores. After all, long or short by 25-30 feet is great at long range, but not acceptable in prime scoring range.

If you have more clubs at the long end of your bag (longer than a 5- or 6-iron) than you do at the short end (9-iron and up) then you should consider an honest self-appraisal of how often you use each club between your driver and putter. My bet is that it will be an enlightening analysis.

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Terry Koehler

Terry Koehler is a fourth generation Texan and a graduate of Texas A&M University. Over his 40-year career in the golf industry, he has created over 100 putter designs and dozens of wedges. In 2014, he put together the team that reintroduced the Ben Hogan brand to the golf equipment industry with his TK 15 wedges and Ft. Worth 15 iron designs. Since receiving a U.S. Patent for his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” in the wedge category. In addition to inspiring multiple companies to emulate this sole technology, the performance of his wedge designs have stimulated all other companies to reposition some mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges. Terry is retired from his role as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf, and remains active in the industry as an independent designer and consultant. But his most compelling work is in the wedge category. Since he first patented his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” reflected in ‘tour design’ wedges. The performance of his wedge designs have stimulated other companies to move slightly more mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges, but none approach the dramatic design of his Edison Forged wedges, which have been robotically proven to significantly raise the bar for wedge performance. Terry serves as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf – check it out at www.EdisonWedges.com.

22 Comments

Travisty

Aug 27, 2019 at 7:36 pm

Sounds like the exact type of stuff you’d hear from someone who makes their living selling wedges lol never mind that this has already been statistically disproven and is just a golf myth.

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buckeye doug

May 9, 2019 at 12:01 am

I agree with the author’s premise that knowing your wedge distances is very important, and it is important not to leave big gap at the end of bag. I carry 2 cobra wedges or in actuality 10 I and 11 I(52 (+ 1 inch) 100, 56 (+1 inch) 85 yds Carbite 56 (0) 70yds carbite 60 (0) 55 yds. I play a 3000 yard par 35 layout, and do not carry any fairway woods. Driver 3-6H 8 down.

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J3

Apr 25, 2019 at 3:43 am

TK,

Thanks for writing

http://cdn1.theodysseyonline.com/files/2016/01/25/635893565103817286447216185_Khaled%20I%20apprecite%20you.gif

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Gary Lewis

Apr 25, 2019 at 12:36 am

Found a 50-55-60 over the years works pretty well with the 45 degree pitching wedge. The 55 is bent from either a 54 or 56 degree.

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golfraven

Apr 24, 2019 at 5:14 pm

Current setup is 48, 54, 58 Vokeys. Wanted to get a 60 lob but ended with 58 which is probably more consistent over time. been playing 54,58 for the last decade.

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TeeBone

Apr 24, 2019 at 4:52 pm

I carry one wedge, 55 degrees. My 50 and 45 are part of my iron set.

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Bob Jones

Apr 24, 2019 at 1:29 pm

My PW is 48, so I continued with 52-56-60. Having a collection of wedges beyond a PW and SW doesn’t help you unless you know what you need the other ones for and how to use them.

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Billy Coe

Apr 24, 2019 at 12:57 pm

I loved the SCOR wedges. I bought several of them over the years and found them to be easy to control, consistent and accurate. I still look for SCOR wedges on eBay. I’d love to see SCOR wedges return to the market.

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handyquacks

Apr 24, 2019 at 7:28 am

if your an amateur, take out ur p wedge from anywhere from 100-130 yards and you will experience so much success and add some much needed feel in your game. Nothing worse than when I see guys at my home course swinging their ass off with a 56 degree from 110 and wondering why they skulled or chunked it.

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Scratchscorer

Apr 23, 2019 at 9:14 pm

“your scores are more heavily influenced by your play from wedge range into the green, and your shotmaking around the greens, than by any other factor.“

Based on the actual data and statistics this is completely false. Mark Broadie has proven this through statistical analysis. I don’t know why anyone would still think this way nowadays with all the resources available on this topic.

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Scott

Apr 23, 2019 at 3:45 pm

Having 716cb set, replaced standard pw with 48 vokey then added a 54 and 60 degree wedge. Apart from gapping, bounce was main thing for me in selection. 48 has standard f grind with 8 degrees bounce for full shots whilst majority of shots with 54 s grind with 10 bounce around greens as so simple to hit. Chose L grind with only 4 degrees bounce for lob wedge primarily as my home course has hard packed sand bunkers and found k grind with 12 degrees bounce difficult to hit out of them unless a course has fluffy lies. Grinds were chosen on how I prefer to open up blade though in reality not a massive consideration.

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BettiBoop

Apr 23, 2019 at 2:46 pm

My set PW is 43*. I then go to a 47* GW, 54* SW, and 60* LW. I can hit any yardage I need within 100 yards with a full or 3/4 swing with those 3 wedges.

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Tim

Apr 23, 2019 at 1:06 pm

I play a 44* PW, a 50* gap and a 56* SW Thats it.

I have no desire for a 60, nor another gap wedge to make my set look perfect on paper. If its inside 80 yards, I take a bite of the sandwich, sip of a beverage and grab my 56* from the cart and go to my ball. I have 80, 60, 40 and 20 yard pitches with that club and Im damn good with it.

Adding more wedges may seem like a clever idea on paper (especially if you sell wedges), but ask yourself if you really want to be dinking around with that many tools while enjoying yourself on a sunny day at the course. How bout instead, you have a little fun and learn to play well with one or two wedges. Imo, it will make the game more fun and will make you a better wedge player, ultimately lowering your score.

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- Jim
  
  Apr 24, 2019 at 3:24 pm
  
  Pretty much agree with Tim. Much of the thinking behind today’s club technology, marketing and sales is simply geared toward selling more clubs. I mean why let a player get away with using only 1 or 2 wedges when you can brain-wash them into thinking that 3-5 are better? I use an older lofted set of irons, 3-PW (just hit a 6 instead of an 8 – the ball does not know the difference) ending with a 52PW. I carry only a Sand Wedge (56) in addition to those. That’s all I’ve ever needed. Playing through the transition period of the late 70’s-80’s, I can only say technology does not make you a better golfer – it may help you minimize errors and turn in a better score, but nothing more. Better golf is achieved through more practice with less forgiving clubs.
  
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Tim

Apr 23, 2019 at 1:04 pm

Most amateurs need 2 wedges…their P and their SW. Outside of that, you are just wasting money….I can hit my PW anywhere from 60-115 yards….shotmaking ……SW is anything under that.

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JD

Apr 23, 2019 at 11:41 am

So I generally agree with this, and went from a 46 (stock PW), 52, 58 setup to a 46, 50, 54, 58. I freaking love that 54, I do everything with it… but i’m finding that at around the 115-120 mark, i’d rather hit a choked up PW than a full tilt 50* gap wedge, because I can tend to balloon wedges. So there are so many times I get back from a round and I realize I never touched that 50. Any suggestions?

I’m thinking of going Adam Scott and just doing a 48, 54, 60. But then I’d have a weird 46 and 48, unless I use the 48 to replace my stock PW.

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- Vas
  
  Apr 24, 2019 at 12:49 pm
  
  Food for thought: My set consists of a 45* PW, a matching 50* AW, a PM 56* SW, and a PM 64* LW. The 56* PM goes about the distance of a 58* because it’s so big, but is by far my most versatile wedge. I didn’t really need a lob wedge, so I decided to put in the 64* PM as an emergency club and did a count on how many times I actually used it per round. I’m a 2 hcp, and I averaged 2.5 uses per round. YMMV as I play in the northeast on pretty classic courses where you short-side yourself very easily. I love it from 35-45y from high grass over trouble. I also love it for impossible chips. It was a good move for me that I wouldn’t have tried without that 56* PM wedge. A standard 56* wedge would require a 60* partner.
  
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P-club

Apr 23, 2019 at 11:28 am

“P-club”??

C’mon. No one says that.

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dat

Apr 23, 2019 at 10:27 am

What’s your take on carrying only two wedges, and using the P and “A” or “G” wedge that comes with a set?

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Doug McManus

Apr 23, 2019 at 10:13 am

PW-50-54-60-64

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Brian Fives

Apr 23, 2019 at 9:09 am

Terry , I consider myself one of your first Irish customers for a set of both the EIDOLON, or SCOR wedges, they seem to work really well on links ground. I have recently worn out the faces of the Scor wedges, and would like to purchase a replacment set, any thoughts as close to Scor as possible? Brian

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- David C
  
  Apr 24, 2019 at 1:35 pm
  
  Have you taken a look at Terry’s Been Hogan wedges? He had a similar sole on the Hogan’s as you had on the SCOR wedges.
  Good luck!
  
  Reply Report comment

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