…that’s probably a topic you haven’t heard much about, if anything at all, right?

The golf equipment industry has been fixated on distance for a long time now. Our drivers go further than ever, and so do our irons. First, it was strengthening of lofts, so that the “old standard” pitching wedge migrated southward from an average of 48-50 degrees (or higher), to a ‘modern standard’ of 44-45 degrees, with some as low as 42-43. This caused compression of lofts at the long end of the set so that the 2-iron disappeared, then the 3-iron followed. Who needs them, when the modern 4-iron is 22-23 degrees of loft and goes a mile?

Add to that the development of lighter and lighter shafts, and more recently the incorporation of some driver technologies like multi-piece construction and “fast faces,” and nearly every golfer is hitting their short irons up to two clubs longer than they did 10-15 years ago.

But what about your wedges? We haven’t seen these technologies incorporated into our wedges, (and I think that is a good thing, actually), so a modern 52-degree gap wedge cannot be expected to go any further than one of 20-30-40 years ago. But our wedge play is not just about full swings, right? We ask our wedges to do a lot of things besides just go far. We use them at all clubhead speeds for all kinds of shots.

From my experience in the wedge business, the most popular lofts are still 52/56/60, with an increasing number of golfers evolving to 50/54/58. But is that enough to keep your full swing gapping as tight as it should be? My observation is that it is not…that a majority of golfers have an excessively large distance differential between their set-match pitching wedge (which I have taken to calling the “P-club” as it is not a wedge at all), and their (probably) off-the-rack gap wedge of 50-52 degrees.

So, what is a golfer to do to get more distance out of your wedges? I think there are three steps you can take to add a few yards, and probably improve your performance in prime scoring range

1. Loft down. This is the easy one. Most major brands offer their wedge line-up in lofts as low as 46 degrees, and most in two-degree increments – even numbers all the way to the 60s. You might experiment with trying lower lofts in your gap wedge to see how many yards you pick up on your full swings. For most golfers, a two-degree shift will add 4-6 yards . . . more for a stronger swinger, less for a slower swinger. You can also simply bend your wedges a degree or two stronger, but be careful as this will also affect bounce a bit . . . though maybe not enough to affect the playability, unless it is a very low-bounce wedge model.
2. Change your shafts. Just like in every other club in our bag, the shaft is the engine of the golf club, even in wedges. And nearly every wedge sold is fitted with a heavy stiff steel shaft as standard. Unless you are playing the same heavy stiff steel shaft in your irons, you simply cannot generate comparable clubhead speed with one of these wedges. I’ve long recommended that the shafts in your wedges should provide a ‘seamless transition’ to your irons in material, weight and flex. If you are playing light steel or graphite in your irons, by all means have this shaft put in your wedges. If you are playing regular or even senior flex, match that as well. That will likely add a few yards that you are seeking.
3. Try lengthening the shafts. Compare the length of your gap wedge to your set match ‘P-club’ to see what the difference is, and you might be surprised. If it is more than 1/4 of an inch, you could have a clubmaker/repairman put extenders in the butt of your shafts to bring them up a bit. There are two schools of thought on wedge shaft lengths: The traditional pattern is to have the gap wedge at either 35.75” or 35.5” and each higher lofted wedge is ¼” shorter to a lob wedge of 35”. The other is to shaft all the wedges at the same length. I don’t think either one is “right” or “wrong” . . . it is what works best for each golfer. But if you lengthen your wedges, be sure to adjust the lie angles a degree or so flatter, particularly in the higher lofts, so that it will sole properly when you are around the greens.

So, there are a few ideas on how to get a few more yards out of your wedges. Every little bit helps as we try to get better in the prime scoring range.