At Edison Golf, we’ve been doing a number of user reviews with various forums, including this one with the GolfWRX community. I always like to try to have a personal conversation with the “winners” of these, so that we can get exactly the right specs for their wedges to be reviewed. And that conversation always starts with an examination into the 9-iron and “P-club” lofts which is currently in their bags.

But let’s be honest. In today’s iron world, that club bearing the designation “P”, is not anything close to be a true “wedge”, as the typical loft nowadays is 42 to 45 degrees . . . and a true “pitch shot” simply cannot be executed with that low a lofted club. I’ve written about the disappearance of the true “pitching wedge” HERE.

So, when we ask the question, “How many wedges should I carry?”, the starting point should be from that club to the highest lofted wedge you are comfortable having in your bag. And the answer is simple…

However many it takes to optimize your scoring range performance.

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.

Getting this right is crucially important, as 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 will not likely help you achieve your goals. These guys spend hundreds of hours each year perfecting their wedge play, and you don’t. The myriad of shots they have mastered is not realistic for you to mimic by always manipulating your swing. You are much better off adding some science to your wedge set makeup that can help you have more shot choices when you are in scoring range or trying to save par from a missed green.

How many wedges should you carry?

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

1. 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 . . . specifically so they have a chance of winning “the launch monitor war” with their 6- or 7-iron. As those lofts have constantly been strengthened, 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* 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 ¼ to ½” longer to add a few yards to that club.
4. Figure out what lofts your wedges should have. From there, I suggest selecting lofts of your wedges to build a constant full-swing yardage difference of 10-12 yards between clubs. Depending on your strength profile, that may require wedges at 4* intervals, or it might be 5 – each golfer is different. Those with very slow swing speeds might even find that 6* gaps deliver that distance progression.
5. Challenge the traditional 52/56/60 or 50/54/58 setup. That first sequence of lofts became the “standard” when set-match pitching wedges were 48 degrees of loft, and the second as “P-club” lofts got even stronger. With the current crop of irons, you might find that your ideal wedge gapping starts at 47 or 48 degrees. The goal is to start where true wedge play begins and work from there to achieve ideal gapping. Though no company offers wedges in every loft, you can bend any wedge 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 fewer 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.