Choosing the Right Wedge
Mar 25 '06
The Bottom Line Wedges are an integral part of your game and can help save countless strokes around the green. Make sure you choose the one that will benefit you.
When it comes to choosing clubs, lots of research and testing is put into the driver, fairway woods, irons, and putter. Usually the wedges are an after thought for most people, something that they just grab and use to fill out their bags. I tell all of my students that the wedges are second only to the putter when it comes to the impact on your score. You need to analyze your game and decide what lofts would benefit you and then look at your swing and the typical course conditions you play to decide on the bounce you need.
The first thing one must do when choosing a wedge is to decide what lofts they need. I always advise my students to try and make even gaps in their set. I think that the average player should carry as many wedges they can while staying at the limit of fourteen clubs. I say this because the average player will have trouble hitting a long iron (three or four iron) and the added wedge will give some versatility around the greens. The typical sand wedge has 56 degrees of loft which has been the standard since the sand wedge was first popularized by Sam Snead. While the loft of the sand wedge has remained the same, the loft of the pitching wedge has become stronger and stronger on most sets. This results in a rather large gap between the pitching wedge and the sand wedge, sometimes as much as 10 degrees, hence the popularity of the gap wedge which typically has a 52 degree loft and will fit nicely in the middle of the gap between the pitching wedge and the sand wedge. Another option is to have a stronger lofted sand wedge, 54 degrees for example. By ensuring that you have consistent gaps in the lofts of your wedges, you will make sure that you don't have a dead spot in your clubs. By this I mean that you won't be at a certain yardage and not have a club that you can hit that distance. There is no set number of wedges played by the pros: Tiger uses a pitching wedge, sand wedge, and a lob wedge while Phil Mickelson carries a pitching wedge, gap wedge, sand wedge and a lob wedge. It's easy to say that both of these guys have a wide variety of shots around the green.
Once you decide on which lofts will fit your game the best, you need to decide which bounce angle is best. Bounce is the angle from the leading edge of the sole to the trailing edge, generally speaking the higher the bounce the less the club will dig into the ground or sand. A basic rule is that the steeper your swing or the firmer the sand and turf on your course, the lower the bounce you should use. The shallower your swing or the softer the sand the higher the bounce you should use. I find that most players would be able to use a standard bounce without any issues. Just a note, whenever you adjust the loft of a club, you are changing the bounce as well, when you strengthen the loft of a club, you decrease the bounce, when you weaken a club, you increase the bounce.
Lastly, there is the finish on the club to think about. The high polished chrome has a traditional look to it and the harder material used to make the finish will give more of an audible click when hitting the ball. The other popular finish is some type of black finish, this reduces the glare off the club face and some people prefer the darker finish to frame the ball better at address. Gun Metal or oil can is another type of material used to build the club head. These materials will give a softer feel than the other two materials. The one thing about these two metals is that they will rust, which is said to help give a little more spin on the ball. The most important thing is to find which of these finishes suits your eye the best and feels the best to you when you hit the ball. The wedge shot is mostly feel, so it is of utmost importance that the ball feels good coming off the club face.
So there is more to choosing a wedge than just grabbing something that is made by the same company as your irons. You need to know the lofts of your clubs so you can choose wedges that will leave even gaps in your set. You don't generally have to worry about shaft flex since most wedges now come with a wedge flex that is right in between stiff and regular so that they fit everyone. Last but not least, if you have any questions, ask the PGA Professional at your course for some advice and they will be able to help you find what would fit your game.
This is an entry in The Advice Write Off
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