Green Grass Golf Shop

As a fitting professional online, I get a massive amount of questions along the lines of our title up there. The way that the lofts of irons are changing seemingly every single year, a lot of questions surrounding what wedges you should be playing with your new iron lofts tend to come to the surface. ‘My new pitching wedge is 43 degrees, what the hell do I do from here?” I totally understand the question, but that one is pretty simply just go get fit for your clubs. The lofts, what clubs are available with the set and why, those are all explained in a fitting by every fitting professional in the country. I’ve never had someone come in from a fitting saying ‘why is my pitching wedge so damn strong,’ that’s a question coming from someone who buys exclusively off the rack with no research. While this question comes mostly from a player who has never been fit or researched their clubs, it still raises some great questions which, when explored and answered, can help every golfer understand the bottom of their bag much better. What lofts should you be getting to gap off of your new highest lofted iron? What are the differences between the wedges that come with iron sets and wedges like a Vokey, Cleveland RTX, Taylormade MG4, etc? What would I get from an iron set gap wedge versus a Callaway Jaws wedge, or why would I get a Vokey 50 degree over the 50 degree from the iron set? Let’s answer all those questions and more right here, right now!

First and foremost, let’s start with the general differences, and the biggest one is distance. No matter what iron set you are playing, whether a pure blade iron from 15 years ago, or a brand new game improvement model, a 48 degree iron from your set is going to go further than a 48 degree wedge head. Actually for the most part these days, a 48 degree iron head could even go further than a 46 degree wedge head, that being about as strong as most manufacturers make their wedges. Right off the bat with most pitching wedges these days being as strong at 43 or 44 degrees, sometimes even stronger, gapping off of that has become increasingly difficult. This is why most iron sets these days will come with multiple gap wedges in the set, and for almost all players I would highly recommend getting all of those with their iron sets. If you think ‘well I have a Vokey 48 in the bag, so I don’t need that 48 degree from the T200 set,’ you are in for a very rude awakening when your new 44 degree PW goes 20+ yards further than your 48 degree Vokey. With all the technology that is put into irons these days to maximize distance and ball speed, loft is nowhere near all of the information you need to tell you how far a club will go. That technology and difference in the head design will also lead to a TON more forgiveness, and generally a higher launch as well. The iron head will also generally have a little more forgiveness in the design of the sole, or the bottom of the club, making it more forgiving around the green as well. If you think that you desperately need a butter knife 48 degree to hit a bump and run on a firm and dry surface, I promise that you desperately need a short game lesson much more than you need that 48 degree you can only hit well in that situation.

Finally, we need to talk about gapping, because far too often I get the player that needs exact 4 degree gaps between every club in their bag. If you literally can’t keep your sanity without that, if there is something in your brain that your therapist tells you cannot function without 4 degree gaps between your wedges, I’m not going to argue with that. However, if you are not a medically diagnosed 4DG (4-Degree-Gapper, it should be in the next DSM) then this next section is for you. The best thing you can do for yourself is to get with a golf professional at a golf course, one with a full bag of wedges to fit with from their preferred club maker. Wedge fittings are so incredibly important for so many reasons, not just to feel the turf interaction, fit for lie, length, shaft and loft for full swing gapping, because most of the time you aren’t even taking full swings with your wedges. You need to be able to have a fitting where you try a variety of shots, the ones you most often make at your golf course or during your rounds. If you are a long hitter, and have a lot of 50-80 yard second shots coming into par 4’s at public tracks, you need to make that an important part of your fitting, getting a club for that shot that can also work for you with the rest of your game. If you are only using your 56 out of the bunkers, you need to have a bunker there to test 56 degree wedges out of. And most importantly, if you don’t know what lofts you need, or if you think you need perfect gaps between your wedges for your full swing shots, you need to test out the different lofts in the shots you most often play around the green. Your new irons are stronger than your old ones, so you think you need to strengthen your trusty 56 and 60 to get yourself back to 4 degree gaps. However, you can’t hit the shots you need to hit with a 54 and 58 that you can with your 56 and 60, what should you do? You should do what a lot of PGA Tour players do, and fit their wedges for the course they play on and the shots they need to hit, not to the rest of their bag just based on their lofts. If your new iron set comes with a 46-50 for the wedges, and you hit your best shots and play your best golf with a 56 and 60 around the green, that should be the bottom of your bag right there, 46-50-56-60. With a 54 the only thing you could gain is maybe a few yards in the full swing to get a little closer to the 50 degree’s full swing length, but you take so many potential shots out of your bag with the 54 over the 56, then you need to stay with the 56. In short, wedge fitting is not at all about yardage gapping, it’s about fitting to your shot selection, the situations you most often find yourself in, your turf conditions and divot patterns, the last thing you should be worried about is your perfect 4 degree gaps. Most players take more than half of their golf shots from inside 100 yards, when that amount of strokes are coming with these clubs, it’s insane to think you wouldn’t take the most care when fitting for them! Please, as always, visit your favorite golf manufacturer’s website, and find a fitting location near you if you are in the market for new clubs.