What’s your wedge set up? Do you know what your 100-yard club is, or how many degrees of loft are between each of your wedges. Do you have a preferred yardage with your favorite wedge? The reason I ask these questions to help you, the golfer play better from inside 100 yards. Don’t buy into the marketing hype of the big driver manufacturers about how they’ll…
“Take strokes off your game with X club!”
The only real way to take strokes off your game is to practice, learn, and practice the right things.
Let’s get started.
“How many wedges is right for me?”
Generally speaking, most modern golf bags should have no less than three wedges, but I prefer to fit players with a 4 or even 5 wedge set up. Wedges should have between 4 and 6 degrees of loft separating them, which will lead to a 10 to 15-yard gap between each club. As a player you should base your wedge lofts off your pitching wedge loft. For example, my Titleist AP2 pitching wedge is 46 degrees therefor my next wedge should be between 50-52 degrees, mine is 51 degrees. Following the rule, my next wedge is a 56-degree sand wedge with my highest lofted wedge being a 60 degree lob wedge. My gaps are 5 degrees, 5 degrees and 4 degrees. The way the bottom of my bag is set up leads me to have tremendous confidence from 125 yards and in.
“Bounce, grind, leading edge?! What’s all that mean, are we talking about golf clubs or knives?”
Let’s talk about bounce first. Bounce is the relationship between the leading edge and the trailing edge of the club, expressed in degrees. It is not exclusive to wedges, as every club has bounce. It just matters more with wedges because they interact with the turf in different ways.
Below shows a general guideline for selecting which bounce works best for your swing.
Which grind to have on the sole of the wedge again is determined by both your individual swing and your preference when playing shots around the green. Below is a list of grinds available on Titleist’s SM6 wedges:
M: heel, toe and trailing edge relief. This grind is best suited for firm turf and pickers. It also works wonderfully for players that like to play short shorts with an open face. This is a low bounce grind.
S: The “Stricker” grind. The “S” grind has trailing and heel relief; it is good for players that generally play short shorts with a square face but can be opened without worry of blading the ball. The “S” grind fits a wide variety of swing types. This is a low/mid bounce grind.
F: The “full” sole grind. This grind has very little trailing edge relief and is found on the 46-56-degree wedges in the SM6 line. This grind works well for people that take a full divot, play in soft conditions and play most short shots with a square face. This is high bounce grind.
K: The wide sole grind. This grind has almost no heel, toe or trailing edge relief. It is suited best for players that are diggers, play in very soft sand and play all short shots with a square face. The “K” grind is only available on 58 and 60-degree wedges. This is a high bounce grind.
My bag is set up in the following way; 51 degree “F” grind, with 7 degrees of bounce. 56-degree “M” grind with 8 degrees of bounce and 60-degree “M” grind with 8 degrees of bounce. I have always played low bounce wedges because they work best for my swing and our especially firm conditions at The Oaks.
There you have it, a quick glimpse into the way your wedges can help you play better in the scoring zone. If you have any questions beyond what’s covered here or would like a consultation with wedge set up; please email me at tmitchell@theoaksgolflinks.com. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed “Wedges 101.”
