Hi Douglas,

A 50 degree wedge is sometimes called a gap wedge... because it fills the gap between your PW (~46) and your SW (~56).  For me, my PW is 130y, and the SW is about 105y.  The GW goes ~120y... nicely in between. 

Personally, I play 4 wedges - PW, GW, SW, and LW.  With the 14 club limit, that means I have to ditch either a long iron or a wood.  In my case, I don't carry a 3i.  My rationale on carrying 4 wedges is that full-swing (for me) is more consistent and reliable than trying to hit 3/4 or 7/8 or 5/8 strength shots when I'm in the scoring zone.  For me, I'm not thinking "tight to the pin" when I'm holding a 3i.  But that's me.

So the obvious limitations are that you will be playing a lot more "fractional strength" shots if you're carrying only two wedges.  If you're comfortable with that, then you can obviously populate your bag with more hybrids or woods.

Regards,

--
Kevin

Always an interesting question. I see a lot of players that have interesting selections of wedges in their bags. The real question that needs to be asked is what shot do you normally find you have when approaching the greens? Personally - if it is a "normal" par 4, I can normally get it on or just miss the green by a little. So for that shot I stick to my 52 and chip it on and try to get the ball rolling as soon as possible. I am not one for high flop shots around the green. I just don't have the touch for that.When it comes to the par 5's - Unless I have a reasonable chance of getting it onto the green, I will lay up to a yardage I like the best. My 52 is great from between 90 and 105 yds. My 48 is the club for between 105 and 120, and my pitching wedge for those shots between 120 and 135. I NEVER use my sand wedge on the fairway. I know many others do, but I find I can control my approach shots better by hitting shots from comfortable distances. For me - the sand wedge is just for bunkers, and if I am lucky - it stays in the bag for round after round before I have to use it again :)

I cannot recall who said it first, but many instructors say it is wise to play the hole in your mind from the green back to the tee. Figure out where you want to hit your shot into the green from, and then hit the appropriate shot (or shots) to get you there.

Have fun selecting your wedges. It is a very personal thing for most golfers and once you find the pairings you like, you will likely get very attached to them.

Darius

It is a tough question, no doubt. Rather than only looking at yardages and gaps however, I'd encourage you to consider performance within 20 yards of the green as well. I've got most of the wedges between 52* and 64* in the low bounce options. I do own one 56* with 14* of bounce that I'll throw in the bag when it's raining or very damp. The reason I have so many Vokey's though, is that I base my decisions more on the chipping and pitching aspect of the game, rather than beyond 100 yards. I like to feel that I have the scoring tools in my bag to get me up and down. Vokey's are beautiful scoring tools and heavy consideration needs to be given to your wedges when you miss the green. As I mentioned, I'm not big on bounce and typically carry 3 wedges, 52-08, 56-07 & 60-04. I find very little difference between 56* wedges from 120 yards, but a world of difference from just off the green. Hope that helps, good luck friend!

Hi All,

Thanks for the feedback and comments regarding the wedge option - selection "dilemma". 

As a follow up, I scheduled a fitting session at our Titleist Regional Fitting Centre at the Northview Golf Academy (in Surrey B.C.).

One of my primary objectives was to be fitted for Vokey wedges. 

I was fitted by the lead fitter - Kathy Stecyk, who I must say was an excellent fitter and extremely knowledgeable pro.

She had me warm up and take some swings with my PW (46*) to establish my baseline yardages - distances, and to assess my swing type through personal observation and data gleaned from the Trackman. 

After establishing my baseline yardages with my 46* PW, we then "tested" several wedge options, hitting several balls with the different wedges.  These included full swings, 3/4 swings and half-swings.

After considering all of the data from the Trackman and her personal assessment, we arrived at the following recommended wedge option:

PW - 46* (existing club in the bag)

Three Vokey wedges as follows:

50.08 (degree - bounce) with the "F" grind,

56.10 with the "S" grind

60.07 with the "S" grind

She also developed a two - 2 wedge option for me as requested (52.08 & 58.10) but I agreed with her assessment and recommendation to adopt the three wedge clubs and give up on an extra fairway wood to keep within the 14 clubs.

All in all, it was an excellent fitting session.  I have been fitted previously with the png system by fitting pro's at the pro shop and Golf Town, but I must say that this session elevated the entire fitting session to a whole new level.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and was delighted with Kathy - extremely knowledgeable, a good teaching professional and very realistic in her assessments and recommendations.  She was not trying to sell me on anything and her approach was to help maximize the best of my individual golf game. 

At the end of the day, I am working with her to order me my new SM5 Wedges!

Perhaps my departing comment would be that working through the Titleist Regional Fitting Centre was probably my best decision in helping me decide on the most suitable wedges for my game!