When To Change The Pitching Wedge?Īs loft jacking has become more popular, the concept of the iron set stopping at the pitching wedge and moving to the wedge set has started to disappear. Another wedge between these two would be a smart decision. However, plenty of beginners are out there playing with a 46-degree pitching wedge and the only other club in their bag is a 56-degree sand wedge. These types of exceptions happen all the time, as they should. In addition, my gap wedge full-swing distance is exactly where I want it to be with the loft angle it has. However, when I’m on the golf course, if I need to take a little off of my pitching wedge on an approach from the fairway, I don’t struggle to do that. The gap between my pitching wedge and gap wedge is two degrees wider than I would like. I can tell you that my pitching wedge is a little stronger than I would like it to be. How good are you at working with your pitching wedge? Consistency, Accuracy and FeelĪs much as we love technology and data, when it comes to playing great golf, you have to respect the feel aspect. Ideally, if every club in your bag has about 10 yards of distance between them, you will have an easier time managing the golf course and making accurate decisions. By alternating the type of wedge you are using and the degree of loft of the club, you can narrow those distance gaps. Now that you have this data from the launch monitor, you can evaluate the gaps in distance that you may have. Using the launch monitor, you can narrow the yardage you hit each shot and see how well that transitions into your 9-iron. Pay very close attention to the carry distance for each wedge.ĭo some of them have the same carry distance? Some golfers have a 60-degree wedge in their bag they consider a lob and a sand wedge with 58 degrees. Try to find access to a launch monitor where you can record some chips and full swings with your wedges.

Here is how to decide if your pitching wedge is the right loft for your game. If you can get past the distance factor in your wedge game and focus more on loft gapping (as opposed to total distance), you will benefit.įor example, if you can hit your pitching wedge 140 yards but your next club in your bag is the gap wedge which only travels about 100, you aren’t doing yourself any favors. Is My Pitching Wedge Loft Right For My Game? Proper loft gapping could change your entire short game. It’s not just the full shot where loft gapping becomes an issue. This gap will make certain pitch shots, chip shots and even bunker shots more difficult to figure out. However, if you find out that your pitching wedge has a really low loft like the COBRA AEROJET at 41.5 and your gap or approach wedge is 52 degrees, you have a huge gap in your bag. If your pitching wedge is 46 degrees, your gap wedge is 52 and your sand wedge is 56, you are doing quite well. You should have around four to six degrees of loft gapping between each of your wedges. You have to look at the loft of your approach wedge and even your 9-iron to determine if your pitching wedge is the right choice. The key is to find a pitching wedge loft that allows you to get the distances you need. In fact, if you look at some of the top irons on the market, you can see that the pitching wedge loft varies widely. There is no “perfect” loft for a pitching wedge. In this scenario, you can stop by a local golf club fitter and check your lie and loft to ensure that they are what you think they are. Sometimes, if your pitching wedge was a custom order or you bought it from someone who adjusted the lie and loft, your lofts could be a little off. There is only one issue you can run across here. You will quickly find the lofts of your wedge set. Enter the name of your golf club into an internet search engine and put the word “specs” after it.

Searching for the specs on your golf wedges takes just a few seconds. Without knowing your pitching wedge loft, you can leave yourself with a large distance gap in the bag. The loft of that pitching wedge will then need to be used to determine the lofts in the gap wedge, sand wedge and lob wedge. The pitching wedge is often the last club in an iron set for an average golfer. Why Does Pitching Wedge Loft Matter?ĭoes it really matter if your pitching wedge is 43 degrees or 46 degrees? Blade-style pitching wedges will have a higher loft to encourage higher ball flight on approach shots and a greater ability in controlling and stopping the ball. For example, game-improvement pitching wedges have lower lofts to help promote greater distance. However, the degree of loft will vary based on the type of golf club. Generally, the loft of a pitching wedge will range in from 43 to 48 degrees.

Pitching wedge golf