In that instance, it’s to make sure you don’t fall between the platform and the subway car, but you’d be well advised to heed the same warning here and look into getting yourself a gap wedge.Ī slightly less common or standardized type of wedge, gap wedges do exactly what the name suggests - fill in the gap of club distance between your pitching and sand wedges. If you’ve ever been to London, England and used their subway system “The Tube”, you’ve heard the recorded voice call out - Mind the Gap. With a full swing, most golfers can hit a sand wedge between approximately 45-85 yards, but thanks to the loft, this club can help make surgical approach shots that can stop dead on the green, or for the more advanced, put some solid backspin on the ball. take some sand or mud in front of the ball) helping to pick the ball out of the unsturdy, hazardous terrain. The higher loft, paired with the heavier club head, allows you to hit the ball “fat” (i.e. Sand wedges typically have a loft of between 54-58 degrees and are ideal for hitting the ball out of soft lies like sand, mud and thick rough. With a full swing, most people can hit a pitching wedge between about 75-150 yards (depending on the strength of the golfer).įinally, because of their lower loft (relative to other wedges), it’s more difficult to get any sort of backspin when using a pitching wedge, so leave that up to some of the other wedge options.Īs you can probably deduce, sand wedges are ideal for getting your ball out of sand traps and are identified by (you guessed it) the letter “S”. Thanks to the lower loft, your pitching wedge is great for hitting longer, higher shots. The lowest lofted of all wedges (usually between 44-48 degrees), the pitching wedge is the next club down after your 9-iron and can be identified by the letter “P” on the bottom of the club. While these are certainly the most common types of wedges, they only represent about half of the full wedge equation.īelow is a quick introduction to the various types of wedges and some defining characteristics of each, to perhaps give you enough info to make an informed decision about which ones you should consider adding to your bag. If you check in most golf bags, you’re almost certain to find a pitching wedge and likely a sand wedge too. Wedges have the highest loft of all the clubs in your bag and are generally used to shoot short, accurate approach shots onto the green or get you out of sticky situations on the course, like hitting out of sand traps or shooting over trees that stand between you and the hole. Whereas higher lofted clubs (like wedges) are meant to hit the ball higher, but shorter distances. Low lofted clubs (like your woods) were designed to hit the ball lower and farther. Loft is the angle at which any clubhead sits in relation to the ground and has a direct impact on the height and distance that you’ll be able to hit the ball. If you’re relatively new to golf, a “wedge” refers to a class of golf clubs that are very similar to your irons, but that have the shortest shafts, heaviest clubheads and perhaps most importantly - the highest degree of loft. But before you can truly start to plan your approach to wedges, it’s important to first understand all of the options available to you and how they all work. Stepping up your wedge game is a great way to help shave meaningful strokes off your scorecard.
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