What does Aw stand for on a golf club?
The "A" or "AW" stamped on certain golf clubs stands for "Approach" or "Approach Wedge." Approach wedges are simply another name for a Gap Wedge (GW), a golf club with a loft between a Pitching Wedge (PW) and a Sand Wedge (SW).
What is swing weight in golf?
Swing weight, simply put, is how heavy a golf club feels when you swing it. It is not a finite measurement and is not something measured in grams like the weight of a golf club’s shaft or grip. This measurement was invented in the 1920s to describe the dynamic feel of a golf club as the player swings it.
What is the swing weight of a D4 Golf Club?
Therefore, a club with a swing weight of D1 is heaver than a club with a C1 swing weight, and a D4 club has a slightly greater swing weight than a D2. A typical men’s club has a swing weight of about D0, while the standard swing weight for a women’s club is approximately C6.
What is a pitching wedge in golf?
Pitching wedge: The lowest-lofted of the wedges (the one that hits the ball the farthest), pitching wedges (abbreviated PW) are usually included in a set of irons. The PW is considered one of the basic clubs every golfer carries. Sand wedge: Designed specifically to make hitting shots out of bunkers easier.
What is wedge golf?
Wedges are the clubs used for the shorter and more accurate shots in golf. Approach shots, chip shots, pitch shots, bunker shots, lob shots to mention just a few. There are different types of wedges generally defined by the lofts they have.
What is the gap between a pitching wedge and a sand wedge?
The next wedge is called a Gap Wedge. If your pitching wedge is 46- degrees and your sand wedge 54-degrees there will be a distance gap of about 30 yards between these clubs. A gap wedge is designed to bridge that 30 yard "gap". Your gap wedge will have more loft than your pitching wedge and less loft than your sand wedge.
What is the difference between a sand wedge and a pitching wedge?
The sand wedge is more lofted than a pitching wedge, generally between 54 and 58 degrees. As the name suggests, one of its main functions is to hit from the sand in bunkers.
What is a pitching wedge?
Pitching Wedge. The pitching wedge is often the final and most lofted club in most modern iron sets. Pitching wedges are generally in the range of 44 to 48 degrees loft and used for hitting the longest wedge shots into a green. Pitching wedges are also quite handy for short pitch and run shots around the green. Example of a Wilson Staff wedge.
Why is it important to use a heavier swing weight in wedges?
The heavier swing weight in the wedges and short irons can possibly help club and club face awareness for greater precision. It’s important to remember that swing weight and overall weight are mutually exclusive. A heavy club can have a light swing weight and vice versa. That’s because swing weight is merely addressing the balance point ...
What happens if you swing heavy?
A light swing weight can prohibit the golfer from properly feeling where the head is during the swing and cause issues with squaring the face at impact, while a heavy swing weight can cause fatigue and negatively affect performance over time. ADVERTISEMENT.
Is swing weight too heavy?
Finding the proper swing weight for your game is mostly preference-based, but according to Tim Briand, Senior Vice President of GOLF’s sister company True Spec Golf, issues can arise if swing weight is too light or too heavy. A light swing weight can prohibit the golfer from properly feeling where the head is during the swing ...
What is a wedge in golf?
Wedges are the highest-lofted clubs in a set of golf clubs, designed for short approach shots (for most golfers, 120 yards and in), strokes played out of sand, chip shots and pitch shots, and generally any shot for which the golfer wants the ball to ascend and descend sharply.
Why do golfers use wedges?
Because wedge shots have such a high trajectory, they tend to roll very little once they hit the green. More accomplished players can produce a great deal of backspin with a wedge, causing the ball to back up (or "bite") once it hits the green. Any wedge can also be used for chipping around the green.
What is a gap wedge?
With pitching wedges typically lofted from 42 to 46 degrees, the gap wedge is so-called because it closes the "gap" in loft between the pitching wedge and sand wedge. A typical gap wedge might might be lofted from 48 to 54 degrees. The gap wedge also goes by the names A-wedge, attack wedge and approach wedge.
What is the loft of a lob wedge?
A typical lob wedge might have a loft of 60 degrees to 64 degrees. As its name implies, a lob wedge allows a player to "lob" the ball high into the air, from where it will drop steeply down onto the green, with little or no roll. With pitching wedges typically lofted from 42 to 46 degrees, the gap wedge is so-called because it closes ...
What is a 60 degree wedge?
Wedges feature the shortest shafts and highest lofts of any golf clubs. In fact, wedges are often identified by their loft rather than their name. A lob wedge might instead be called a "60-degree wedge," for example. Sand wedges were invented (generally credited to Gene Sarazen) to make shots out of sand bunkers easier.
What is the difference between a pitching wedge and a sand wedge?
Pitching wedge: The lowest-lofted of the wedges (the one that hits the ball the farthest), pitching wedges (abbreviated PW) are usually included in a set of irons. The PW is considered one of the basic clubs every golfer carries. Sand wedge: Designed specifically to make hitting shots out of bunkers easier. Abbreviated SW.
Why are gap wedges called wedges?
Today, the other two wedges that are common are: Gap wedge: So-named because it falls in-between the pitching wedge and sand wedge in loft. The gap wedge has more loft than a PW, less loft than a SW.
What are steep and shallow describing?
The terms steep and shallow describe your swing plane i.e. the angle of the shaft during the swing. A steep swing has a shaft that is more vertical in relation to the ground, while a shallow swing is more horizontal.
Shallow Golf Swings
A steep swing, on the other hand, works around your body more. The clubhead does not point to the sky as much on the downswing, and the shafts stays relatively flat in relation to the ground. Shallow swings often times produce less deep divots and approach the ball with a positive angle of attack, causing less backspin.
How does a golf club swing affect the weight of the club?
A club’s swing weight is affected by the weight of its three main components -- the head, shaft and grip -- as well as the shaft’s length and balance point. Altering any of these five items will change the club’s swing weight.
How to increase swing weight from D2 to D4?
To increase swing weight from D2 to D4 you can add about 4 grams of weight to the club head, subtract 10 grams of weight from the grip or lengthen the shaft by 1/3 inch. Altering the swing weight by changing the shaft’s weight is a little trickier, but you will increase the swing weight by approximately one unit for each 9 grams ...
How to increase weight of golf club?
A quick and easy way to increase a club’s swing weight is to add lead tape to the club head. Adding tape to the grip will decrease the swing weight. The precise amount of increase or decrease will depend on the club’s overall characteristics.
Who invented the swing weight scale?
The swing weight scale was developed in the 1920s by club maker Robert Adams, although some credit Kenneth Smith, who developed the fulcrum scale used to measure swing weight. While the scale is basically arbitrary, it has survived to become the standard.
Can two golf clubs weigh the same?
Indeed, two clubs that weigh the same may have different swing weights. For example, if one of the identically-weighted clubs has a heavier head, it will have a greater swing weight.
What is an "A-Wedge" Golf Club?
The "A" or "AW" stamped on certain golf clubs stands for "Approach" or "Approach Wedge."
A-Wedge Loft
An A-Wedge or Approach Wedge has between 48 to 51 degrees of loft, with 50 to 51 degrees being the most common.
The Club of Many Names
Depending on the manufacturer, you may see A-Wedges labeled or described as:
