
Golf Wedges Loft, Bounce, Length, and Usage Summarized
Wedge | Loft | Bounce | Length | Use |
Pitching Wedge | 47° to 53° | 2° to 5° | 35.75” | for pitch and chip shots |
Gap Wedge | 50°° to 53° | 5° to 10° | 35.25” | for mid and chip shots |
Sand Wedge | 54° to 58° | 10° to 14° | 34.50” | To escape the ball through the sand |
Lob Wedge | 60° to 62° | 0° to 10° | 33.50” | To get a high flight and to rescue the b ... |
How do you hit a lob wedge?
- Make sure the grooves on your lob wedge, sand wedge and pitching wedge are clean.
- Work on your pitch shots around the green. This will help with feel and touch.
- Your backswing should not be too long. Partial wedge shots are easier to control and typically have less trajectory.
How much bounce should you have in a lob wedge?
Sand wedge: 56 degrees loft, 12 degrees bounce (notated as 56:12 on the wedge) Lob wedge: 60 degrees loft, 4 degrees bounce (notated as 60:04 on the wedge) Before reading further, check your wedges so you can understand how to use each one to your advantage. Here are the main types of bounce you will find in your wedges.
What degree loft is a lob wedge?
The loft of a lob wedge is traditionally 60 degrees, however some players will carry 58 degree wedges, which can also be classed as a lob wedge. Players like Phil Mickelson have lob wedges as lofty as 64 degrees. The loft of a putter is traditionally between 3.5-4.5 degrees.
What loft is a ping W wedge?
What is W wedge in golf? A pitching wedge is the lowest-lofted of the named wedges, used to hit a variety of short-range shots. The term “pitching wedge” is now used by virtually all manufacturers and players to describe this club; Karsten Manufacturing (maker of the PING brand) simply labels their pitching wedges “W” for “wedge”.

When should a lob wedge be used?
A lob wedge can be useful in situations where a player is hitting over an obstacle, such as a bunker, and there is 30-50 yards of distance between them and a tight pin.
Do pro golfers use lob wedges?
For professional golfers, a 60-degree lob wedge around the green could be classified as a surgical scalpel. Many pros—most notably Phil Mickelson—have built their reputations on the ability to hit miraculous recovery shots with these higher-lofted clubs.
What distance is a lob wedge used for?
How Far Does The Average Person Hit A Lob Wedge? On average, a full shot for a recreational player with a lob wedge will be 73 yards, but the range can be between 60 and 90 yards. Most golfers only use their lob wedge around the green, so chances are, you won't ever take a full swing.
Should high handicappers use a lob wedge?
The Lob Wedge Lob, or high, shots can save high handicappers strokes. High handicappers who have difficulty playing from tight, or bare, lies and who have a propensity for taking large divots should consider carrying a lob wedge in their bags. The lob wedge should have no more than 60 degrees of loft.
Who should carry a lob wedge?
A 60-degree lob wedge is suited for better golfers and is perfect for launching the ball high in the air and having it land softly on the green. This wedge is ideal for hitting shorter chip shots but should not be the choice for full shots from the fairway.
Does a beginner need a lob wedge?
Generally, lob wedges carry 60-degrees of loft and are used to recover from difficult positions near the green. However, in my opinion, a beginner should shy away from a lob wedge, as it is a finesse club and requires skill and many, many hours of practice, to hit with confidence.
Can I use a lob wedge in the sand?
Can I Use A Lob Wedge From The Sand? Most of the time, yes. Unless you specifically purchase a low bounce lob wedge, you might find that a decent number of LWs and SWs have a pretty comparable amount of bounce out of a sand trap (my SW and LW, for example, have identical bounce numbers).
Which wedge is best for chipping?
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Do I need a gap or lob wedge?
The rule of thumb is that a player should have four degrees of difference between wedges. For instance, a golfer with a pitching wedge lofted at 46 degrees should have a gap wedge of 50 degrees, a sand wedge at 54 degrees and a lob wedge of no less than 58 degrees.
What is the most important wedge to have?
Overall, I believe that the sand wedge and the lob wedge are the most important wedges to get the bounce right on, because they will be used most frequently around the greens. Last thing about bounce– If you regularly play on tight turf, or regularly play on soft turf, match your wedge bounces to these conditions.
What is the difference between a gap and lob wedge?
So generally think about putting in a gap wedge that's 48 or 50 degrees, a sand wedge that's between 54 and 56 degrees, and a lob wedge that's between 58 and 60 degrees.
What are the easiest wedges to hit?
The easiest wedges to hit are cavity-back wedges like the Cleveland CBX 2 and the Callaway Mack Daddy CB. This style of wedge makes it easier for players to get the ball up in the air quickly, even without making perfect contact.
What angle should a lob wedge be?
Pick a lob wedge that has a loft of no more than 60 degrees. If it has more loft, it will be very difficult for you to use. Also, you'll find that having a bounce angle of more than 8 degrees will make your shots easier because you will be less likely to take too large a divot with your shots.
How high does a lob wedge fly?
Lob wedges can help to accomplish this. They are usually are about 60 degrees--or more--which makes a golf ball fly about 15 percent higher than a normal wedge. The ball doesn't go as far and stops quickly.
How far out can you hit a golf ball?
Every golfer dreams about being able to hit a ball close to the flag consistently from about 50 to 60 yards out. Until the lob wedge was invented, getting the ball close when the flag is just on the other side of a sand trap was nearly impossible.
What is a lob wedge?
Lob Wedge. A type of wedge with a loft angle of approximately 60 degrees. If a golfer has one the lob wedge will usually be the highest lofted of his golf clubs.
What is the loft angle of a lob wedge?
A lob wedge will usually have a loft angle (degree) of around 60°. In contrast to a sand wedge, a lob wedge will have a reduced bounce angle profile which will allow the club to slide under the ball, rather than bouncing off of the ground.
What is a flop shot?
A golfer may hit a flop shot when he finds himself close to the green and is looking at a fluffy lie that allows for the trailing edge to go underneath the ball. Using his lob wedge and a full swing will allow the ball to travel very high and roll a relatively short distance upon landing.
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.
How many yards is a lob wedge?
A lob wedge would be 40-50 yards for men, 25-40 for women. A gap wedge would fall in between your pitching wedge and sand wedge yardages. And these clubs will, when properly struck, produce a very high, arching shot. So if you need to get over a tree, for example, a wedge comes in handy.
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.
Step 4
Make your back swing steeper than you would for a normal chip or pitch shot. Keep your wrists cocked just before impact and pull the club down to the ball with your arms and body weight.
Step 5
Transfer your weight smoothly to your left side with your feet, legs and hips, keeping your head steady. The club head should still be extended from the shoulders.
Why do you use a lob wedge?
Being able to effectively use a lob wedge can save a lot of shots around the green, especially when faced with a short-sided up and down or a difficult buried lie, but the hardest part of an open-faced lob wedge shot is repeatability. It’s why you can feel like a hero on one hole, and a complete failure on the next—because the ball ended up exactly where it started…or it ends up on the other side of the green…
How many degrees of loft do wedges have?
Wedges with 60 degrees of loft (and even 56 in some cases) look easy to hit since they have large faces which in turn equals greater surface area to make contact but face area versus effective face area to make contact are two completely different things.
What is a 60 degree wedge?
For professional golfers, a 60-degree lob wedge around the green could be classified as a surgical scalpel. Many pros—most notably Phil Mickelson—have built their reputations on the ability to hit miraculous recovery shots with these higher-lofted clubs.
What is the difference between a baseball hitter and a golf swing?
He has to rely on quick eye-hand coordination. In contrast, the golf swing is just that – a swing of the club.
How wide is a golf ball?
The ball is 1.68 inches in diameter, and the functional striking area on a golf club is about 1.5-inches wide. If you vary in your setup by even 3/4 inch, you have imposed a serious obstacle to success. If you do nothing else to improve your golf game, learn how to set up the same way every time.
What is a sound golf swing?
A sound golf swing is built like a house. First the foundation, then the framing, roof, exterior walls, interior, paint, and trim. You can’t do one before the other. In golf, it all starts with the grip. If you do not hold the club properly, you’ll never accomplish a sound golf swing.
Do you need a driving range to learn golf?
And you can take your time to make sure the ball will be precisely in the way of that swing. Learning the golf swing doesn’t require a driving range at all. In fact, your backyard presents a much better learning environment because the ball is not in the way to give you false feedback.
Why use a sand wedge?
As the name suggests, the primary use of the sand wedge is to help golfers escape the sand but it’s heavier weight and large bounce are useful for a variety of different shots. Personally, I like to use the sand wedge when I take most of my chips, especially those around the green.
How far can you swing a gap wedge?
Personally, the most important thing I get from a gap wedge as a golfer is the ability to take a full swing at around 100 yards from the hole which is arguably one of the most common and important scoring ranges any golfer.
What is the best club for bump and run chipping?
The pitching wedge is also a great club for bump and run chipping because the low amount of loft allows the ball to fly lower and roll further once it lands on the green.
Do you use woods or irons in golf?
This is standard in golf, whether you’re using woods or irons except when it comes to wedges. Unfortunately, for a novice golfer or even an advanced one, it’s not always obvious what each different type of wedge is used for, and that can be frustrating.
What is a wedge in golf?
Wedges are the club that can provide you with the maximum flight and backspin keeping the ball within the green. A golf club set consist of the following wedges: Pitching wedge: The most common wedge. Gap wedge: The bridging wedge. Sand Wedge: The rescuer wedge.
How long should a golf wedge be?
Like the other Golf Clubs wedges also differ from each other based on the shaft length. Ideally, the length of a pitching wedge should be 0.25m shorter than the 9-Iron; the gap wedge should be a half-inch shorter than the pitching wedge; the sand wedge should be shorter by 0.75 inches than the gap wedge and the lob wedge should be 1-inch shorter than the sand wedge.
What is the maximum loft of a lob wedge?
A lob wedge has the maximum loft that ranges from 60 to 64 degrees. The bounce of a lob wedge could be anywhere between 0 to degrees. You should not hit the full-swing shots with a lob wedge since it will raise the ball too high ad you will not get the desired distance.
What is a gap wedge?
Gap Wedge. A gap wedge act as a bridging wedge between the pitching wedge and sand wedge. The gap wedge’s loft ranges from 50 to 53 degrees and the bounce is between 5 to 10 degrees. The major use of a gap wedge is to hit mid-chip shots. You can reach a distance of up to 65m.
What is the bounce of a pitching wedge?
The Pitching wedge has a bounce between 2 to 5 degrees. The Gap wedge has a bounce between 5 to 10 degrees. The Sand wedge has a bounce of between 10 to 14 degrees. The Lob wedge has a bounce between 0 to 10 degrees.
How much bounce does a golf club wedge have?
Apart from this the bounce also helps you to get a higher flight of the ball. The bounce of golf club wedge varies between 2 to 14 degrees. The standard bounce of different wedges are as follows:
How far can you hit a shot with a wedge?
You can even hit a shot up to a distance of 125m using wedges. Wedges come with the highest loft and the shortest shaft. They also have the heaviest clubhead. A pro golfer always uses the appropriate wedge matching the purpose of his shot that allows him to roll up on the scoreboard.
Where did Seve Ballesteros play golf?
Most golf fans will know how Seve Ballesteros, armed only with a 3-iron, taught himself to play golf on the beaches of Spain.
Can you play golf with only one club?
No, Keep The 60 Degree. Of course , while it might be beneficial learning how to play golf with only one club, that’s not an option that’s available to most everyday golfers. Most golfers don’t have lots of time to practice. They’re just trying to play better on the sporadic occasions when they do tee it up.
Did Michael Cohen use a lob wedge?
Cohen also didn’t use a lob wedge at any point during his run to the finals. Asked why by Golf Channel’s Ryan Lavner, and Cohen said he was taught not to rely on a lob wedge to hit the ball high; and that he needed to learn to hit all the shots with his 56 degree wedge. Add a comment... Instagram.
