The Gap Wedge

[ajlacombe]

I have been on a set makeup odyssey over the last few years and I want to know what other people do with their gap wedge.  My current irons are PXG Gen 4 0311P and my wedges are PXG Sugar Daddy Milled.  The shafts in my irons are Elevate 95 S and the wedges are Elevate Tour S. My irons and wedges are 1SW (2g) heavy - I did this for a slight feel increase.

 

The question is, what do you do for your gap wedge?  Is it a Wedge or iron with respect to the shaft.  I have the Tour shafts in my wedges again for feel - the lighter they are the worse my feel is and that leads to jerky swings.  For me, heavier = smoother. Originally my 50º milled was my gap wedge, but I found I was less consistent than I wanted. So I ordered the Gap wedge that matches my irons (with the iron shaft).  Got to play it last night for 9 holes.  Hit it 4 times.  All 4 were within 12' and the closest landed 6" long and right of the hole and finished about 4" short and right.  I feel I made the right move, but wanted to know what others do with the gap and other wedges.

 

Thanks

[Dax279]

I have gen 3 T’s and started with a gen 3 T gap wedge (I think it was 51*). 
 

In November I went for another PXG fitting and switched out the gap wedge for a sugar daddy.  For me it was just a better fit.  There really was not too much wrong with my gap wedge, but just felt the fitting on the SD got things a bit tighter. 

[ajlacombe]

35 minutes ago, Dax279 said:

I have gen 3 T’s and started with a gen 3 T gap wedge (I think it was 51*). 
 

In November I went for another PXG fitting and switched out the gap wedge for a sugar daddy.  For me it was just a better fit.  There really was not too much wrong with my gap wedge, but just felt the fitting on the SD got things a bit tighter. 

Was the shaft in both the same?  For me that heavier shaft slows me down a bit and makes me pull shots more, but I do not know why I do not do that with the 54º

[Sean124]

I’ve settled on the 0211-ST gap wedge with the same shaft as my set PW. 
 

I like it so much I’m probably replacing my 0311T PW with the 0211ST. 

[gripandrip]

I play Srixon Z745s, and currently play an RTX4 (50*) as my GAP wedge. Shafts in my Z745s are Steelfiber i95S, and my wedges (and GAP) shafts are S400. I like a heavier shaft in my wedges. I am considering a Cleveland CBX wedge as a replacement, as I use the GAP wedge mostly for 3/4 or full swings. Shaft decision is still up in the air. I'll have to hit the head first. Not sure if this change would make the GAP wedge a continuation of my irons, or just a new head in my wedges.

[jtmagic]

Gap wedge matches my irons as mostly used for full shots.

[Dax279]

33 minutes ago, ajlacombe said:

Was the shaft in both the same?  For me that heavier shaft slows me down a bit and makes me pull shots more, but I do not know why I do not do that with the 54º

No the shaft is different. I have the Steelfibre i95 in my Gen 3’s and went with the Dynamic Gold S400 in the SD’s. The heavier weight really helped with my timing. 

[Dax279]

20 minutes ago, gripandrip said:

I play Srixon Z745s, and currently play an RTX4 (50*) as my GAP wedge. Shafts in my Z745s are Steelfiber i95S, and my wedges (and GAP) shafts are S400. I like a heavier shaft in my wedges. I am considering a Cleveland CBX wedge as a replacement, as I use the GAP wedge mostly for 3/4 or full swings. Shaft decision is still up in the air. I'll have to hit the head first. Not sure if this change would make the GAP wedge a continuation of my irons, or just a new head in my wedges.

lol Apart from the different manufacturer, I could have just cut and pasted your reply. 

[Jeff58]

While all options are personal to some degree, I use i210’s Modus 120 S with the gap wedge at 50 degrees and Vokey SM7’s with stock S200’s.

 

I virtually never carry the i210 gap wedge as I find the Vokey 50 to be far more adept at any partial shot. However, when swinging the Vokey at anything over ~70%, the impact precision clearly degrades. While the standard logic is to not hit your wedges “hard”, even with i210’s, which are not long clubs by any measure, there is still a 15-20 yards gap between gap and PW.

 

The solution was to change the Vokey DG200 to a Modus 120 X. The advantages are universal. They go further, are easier to swing quickly, and provide a smooth transition between the irons and the standard Vokey(s) while maintaining the Vokey short game advantages.

Edited January 5, 2022 by Jeff58

[RainShadow]

GW Same shaft as my irons, Steel Fiber fc 90 f3 or i95cw (r).

SW and LW have KBS Hi Rev 2.0 (R, 115g ) 

Hit a lot of full shots w/ GW, almost never with the SW and LW.

[Tupperwolf]

My GW is 50* which is a PW before lofts started getting jacked.  Think of it as an 11 iron.  I chip with it when I have some green to work with but it is an iron, not a specialty wedge.

[ajlacombe]

1 hour ago, RainShadow said:

GW Same shaft as my irons, Steel Fiber fc 90 f3 or i95cw (r).

SW and LW have KBS Hi Rev 2.0 (R, 115g ) 

Hit a lot of full shots w/ GW, almost never with the SW and LW.

This is the reason I switched - I hit the gap wedge as a full shot club, where the wedges do it all, and for a do it all club, I need heavier shafts to help me feel it on partial shots. 

[CUBuffaloes]

I play full shots with my GW and also use it for chipping around the green so I went with a specialty GW (Callaway MD5 Jaws) but used the same shaft as the rest of my irons (Nippon 950 Neo). It's been working well for me.

 

 

[azgreg]

I go back and forth between my set gap wedge (Maltby TE 51°) and my Acer XB Satin (50°). More often than not it's the Maltby.

 

[R5Two]

52 degree wedge. Play same as iron shafts as I still swing it hard, mostly full shots. 

[Ephemerlol]

I only play three wedges, so the 52 gets used for a lot of partial shots as well as full swings.  I have played both the KBS Tour 120 that matches my irons and s400 in this slot and found I preferred it to play more like my 58 with the heavier shaft.

[Luds]

23 hours ago, jtmagic said:

Gap wedge matches my irons as mostly used for full shots.

This.  If you don't "finesse" a ton of shots and mostly use your gap wedge as a full swing club, I think most people are better off going the set gap route

[ChipNRun]

Ah, the Gap wedge! A couple of things to consider.

 

First, find a GW that works. Some set GWs are clunkers, others work great. A few years back I played the Callaway X20 irons. Excellent club model, except for the gap wedge, labeled AW. I had major trouble with distance control on AW. I also have TM SLDR irons, currently in my back-up bag. The SLDR AW is a superb club, for both close in and full shots.

 

Second, there's your wedge usage. If you use your PW and GW mainly as a 10i and 11i (lots of full shots), go with the set GW. If you use the GW mainly for partial shots, you may want to match it with your SW and LW.

 

Another thing on wedge usage: If you hit mainly square-face wedge shots, and don't try to manipulate shaft lean and open/close the face a lot, the set wedges overall may work for you.

 

Basically, go with what works. Most golfers who practice once in awhile can probably learn to use either the set or specialty GW.

 

 

[mcounci2]

Depends on how you play it.  Mostly a full swing club?  Build like an iron.  Partial swing and around-the-green?  Build it like a wedge.

[ajlacombe]

1 hour ago, mcounci2 said:

Depends on how you play it.  Mostly a full swing club?  Build like an iron.  Partial swing and around-the-green?  Build it like a wedge.

Its funny after reading all of these replies - your response and others are dead on the money.  I only hit full shots with that club.  The other issue is if the set gap wedges is a POS or not.  The one for my set it exactly like my pitching wedge and I really like it, but would never open that thing up to finesse a shot.  I used my 54º wedge for most all finesse shots, but a few are played with my 60º if I need more height or a major flop is required.