Beginner looking to add wedges to bag - need advice

[cbrown1170]

Hi,

 

I am a beginner and looking to add some wedges to my bag. I currently have callaway edge irons 6-9, driver, 5w, 3w, putter, and a CBX4 44 degree and CBX4 50 degree. I have a giftcard to PGA superstore so I am wondering about gapping and spacing with my wedges and what would be the ideal setup. I know I need something higher lofted for sand/uphill shots. I also have the ability to exchange the 44 since I just bought it and get a different loft if it fits better with my setup.

 

I was thinking about adding a 54 and 58. Are there any other considerations I should have? Is there any reason to get a different style other than the cbx4 for my other two wedges? Do I need two more wedges, or will just something like a 58 suffice with my 44 and 50? As a beginner, I obviously don't consistently hit all of my clubs the same distance every time, but I normally get 80-90 yards out of my 50, and 105-115 out of 44. 

 

Just looking for some advice on what the best route to go is. the CBX4 seem very forgiving as well, as I often hit it nowhere near the sweet spot and the shot still ends up being ok. I also use the 50 for all kinds of bump and runs and it works really well. I just want to know the best gapping for a beginner or if I should consider anything else.

Really appreciate anyone's help here. 

 

 

[ShortGolfer]

I would just get the 54* SW for now.  If you are a beginner  you don't really need the 58* lob wedge.  Instead, I'd suggest learning Dan Grieve's 3 releases with the 54.

Learning how to hit sand shots is difficult for many beginners.  If you can add bunker play to the the list of skills you have learned this season you are doing very well.

 

Many golfers don't save any strokes with the lob wedge until they have a lot of practice.

Those thins across the green cancel out any up and downs.

 

Instead of trying to master a lob  wedge that time is better spent reading lies around the green and adjusting your setup accordingly.

Playing golf means adjusting for uphill, downhill, and sidehill lies.  Some grasses like Bermuda can be treacherous if you can't read your lie.

 

It may help to read short game books if you can learn that way.  Otherwise there is no substitute for playing early and often!  

Edited July 7 by ShortGolfer

[cbrown1170]

6 minutes ago, ShortGolfer said:

I would just get the 54* SW for now.  If you are a beginner  you don't really need the 58* lob wedge.  Instead, I'd suggest learning Dan Grieve's 3 releases with the 54.

Learning how to hit sand shots is difficult for many beginners.  If you can add bunker play to the the list of skills you have learned this season you are doing very well.

 

Many golfers don't save any strokes with the lob wedge until they have a lot of practice.

Those thins across the green cancel out any up and downs.

 

Instead of trying to master a lob  wedge that time is better spent reading lies around the green and adjusting your setup accordingly.

Playing golf means adjusting for uphill, downhill, and sidehill lies.  Some grasses like Bermuda can be treacherous if you can't read your lie.

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. Do you think I should swap my 44 for a 46 as well? That way I have a 4 degree gap between the three wedges? 

 

I do play on some courses that have insane hills around the green, so I always thought a higher loft was actually needed to get my ball to clear it. Maybe I just need to do some youtubeing to figure out how to handle these kinds of shots with a SW or less. 

[MrCook]

If you like the CBX's, stick with them. 44* should be fine, as that's the same loft as the set PW in your irons.

 

I agree with shortgolfer, get a 54* for now. I use mine for most shots around the green. That being said, I like having the 58* for short sided bunker shots. Depending on the sand at the courses you play, opening up the 54* enough for those shots might be tough. For my home course, bunkers can occasionally get pretty firm, and I find it way easier to play a squarer faced shot with a lower bounce, higher lofted wedge in this type of conditions.

[bluefishercat]

I think your 9 iron is 39 degrees 

I’d keep the 44 and 50 and add a 56 with bounce.

the data says that high handicap golfers do better limiting their options in the short game

I would make the putter option one to be used whenever possible around the green, then the 50 degree wedge for chipping and leave the sand wedge for out of the sand or over an obstacle. 
Spend as much time or more practicing with those three clubs and you’ll improve more than spending all your time on the range.

A good short game area or playing at times when you can play several balls around the green. Executive courses are fine for that.

 

[cbrown1170]

8 minutes ago, bluefishercat said:

I think your 9 iron is 39 degrees 

I’d keep the 44 and 50 and add a 56 with bounce.

the data says that high handicap golfers do better limiting their options in the short game

I would make the putter option one to be used whenever possible around the green, then the 50 degree wedge for chipping and leave the sand wedge for out of the sand or over an obstacle. 
Spend as much time or more practicing with those three clubs and you’ll improve more than spending all your time on the range.

A good short game area or playing at times when you can play several balls around the green. Executive courses are fine for that.

 

Thanks a lot! This is kind of why I posted here, I'm really stuck between the 54 and 56. I know it probably doesn't matter too too much in the grand scheme of things, but I want to try avoid needing to further adjust later.  It seems like three wedges would suffice, but I also have plenty of room in my bag, so I'm wondering how I'll end up filling out the rest of it. A lot of people will probably say 5 iron, but I am struggling with slower swing speed and still have a ton of yardage I can still unlock with the irons I do have. We'll see..

 

I definitely concur with your last few sentences though. I used to think i should never play golf until I was striping everything at the range. I am now realizing how valuable it is to get out and play. All of the short shots you never even think about at the range.. And the chipping and bump and runs I've been doing happen to be the best part of my game, so I'm really happy about that!

[ShortGolfer]

I think most of us would be best off with a 54 or 56 SW.  Whatever loft is best for bunker shots.  I don't enough swing speed for the 56 to work all the time.

I  could make a 52 work out of bunkers with my high fade.  If you have a slow swing speed the 54 may be better.

Gapping is less important than having  confidence in getting out of bunkers.

 

Congratulations on learning bump an runs!  Getting on the green is a under-rated skill in golf.  So much attention is paid to driving and putting but not so much getting on the greens.

Edited July 7 by ShortGolfer

[Jeff58]

2 hours ago, cbrown1170 said:

I'm really stuck between the 54 and 56.

When your iron set has a pitching wedge with less than ~44 degrees of loft, full shot gapping tends to bias you towards a 54. However, your playing conditions may be more conducive to a 56 (or higher). In my case, we have many elevated greens and deep bunkers. With a 54, most sand shots would need the 58 or 60 degree lob wedge, which can be a problem.

 

It’s a problem because the lob wedge has a low degree of bounce, which is optimal for tighter lies, moving easily through grass, and opening the face without raising the leading edge significantly. While many will state correctly that such a high loft / low bounce wedge will not aid beginners in scoring, IMO it’s critical that you gel one anyway and practice with it, as you will benefit from it as you improve.

[Santiago Golf]

I would honestly get a 58 or 60 ... most people would argue that you need a lon wedge because the precieve that lack of need of flop shot ... I would argue that you don't need a lob wedge for a flop but for confidence arpund the green

 

loft is your friend 

 

bump and runs are not easy

[ShortGolfer]

I got confidence around the green by making full swing wedge shots with my old Big Bertha 54* SW off hard dirt lies.   

 

[bluefishercat]

If you feel compelled to fill your bag and you’re a beginner, don’t.

I'd suggest that you will progress faster at first by using fewer clubs 

Driver, 5w, 6i, 8i, 44, 50, Sand wedge and putter

You probably can’t hit the 3W consistently anyways and eventually should get a hybrid or maybe a 7 or 9 wood to fill the gap between your 5 wood and 6i

Don't worry about that till you break 100, it will take time but you’ll get there 

[gumpy]

I vote 56* wedge that has decent bounce but also some relief in the sole. The 56* will serve you well.

[stratgolf]

23 hours ago, cbrown1170 said:

Hi,

 

I am a beginner and looking to add some wedges to my bag. I currently have callaway edge irons 6-9, driver, 5w, 3w, putter, and a CBX4 44 degree and CBX4 50 degree. I have a giftcard to PGA superstore so I am wondering about gapping and spacing with my wedges and what would be the ideal setup. I know I need something higher lofted for sand/uphill shots. I also have the ability to exchange the 44 since I just bought it and get a different loft if it fits better with my setup.

 

I was thinking about adding a 54 and 58. Are there any other considerations I should have? Is there any reason to get a different style other than the cbx4 for my other two wedges? Do I need two more wedges, or will just something like a 58 suffice with my 44 and 50? As a beginner, I obviously don't consistently hit all of my clubs the same distance every time, but I normally get 80-90 yards out of my 50, and 105-115 out of 44. 

 

Just looking for some advice on what the best route to go is. the CBX4 seem very forgiving as well, as I often hit it nowhere near the sweet spot and the shot still ends up being ok. I also use the 50 for all kinds of bump and runs and it works really well. I just want to know the best gapping for a beginner or if I should consider anything else.

Really appreciate anyone's help here. 

 

 

 

I would get a 54 and 58. I would limit my option by only chipping with the 58, and trying to use your other wedges as mostly full swing clubs only. I would stick to the same wedge model personally.

[cbrown1170]

1 hour ago, stratgolf said:

 

I would get a 54 and 58. I would limit my option by only chipping with the 58, and trying to use your other wedges as mostly full swing clubs only. I would stick to the same wedge model personally.

Thanks a lot for the feedback.. This is definitely the route I think I'm going (50-54-58). One follow-up question, is it always better to chip and bump and run with higher lofted clubs? I've seen some youtube videos where people even suggest doing bump and runs with clubs like a 7i or pitching wedge. I am just wondering if this is at all dependent on the lie, type of grass/surface you're chipping from? It will be great if I just know to use the 58 for everythng.. Just want to check 🙂

[stratgolf]

1 minute ago, cbrown1170 said:

Thanks a lot for the feedback.. This is definitely the route I think I'm going (50-54-58). One follow-up question, is it always better to chip and bump and run with higher lofted clubs? I've seen some youtube videos where people even suggest doing bump and runs with clubs like a 7i or pitching wedge. I am just wondering if this is at all dependent on the lie, type of grass/surface you're chipping from? It will be great if I just know to use the 58 for everythng.. Just want to check 🙂

 

Definitely not always better to chip with higher loft. Depends what kind of course you are playing - I play sandbelt golf in Melbourne, Australia where 80% of my short game shots are bumping a hybrid around the greens. I find for beginners that keeping wedge usage simple is the easiest thing - if you are going to chip try and use the same club to develop a feel. Nothing wrong with bumping a 7 iron around - usually does the trick and the margin for error is much lower. In any case, KISS. keep it simple....

[st1800e]

As a beginner having wedges with lofts close together is not ideal. A good swing with a 58° could go further than a 54° on a poor swing.  I would recommend just adding a CBX4 at 56° to complement your 44 and 50. As you point out , and in my experience too,  the CBX4’s are forgiving.   

56° is plenty of loft for shorter shots around the green.  Then go play and practice.  

[ShortGolfer]

It really depends on the greens you play.  Higher loft means less run out.  I play on courses with small or fast greens which means I need to use a lot of loft to keep ball on the green with chip and runs.

Usually the greens are sloped to help hold balls in play.  But, a private course I play really wants to penalize you for going long, as the course is next to a busy street and the fences can only do so much.

A ball that rolls off the back of the green may easily be a lost ball. It may roll into unmowed rough or a drainage ditch.  Fortunately my game is well suited to the way the private course is set up. 😀

 

An example of a future friendly bag is a high lofted 25* 11 wood with a shaft that matches my 3HL and 7W.

Edited July 8 by ShortGolfer

[cbrown1170]

4 minutes ago, st1800e said:

As a beginner having wedges with lofts close together is not ideal. A good swing with a 58° could go further than a 54° on a poor swing.  I would recommend just adding a CBX4 at 56° to complement your 44 and 50. As you point out , and in my experience too,  the CBX4’s are forgiving.   

56° is plenty of loft for shorter shots around the green.  Then go play and practice.  

Thanks. Yeah I keep having this thought of wanting to make my bag beginner friendly while also setting me up for the future when I'm better, but maybe 44-50-56 could last me years, which would feel worth it to me. 

[rsballer10]

There's a lot of differing opinions out there, you may want to speak with a knowledgeable fitter or teaching pro in your area.

 

A lot of people will basically recommend what they already play. That's fine, but I think that's not necessarily good advice. I personally play 50-54-60, but I wouldn't recommend that to someone just starting out.

 

I would recommend getting a 56 degree wedge and doing everything around the green with 1 club. My recommendation is some sort of 10-12 degree bounce, full sole, basic wedge. It's as standard of a wedge that has ever been made. It also basically works for all skill levels.

 

I don't personally see a 54 being an option as your highest lofted wedge. There are some shots that will just come out too fast/low. will necessitate a 58/60 degree wedge in addition - which beginners don't need. 

[ShortGolfer]

Is your swing steep or shallow?  My swing is naturally steep because I removed a 22inch hardwood tree stump with an ax as part of my stroke rehab.

If you hit a draw it is likely that you have a shallow swing that would suggest more loft than I need to clear bunkers with a square faced club.

If you study the Pelz short game book he describes ways  you can get more height by changing your equipment and setup.

Opening the face will  increase height but the ball will move to the right so the setup needs to be changed to remain aimed at the target.

The bounce and wedge grind are also factors in how the equipment will affect the ball flight height.

It can be hard to find a place to practice precision bunker play.  Many golf courses don't spend the money required that would allow high quality bunker play.

 

The grooves of wedges wear out and need to be replaced unless you have a low swing speed and play soft golf balls infrequently.

It is possible to buy old ladies wedges with pristine grooves!

Edited July 8 by ShortGolfer

[JimMLINY]

56-degree wedge will serve you well in getting out of sand and around the greens for chip or lob.