The wedge is a subset of golf iron having the highest lofts, shortest shaft, and heaviest clubhead. Usually, it creates a shorter shot from a short distance to throw the ball onto the green, out of hazards or any tricky spot. So what degree is a pitching wedge will important to improve the club swing performance? As the club manufacturers design the golf wedge with different modified soles to enhance the clubhead’s moving through soft lies like sand, mud, or thick grass, you will get various types of it. The configuration of this golf club can divide into four different categories according to the loft of wedges.
These are –
- Pitching wedge
- Sand wedge
- Gap or Approach wedge
- Lob wedge
As these wedges create different bunker shots, the lofts’ degree also confuses the golfers. The details about the degrees of extra wedges described in this article will help you eliminate confusion.
Table of Contents
Types of golf wedges
This post gives an overview of the different types of golf wedges used by golfers and explains why they are used.
There are three main types of golf wedges. They are the sand wedge, the lob wedge, and the putter. These wedges are all designed to help a golfer hit the ball in a certain direction. The sand wedge is used to hit the ball short distances, the lob wedge is used to hit the ball long distances, and the putter is used to roll the ball into the hole.
The sand wedge is designed to be used on grassy areas, and it has a small cavity at the top of the club. This cavity allows the sand wedge to fit perfectly in the hand, which helps the golfer hit the ball in the right direction. The lob wedge is designed to be used on sand or clay, and it has a flat top. The lob wedge has a larger cavity than the sand wedge, so it can be used in sand, clay, and grass. The putter is designed to be used on any type of surface. It is made with a slightly curved blade and a flat bottom.
Pitching Wedge
A pitching wedge is a lowest-lofted club that use to create short-range shots. The modern pitching wedge loft angle varies from 48 to 50 degrees, having a little or no bounce where bounce means the sole’s arch to the ground. Usually, the 48-degree pitching wedge uses to hit the ball from a fairway or rough. It helps to make an approach or lay-up wedge shot. Besides, when the ball does not buries itself into the sand, golfers take the 50-degree standard pitching wedge to throw the ball from a bunker. When an amateur golfer picks an essential pitching wedge for making a shot, the player gets the average pitching wedge between 100 to 125 yards. It is also perfect for creating a chip-shot or shorter shots with high accuracy, putting motion in the 30 to 70 yards range from the rough or fringe onto the green.
Sand Wedge
The sand wedge is a specialized club designed to help the golfer striking the ball from sand bunkers. The loft angle of it is set between 54 to 58 degrees with about 10 degrees of bounce. You will also get more variation in the shaft length for a 56-degree sand wedge. Some of them have a systematic progression of shorter shaft lengths for a higher degree of loft. Many of them have a longer distance than the adjacent sand wedge loft. As it is more lofted than a pitching and gap wedge, the ball does not fly far. When golfers try to hit the ball on the air quickly from a distance gap between 80 to 100 yards, they pick it for striking the ball. Besides, this wedge’s rounded and massive base allows the golfer to make an easy slide of the ball through sand bunkers. In the 1932 US Open and British tournament, Gene Sarazen invented this specialized wedge for sand play.
Gap Wedge
The gap wedge is the most standardized design with a 520 centered loft angle and a moderate bounce rate. The 52-degree gap wedge concept originated due to the result variation in carrying distance between pitching and sand wedges. The golfers found an 8-10 degrees gap between the loft angle of sand and pitching wedge, making a distance variation up to 40 yards. To fill this divergence, manufacturers started to produce this focused wedge that becomes popular among golfers. It is also known as Approach wedge (Callaway), Attack wedge (TaylorMade), Dual wedge (Cleveland), and Utility wedge (PING). This wedge can be used for any shots but require a little less distance than other wedges. Golfers maintain a 90-110 yards distance to strike the ball for a full swing depending on other inherent variables. The loft angle varies from 50 to 54 degrees, and the critical variation among different gap wedges is on the elevated loft angle. However, you will get it with a 48-56 degrees loft angle having 0-12 degrees of club bounce.
Lob Wedge
The lob wedge is the newest type of wedge and has a loft angle between 59 and 65-degrees. This wedge is also the highest-lofted club on a golfer’s bag and uses for the shots that need either extreme angle of attack and shorter distance and spinning or no rolling distance after impact. The thinner leading edge makes it the best club choice for creating a precise approach shot on a hazard. When golfers are trying to hit the ball from a close distance for throwing in the air quickly for landing to the green with maximum spin, use the 60-degree lob wedge. Usually, the players hit the golf ball with a bounce lob wedge for making a complete swing to get the average wedge distance from 60 to 70 yards. It helps to raise the ball rapidly and go down fastly or sudden stop onto the putting surface. If you want to use this current wedge for high rough or a fairway, you will not get it as a set of clubs; you need to buy it separately.
FAQs
How many degrees is a pitching wedge?
The pitching wedge is the most common club in golf and is the most accessible club to master. A pitching wedge has an angle of attack of around 45 to 50 degrees. But sometimes, it may get within 43 to 48 degrees because every golf club’s manufacturers have a unique style for different models of pitching wedge. Over the past few years, the club manufacturers have increased the loft getting a little more distance on the golf course. Besides, you also get a wedge having less than 41-degree loft angle like a traditional 9-iron.
What degree loft is a pitching wedge?
The different wedges are designed to help the golfer hit the ball at different distances. The loft of the wedge is the angle the wedge makes with the ground. A wedge with a high loft will help the player hit the ball farther. A wedge with a low loft will allow the player hit the ball closer to the hole.
A standard pitching wedge will have lofts ranging from 41 to 46 degrees. However, most of them are designed with 43 to 44 degrees. Besides, there are no defined rules for the loft angle for a pitching wedge. So you can get wedges having various loft angles for different manufacturers.
What is a pitching wedge used for?
The type of wedge used depends on the distance the player wants to hit the ball. For example, a player using a wedge with a high loft might want to hit the ball far. This is because the wedge will help the player hit the ball farther than if he used a wedge with a lower loft.
TaylorMade pitching wedge degree
TaylorMade is one of the famous golf product manufacturing companies that try to keep the pitching wedge degrees between 45 to 48 degrees like other sets of iron clubs. But with the improvement of the technology and the playing styles of golfers, they design pitching wedges with a 43-degree loft angle.
What degree is a Callaway pitching wedge?
Callaway golf is known to make its pitching wedge sets with less loft than most brands. Callaway pitching wedges fall between 41 and 45 degrees. The Steelhead XR pitching wedge of Callaway crafts with a degree of 41 to 45 because they try to keep a similarity with their 9-iron sets. However, you will get a little more carrying distance with a lower lofted wedge for low-yardage approach golf shots.
What is a 52-degree wedge good for golfers?
Sometimes, you will see one type of wedge is better than others at bridging the gap between the sand wedge and the pitching wedge. However, the pitching wedge with an average loft degree allows golfers to get 135-yards or less swing distance.
Similarly, a sand wedge with a 52-degree provides better results for comparatively small golf greens. on the other hand, the gap wedge having the same loft get useful. Actually, which degree will give better results depends on the golfer’s swing skill level.
The middle wedge is meant for those who have a hard time hitting the sand wedge when they need it most; when you’re trying to hit a ball on the fringe of the green but too close for a pitching wedge.
When to use a pitching wedge?
A pitching wedge is a perfect club for those who need to make some distance from the hole. A higher lofted club makes it easier to hit the ball with a longer follow-through and hit it farther down the fairway. The best thing about having a lower lofted wedge is that you can use it in any condition. It will help you fly the ball further without worrying about losing distance.
It is a great club for people who have 100 yards or so left into the putting green. The longer the club, the more the ball will fly when hit, so the higher the loft of the club, the better your score will be. A lower lofted wedge, between 41 and 44 degrees, won’t fly as high as a 45 and 50-degree wedge.
Your pitching wedge is a useful tool for chip shots and bumps and runs around the green. It’s often more effective than iron. But if the higher handicappers use one chipping wedge and the pitching wedge will be the best for this purpose. Because it is more forgiving than a high lofted wedge and will get the ball moving forwards quicker.
The best golf club for your course will depend upon its surface condition. You might find that a more advanced player like you needs a higher launch angle. In this case, you can also use the same wedge because these clubs are designed to help you get the ball out of bunkers more easily.
Related: How to hit a hybrid club?
How to hit a pitching wedge?
In a pitching wedge, the angle is more open. The pitching wedge is different from the other irons golfers play. It’s unique in the way that it hits the ball. It’s perfect for chipping shots, and for greenside shots as well. It’s a must-have in your golf bag!
The best piece of advice we ever got was to not let full swing shots with our wedges and try to limit them to a maximum of 75% power. We try to bruise the turf with our pitching wedge, departing a little scuff a dollar’s size after the golf ball.
Your pitching wedge is one of your most important clubs for improving distance and accuracy. Your best bet for learning how your wedge will react in different situations is by practicing with it in practice rounds or at the range.
Which loft wedges should you be using?
Final Word
Choosing the right degree wedge to get a perfect distance between clubs may be confusing, but it will become more readable when you start using a custom wedge. The wedges are generally used to drive the ball near the hole and then use a putter to complete the next task. The standard rule for choosing the wedge angle degree is taking all four types in your golf bag. For example, if a golfer picks a pitching wedge with a 460 loft angle, he should carry a 50-degree gap wedge, a sand wedge with a 54-degrees of loft angle, and a lob wedge that is less than that 58-degree. You can also visit our website to get more information about the best wedges for your golf bag.