Choosing the right wedges for your game.

With all the options available in the stores, how do you choose what wedges to carry in your bag to best optimize your short game? We’d like to help you sort this out.

Know your lofts.

The first step is to really know the lofts of your short irons and the wedges that are in your bag. Many manufacturers are “jacking up” the lofts to fool you into thinking their irons hit the ball longer than the competition’s. But what good does it do for your game if you lose your scoring clubs because what used to be an 8-iron now has a “9” or even “P” on it? The traditional pitching wedge has 48-49 degrees of loft. If your irons are a cavity back design, yours probably has less. You need to know this.

Analyze your gaps.

One of the most valuable exercises you can do is to accurately and honestly learn exactly how far you can comfortably hit each of your short irons and wedges on the fly. Only if you know your exact yardages can you determine where your gaps might be too large to facilitate efficient scoring. For your best golf, you’ll want no more than 12-15 yards between full swing distances at the scoring end of your set. We’ve written a book called “The SCoR Method” to show you how to do just that with a great degree of precision.

Selecting the right wedges for your game.

Most golfers will have a very large distance gap between their pitching wedge and their sand wedge. That should be filled with the addition of a 50-52 degree “gap wedge”. It will be one of the most valuable clubs in your bag.

If your irons have a “jacked up” pitching wedge, you might find you also need a “true” pitching wedge of about 48 degrees in addition to the gap wedge. This will give you more precision when you’re in prime scoring range.

For most golfers, your primary scoring wedge will probably be a “sand wedge” of about 56 degrees. (EIDOLON calls this our “mid wedge”.) This loft and the right bounce can help you hit a variety of shots, making it your “go to” club for most recoveries around the greens. The key to this club is versatility and your confidence.

“Lob wedges” can be very valuable scoring tools, especially if your course has deep greenside bunkers and firm and/or elevated greens. But mastering the lob wedge takes time, so be sure to spend plenty of practice time with it if you add one to your bag.

See the EIDOLON V-SOLE solutions