3 or 4 wedges?

[orlimar]

What do you think is better: 3 or 4 wedges? I can't decide. I'd prefer the four: 48(pw)/52(gw)/56(sw)/60(lw) to the 3: 48(pw)/54(sw)/58(lw). But I would also like a hybrid to fill the gap between my 3 iron and my 3 wood. I can't choose both, because I am only allowed to carry 14 clubs. Wedges are your most important clubs, but do I really need 4?

What do you think?

[jhazelton]

For me, the decision is based on the loft of the PW. In my last set, I have a 48 degree PW. With it, I carried a 54 and a 58 degree wedge.

My new set has a 46.5 degree PW. I now carry 52, 56, and 60 degree wedges.

I don't own any hybrids, but I will switch between my 5 wood and 3 iron depending on what I figure I may need that particular round. (wind conditions, course layout, etc.)

[Kilroy]

Long hitters benefit from extra wedges. 4 full swing clubs inside 140 yards.
Short hitters don't need 4 full swing clubs inside 100 yards.

[Colby]

I moved from 4 wedges to 3 wedges late last year and I've been happy. My PW is 48 and I carry a 53 and a 58, so 5 degrees between my wedges. It's allowed me to put the 3 iron back in the bag.

[jeffc]

but not so much for the distance aspects.

I have a 45 PW, 51 GW, 56 SW and 60 LW. I rarely hit the SW or LW from the fairway. The sandwedge I hit mostly from the sand. The lob wedge, when I need to get it up in a hurry (usually around the green). The PW I hit 130 yds and the GW about 100. I also use the GW a lot for chipping.

This works for me. Your mileage may vary.

[Kilroy]

I took the lob wedge out and have been more consistant with just opening the sand wedge for the flop. I found I had carried the lob for a dozen rounds this spring and never touched it. I don't miss it. It's gathering dust with my 3 iron, I have a 7 wood instead.

[el tigre]

What do you think is better: 3 or 4 wedges? I can't decide. I'd prefer the four: 48(pw)/52(gw)/56(sw)/60(lw) to the 3: 48(pw)/54(sw)/58(lw). But I would also like a hybrid to fill the gap between my 3 iron and my 3 wood. I can't choose both, because I am only allowed to carry 14 clubs. Wedges are your most important clubs, but do I really need 4?

What do you think?

There is no right answer - it is a personal preference.

My advice is to buy the hybrid you want and play with 15 clubs until you feel you are ready to decide which club to get rid of. You might even decide to keep them all and just substitute different clubs in and out of the bag depending on the course.

Scores from rounds played with 15 clubs are acceptable for handicap purposes (but you would be disqualified in a tournament). Unless you have a few $$$ riding on the game I wouldn't worry about it too much. As a recovering club junkie, it is the one rule in the book that I have habitually ignored.

[fmanning]

I grew up playing with only a pitching wedge & a sand wedge. That always did me just fine. I added a lob wedge once, a while back, but found that I never used it. Around the green, I always use either my putter, my 8-iron, or my sand wedge.

This year I have a set of s59 irons, and the wedge is 47*. I added a 52* and a 56*, and they work well. The wedge I use for shots around 130-140. The 52* is good for about 115-130, and the 56* is good from 100-115.

I too am tempted to get a hybrid that will take the place of my 3-iron. I have a 2 & 3-iron, but I haven't been hitting them very well. I tried a hogan 3h, and it was amazing, although it went significantly further than the 3iron. I'm thinking a 4h or 5h would do me just fine. That being said, I find that in the rounds that I have played this year, I have hardly hit any of my high irons. With the distance I have off the tee, I wind up using my mid or short irons much more than my long ones. Only time I put a long iron in my hands is on the tee for short par 4's or long par 3's.

[davevandyk]

I have been carrying 4 wedges for all of this year, but i have now decided to remove the sw in favour of putting the 3iron back in the bag. I find that i use my LW almost exclusively from around the green and i find it relatively easy to hit 3/4 shots with my GW to fill the gap.

[el tigre]

Long hitters benefit from extra wedges. 4 full swing clubs inside 140 yards.
Short hitters don't need 4 full swing clubs inside 100 yards.

I think a lot depends on how comfortable you are with 1/2 and 3/4 swings, and which clubs you prefer in certain situations. IMHO, high-handicappers generally benefit more from 4 wedges than 3 because they are usually less skillful at executing less-than-full swings.

Tiger Woods is certainly a long hitter, and he only carries three wedges. His PW is basically used as a 10-iron. He uses the 60* LW for most greenside bunker shots and his 56* SW for most shots inside 100 yards. But with each club he can open or close the face, hit 1/2 or 3/4 swings, knockdowns, flops, whatever - stuff that us mere mortals can't do.

[JWWRMA]

I used to carry 4 but I dumped the gap wedge and use a choked down PW instead. Far better results for me. I agree with the person who said carry as many clubs as you want and then weed them out once you have decided. The other consideration is where you play. I used to play a course with 2 sharp doglegs that left 100 into the green. I picked up the gap for that course and left it at home for other courses.

Love the hybrids. I have a Hogan 2H that I can hit high to land soft or low to run. Can't get much better than that I would think. Looking for a 3H now. Got any?

[TheNextTiger]

In addition to the PW from my Titleist DCI 762 irons, I've been carrying a 53, 56, and 60. I've been very happy with this set-up which gives me many more choices from inside 130 and around the green, and I havent really missed taking a wood out of the bag

[covanant]

My setup has 3 wedges.
A pw,sw and a 60*which rarely gets pulled.
I find this club the hardest to master
Funny thing is out in my back yard,i can execute perfect flop shots with those plastic balls?

[davevandyk]

I carried 4 wedges, until i recently had the GW broken over my knee!! But i found that i didn't really use the SW very often when i had 4 wedges.