How many wedges do you carry? If it’s more than three, you should be practicing a lot. For 90 percent of golfers, two wedges are enough. And here’s why: Extra-high-loft wedges, 60 to 64 degrees, cost most golfers more strokes than they save. Let’s look at these by loft:
64 degrees or higher: Don’t even think about it unless you come to my school, play golf six days a week (tour player?) and/or hit about 100 balls per week with this club.
60 to 62 degrees: Same verdict as the 64, but if you insist, select a 58 or a 60 with fairly low bounce, probably 6 degrees or less. One caution here: You will have a strong tendency to hit these wedges short. Because of this, you will want to hit them too hard. Seventy yards is a good max distance. In addition, forget the flop shot. I teach the mock flop, which works and is fairly easy, but unless you are willing to hit at least 100 per week, like Tiger and Phil, it won’t work.
Gap wedge 50 to 52 degrees: Here is the logical choice for a third wedge. It’s excellent for those 80- to 90-yard pitch shots and long bunker shots, and is an excellent chipping club. It’s easy to hit and usually is the right choice when you pull it out of the bag.
