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Set Wedges - What is your take?

SuperStroke
And this is a perfect example of why I so much dislike these categories people are hung up on. What makes a club a "players club"? A tour pro using it? They are players, right?

FWIW, companies dont look at a line and say "these are players irons, therefore we will not include other wedges". They do it based on launch angles, that lead to the lofts of the clubs. Since the company will have a 48* (or so) PW due to the launch seen by most, there would be no reason to have an approach wedge offered.

TaylorMade did that due to a recent influx in "players irons" launching higher and therefore having lower lofts. Just as Callaway did with the Apex line of clubs and a few others.
 
I love my set AW for similar reasons you described. My SW and LW have always been dedicated wedges for me probably more for a looks perspective than most people, but also for the benefits of opening and closing the face on shots around the green. They are almost never full swing shots.
 
I love the GW that came in the set but didn't know that there may be others available. I have always just felt more comfortable with non set wedges for sand and lob. I would change my set before giving up my Vokeys
 
Set wedges have never bothered me down to the Gap. Haven't really seen a need to go to the sand wedge. In my CB3's the gap is a solid performer for me.

JM
 
Current set doesn't offer a gap wedge or lower. Not sure if I would use it anyways. Previous set (cb3's) had a gap wedge that I rarely bagged. I very rarely use it for full shots and I prefer a "normal" wedge. Guess its just personal preference, I really don't see the need for added forgiveness in a club like that personally.
 
In 2012 I was playing X-12's that did not have a gap wedge and had too many shots that year that was in between my PW & SW (set wedges) at 100-110 yds and it really cost me score wise, in 2013 when I decided on Ping G20's and having always used a set SW, I decided to kick the 3i and 4i out in favor of the UW and SW and it paid off as I played my best golf last year. I also won Adams Tom Watson 60* on a facebook contest so I got to play with that loft w/o investing money to see if it would work out and was happy with the results, and a few weeks ago I ordered a Vokey SM4 60* and my gaps are PW 45, UW 50, SW 54 & Vokey 60* and cannot wait to get out there again when the snows melts and it dries up enough to swing the sticks.
 
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Good topic James. I'm a huge fan of the set gap wedge as it allows me to use it as an 11 iron basically from distance, which helps with consistency. I also use it for shots around the green, but mostly chipping. I've even taken some longer sand shots with it. Certainly not a club I open up from a tight fairway lie though.

I've pondered the i20 SW numerous times. Recently went with the J40 because I liked my 56˚ that I had two sets ago. The i20 ponder is still in the back of my mind though. Part of me likes the idea of another forgiving wedge. Plus the high bounce on a set wedge makes it attractive for those times I find myself in actual soft sand. I do try different shots with this club, like hitting a flop or recently I've been messing around with the toe-down chip. Nothing that couldn't be accomplished by switching to a higher lofted club though. Generally speaking this is just during practice. I stick to the LW for the high stuff and generally club down if I need a chip to start rolling earlier. Jury is still out on this one for me. I'm definitely not against the idea.

The LW slot is the only one where I find myself gravitating to a more traditional wedge shape. I tend to hit open faced shots with this club a little more often than others as well, so heel relief is helpful. I know I could have a set wedge ground down at the manufacturer though, so I can't rule it out completely, but I'd have more trouble going away from a traditional wedge in this spot.
 
I actually prefer to have a set GW....I am currently playing the AW with the Altitudes and it's just a natural progression from the PW.

I do use some loft manipulation with other shots with SW and LW so I have standalone wedges for those clubs...however, I would not be opposed to a SW and LW from a set as well.
 
I have the AW (50*) in my rocketbladez set and the SW (55*) no LW, I can hit the PW max 140' SW max 110 so I needed something to fill that gap so got the AW and I swear it's a completely different feel than either the PW or SW it's heavier at the bottom so it has not developed into the consistent shot making club from 125 that I want. The AW I'm more prone to hitting fat or bleeding right with. Not to say every shot I hit with it is bad I still pull it when it's that shot but I'm not confident in it, the club literally feels much heavier than anything else in the set.
 
Generally, I am a big fan of the set gap wedge as it is basically the pitching wedge of yore. Just bought new AP1 714s and went with both gap wedges 48 and 52. I thinks it's great to have consistent feel as far down the line as possible and will generally try to match shafts even in the specialty wedges.
 
The simple answer for me is I'm used to using GW and SW that are blades. Don't even know if titleist do an AP2 SW but the GW just looks to clunky compared to what I'm now used to.
 
Jman said:
I agree with this entirely, and I was guilty of this for a long time (until the i20 testing), too many automatically go to a 3 bladed wedge setup because that is what they see other doing, a GW can be a game changer IMO.
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That testing thread is what 1) pushed me to i20s and 2) pushed me toward going with the i20 UW, which is my favorite/most dependable club. I will most likely always stick to a set gap wedge, mostly because 99% of the time it is a full swing club for me and I don't fair too well with blade style wedges with those shots. I do love my SCORs though, offed the 50* in favor of the i20 UW though.
 
#Cookie said:
For TM the exception would be that the TP CB's do have a AW. Of course, you may consider the CB's to be GI....they are more players irons to me with my ability. :)
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Tadashi70 said:
I gamed the GW in my R11s and had no issue with it. It was actually very nice to have the predictable distance between the PW and GW in th set. It stayed low when I needed it to and it could be played high. It was an all around solid addition to the bag.

correct me if I am wrong, but the 'wedge set' gap wedge is more commonly found in GI and SGI sets. Player irons don't typically even create one. Cobra might be the exception to the rule with a GW in their Amp Cell Pro irons. But TM and Cally both don't have a 'set' GW offered in their player irons.

Since a great majority of golfers like the thin top line. Not having a GW in the set problably never crossed their minds.
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Callaway Apex Pros have a set AW and I absolutely love it
 
jlukes said:
Callaway Apex Pros have a set AW and I absolutely love it
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Again, the norm is for traditional players irons to be devoid of a 'set' AW. ie. mp14, xforged, 714 MB,j40 CB. The new player game improvement clubs that folks have to call players irons apparently have a GW
 
Some set wedges are pretty decent. I agree with you and others that the GW is now part of the set since a lot of us play it as a full shot club. When it gets tricky for me is the specialty shots.

Once I get into the SW/LW area I'm playing shots with open stance, open face. Playing shots standing the club up or using a lot of bounce. Just shots that most set clubs can't perform because of grind.

With that said, I think I could play set SW/LW if the grind matched my game or if I could order them in the grind I prefer.
 
GoldenBear67 said:
In 2012 I was playing X-12's that did not have a gap wedge and had too many shots that year that was in between my PW & SW (set wedges) at 100-110 yds and it really cost me score wise, in 2013 when I decided on Ping G20's and having always used a set SW, I decided to kick the 3i and 4i out in favor of the UW and SW and it paid off as I played my best golf last year. I also won Adams Tom Watson 60* on a facebook contest so I got to play with that loft w/o investing money to see if it would work out and was happy with the results, and a few weeks ago I ordered a Vokey SM4 60* and my gaps are PW 45, UW 50, SW 54 & Vokey 60* and cannot wait to get out there again when the snows melts and it dries up enough to swing the sticks.
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I also play the G20 wedges all the way through the Lob. My short game has improved 100% since I started with this set-up. Even out of the bunker I have made my best shots ever.
 
Thanks to the feedback from this thread (and some shots I made with the G15 UW yesterday), I've decided to make the leap to set wedges through the bag. Going 4-LW with the G15s, which I just put in my bag after playing 9 holes with them again yesterday.
 
Posted in the i20 thread but put the set SW in play for the last two rounds and thinking about going with the LW as well... Need a little more time with the SW before committing though. Not sure I'm willing to give up the versatility of the J40 in the LW slot.
 
The couple of times I've hit set wedges they just didn't agree with me as much as separate wedges. Beyond a gap wedge I prefer a heavier look & feel that I've found with separate wedges.
 
I didn't normally like set wedges, but I really like the Rocketballz AW.
 
I'll be moving towards a set SW permanently I think, for the MC I'm gaming a set and non-set together, but the benefits of the set SW to me are starting to outweigh a non for what I'm going with my game. Namely being able to full swing it.
 
If Bridgestone would smarten up and make a dpc SW and GW I'd buy them on release day.

If they sold to Canadians that is.
 
If I could do it over again, I would probably get a set 48* and 52* in my bag then maybe go different for the SW depending if I went 56 or 58.

Oh, pondering does get me in trouble...
 
ArmyGolf said:
If Bridgestone would smarten up and make a dpc SW and GW I'd buy them on release day.

If they sold to Canadians that is.
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Hell I'll buy em for ya and you can give me the cash! Set GW's are the shizz, my CMB GW is one of my favorite clubs, just so versatile, and on full swings with a decent lie I can just pepper the flag.
 
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