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Bag setup: More wedges or more woods/hybrids... what do you carry... and why?

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BluesManDan

BluesManDan

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I've been experimenting with carrying fewer wedges lately. I used to carry:
1. a 60 LW,
2. 56* Low Bounce SW,
3. 52* GW, and
4. my PW.

And I carried just a 3w and a single hybrid.

But I've changed my bag setup recently.
I've switched from 4 wedges and 2 fairway woods/hybrids to 2 wedges and 4 fairway woods/hybrids.

My reasoning is this: I had 100yds and in amply covered with all the wedges... I hit the LW 80yds, SW95yds, and GW105yds, PW115yds, but found my bag lacking in the 190-220yd space. With that, I also started to find the 60* too spinny (all check and no roll) so I took it out and just started using the 56*SW instead of it. Then I went several rounds without even using the 52* except for a few pitches where I wanted a little more roll than the 56* would offer. Seems I never found myself at the 105yds I would hit the 52* in a full swing. Out of the bag she goes.

So now I'm just carrying the 56* SW and my PW... using the 56* for 95yds and in, and the PW everything outside that (I carry it 115 on a typical full swing). Using less wedges means I can carry more hybrids or woods... I've been carrying PW-4i... the 4i I carry around 185, and then I have a 190yd high launch 21* 5w, a 200yd 19* 5w, a 220y 18* hybrid, and my 3w. So my current bag setup is...

1. Driver 230-280yds
2. 3w 230-250yds
3. 18*hyb 220yds
4. 5w 200yds
5. 5hl 190yds
6. 4i 185yds
7. 5i 175yds
8. 6i 162yds
9. 7i 152yds
10. 8i 142yds
11. 9i 130yds
12. PW 115yds
13. SW 95yds
14. Putter

I think this covers yardage gaps fairly well. And supposedly good players try never to leave themselves without a full swing shot.... so for example, don't hit driver on the shorter par 4 to leave yourself at 65yds in, but hit a 3 or 5 wood to leave yourself a full wedge instead). If you manage the course in that way, then you don't need all the extra wedges, and you're covered on all the higher yardage gaps where you might find yourself. (Special Note: I've looked at a couple of good rounds that the Pros have posted on Gamegolf, to see how they managed the course, and sure enough, that's what they seem to do... full shots only.)

Just wondering how other players approach the problem...
 
I have 4 of each (4 wedges, 2 W, 2 Hy), not sure why you have 3 clubs that basically cover 15 yards (5W/5H/4I 185-200) and 4 that cover 175-200 and then have 3 clubs cover 130 yards and in (9I/PW/SW).

Personally I would pull one of those clubs and throw in another Wedge that would get 105 yds but that is just me.

BluesManDan said:
I've been experimenting with carrying fewer wedges lately. I used to carry:
1. a 60 LW,
2. 56* Low Bounce SW,
3. 52* GW, and
4. my PW.

And I carried just a 3w and a single hybrid.

But I've changed my bag setup recently.
I've switched from 4 wedges and 2 fairway woods/hybrids to 2 wedges and 4 fairway woods/hybrids.

My reasoning is this: I had 100yds and in amply covered with all the wedges... I hit the LW 80yds, SW95yds, and GW105yds, PW115yds, but found my bag lacking in the 190-220yd space. With that, I also started to find the 60* too spinny (all check and no roll) so I took it out and just started using the 56*SW instead of it. Then I went several rounds without even using the 52* except for a few pitches where I wanted a little more roll than the 56* would offer. Seems I never found myself at the 105yds I would hit the 52* in a full swing. Out of the bag she goes.

So now I'm just carrying the 56* SW and my PW... using the 56* for 95yds and in, and the PW everything outside that (I carry it 115 on a typical full swing). Using less wedges means I can carry more hybrids or woods... I've been carrying PW-4i... the 4i I carry around 185, and then I have a 190yd high launch 21* 5w, a 200yd 19* 5w, a 220y 18* hybrid, and my 3w. So my current bag setup is...

1. Driver 230-280yds
2. 3w 230-250yds
3. 18*hyb 220yds
4. 5w 200yds
5. 5hl 190yds
6. 4i 185yds
7. 5i 175yds
8. 6i 162yds
9. 7i 152yds
10. 8i 142yds
11. 9i 130yds
12. PW 115yds
13. SW 95yds
14. Putter

I think this covers yardage gaps fairly well. And supposedly good players try never to leave themselves without a full swing shot.... so for example, don't hit driver on the shorter par 4 to leave yourself at 65yds in, but hit a 3 or 5 wood to leave yourself a full wedge instead). If you manage the course in that way, then you don't need all the extra wedges, and you're covered on all the higher yardage gaps where you might find yourself. (Special Note: I've looked at a couple of good rounds that the Pros have posted on Gamegolf, to see how they managed the course, and sure enough, that's what they seem to do... full shots only.)

Just wondering how other players approach the problem...
Click to expand...
 
I'm carrying 2 fairway woods for the first time in 20 years. It's all about the gaps. Normal carry distances.

Driver - 260
3+ Wood - 250
4 wood -234
4 iron - 205
5 iron - 192
6 iron - 180
7 iron - 169
8 iron - 158
9 iron - 148
wedge -138
Gap -127
SW - 112
60* - 91
 
4 Wood
4 Hybrid
4 Iron

PW
GW
SW
LB 58*
LB 60*
 
mancest said:
I have 4 of each (4 wedges, 2 W, 2 Hy), not sure why you have 3 clubs that basically cover 15 yards (5W/5H/4I 185-200) and 4 that cover 175-200 and then have 3 clubs cover 130 yards and in (9I/PW/SW).

Personally I would pull one of those clubs and throw in another Wedge that would get 105 yds but that is just me.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have noticed that the gap between the 4i and the 5hl is only 5 yds. I have considered shortening the 5hl a little bit, to make it more accurate, and just removing the 4i from the bag... and then carry 3 wedges and 3 woods/hybrids. I also have a 19* hybrid that i hit about 210, and it could be useful too at times. The problem that I see with carrying lots of woods/hybrids is the tradeoff in accuracy... that is, at 220 yards out, I'm fairly likely to miss the green short or left or right or long. So I could just as well hit a 200 yard club, since I'm most likely going to have to pitch it on anyway. It's not playing the odds to think you're gonna hit the green with that particular yardage, so having wider gaps in your yardages over 180yds probably doesn't matter much.
 
2. 3w 230-250yds
3. 18*hyb 220yds
4. 5w 200yds
5. 5hl 190yds
6. 4i 185yds

I find this a little strange, why do you have clubs that are so close together in distance? Seems like that 5 hybrid and maybe even that 5 wood is out of place. My set up is below to give you an idea of my spacing.

Driver - 230-240
3 wood - 220
3 hybrid - 200-210
4 hybrid - 190
5 iron - 175-180
6 iron - 165
7 iron - 155
8 iron - 145
9 iron -135
PW - 120-125
AW 50* - 110-115
SW 55* - 85-95
LW 60* - about 75
 
5Deep
Heavenwood
4 Hybrid
4 Altitude

PW
DW
56* Wedge

Hoping come spring that some clarity is reached regarding the top of my bag, with the hopes of adding to the bottom of the bag.
 
It really is ok to play with less than a full rack of 14 in your bag.

If you play the same course or group of courses regularly, think about what your really need to navigate around the course(s) given the conditions for the day & set up the bag accordingly.

I'm starting the year with a minimalist setup of 7 clubs - scores haven't varied much (from the Senior Player's tees the course is 6336 / 70.2 / 133), I can throw the bag over my shoulder and walk without killing myself, & I'm really enjoying it. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I really believe we overthink this stuff.

Best wishes for a great season.
 
More wedges for me. Id rather have more options around the green in the scoring area than to have my woods or hybrids.
 
I'm not getting into my carry yardages. But I go:

Driver
4wood
4h
4i-PW
50°, 54°, 60°

I do not have a distance issue. I have a short game issue. I like full swings with wedges, just not full out swings with wedges. I also do no believe that good players avoid partial swing shots. I would think that really good players would want those because of trajectory creativity.
 
I carry 4 wedges and 3 woods. I'm not much of a hybrid guy. And with most par 4's, I'm hitting my approach shot with a wedge in hand, which is why I carry 4 wedges to cover more yardage on approach shots. I'm more comfortable being able to take a full swing with a 60* to 105yds than choking down on a 56.
 
I have a;
4 wood
3 hybrid
3 iron
50 degree wedge
54 degree wedge
58 degree wedge
62 degree wedge

And I switch them all in and out of the bag, depending on the course difficulty and set up.
 
4 wedges (PW, AW, SW, LW) and 3 woods (Driver, 3W, Heavenwood) here. No distance gap issues with my current setup!
 
Driver
3Deep
46/52/56/60/64 for wedges

I need more wedges for my game as distance isn't an issue. The gap between my 3Deep and 4 iron is definitely a gap but I don't worry about it. I don't go after greens if I am over 240y out unless it is wide open with tons of room for error. Therefore, I would rather have a ton of options around the green to help me score.
 
BluesManDan said:
Yeah, I have noticed that the gap between the 4i and the 5hl is only 5 yds. I have considered shortening the 5hl a little bit, to make it more accurate, and just removing the 4i from the bag... and then carry 3 wedges and 3 woods/hybrids. I also have a 19* hybrid that i hit about 210, and it could be useful too at times. The problem that I see with carrying lots of woods/hybrids is the tradeoff in accuracy... that is, at 220 yards out, I'm fairly likely to miss the green short or left or right or long. So I could just as well hit a 200 yard club, since I'm most likely going to have to pitch it on anyway. It's not playing the odds to think you're gonna hit the green with that particular yardage, so having wider gaps in your yardages over 180yds probably doesn't matter much.
Click to expand...

Agreed 100% on anything over 200 yards, that is why I prefer to have another wedge at the bottom. I would prefer to have bigger gaps the farther out I am, and tighten up the gaps at the bottom of the game but we are all different.

Play whatever makes you happy, but for me I like having more options inside 100 yds.
 
I have 3 woods and 4 wedges. A gap at the top is easier to deal with than a gap at the bottom.
 
I hate the whole never leave yourself less than a full wedge crap. The farther away you are the harder it will to be close as long as you put the smallest amount of practice in. Unless you are playing a course with rock hard fast greens where a half wedge won't stop on the green please do yourself a favor and get as close to the hole as you can. A 5* offline shot from 45 yards will be sooooo much closer than a 5* offline shot from 115.

And to answer the question I have 46, 49, 54, 60. Looking to dump the 60 for 58 since I just kind of mixed and matched with some of them and the gaps aren't perfect. I almost never use the 60, all about half shots with the 54
 
when i got serious about golf, i carried pw, gw, sw, and lw at the bottom, and d/3w/5w at the top. then i felt like i had too many options with wedges and i was making bad decisions, so i went gw and sw. but after awhile, i found that the shots that matter most are shots inside 125, and having to finesse those shots in made the margin of error unacceptable for my skillset so it was better to have lots of full-swing options. now i'm actually at 5 wedges that cover 130-90y very comfortably.

obviously people should play whatever they want and just have fun with it. i don't understand the rationale behind crowding the top of your bag. being just a hair off with those clubs can lead to pretty big dispersion in distance and/or direction. my fw is about 30y shorter than my driver, and my 4h is about 20-30y shorter than that, with my 5i around 15y shorter than 4h. i get that i could add clubs to cover those gaps at the top, but how consistently do i really hit those clubs? just doesn't make sense to me.
 
I go Driver, 3W, 3H, 4-PW, 48, 54, 60.

I'd prefer to have more scoring options then distance options. But if one struggles with distance I could see loading the bag with distance clubs.
 
Driver 275
3 wood 245
2 driving iron 230
4 iron 215
5 iron 205
6 iron 195
7 iron 185
8 iron 170
9 iron 155
Pw 145
48* wedge 135
53* wedge 120
57* wedge 110

I try to get 10-15 yards between clubs to make sure I'm covered from top to bottom. When they are too bunched together, you aren't utilizing your tools to the best possible efficiency. Just my two cents


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I carry technically 2 FWs, Bertha Mini 1.5 and a TEE 4W and then 4h, 5h, 6h, then PW, GW, 54*, 58*. I tried using a 56* wedge to replace the 54 and 58 but it just didn't work out well for me. My sig is my current bag set up. Everything gaps well and the only part that needs work is the person swinging the clubs, lol. I am not a long hitter so my 4W is my 200 club.
 
BluesManDan said:
Yeah, I have noticed that the gap between the 4i and the 5hl is only 5 yds. I have considered shortening the 5hl a little bit, to make it more accurate, and just removing the 4i from the bag... and then carry 3 wedges and 3 woods/hybrids. I also have a 19* hybrid that i hit about 210, and it could be useful too at times. The problem that I see with carrying lots of woods/hybrids is the tradeoff in accuracy... that is, at 220 yards out, I'm fairly likely to miss the green short or left or right or long. So I could just as well hit a 200 yard club, since I'm most likely going to have to pitch it on anyway. It's not playing the odds to think you're gonna hit the green with that particular yardage, so having wider gaps in your yardages over 180yds probably doesn't matter much.
Click to expand...

I think this is what I would do if it were me, and go PW, 54, 58. You could bend your current wedges if it doesn't mess the bounce up too much.
 
I prefer more wedges. I like full swing with most wedges and versatility for shots including non full swings with wedges. There are distances at the top of the bag I don't need because I'm not going for a green usually in the 235+range.

i saw a star last year from Cleveland golf that 13 hdcp use 3+ wedges and 18 hdcp uses two on avg. I am sure it will vary by pro buy I would venture to guess that most have 4 wedges.
 
I carry 4 Mack Daddy Wedges and a PW....sooooo. With that said, I'm one club over the limit anyway. I've thought about dropping a wedge and 4 iron and putting in an addition hybrid. Money though is the reason for that not happening as of yet.
 
Just added a 52* to go with PW,AW and 56*. But also carry 5/6 h and 5w. Still only 12 club total, so there is room for more. Wanted 52* to be more delicate around the green.


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