Filling in the Gap

[figjam]

I understand where Dave is coming from with having less clubs, but not sure Seve is a good example. Seve was the best short game player ever, and could get up and down from anywhere with any club in the bag. He also played in an era when the gap and lob wedge didn't exist so all major winners back then only had pw and sw. I'm sure if he played now he would carry the extra wedges.

But Dave still makes a good point that you should learn how to play the standard clubs before adding specialty clubs.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

I understand where Dave is coming from with having less clubs, but not sure Seve is a good example. Seve was the best short game player ever, and could get up and down from anywhere with any club in the bag. He also played in an era when the gap and lob wedge didn't exist so all major winners back then only had pw and sw. I'm sure if he played now he would carry the extra wedges.

But Dave still makes a good point that you should learn how to play the standard clubs before adding specialty clubs.

... and in Dave's defense, I will provide another example more from my era and geographic location. Tom Watson was of the same mindset IMO.

Again, I fully respect and understand and could likely even agree with what dave. indicated, although not at the expense of my game. Quite simply that logic and ability does not match how I play or view the game. I very well could be the exception.

 

[Eracer]

I don't see any real need in having a SW if you have a 58 or 60 degree lobber. I couldn't however, do without a Gap Wedge.
I have standard PW, gap wedge and lob wedge and think that is the best way to go, imo..

You'd better change your thinking if you ever come to Florida. Anything less than about 13-degrees of bounce, and you will be spending extra time in the sand.

 

[dave.]

Lol,it wasn't just Seve,every player in th world had only 2 wedges! We heard stories in the early eighties abou the odd player who carried 3,but it really is a modern thing.I am not against it,I carry 3,because I am very consistent with them all.I am just advocating you stick with 2 until you are very consistent,this will help around the greens.there is simly no point having multiple options to chip with when you hve no idea how to play each shot and how the ball wil spin.

I agree you should use all 14,I fill my spare slot with a specialist higher bounce 56 SW because the sand around here is fluffy,and I wanted my 58 to have low bounce.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

I am just advocating you stick with 2 until you are very consistent,this will help around the greens.there is simly no point having multiple options to chip with when you hve no idea how to play each shot and how the ball wil spin.

I could certainly full heartedly agree with this with how I play. Again, I usually like to keep it simple on chips and just practice and play with my 8i and GW for about 80-90% of my chips. The other portion is usually odd chips where the pin is maybe tight and little green to work with, or chipping onto a downhill running green. Although I carry a LW, I learned a long time ago that it is a very bad club for me to chip with, and produces very poor results for my chipping technique. So even when the pin is tight I may go to a SW, but not the LW. I would even prefer slightly opening the face on the SW over using the LW for how I chip. I would even rather take the risk of running the ball past the hole and giving me a longer uphill putt, over the all to common LW chip that would either end short of the green or way above the pin. I realize I just don't have a feel for being able to chip a LW past the hole, so it is better to just commit to leaving it in the bag for anything less than a longer pitch.

So with that in mind, while I carry 4 wedges counting my PW, as mentioned earlier the 52* is really the only wedge I use a great deal for chipping. For me the value of the wedges come into play for what I mentioned earlier, more easily filling the gaps and giving me more options with fewer swing variation to get me to the green. Probably a real big reason I would advocate both a 50* and a 55*. My 52* is likely the most used club in my bag next to the putter. I couldn't see living without that club. Now in the grand scheme of things, I also feel I need something with more loft than a 52* for other parts of the game. If I turned that 52* into even a 54* to limit to 1 wedge, I doubt I would find the club nearly as useful, and quite honestly my chipping would suck really bad.