New gap wedge - what club to leave out now?

BoardsMember

Hi. I'm about to order a new set of irons. I consider myself a good iron player, so in a bit of a quandary about what to put in the bag, or what changes to make from my current bag.

Currently I have driver, 3 wood, 19 deg rescue, 24 deg rescue, 3-PW, SW (54), LW (60), putter. I swap the 24 rescue/3 iron depending on time of year.

My new purchase is going to be 4 to PW.

My quandary is whether to buy the matching gap wedge. I have never carried one before. The set I'm buying is custom fit & will be 1 degree strong. So it probably makes even more sense to have the gap wedge.

Then that leaves me with having to leave out either 3 wood, which I dont want to do, the 24 degree rescue which can be really handy, or the lob wedge. Couldnt leave the 19 out as its a great club for tight/short driving holes.

I think the 24 deg rescue might have to go.

Is the sand wedge at 54 the right loft. The gap wedge will be 1 degree strong, so 50 deg in reality. Should I think of maybe going for a 56 deg SW and dropping the LW?? I am confused, I know there is no right and wrong but am aware others might have had a similar conundrum so would appreciate any helpful comment.

newport2

BoardsMember wrote: »

Hi. I'm about to order a new set of irons. I consider myself a good iron player, so in a bit of a quandary about what to put in the bag, or what changes to make from my current bag.

Currently I have driver, 3 wood, 19 deg rescue, 24 deg rescue, 3-PW, SW (54), LW (60), putter. I swap the 24 rescue/3 iron depending on time of year.

My new purchase is going to be 4 to PW.

My quandary is whether to buy the matching gap wedge. I have never carried one before. The set I'm buying is custom fit & will be 1 degree strong. So it probably makes even more sense to have the gap wedge.

Then that leaves me with having to leave out either 3 wood, which I dont want to do, the 24 degree rescue which can be really handy, or the lob wedge. Couldnt leave the 19 out as its a great club for tight/short driving holes.

I think the 24 deg rescue might have to go.

Is the sand wedge at 54 the right loft. The gap wedge will be 1 degree strong, so 50 deg in reality. Should I think of maybe going for a 56 deg SW and dropping the LW?? I am confused, I know there is no right and wrong but am aware others might have had a similar conundrum so would appreciate any helpful comment.

I have a similar set up to you.

Driver, 3-wood, 19 deg rescue, 4-PW, GW (50deg), SW(54 deg) & LW(58deg).

I have a 22 degree rescue which is out of my bag, as I hit it in between my 19 degree and 4 iron. I find it easy to take a bit off the 19 deg if I have to. Is a 24 deg rescue not a 5i replacement? Is this not covered by your irons?

http://www.taylormadegolf.eu/Rescues/Rescue/Rescue_Specifications.aspx

Mr. Larson

BoardsMember wrote: »

Hi. I'm about to order a new set of irons. I consider myself a good iron player, so in a bit of a quandary about what to put in the bag, or what changes to make from my current bag.

Currently I have driver, 3 wood, 19 deg rescue, 24 deg rescue, 3-PW, SW (54), LW (60), putter. I swap the 24 rescue/3 iron depending on time of year.

My new purchase is going to be 4 to PW.

My quandary is whether to buy the matching gap wedge. I have never carried one before. The set I'm buying is custom fit & will be 1 degree strong. So it probably makes even more sense to have the gap wedge.

Then that leaves me with having to leave out either 3 wood, which I dont want to do, the 24 degree rescue which can be really handy, or the lob wedge. Couldnt leave the 19 out as its a great club for tight/short driving holes.

I think the 24 deg rescue might have to go.

Is the sand wedge at 54 the right loft. The gap wedge will be 1 degree strong, so 50 deg in reality. Should I think of maybe going for a 56 deg SW and dropping the LW?? I am confused, I know there is no right and wrong but am aware others might have had a similar conundrum so would appreciate any helpful comment.

I think it's very personal and depends on your course/ability but for what it's worth, here's what I have & what I do.

1. Driver 10.5º
2. 3 Wood 15º
3. Hybrid 21º
4. Hybrid 24º
5. Ping G10 4i
6. Ping G10 5i
7. Ping G10 6i
8. Ping G10 7i
9. Ping G10 8i
10. Ping G10 9i
11. Ping G10 PW
12. Ping G10 SW
13. Clevelend CG12 50º (Gap)
14. Clevelend CG10 54º (SW)
15. Clevelend CG12 60º (LW)
16. Putter

That's obviously 2 too many.
I have the G10 SW out of the bag permanently. (Actually come to think if it, I don't know where it is!)
There is some overlap between the 24º Hybrid and the 4i but I'll often keep both in the bag as I have different uses for them.
Playing at home I drop the Hybrid 21º in favour of keeping both the 24º and 4i and 4 Wedges as that suits at home. I will need the 4i off the tee on two Par 4's on the back 9 and the 24º will be hit for anything over 190 from fairway/rough.
Occasionally I will hit the 3 Wood from the tee (on one hole only)or from the deck if going for a Par 5 in two but rarely used as the Par 5's are mostly out of reach or not worth going for, definitely the most under-used club in my bag but like to have it there for some reason.
Playing away I will drop the 4i in favour of the 21º as generally other courses are wider and longer than mine and I need to bridge the gap between the 3 Wood and the 24º.

Clear as Mud... jesus

BoardsMember

newport2 wrote: »

I have a similar set up to you.

Driver, 3-wood, 19 deg rescue, 4-PW, GW (50deg), SW(54 deg) & LW(58deg).

I have a 22 degree rescue which is out of my bag, as I hit it in between my 19 degree and 4 iron. I find it easy to take a bit off the 19 deg if I have to. Is a 24 deg rescue not a 5i replacement? Is this not covered by your irons?

http://www.taylormadegolf.eu/Rescues/Rescue/Rescue_Specifications.aspx

Thanks for the response. What do you play off?

The 24 degree would be more like a very well hit 4 iron for distance from what I can make out. I dont know if it is the shaft, head weight etc, but it is definitely stronger than a 5 iron.

So I think I have my answer, drop the 24 degree rescue!

But, apart from the comparable distances, the 24deg can be hit from a whole host of lies (bare lie, heavy grassy lie, wet and muddy), and worked left to right much more easily than a 4 iron.

Sometimes I think my 19 is quite close to my 3 wood and much more reliable, I must pace it out some time.

Mr. Larson

Jabberwocky wrote: »

I think it's very personal and depends on your course/ability but for what it's worth, here's what I have & what I do.

1. Driver 10.5º
2. 3 Wood 15º
3. Hybrid 21º
4. Hybrid 24º
5. Ping G10 4i
6. Ping G10 5i
7. Ping G10 6i
8. Ping G10 7i
9. Ping G10 8i
10. Ping G10 9i
11. Ping G10 PW
12. Ping G10 SW
13. Clevelend CG12 50º (Gap)
14. Clevelend CG10 54º (SW)
15. Clevelend CG12 60º (LW)
16. Putter

That's obviously 2 too many.
I have the G10 SW out of the bag permanently. (Actually come to think if it, I don't know where it is!)
There is some overlap between the 24º Hybrid and the 4i but I'll often keep both in the bag as I have different uses for them.
Playing at home I drop the Hybrid 21º in favour of keeping both the 24º and 4i and 4 Wedges as that suits at home. I will need the 4i off the tee on two Par 4's on the back 9 and the 24º will be hit for anything over 190 from fairway/rough.
Occasionally I will hit the 3 Wood from the tee (on one hole only)or from the deck if going for a Par 5 in two but rarely used as the Par 5's are mostly out of reach or not worth going for, definitely the most under-used club in my bag but like to have it there for some reason.
Playing away I will drop the 4i in favour of the 21º as generally other courses are wider and longer than mine and I need to bridge the gap between the 3 Wood and the 24º.

Clear as Mud... jesus

I would never be without the 4 wedges basically. I'm more comfortable hitting a full shot from 100/110 yards with a GW as opposed to an easily hit PW. I'm not good enough to do the latter.

newport2

BoardsMember wrote: »

Thanks for the response. What do you play off?

The 24 degree would be more like a very well hit 4 iron for distance from what I can make out. I dont know if it is the shaft, head weight etc, but it is definitely stronger than a 5 iron.

So I think I have my answer, drop the 24 degree rescue!

But, apart from the comparable distances, the 24deg can be hit from a whole host of lies (bare lie, heavy grassy lie, wet and muddy), and worked left to right much more easily than a 4 iron.

Sometimes I think my 19 is quite close to my 3 wood and much more reliable, I must pace it out some time.

8

There's about 20 yards between my 3 wood and 19 deg, and about 20 between my 19 and 4i. But I find it's much easier to vary the lengths of the 3w and 19deg than irons, gripping down a bit to take a bit off or even a 3/4 shot, so these two gaps are quite easy to fill.

If I was told I could only have 13 clubs it would be tough to take another out though!

BoardsMember

Thanks newport & jabberw for the responses. I'm deffo leaning towards keeping 4 wedges and then deciding based on course & conditions what to include. I can be sure of one thing, whichever one I leave out of the bag is the one I'll need most during the round!!

PhilipMarlowe

I have a 14.5 degree 3 wood and 2 rescues - 19 and 22 degree. Usually I leave out the 3 iron.
I have added an extra 56 wedge (today) and my plan is to leave out the 19 degree rescue. Ultimately I want to replace the 3 wood with a slightly easier to hit version (R11S). A bit more loft at 15.5 degrees and probably can adjust it to have a wee bit more. A shorter (more reliable) 3 wood then and the more versatile rescue is the plan. I think that will suit me because I'm not playing a lot currently and need things to be easier
My P wedge is 49, Gap is 53, New 56 with higher bounce (11) and 59 degree lob for sand. I think the very odd time I'll regret not having a 19 degree hybrid in the bag but the extra wedge should get regular use.

kagni

BoardsMember wrote: »

Thanks for the response. What do you play off?

The 24 degree would be more like a very well hit 4 iron for distance from what I can make out. I dont know if it is the shaft, head weight etc, but it is definitely stronger than a 5 iron.

So I think I have my answer, drop the 24 degree rescue!

But, apart from the comparable distances, the 24deg can be hit from a whole host of lies (bare lie, heavy grassy lie, wet and muddy), and worked left to right much more easily than a 4 iron.

Sometimes I think my 19 is quite close to my 3 wood and much more reliable, I must pace it out some time.

The bit in bold above doesn't make any sense.
If you hit the hybrid so well why would you drop it for a 4-iron that you admit is harder to hit but even when hit well goes the same distance as the hybrid.

Why not keep the hybrid and go for a 5-Gap Wedge set?

My set is Driver, 4-wood, 7-wood, 25*hybrid, 5-PW, GW, SW, LW.

BoardsMember

kagni wrote: »

The bit in bold above doesn't make any sense.
If you hit the hybrid so well why would you drop it for a 4-iron that you admit is harder to hit but even when hit well goes the same distance as the hybrid.

Why not keep the hybrid and go for a 5-Gap Wedge set?

My set is Driver, 4-wood, 7-wood, 25*hybrid, 5-PW, GW, SW, LW.

Good point. And one that did not escape me. I suppose I like bot clubs. If I'm on a tee and it's a 4 iron distance I'll hit the 4 iron. If I'm not feeling 100% swing wise I like to have the option of the 24deg. I must measure the distances actually. If I had to guess I'd say the 24deg is almost a 3 iron with the 19deg stronger again. It's all guesswork. Anyhow, when buying the new set I'd never start at 5iron. Imagine going to a lovely links course in summer with no 4 iron!!!