The "One Wedge" experiment:

[JPsuff]

.

About a week or so ago I posted that I didn't see the need to carry an arsenal of wedges when for years I played my best golf using just "One Wedge" other than my PW, which is essentially a 10-iron anyway.

The last three rounds I've played have been with more or less my "old" setup which is a Driver, 3-wood, 2-PW, SW and a putter. (My "official old setup" used to include a 1-iron, but now I have a hybrid instead).
I can't believe how much simpler things seem now. In the "olden days", I'd use my Sand Wedge for everything short of making coffee and I had a quite formidable short game. After my six-year layoff which ended in 2003, the "New World Order" consisted of three to four wedges and I (like an idiot) bought into the hype and started carrying several of my own and my short game shortly went south.

Now, just playing with the one wedge (a 51 degree with a stock 6 degree bounce custom ground to my liking by me), I feel as if I have freedom again. With the multiple wedge setup, when faced with, say, an 82 yard shot, I'd spend more time thinking about the club than the shot; "Hmm, do I hit a full 55, a strong 60 or do I just back off on a 51?" (My "stock" 80% 51 is around 105 to 110 yards).

Now, I just dial-in something like a "5/8ths" backswing and then just hit the shot. Also, just like in the old days, if I need to make the ball do something like stop short, or run, or just land softly with a "bounce-check", I just manipulate the face or alter the attack or shorten the grip with ONE club rather than adding all of that into the multiple wedge equation along with which club to hit in the first place.

The one wedge setup is definitely "old school" but like they say, "There's no school like the old school" and I'm very happy to have made this change and now be able to focus once again on driving the nail into the board instead of wasting time trying to decide which hammer to use.


Keep it simple, keep it fun.


-JP

[Bigvivec]

I like the idea as well...when I first started to play I had a d, 4w, 2-pw sw and putter...I also bought an arsenal of wedges, but did (and do) decently with them with the Pelz system...recently I started to play pw, 52, 60 and have liked the results, not missing the 56 at all, EXCEPT when I am in a bunker with fluffy sand...so I think that I'm going to go to a 58* with a little more bounce than my 60 and leave it at that...I like the idea of what you are doing JP...I just have to say that while in the end I found 4 wedges excessive, three wedges gives one more "money" position over the more traditional set makeup...by that I mean when making my full "wedge swing" which is actually a three quarter swing at three quarter tempo, how far the ball goes...I find this easily repeatable and have my distances dialed in for the distances with all three wedges which becomes particularly useful when laying up...unless I have more time to practice, there isn't a much easier way to get close to the target consistenly for me than the Pelz system...my problem with the four wedges is all of the overlapping distances and the simple fact that I am not as consistent striking the ball as a four wedge system would have you be to make it truly effective...three is enough...I really feel that many would be better served by playing pitches this way over the "feel" technique, which seems to require more practice to stay sharp with...so count me in with the "new wave", just not with as many wedges as the OEMs would like me to invest in (in the bag anyway!)

[JungleJ]

I carry a PW plus three wedges, at 52, 56, and 60 degrees. I could easily do without the 52 degree wedge since I can back down a bit on the PW for that shot. The 56 deg is my sand wedge and I only really use it for bunker shots - when I'm faced with chipping or pitching it's usually a straight choice between the PW and the 60 deg LW.

I'm considering replacing both the 52 and 56 deg wedges with one at 54 - then I'll have even loft gaps and probably won't be wasting a slot in the bag. Really I need more long game options right now.

[Fourputt]

I'm carrying a 45° PW and a 56° SW. The SW is a Cleveland CG 11 with 14° of bounce, no special grind. My short game is getting better every week now that I too am focused on the shot rather than the club. The PW is my go to club, with the SW as back up for those times where I need the higher arc. I'll never be a flop shot artist so I just don't worry about not having a club for that. I try to make up for that lack with better shot decisions, i.e. avoiding shortsiding myself if possible. When I do put myself in the wrong place, I just suck it up and make the best of it.

[alangbaker]

Originally Posted by JPsuff

.The one wedge setup is definitely "old school" but like they say, "There's no school like the old school" and I'm very happy to have made this change and now be able to focus once again on driving the nail into the board instead of wasting time trying to decide which hammer to use.


Keep it simple, keep it fun.

I think this is one of those areas where a lot of people forget that one of the reasons the pros can carry 3 or 4 wedges and make it work is the amount of practice they do with them. If you only have limited time to practice, then getting really familiar with one wedge is almost certainly a better idea that being minimally familar with 3 or 4.

Ignoring the pitching wedge as you do (and I basically agree that it's not part of the specialized short game wedge family), I carry two Cleveland wedges: a 52 degree, low-bounce wedge that I use for most shots around the green, and a 58 degree wedge with more bounce for use in a few specialty situations.

Basically, unless I'm afraid the club will go right underneath the ball, or if I'm in particularly soft sand, I use the 52 degree. I practice with it a lot and I have a lot of confidence that I know how the ball is going to react with a number of different swings, and because of that, a lot of confidence that if I hit my landing spot, I'm going to put it close. I don't feel that I can be nearly as consistent with the 58, but there are some situations where I want a wedge with more bounce. If I had to do it over again, I probably wouldn't get a 58, but a more normal 56 degree sand wedge in its place.

Then, if I really devoted myself to practicing, I'd add a 60 as my third wedge.

[LockStock666]

1st post.

I'm not a good player so for me limiting my options to what I know will work helps me a lot.

If the ball lies in the light-med rough within short range I'm more than happy as I can get my Sw out. I know I wont go too far wrong as I am confident that i will get the club under the ball and through it, so i hit it well.

For some reason I find short distance pitches from fairway lies (say 30ft from pin) extremely hard to judge and hard to swing correctly. I'm likely to catch the ball wrong and it could go anywhere. I tend to chip with a 6 iron as I know I cant go far wrong with a putting stroke. Thankfully this works well for me.

I think a lot of golfing errs are caused by not feeling confidence with the shot. If I can't hit the ball with vigour then I tend to mess up big style.

[JPsuff]

Originally Posted by alangbaker

...If you only have limited time to practice, then getting really familiar with one wedge is almost certainly a better idea that being minimally familar with 3 or 4.

That's an excellent way of putting it!

And that's exactly how I've felt walking around with three wedges. Like I said, back in the day, all I ever had was a sand wedge and that was it and I was so familiar with that club that I could do almost anything with it.
The ultra-fluffy lie or unusually soft sand was a problem even back then, but I don't recall a situation where it was so much of a problem that I wished I'd had a different wedge. The pro's bomb it so far off the tee that they usually only have a wedge shot left to get to the pin, so having a variety of wedges may make sense for them.

But my driving game is pretty much what it always was (just straighter with the new equipment) and I can occasionally crank a few out past 300 but for the most part I'm in the 270 - 280 range (with the roll) so I have never really had a "bomb" game to begin with so my average second shot is rarely just a wedge anyway.
In my "One Wedge" days I played to a low single digit handicap (as low as 2) and if it worked then, there shouldn't be any reason why it wouldn't work now considering that most of the rest of my game is essentially the same as it was back then.



-JP

[GolfSavage]

Originally Posted by LockStock666

1st post.

I'm not a good player so for me limiting my options to what I know will work helps me a lot.

If the ball lies in the light-med rough within short range I'm more than happy as I can get my Sw out. I know I wont go too far wrong as I am confident that i will get the club under the ball and through it, so i hit it well.

For some reason I find short distance pitches from fairway lies (say 30ft from pin) extremely hard to judge and hard to swing correctly. I'm likely to catch the ball wrong and it could go anywhere. I tend to chip with a 6 iron as I know I cant go far wrong with a putting stroke. Thankfully this works well for me.

I think a lot of golfing errs are caused by not feeling confidence with the shot. If I can't hit the ball with vigour then I tend to mess up big style.

Welcome to Golf Rewound! Hopefully we can help you improve your game, or at least get a little more enjoyment from it!

[xnavyct]

I find myself hardly using my 55* SW at all, just using my 50* and 60* wedges because I'm so much better with those two wedges - especially the lob, which I hit really well in all conditions, even sand. I was resisting dropping my SW out of the bag because I'm supposed to have one, but maybe I don't need to carry one at all after all...actually carry what I use, not what is expected.

[DIETER]

I agree with most people that too many wedges makes things more complicated. I have 3 wedges now - 48*PW, 54* GW, and 60* LW/SW. Before having a bunch of wedges was all the the rage, all I had was a 48*PW and 56*SW and it was all I needed. Since that time, I've changed irons and my wedge set up - I still have a good short game, but it was certainly simpler in "the olden days"......but I just can't get myself to go back.

[JPsuff]

Originally Posted by DIETER

I agree with most people that too many wedges makes things more complicated. I have 3 wedges now - 48*PW, 54* GW, and 60* LW/SW. Before having a bunch of wedges was all the the rage, all I had was a 48*PW and 56*SW and it was all I needed. Since that time, I've changed irons and my wedge set up - I still have a good short game, but it was certainly simpler in "the olden days"......but I just can't get myself to go back.

But that's my point; why did we "leave" in the first place?

I look at it this way: The rest of my game is essentially the same as it's always been except for carrying multiple wedges. I did well in the "olden days" with just a PW / SW. So if that's the case, why the need for all the wedges now?

If, through technology and modern equipment, I was now hitting tee shots in excess of 300 yards on a regular basis leaving more or less 100 yards for an approach shot, then I could understand the need for special wedges: to facilitate adequate height and spin from any lie. This is the "pro" theory because this allows them to "bomb" tee shots and not care too much about where they end up because no matter whether they end up in short grass, rough, or sand, they'll have the appropriate "100 yard club" for the task.

But how many of us "regular folk" actually hit consistent 300+ yard tee shots to the point where multiple wedges are actually necessary? In my case, my tee shots are about as long as they've always been and the effect of technology has really had more to do with accuracy than distance, so my average approach shot for an average par 4 is still pretty much what it always was; between 130 to 160 yards (more for longer par 4's).

So this means that I'm not in wedge range to begin with so there's no real need for multiple wedges -- at least not in the sense of why the pro's have them. And since my short game was fine for over twenty years with just a PW / SW combination, there's no logical "need" for all those extra wedges. If all other things are basically the same (just more accurate) and if I was doing fine with just a PW / SW, then that should work just as well now, as then.

I suppose that if I hadn't taken so much time off from the game, I'd likely have never bought into any of this. But the differences in technology (and mostly marketing and hype) that were evident after the six years I stayed away from the game were such that I actually didn't recognize the game that I knew. And once I realized that the technology wasn't going to have me suddenly hitting 340 yard tee shots, the rest of the "baggage" that was tied to this technology began to seem pointless and more about selling me stuff than offering anything tangible.

I'll admit that I got "sold" some things when I came back and I've spent a fair amount of time wading through it all only to discover that most of it was more promise than purpose. Now that I've "come to my senses" (so to speak), I can take an honest look at "need" versus "want" and for me, all I "need" is what always worked in the first place.


The more things change, the more they stay the same.


-JP

[swerve]

i have a 52, 56, and 60. I use the 52 for pretty much all my greenside shots and only touch the 60 when things are tight.

The 56 has 12 degrees of bounce and I only use it out of the sand.

this setup has treated me quite well when I use it as I described above. but if i get cocky and try to hit flops with the 60 i might as well just put a 10 down for whatever hole i am playing.