AP2 Gap Wedge Grind?

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By Bill H

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  • 4 Replies
  1. Bill H

    Bill H
    Cincinnati, OH

    I purchased my AP2 irons last year (4-GW), and I hit them all well except for the gap wedge. I have never really been consistent in striking or distance with that club as I just don't seem to make clean contact. It is great for chipping, but that is about it. Yesterday I was playing with a teaching pro who also builds clubs and the couple times I hit my gap, he noticed that it was "bouncing" on me. How can I fix this? Do I need to grind some bounce off of my wedge so it doesn't dig into the turf? Or would bending it more upright like my Vokeys help? (My irons are standard, but my Vokeys are bent 1 up.)
  2. Lou G

    Lou G
    San Diego, CA

    According to the specs, the GW and the PW have the same advertised bounce (7*). My Vokeys are set at a 65* lie angle vs the stock 64 because I am at Yellow Dot or Titleist +1/2* (I have a set of Eye 2 6-PW and DCI 981 4-GW).

    Remember that Titleist standard lie angle is a bit upright on the longer irons and they are spaced 1/2 deg down to the 9 iron. For instance, a Black Dot 5 iron is 60.75 vs an AP2 being 62.

    I wouldn't mess with grinding the sole just yet. For one thing, removing bounce makes the club dig more. Too much bounce causes a tendency to skull or hit thin. You may want to think about bending the gap wedge 1/2 - 3/4 degree upright.

    After all, it IS 1/2 inch shorter than the 9 iron and you may be not making clean contact because it is a bit flat (you're probably digging with the toe of the club and taking a large divot on a softer lie; if you hit on a hard lie or thin mat it shoots off to the right or, if you flex your knees a bit and stand further from the ball,you hit it clean but you pull it about 10 yards left).

    I'm assuming your sand wedge is 35.25" and your LW is 35" and both are set to 65*. I have my 50-08 set to 64.75* (it is 35.5" just like the AP2 W) and the 54-11 and 62-07 are set to 65*. My DCI 9 iron is 35.75" and the lie angle is 64.5* and my Eye 2 is 65*.

    It costs $5 for a lie angle adjustment and what I would suggest is bringing a club that is known to hit straight and noting where the scuff marks are centered on the lie tape. Then have the lie angle on the GW adjusted so its scuff marks match. Dead straight doesn't necessarily mean scuff marks exactly centered on the lie tape (it can also be a degree or two off). I had one fitter show my "straight" club being one tick mark toward the toe.

  3. Les M

    Les M
    Panora, IA

    Bill H said:

    I purchased my AP2 irons last year (4-GW), and I hit them all well except for the gap wedge. I have never really been consistent in striking or distance with that club as I just don't seem to make clean contact. It is great for chipping, but that is about it. Yesterday I was playing with a teaching pro who also builds clubs and the couple times I hit my gap, he noticed that it was "bouncing" on me. How can I fix this? Do I need to grind some bounce off of my wedge so it doesn't dig into the turf? Or would bending it more upright like my Vokeys help? (My irons are standard, but my Vokeys are bent 1 up.)

    I was considering grinding the bounce on a couple of my wedges, however, My fitting professional said I would be upsetting the weight and balance of the club.  Not sure it that was a ploy to make me purchase another club, but it sounded like it made sense so I left them alone.

     

  4. Lou G

    Lou G
    San Diego, CA

    Your pro is right because removing 2 grams of mass loses 1 swingweight point. You would have to change the grip and/or add lead tape on the head to compensate. If you remove 10 grams of mass on the head, that is 5 swingweight points and you would have to go to a Winn Lite (25 gram) grip or Winn Excel RF (42g)and 6 grams of lead tape on the head. If you really want to lower the bounce, you can lower the loft.
  5. Lou G

    Lou G
    San Diego, CA

    In regards to the gap wedge.... if a gap wedge has a flat lie, it will be absolutely fabulous for chipping or half swing pitches but the moment you take a full swing, the ball will not hit correctly or consistently. A perfectly straight shot will have a fairly large divot and you lose distance. If you take a flatter stance and stand further from the ball to compensate for the flatness of the club, you will get great distance but will pull it about 10-20 yards left (depending on how far off the lie angle is). Normal stance will result in a shot that tends right or even seems like a shank.

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