PW vs 50

Re: PW vs 50

Lou G — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 02:26:30 GMT

7* gap is not that hard to manage. I constructed a set of irons in 2009 and there was no gap wedge in the set. My PW was 47 and SW was 55. 25 yard gap on full golf shots. I got rather adept at working a PW. Also, to cover the gap between a full golf shot on a SW and a choked shot on a PW, a pitch with a 9 iron works nicely. My 9 iron is 45* and my 50-08 is bent to 51. My full choke shot with the 9 is the same distance as the 50 (and that is either a full golf shot or a pitch). The 9 iron pitch shot is also the same distance as a choked full golf shot with the 50. You COULD say that I have a "4 wedge setup" since the 9 iron (Ping Eye 2) is only 2 deg stronger than a standard PW.

Re: PW vs 50

Jared I — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 02:01:27 GMT

Its all about how you play the game. Everyone is different in one way or another.

If you are trying to close gaps and become stronger closer to the greens, here is an idea that I have seen a few people use. Take out your 4 iron, and add another wedge. What this does is allows you to close whatever gap/weakness you have in your wedges. Most birdies and close shots at the pin come from your lower iron clubs. Taking out your 4 iron is gonna create a gap in your longer irons that will be a little less than 30 yards.(which is about the normal depth of a green.) You might have to hit an easy 3 or a strong 5 to close that gap, but you will have closed a gap in your wedges.

I personally don't do this. I have played with a few people that do, and it works well for them. Again its all about how YOU play the game.

I play 3-PW(47degree) 51, 56.. 7 degrees to in my opinion would be too large of a gap.

Re: PW vs 50

Lou G — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:10:14 GMT

My irons are Eye 2 6-W. The 9 iron is 45 deg and the W is 48.5. I carry Vokey 50-08 (bent to 51), 54-11 (bent to 55) and 62-07. I do have the luxury of being able to leave out the W but the main reason I keep it in is because it has a composite sole (nice for sand or turf) and it does better on full golf shots vs the 50 (especically on a plush lie).

The 9 and the 50 work better on tight lies. The distance gap is not an issue because I am pretty adept at working short irons (I didn't have a gap wedge in my old iron set - 47 PW and 55 SW).

For instance, my full 9 iron is 120 yards (with a smooth swing). I can choke it down to 100. My 50 hits ~100 yards. My 54 is 80 and my 62 is 55.

The other thing is that I generally don't hit full golf shots with my Vokeys unless it is absolutely necessary. Much easier to pitch a 9 iron 80 yards vs an all out sand wedge.

Re: PW vs 50

Chris92009 — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 15:12:25 GMT

I agree...it will leave a gap. I would suggest 4-5 degrees of loft between clubs in this part of your bag.

Re: PW vs 50

GWOSS — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:36:24 GMT

I carry PW, 50 and 58 in my bag most of the time and love this combination of wedges. I hit my PW around 115-120. I average about 105 yrds with my 50. My 58 goes around 80-85 but I use it mainly to chip and bunker shots.

Truely, only you can answer if the 50 was a bad choice or not. It depends on your course strategy and distance you hit it. I went to a 50 because I wanted a club I can reliably hi around 100-105 yards with a nice smooth full swing. I then play par 5's trying to have a 3rd shot in from around this distance if it's too long for me to reach in two. If I hit a driver into some trouble on a par 4, I try to lay up to about 100 yards and try to save par the hard way.

It really depends on how you use your gap wedge. If you take out the PW, then you will have a larger gap between your iron and gap wedge and will face the same dilemma.

Re: PW vs 50

Jerry S — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:04:22 GMT

Yes, that is going to leave a gap. I carry a 47 deg PW, a 50, 54 and 58. My 9 iron is about 137, my PW is about 125, my 50 is 110, my 54 is 95 . So dropping the PW out would leave a gap of 27 yds between clubs. The bottom line is, whatever gap you create, you have to learn to hit the longer clup choked down or 3/4 to fill that gap. I would keep my PW. I'm trying to get rid of a wedge too and one option is to go PW 52, 58. --Jerry