In our forums, our members have been reacting to one user’s experiment with gaming 4+ wedges. WRXer ‘Ty_Guy’ begins the discussion outlining his most recent setup, saying:

“PW is an iron, not a wedge for the sake of discussion. 

I’ve been using a 4 wedge setup over the last month. Something new that has been working quite well, but has been difficult weighing the cost/benefit. Have you dabbled with an extra wedge? When you do, is it worth losing the slot at the top of the bag?

I use PW (45), 48, 52, 56, 60. The 48 has a matching iron shaft and 52-60 is a conventional wedge shaft build. Previously, I had always used PW, 50, 55, 60. With 3 wedges, the 50 would be full and chip, 55 does everything, and 60 is only finesse shots.

With 4 wedges, the roles change up a bit:

48 – Full swing

52 – Full and partial

56 – Partial

60 – Partial/finesse

I am no longer taking full swings with a SW. This has been helpful. I also have discovered I like the 52 much more than the 50 with chip shots. The real crux of the change is the 48. It’s become essentially an 11 iron. With my one length 37″ PW and traditional Cobra 3DP PW (both at 45), these will be 135-140 full swing clubs. The 48 carries about 125. So I’ve switched to about 10 yard gaps in my PW, 48, and 52 (110). I really like this new setup for approach shots, gaining a one or two more GIR on Par 4s.

Though with any bag change, something has to leave for a club to come in. I now play about 25 yards between my top to longest clubs. Something like 3w at 240, 7w at 215 then 5i at 195, depending on what setup I like that day. This makes for a couple more 7w/4h swings each round. There are more variables to what constitutes a successful fairway wood shot vs a successful short iron shot, so I haven’t reached a confident conclusion whether or not one less longer club is equal to a conventional setup.

My iron sets aren’t fully ‘players distance,’ but they are toeing that category. I’d like to know if others have tried shaking up  the 2 long clubs, 3 wedge traditional bag setup. Maybe the entirely opposite way? 3 fairway woods and a 52 & 58!”

And our members have been weighing in with their thoughts and own experiences in response.

Here are a couple of posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

• gioguy21: “You actually are using a 5 wedge setup currently including your 45* pitching wedge. I don’t take 100% swings with my 50* either – and the 56/60* i definitely don’t take full shots. IMO you’d be better suited with 45, 50, 55, 60. four total wedges including pitching wedge. it all depends on gapping – not just for your shorter yardages with wedges, but also the top of your bag so you’re not missing a gaping hole between say a 3w and 4i.”
• golferdude54: “I went 46/50/54/58/62 and dropped the 3-wood to do so; top of bag is driver then 18* hybrid. My last 3 wedges’ bounce and grinds are interchangeable depending on the course. It is really nice to have so many options around the greens.”

Entire Thread: “Finding success with 4-5 wedges – GolfWRXers discuss”