What Wedges Should a Beginner Carry?

Playing the ball across a green and into a hole gives the impression that golf is a straightforward sport. However, the game has a severe learning curve, as anyone who has tried to master it will rapidly discover.

Many novices seek the most costly clubs to compensate for this and play better.

What wedges should a beginner carry?

Wedge clubs come in four main varieties. Gap, sand, pitching, and lob. These clubs have different levels of loft and bounce, but they are all designed for your short game. Your Wedge will fly higher and spin more when the loft is weaker.

For most beginners, a 54-degree sand wedge, a 60-degree lob wedge, and a 48-degree pitching wedge would be excellent.

This selection of clubs offers lots of variety while enabling a novice player to carry many hybrids and fairway woods. For the novice, making the most of the 14 total clubs is crucial to ensure that every distance is covered.

Pitching wedge

woman golf player in action of end downswing of wood driver, after hit the golf ball away from tee off to the fairway ahead, sunset scenery in background

The loft of pitching wedges can differ depending on the manufacturer. Modern pitching wedges have less loft than older ones, which have a greater loft. The modern pitching wedges are also more powerful.

Because the most recent models prefer to de-loft most of the set to strike the ball farther, it is conceivable. However, more distance does not necessarily translate into higher marks.

Sand wedge

Sand and ball can be seen flying as golfer hits from sand trap.

The primary purpose of the sand wedge, a must-have in every golfer’s bag, is to remove the ball from sand bunkers or, as they are more frequently known, traps. The loft’s angle can range from 54 – 58 degrees. Since this is the only shot on the course where you intentionally seek to hit behind the ball, choosing the proper sand wedge is crucial for beginners in golf. There are other strategies for playing out of the traps, which we shall go into later.

Lob wedge

Golf ball being hit or chip by woman golf player from the rough of the fairway to destination winning on the green, target concentrate for winner the score rate

With a loft of 60 degrees, lob wedges are used to recover from challenging positions close to the green. A lob wedge is a finesse club that needs expertise and countless hours of practice to hit confidently, so beginners should steer clear of it.

The short game is about confidence; thus, new players should practice it frequently. Here are some compelling arguments why a novice should refrain from carrying a lob wedge:

  • As the most lofted club in the set, analyzing the distance the lob wedge flies after contact requires a lot of work.
  • Large soles on lob wedges make them burrow into lush or damp turf conditions.
  • However, they slide into the ball’s center since they have the most bounce. The golf ball, as a result, sails low and directly across the green.
  • 90% of amateur golfers will miss the target distance on the approach shot.
  • To comfortably slide the club head beneath the ball and produce spin, they need solid lies on the rough or fairway.

Calculating the distance between clubs for beginners 

If they know the distance, beginners can make every game simpler and more fun. Therefore, you can utilize anywhere between 6-9 meters per club, depending on the expertise obtained.

Any golf instructor or retail establishment can provide information on the irons’ swing speed.

What are the easiest wedges to hit?

You need a forgiving, simple-to-hit wedge that you can feel comfortable playing with till you gain more experience if you want to improve your short game and decrease your scores.

If you’re new to the wedge game, think about your preferences for degree and weight of flex before making a decision. You undoubtedly want your wedge to create extra bounce when striking from the rough and not get trapped in the surface.

Obtain all four varieties of wedges and test them if the situation permits. You should find it much simpler to identify the benefits of each and the finest possibilities to use their potential after gaining some practical experience.

Types of wedges

Like irons, wedges have one of two head types: muscle or cavity backs (aka blades). Muscle backs are less forgiving but give you greater control, while cavity backs are more forgiving.

Even a tiny cavity back can help novices because it can be challenging to hit the sweet spot, even on short shots like chips or pitches.

Now, regardless of whether they have a muscle or cavity back, wedges are often classified by their loft into one of four groups:

  1. Gap Wedge – 50 to 54 loft degrees
  2. Sand Wedge- 54 to 58 degrees of loft
  3. Pitching Wedge – 46 -50 degrees of loft
  4. Lob Wedge – 58- 62 degrees of loft

What to consider when buying a wedge?

You can improve your game’s consistency and precision using the best iron golfs or wedges. However, you can’t choose a wedge at random. Instead, you should pick a wedge appropriate for your knowledge, preferences, and abilities.

Before purchasing a wedge, take into account the points below.

Bounce

It would be best to consider the wedge bounce, the angle formed between the lowest point of the leading edge and sole, and when the ball hits the ground. You could have a controlled stroke and the ideal ball spin with the right wedge bounce.

Quality

You must think about a wedge’s quality before buying one. Your game cannot be improved with a badly made wedge.

A good set of wedges will enhance your play and last a long time. Consequently, you won’t need to change it often.

Loft 

The loft directly affects the amount of distance the ball travels. For instance, a wedge with less loft will let the ball go farther.

Price 

Try to establish a budget before making a purchase. Then, you can balance cost and quality with a set spending limit.

What are the easiest wedges to hit?

The easiest wedges to hit are the lob wedge, gap wedge, sand wedge, and pitching wedge. Although some players like a lob wedge with a 60-degree loft, most novices don’t want one so high.

A decent starting point is a 58-degree wedge. You can select a 48-, 50-, or 52-degree gap wedge based on your level of expertise and the course you play. The pitching wedges range from 46 to 48 degrees, while the sand wedge measures 54 or 56 degrees.

Conclusion 

Make sure the set of clubs you select as a beginner suits your swing speed. The pitching wedge’s loft must be verified in degrees.

Before making a purchase, consider the sand grain of your home club. Later, you can complete the set by adding a gap wedge.

A lob wedge can be added as a final touch. But remember that if you don’t practice with a lob wedge sufficiently, it might ruin your score.