What Degree is a Pitching Wedge?
For amateurs, there remains a healthy amount of confusion about the loft angle of the wedges in their golf bag.
When it comes to the pitching wedge, golfers don’t understand how the club’s loft affects their approach and chip shots from inside 120 yards.
More golfers need to look at the club as their primary approach wedge, but they often use it around the green for pitch and chip shots.
In this article, we’ll diffuse some myths about the pitching wedge and provide accurate information to help your short game and shots from the scoring zone.
Pitching Wedge Loft Degree
The pitching wedge has a loft between 44 and 48 degrees. Unlike the gap, lob, and sand wedge, it is typically included with the main iron set, so there’s no need to buy it alone.
With this approach wedge, the club is better from a distance, especially over 100 yards for most golfers.
Although it’s known as a wedge, the pitching wedge utilizes its loft on full swing approach shots.
But the face is large enough to hit pitch and chip shots around the green with a deft touch due to the fact it carries more loft than a 9 iron, the last club in the bag for the general iron set.
Choosing the Right Pitching Wedge Loft
When choosing the loft angle for the pitching wedge, golfers should understand how the ball comes out at each loft setting.
Starting at 48 degrees, the ball will come out higher with more spin. A pitching wedge at 44 degrees will have lower flight and less spin but more distance.
Another area where golfers need to look at their pitching wedge loft comes with the short game.
On pitch shots, the pitching wedge works really well on the golf course because it carries a larger sweet spot and doesn’t need a large backswing to get the distance for pitch shots on longer attempts.
Comparison of Wedge Types
In addition to the pitching wedge, you should consider three additional wedges for your golf bag.
A gap wedge carries more loft than a pitching wedge at roughly 52 degrees, while a sand wedge holds more loft at around 56 degrees along the face.
Once you know that a lob wedge carries 60 degrees of loft, you can certainly understand why the golf club gets the ball into the air quickly, but that immediate launch causes the lob to travel the shortest distance out of the entire wedge set.
Determining Personal Pitching Wedge Loft
When looking at your next wedge for the bag, you want to make sure there’s a nice yardage gap for the pitching wedge between the gap wedge and your 9 iron.
If you decide to go with a club with a loft of 48 degrees, you’ll also need to push the loft on the gap wedge.
As with any high-lofted club, you’ll need to spend time hitting the club to understand its height, length, and spin since it primarily sends shots into the green.
Importance of Loft in Pitching Wedges
The loft of a pitching wedge determines the height, spin, and distance of your shot.
For amateurs, the rule is simple: lower lofts mean greater distance, while a higher lofted pitching wedge only offers more height and spin on full swings.
So, a pitching wedge with a loft of 44 degrees will provide a lower launch on approach shots than a wedge with a loft of 48 degrees.
Loft angle certainly matters with all clubs, but it matters more when discussing a lofted wedge and the yardage gapping between it and your 9 iron.
When to Replace a Pitching Wedge
You don’t have to replace a pitching wedge as often as other wedges. You primarily use a pitching wedge from the fairway or light rough, so it’s not doing as much heavy lifting as the sand wedge.
By extension, you aren’t flattening the grooves of the club as quickly as other wedges in your bag.
Replacement for Age
While it is easy to see you need to change the grip on your four wedges, it’s harder to see when the performance of the grooves is costing you spin.
If the face looks flattened or the grooves have differing widths, then it’s time to change them out.
We recommend replacing your irons every four to five years, primarily because of technological improvements and the fact that most golfers are simply getting older.
The new technology will help most weekend warriors hit the ball higher and farther than their current everyday iron set.
Think of your pitching wedge as one of your irons and replace it with your iron set.
Replacement for Loft
Another reason for replacing your pitching wedge comes from a problem with the loft created by the manufacturer.
If you feel that your pitching wedge doesn’t offer the proper yardage gapping, you can replace it with a more appropriate wedge or have a professional bend the lofted club to meet the new requirement.
What Degree is a Pitching Wedge FAQs
Is a 52 degree wedge the same as a pitching wedge?
No, a 52-degree wedge is known as a gap wedge in your golf bag.
Better for full shots than a sand or lob wedge, the gap wedge delivers more distance with a high to intermediate launch angle.
This wedge is a great club for shots inside 100 yards. It is also the right club for mid- and high-handicappers who need more control over shots in the scoring zone.
What is a 60 degree wedge called?
A 60-degree wedge is called a lob wedge. With the highest, lofted wedge back possible, the lob wedge is an essential short game club for experienced golfers.
Great for bunkers and deeper rough, this wedge provides high spin and launch on full shots, plus the ability to stop pitch shots cold on shorter shots due to its loft and groove system.
Is a 56 degree wedge the same as a pitching wedge?
No, a 56-degree wedge is known as a sand wedge.
At this loft, the sand wedge is excellent for bunker shots and any other shots in the sand where the ball needs to come out high with spin.
The sand wedge also provides bounce to help amateurs get the leading edge under the ball to lift and bounce it out of trouble, such as deeper rough near the green.
What three wedges should I carry?
Every golfer should carry a gap wedge, sand wedge, and lob wedge.
While a pitching wedge is technically labeled as a “wedge,” it goes with the standard set, so essentially, it should be considered with the rest of your irons.
The three listed wedges offer an exceptional feel around the green to help you get the golf ball close to the cup. They also have larger hitting areas with a full groove system to impart high spin onto the golf ball.