Functions and Usage of Wedges

You tee off from the tee a good distance. Then, you are about to reach the greens and you want a club that will help you travel around the 100 yard mark. A pitching wedge alone is of little use and as many as four wedges could be added to your armory. The wedges give a loft of about 45 degrees and upwards which gives the maximum height and trajectory.

Sand Wedge

A sand wedge gives you a very low angle through the wide sole it has. Sand traps and bunkers can be overcome using a sand wedge. The bounce from the ground when the ball is hit with a wedge will be about 15 degrees and this angle can help you scoop your ball out of the bunker. The sand wedge is said to be invented by Gene Sarazen who won several tournaments in the year 1935 although there was information about these wedges three years before being used by Gene Sarazen.

Various alloys make up the clubheads and clubfaces and face inserts are used a lot on the face of the edges. The rust that collects over on the wedge heads alters their look and this is deliberately done. Wedges can also help you have lesser roll on the surface. There are special grooves on the face of the clubs that help you have good feel and result of the shots.

Gap Wedge

Wedges also are intended to hit more distances by the altering of the loft of the wedges. Those who make wedges have constantly tried to overcome limitations on those wedges. Hence, come the gap wedges. The loft is significantly reduced which adds on to the distance, and after the pitching wedges, gap wedges are sure to take a lot of distance on impact.

Pitching Wedge

A Pitching Wedge, on the other hand, is the one that takes the highest loft of 45 degrees and more. These wedges can hit anywhere between 90-120 yards. The distance and the loft vary only by five degrees between each wedge. The angle of the loft starts above 5o degrees and extend something over the mid-fifties. The loss in distance to the previous might be over a ten or twenty yards.

The name pitching wedge comes from the fact that these types of wedges with the kind of loft they have, actually fill the gap between the pitching wedge and the sand wedge.

Lob Wedge

A high lofted wedge of about 57 degrees upwards can score only around 60 yards. They can raise the ball off the surface and get to the greens in no-time. You can use this wedge to hit shorter distances with a good swing.