Guide
52°, 56° and 60° wedges: what each one is for
A 52° wedge is a gap wedge, for full swings too short for your pitching wedge. A 56° is a sand wedge, for bunkers and most pitches and chips around the green. A 60° is a lob wedge, for short shots that have to climb fast and stop quickly. Whether you need all three depends on the wedges already in your iron set: 43 of the 51 current forgiving sets we cover come with a gap wedge of 45° to 53°, so after it a 56°, with at most one wedge in between, is usually enough.
What each loft is for
| Loft | Usually called | What it is for | Bounce on the forgiving wedges we cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50° to 52° | Gap wedge (also AW, UW or G) | Full swings from the fairway that are too short for the pitching wedge, and longer pitches. | 10° to 12° |
| 54° to 56° | Sand wedge (SW) | Bunker shots, and pitches and chips around the green. | 10° to 14° (14° is the most of any loft) |
| 58° to 60° | Lob wedge (LW) | High, short shots: over a bunker, to a flag close to the edge of the green, out of thick grass. The extra loft leaves less room for error on a full swing. | 10° to 12° |
Bounce is the angle that lets the sole skid through sand and turf instead of digging; the forgiving wedges page explains it, and the wedge loft chart gives every set's own wedges.
Do you need a 52, a 56 and a 60?
Not usually, if you play a forgiving iron set. The 52-56-60 trio fits a pitching wedge of about 47° or 48°, with even steps of 4° to 5°. Forgiving sets have stronger lofts: their pitching wedges run from 40° to 48°, and 43 of the 51 come with a gap wedge already. With a 56° on top:
- 30 sets leave room for one wedge between, at about 52°: Callaway Apex Ai300, Mizuno JPX925 Hot Metal, Mizuno JPX925 Hot Metal Pro, PING G440 HL and 26 more.
- 16 end on a wedge of 50° or more, so a 56° follows it directly: PING G740, XXIO 14 Ladies, Cobra KING MAX, Cobra Women's KING MAX and 12 more.
- Five end on a 49° wedge, a step of 7° to a 56°: one more wedge would leave two steps under 4°, so take a 54° in place of the 56°, or keep the 56° and the bigger step (Srixon ZXi4, Cobra KING TEC, TaylorMade P790, Wilson DYNAPWR Forged and Titleist T100).
A 60° is a fourth wedge for most of these sets. Add it when you face high, short shots often enough to practise them; otherwise the 56° plays most of those shots, with more bounce on the wedges we cover.
50° or 52°?
Take the loft that sits 4° to 6° above your set's last wedge. After a pitching wedge of 45° or 46°, that is a 50°. After a gap wedge of 47° or 48°, as in most forgiving sets, a 52° keeps the steps even. After a gap wedge of 50° or more (PING G740, XXIO 14 Ladies, Cobra KING MAX and 13 more), you need neither: your next wedge is a 54° to 56°.
54° or 56°?
Choose by the wedge below it. After a 48° gap wedge, a 54° is the one wedge that keeps a 6° step, while a 56° asks for a 52° between. After a 50° wedge, either fits. On the forgiving wedges we cover, the 56° has 12° to 14° of bounce, as much as any loft they make, against 10° to 14° on the 54°; more bounce helps from soft sand and for a steep swing.
56° or 60°?
If you carry one wedge after your set, make it the 56°. It plays bunkers, pitches and chips, and on the forgiving wedges we cover it has 12° to 14° of bounce against 10° to 12° on the 60°. A 60° straight after a 48° gap wedge leaves a 12° step, twice the widest even step. The 60° earns its place as an extra wedge for high shots over a bunker. The Cleveland Smart Sole Full-Face is not made in 60°; its lob wedge is 64°.
58° or 60°?
Count from your sand wedge: after a 54°, both a 58° and a 60° keep a 4° to 6° step; after a 56°, a 60° does and a 58° is only 2° away. The forgiving wedges we cover in 58°: the Cleveland Women's CBX 4 ZipCore (12° bounce), the Cleveland Smart Sole Full-Face (bounce not published), the Cobra KING-X (12° bounce), the Callaway CB 12 (12° bounce), the Cleveland CBZ (12° bounce), the Cleveland Women's CBZ (12° bounce) and the Cleveland CBZ Full-Face (10° bounce). In 60°: the Tour Edge Hot Launch Max D (bounce not published), the Cleveland Women's CBX 4 ZipCore (12° bounce), the Cobra KING-X (12° bounce), the Callaway CB 12 (12° bounce), the Cleveland CBZ (12° bounce), the Cleveland Women's CBZ (12° bounce) and the Cleveland CBZ Full-Face (10° bounce).
For the wedges themselves, with prices and every loft and bounce side by side, see the forgiving wedges. To check the lofts of the whole bag you carry, use the bag check.