Guide

9-iron vs pitching wedge

The pitching wedge is the next club after the 9-iron: more loft, a slightly shorter shaft and usually more bounce, so the ball flies higher, lands softer and goes about a club shorter. In the 51 current forgiving iron sets whose makers publish both lofts, the pitching wedge has 4° to 6° more loft than the 9-iron (a median of 5°), and its shaft is 0.25 in to 0.5 in shorter.

What changes from one to the other

Which one to hit

A full swing into a green: the club whose usual carry matches the distance. If you are between the two, the 9-iron hit easily usually lands more consistently than a pitching wedge forced.

Over something, or onto a green that runs away from you: the pitching wedge. Its extra loft sends the ball higher and stops it sooner.

A chip from just off the green: the 9-iron runs the ball further along the ground and the pitching wedge carries it further in the air. Choose by how much green you have between you and the hole: more green, less loft.

The loft difference matters more than the number on the club: a pitching wedge from one set can have less loft than a 9-iron from another (below). After the pitching wedge, the gap, sand and lob wedges continue the same steps.

Every set's 9-iron and pitching wedge

Current forgiving iron sets, the strongest pitching wedge first, as each maker publishes them. A dash means the maker does not publish that figure.

9-iron and pitching wedge lofts, the loft step, the length difference and bounce, for each current forgiving iron set
Iron set9-iron loftPitching wedge loftLoft stepPitching wedge shorter byBounce, 9-iron / pitching wedge
PING G740 36° 40° 4° 0.5 in 10.5° / 11.1°
Callaway Apex Ai300 37° 42° 5° 0.25 in –
Mizuno JPX925 Hot Metal 37° 42° 5° 0.5 in –
Mizuno JPX925 Hot Metal Pro 37° 42° 5° 0.5 in –
PING G440 37° 42° 5° 0.5 in 11.5° / 13°
PING G440 HL 37° 42° 5° 0.5 in 11.5° / 13°
PING i540 37° 42° 5° 0.5 in 12° / 13°
XXIO 14 37° 42° 5° 0.5 in –
XXIO Prime 37° 42° 5° 0.5 in 4° / 5°
TaylorMade Qi Max 37° 42.5° 5.5° 0.5 in –
Callaway Apex Ai200 38° 43° 5° 0.25 in –
Cleveland HALO XL Full-Face 38° 43° 5° 0.25 in –
Haywood SV.2 38° 43° 5° 0.25 in –
Mizuno JPX925 Forged 38° 43° 5° 0.5 in –
Srixon ZXi4 38° 43° 5° 0.5 in –
Srixon ZXiR 38° 43° 5° 0.25 in –
Takomo 101 MKII 38° 43° (P) 5° – –
Titleist T350 38° 43° (P) 5° – –
Tour Edge Hot Launch C524 38° 43° 5° 0.5 in –
Tour Edge Hot Launch Max 38° 43° 5° 0.5 in –
Tour Edge Hot Launch Max D Ironwoods 38° 43° 5° 0.5 in –
Titleist T250 38.5° 43° (P) 4.5° – –
Cobra KING TEC 39° 44° 5° 0.25 in –
TaylorMade P790 39° 44° 5° 0.25 in –
Wilson DYNAPWR Forged 39° 44° (P) 5° 0.5 in 6.5° / 7°
XXIO 14 Ladies 39° 44° 5° 0.5 in –
Titleist T150 40° 44° (P) 4° 0.25 in –
Cobra KING MAX 39° 44.5° 5.5° 0.25 in –
Cobra Women's KING MAX 39° 44.5° 5.5° 0.25 in –
TaylorMade Qi Max HL 40° 44.5° 4.5° 0.5 in –
Mizuno JPX925 Hot Metal HL 40° 45° 5° 0.5 in –
Callaway Apex Pro 41° 45° 4° 0.25 in –
PING Blueprint S 41° 45° 4° 0.5 in 10.5° / 11.5°
PING i240 41° 45° 4° 0.5 in 11.5° / 13°
TaylorMade P770 41° 45° 4° 0.25 in –
Titleist T100 41° 45° (P) 4° 0.25 in –
Srixon Women's ZXiR HL 41° 45.5° 4.5° 0.25 in –
Srixon ZXiR HL 41° 45.5° 4.5° 0.25 in –
Srixon ZXi7 41° 46° 5° 0.5 in –
Takomo 101T 41° 46° (P) 5° 0.25 in –
Takomo 201 MKII 41° 46° (P) 5° 0.25 in –
TaylorMade P7CB 41° 46° 5° 0.25 in –
Callaway Apex CB 42° 46° 4° 0.25 in –
Callaway Apex MB 42° 46° 4° 0.25 in –
PING G Le4 41° 46.5° (W) 5.5° 0.5 in 11.6° / 12°
Takomo 201T MKII 42° 47° (P) 5° 0.25 in –
Takomo 301 CB 42° 47° (P) 5° 0.25 in –
TaylorMade P7MB 42.5° 47° 4.5° 0.25 in –
Titleist T250 Launch Spec 43° 47° (P) 4° – –
PXG Wildcat 42° 48° (W) 6° 0.25 in 9° / 10°
PXG Women's Wildcat 42° 48° (W) 6° 0.25 in 9° / 10°

Tap a set's name for its full table, 4-iron to wedge, with lie and offset where the maker gives them. PING G Le4, PXG Wildcat and PXG Women's Wildcat call their pitching wedge W.

Why the numbers differ between sets

Makers set each set's lofts for the flight they want from its head. Here the pitching wedge runs from 40° (the PING G740) to 48°, and the 9-iron from 36° to 43° (the Titleist T250 Launch Spec). So the strongest pitching wedge here has less loft than the weakest 9-iron. Compare clubs by loft, not by the number on the sole; the loft chart sets every club of every set side by side, and the wedge loft chart continues past the pitching wedge.