Finesse Wedge - Single Club or Multiple Clubs?

+Ed C
James Ridyard has a presentation he gave to the PGA teaching and Coaching Summit back in 2015 and he mentioned that 95% of tour players use one (maybe two) club - quoted Jack on this. I'm in that camp - to me easily to develop skills with a club versus have to use multiple - can get my 55 or 60 to do pretty much whatever I want by making some adjustments to ball position, handle height, face, stance width, and arc width - Ridyard videos go into these in good detail as well as how he adapts his stock swing based on lie using three questions - come out higher/lower, fast/slower, more/less spin.

He notes that the "old school" method can work but that no one is really using it on tour as well as when he see it in folks they almost always have issues with the leading edge.

Guy

+Ed C I think there are a couple of lessons to be learned here, but the major lesson is that you'll likely be better at what you practice. Now let me build on your comment.

Around the green, I like to build shots. Similar to a baseball pitcher working on pitches I think it's best to have stock short game shots that you can adjust when hitting shots on the course. Two logical approaches are to either try to keep your swing consistent and adjust the club, or you can keep the club consistent and adjust your swing.

For my better players (sub 10 handicap) I recommend using one club as your default but having a couple of other options for specialty shots. For these golfers, I'll try to teach them how to adjust set up and swing to control trajectory, spin, and distance.
However, I have a number of mid to high handicap golfers who I have work on one short game swing and adjust clubs for different distances. For golfers above 20 handicap, this can be a much easier way to create variability.

The main factors I would use to decide which you should use is the amount of practice you do, some of your short game swing tendencies (all arms or blended arms and body), and if your contact breaks down when you go beyond shaft parallel in the backswing.

Great discussion guys!

+Tyler F
If you are using just one wedge, what degree do you typically recommend?

Nick

+Nick W For most golfers a 54 or 56 is a good starting point. For lower handicap golfers, I'd probably suggest a 58 or 60.

+Tyler F
Thank you! Quick follow up questions.

By better players, would that be ~10hcp and below?

Is there a particular bounce you'd recommend? I think Sieckmann recommended 4 to 7 degrees for the 58 degree whereas Utley recommended 12 degrees for the 58.

+Nick W Depends a little bit. But I would put the better players at low single digit and below. At least the wedge play skills. If you have a hard time controlling loft and angle of attack, then you're better off changing clubs.

Prescribing a number for bounce is tricky. Different shapes have as much an impact as the number. Also, there is no industry standard for bounce, so 10 from one manufacturer could play very different than 10 from another.

I have a 55deg wedge with sub-10 bounce that I use on the fairway and the sand trap. Do you recommend separate wedges for sand and green shots? I play in sand that sometimes is quite fluffy and deep, which in my mind I don't think the pros run into, and also which my sub-10 bounce has more difficulty with the necessary shot i.e. too little bounce and digging. I do open up the 55 in the sand and try to take advantage of any bounce that might add. I would worry about fairway shots with a sand wedge with more bounce. I would need to get rid of one of my wedges to put a sand wedge with bounce into my bag. I have a PW 46, an attack wedge 50, my fairway/sand wedge 55 w little bounce. I'm thinking adding a 58/60 sand wedge with more bounce, getting rid of my tried and true 55 or 50, and use my PW 46 more on shorter shots or my 50 taking the place of it's shots and shorter 55 shots. Maybe I just need to know the quality of the sand for any round and switch between my 55 and new 58/60???

I personally like to have a little bit of versatility. So typically I would have slightly different grind styles for my lob wedge, sand wedge, gap wedge. Also, I sometimes switched out wedges for certain courses. I guess the real question is looking at the gaping at the other end of the bag to see why you can't have 4 wedges. I think finding a way to get a 58/60 in there is a great addition, but I wouldn't like a gap from 50 to 60 or 46 to 56 if those are the only options.