This observation has stuck with me since I purchased my
first wedge and now I want to present this to WGT for consideration to more accurately
portray wedge play in the game as compared to that of the actual sport of Golf.
My observation/inconsistency lies in the yardage and
nomenclature of the wedges that can be purchased in the WGT Pro Shop. I will focus
on the Cleveland Wedges as these are the ones I play and from what I have seen,
are played by a lot of others in the game. Most of what I present is not gospel
for every golfer/for every course but is typical for the average Pro on an
average course in compliance with Rule 4-4 that restricts carry to 14 clubs. From
an article presented by Golfsmith, one of the leading companies of “Build Your
Own Clubs” today, stated, "Many big hitters carry four wedges because their longer drives often lead to a variety of shorter approach shots." Another example of carrying four wedges could be when a course has lots of heavy rough around the Greens.
I did a little research on what clubs, focusing on wedges,
the Pros carry most consistently with this result; Most PGA Pros today carry 3
to 4 wedges which includes the PW (typically around 48° loft). The other variable
exist on the other end between carrying a 3-Iron or a Hybrid or both. The absolute part is that Pros
are careful not to leave any big distance gaps between clubs and definitely avoid
carrying two clubs that hit the ball approximately the same distance. So
the consistent clubs are a Driver, 3 Wood, 4-9 Irons, and a Putter. This is
where my observation comes in.
On WGT, the Cleveland 588 52° Wedge (L26+) has a posted
average distance of 105 yards. Commensurate level Iron Sets’ Pitching Wedges
are posted between 90 to 110 yards. Not until Level 59 with the PING G25 Iron
Set do you have a PW that is posted at 115 yards. Since on WGT we have to carry
the PW, carrying a 52° wedge would violate the second “Avoid” in the previous
paragraph, carrying two clubs that hit the same distance. A similar
circumstance occurs when you upgrade the Cleveland 588 52° Wedge at Level 74
with its posted distance of 115 yards. At these upper levels, the PWs range
from 110 to 120 yards with the only exceptions of TalyorMade L75 and L79 sets
at 125 yards. Most players on WGT, from what I have seen, therefore carry the
64° “Uber” LW as their 4th wedge. (Of this year’s winners on the PGA
Tour, only Jim Furyk carried a 64° wedge.)
I have a couple of suggestions, again, to more accurately
portray the “live” game of Golf. First, which I think would be easy to implement,
still sell the PW and 3I with a set, but allow them to be switched out with the
other optional clubs for a total of 7 optional clubs instead of 5. I could
replace my PW with a 52° wedge and get better control for the same distance. I
think this would boost the sale of the 52° wedges as well as the Bag that lets
you have 4 different sets of clubs. Tailoring what you carry for a CTTH round
to a High Wind/Low Trajectory round at St George’s to a normal day at
Congressional sounds very appealing!
The second suggestion, which would be harder to implement because
of the already purchased wedges, would be to change the distances on the
wedges. This would better represent what the 52° wedge truly is and that is a “Gap
Wedge”; bridging the gap between the 48° PW and 56° SW.
Sorry this was drawn out but I appreciate the read and the
consideration to what I think would make the game just a little bit better.
V/R
Jimmy D.
Jordan Spieth
The Masters
Driver: Titleist 915D2 (9.5 degrees, Aldila Rogue 60 TX
shaft)
3-Wood: Titleist 915F (15 degrees, Graphite Design Tour
AD-DI7 X shaft)
Hybrid: Titleist 915Hd (20.5 degrees, Graphite Design
Tour AD-DI 95 X shaft)
4-9 Irons: Titleist AP2 714 (True Temper Project X 6.0
shafts)
46-Degree Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM5 (True Temper Project
X 6.0 shaft)
52-Degree Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM5 (True Temper Project
X 6.0 shaft)
56-Degree Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM5 (True Temper Project
X 6.0 shaft)
60-Degree Wedge: Titleist Vokey SM5 (True Temper Project
X 6.0 shaft)
Putter: Titleist Scotty Cameron 009
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x