Luke is an avid weekend-warrior golfer from the East Coast who plays golf more than he cares to admit.
Ask any golfer and they will say that it is their pitching wedge that has gotten them out of the most strife on the golf course. The pitching wedge is a super versatile club that every golfer should have in their arsenal.
They provide the control and loft of more refined wedges as well as the drive and distance of 9-irons. Think of your pitching wedge as the bridge between your set of irons and your set of wedges – they can do no wrong.
One thing that is useful to know about not just your pitching wedge, but all of your different clubs, is the degree to which their face sits at.
Learning the degree of your pitching wedge will help you to understand it better, and, subsequently, make you a better golfer. We hope you’re ready to get informed on all things pitching, and all things wedges.
What Is A Pitching Wedge?
Although it is named as such, most iron sets come with a pitching wedge as standard. This is because they are often used for similar shots to a 9-iron, where gaining distance to the green is still necessary.
They are a very good club for doing chip shots around the green and hitting long approach shots. If you get good at using a pitching wedge, they can also be a handy club for hitting pitch shots at close range.
This versatility can be put down to its shaft length, loft, as well as the golfing level of the golfer who is using one.
Gripping further down a pitching wedge’s shaft than its grip when taking a short shot will ensure you good control of the club. It will also minimize your chances of hitting further than you intended.
What Is A Pitching Wedge’s Degree?
In golf, the degree at which a club face sits is known as the loft. If a golf club has more loft, that is the same as saying it has a higher degree.
In a standard golf set, the pitching wedge is the club with the most degree loft. Although the pitching wedge’s degree can vary depending on whether they are part of a set, or specialized, in general, they come with between 46 and 52 degrees of loft.
This really does depend on the manufacturer, so make sure you are in the know on each golf club’s degree loft before purchasing one.
This degree means they are great for hitting a shot with height. Height to say, travel over a ghastly bunker, a precarious pond, or particularly nasty ruff (grass).
However, this degree also ensures you the distance to travel over such obstacles (unlike the lob wedge). Think of your pitching wedge’s degree as the sweet spot between height and length, and this will put you in good golfing stead.
When To Use A Pitching Wedge?
As we previously mentioned, the pitching wedge is a super versatile club. It is the most wedge because it is the most versatile. The further you go down the wedge-collecting rabbit hole the more specialized each of your wedges will get.
The pitching wedge isn’t like that. It services almost all sections leading up to the green, and dare we say it, but no golf club set is complete without one.
You can use it for a wide variety of pitches, full shots, and chips. Quite often, the clubface of a pitching wedge comes with a little bounce.
This bounce allows the club to slide under the ball comfortably and get it moving through the air without a qualm about it (that’s the idea anyway).
You can use a pitching wedge down the fairway at close range. You can use it in the rough to get you out of no man’s land and back onto the fairway.
With a little practice, you can also use it to chip up onto the green at very close range, but this isn’t exactly what it is intended for.
They are particularly good at offering up the perfect combination of spin and distance, while also serving you plenty of control to keep your game nice and tight.
On account of their spin, experts have even been known to use a pitching wedge for difficult lies around the green.
What Other Clubs Offer High Loft?
As you are probably aware, the pitching wedge isn’t the only golf club that offers high loft. Even the 9-iron and the 8-iron have, what is considered in the sport, a high loft.
Any club that sends a ball up into the air in an arching line is considered a club with a high loft.
On the wedge side of the equation, you have the sand wedge, the lob wedge, and the gap wedge which all offer a good deal of loft to send that ball flying high.
However, and just like the pitching wedge, these short-game wedges don’t come with a standard degree loft.
It really does depend on who is making them, as every manufacturer has their own take on what is the perfect loft for a particular style of a golf club.
Talking to your local pro shop about your game is paramount to finding a set of clubs that feels like a little bit of you. There is little point in spending thousands on a premium golf club set that is not designed for your level of golf.
The age-old tried and tested saying “less is more” is very relatable to golf – sometimes simplifying your golf clubs to just a handful will improve your game tenfold.
However, if there’s one club that should always be in the arsenal, it’s the pitching wedge.
Conclusion
The pitching wedge is a super versatile golf club that is called on by pro and amateur golfers alike for getting them out of strife.
With knowledge comes power, and now that you are up to speed on pitching wedge degrees, we hope very much that you can put it into practice across all corners of the golf course (well that’s the idea anyway).
