Equipment

Is 8 degrees between pitching wedge and sand wedge too much? – GolfWRXers have their say

Published

4 years ago

May 28, 2020

In our forums, our members have been discussing gapping degrees and whether 8-degrees between your PW and SW is too much. WRXer ‘jonsnow’ seldom hits his GW and is considering dropping the club from the bag and wants to know, if he does so, will the current 8-degree gap between his wedges be too much. Our members have their say.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

ZA206: “For years I played a 47 PW and a 56 SW. I had a big hole in my scoring irons range (115-105 yards) that I tried to avoid at all costs. It cost me many strokes over the years. I felt like that gap was way too big and eventually settled on 46, 51, 55 (I also play a 60 LW) as my preferred setup. No gaps and I can hit every yardage without any issue. I’m a much better wedge player now than I ever was back then, but that’s not due to having more wedges, that’s more about technique.”
RainShadow: “In theory, yes. In actual real world action, depends on how many types of shots you can hit with the PW.”
MtlJeff: “I’ve played with 52 to 60 gaps. It depends on what type of shots you want to hit. I never chip with sand wedge and would rather hit a 3/4 shot with a 52 than a full with a 56. So it all depends on your game.”
bazinky: “A lot depends on how often you have shots in that yardage range. For example, I replaced my 50 and 54 with a single 52 wedge because I hardly ever had a yardage that required my 50 (I would sometimes go weeks without ever hitting it). That said, my biggest gap is 6 degrees. I think it’s doable as long as you have the discipline to be smart when you have a bad yardage. It can be tough to just aim for the fat of the green when you have a wedge in your hand.”
Pingistheanser: “I don’t think so. I’m more of a believer that you should pick lofts based upon the distances that you need to hit from. If those lofts allow you to hit distances that you need to hit, then they’re fine for you. I’m not a believer that you should have 4-degree gaps between your wedges because what good is a club that you never hit because you never find yourself in that distance range? For a time last year, I carried a 46-degree AW and a 56 degree as my only wedges, and they worked just fine. I’d sometimes have to make some adjustments if I found myself 90 yards off of the green because it would be too far for the 56, so I would just narrow my stance, grip down a bit and only swing the AW at about 75%.”

Entire Thread: “Is 8 degrees between PW and SW too much?”

Your Reaction?

LIKE34
LEGIT7
WOW2
LOL2
IDHT2
FLOP1
OB0
SHANK3

Equipment

Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage

Published

20 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.

It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.

When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”

“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.

Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:

“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.

“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.

“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.

“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.

“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”

So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.

His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.

See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here

Your Reaction?

LIKE20
LEGIT1
WOW0
LOL1
IDHT0
FLOP0
OB1
SHANK3

Equipment

Spotted: TaylorMade P-UDI driving iron

Published

21 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

Brian Knudson

It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.

We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.

From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.

“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.

TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°

TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°

Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

Your Reaction?

LIKE12
LEGIT1
WOW3
LOL0
IDHT0
FLOP1
OB0
SHANK1

Whats in the Bag

Collin Morikawa WITB 2024 (April)

Published

22 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

Check out more in-hand photos Collin Morikawa’s clubs here.

5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)