Equipment
What GolfWRXers are saying about reducing the number of wedges in your bag
In our forums, our members have been discussing whether reducing the number of wedges in your bag can be beneficial. WRXer ‘jjfcpa’ says:
“I’ve found that when I carry the 58* wedge, I tend to use it too much… and the 54 seldom gets used. However, before I put a 58* in the bag, I used my 54* for everything. The other side of this is that each wedge requires its own practice time, although I don’t spend a lot of time with the PW or GW on the range. I just need them to fill gaps. The 54* and 58* just don’t have that much of a gap between them. Consequently, I ordered a 56* and will pull the 54* and 58* and reduce the number of clubs to 13.”
And our members have been having their say on the matter in our forums.
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.
- jonesry09: “I’m on board with what you’re saying. I go back and forth with my love/hate for me 58. Some days it’s dialed, and the up and down are automatic. Other days I can hit it three times in a row within 50 yards of the green. A person with a worse temper would have snapped it long ago hahaha.”
- 3putt4thewin: “3 wedges total for me…50 and 58 after the PW. Can do everything I need greenside to 105 yards out with the 50 and 58 and not nearly as much to think about when trying to decide which club and what kind of shot.”
- J13: “All depends on your iron gapping. Longer players will favor a 4 wedge setup due to gapping issues and also the fact they hit more full wedges into par 4’s.”
- rkillian: “I’m leaving my 58 home the next few times I get out to see what happens. My partial shots have been a mess lately, and of all my scoring clubs, the 58 is the least consistent. Even in the practice area, I am more consistent with my 54 from the same spot. Even with a wide sole grind, I can open up the 54 and get the height I need. So the 58 will stay home, so I’m not even tempted to try it until I sort things out.”
- cjblake09: “I actually added a wedge and took out a long iron this year. I figured I would rather be more precise with the short clubs over the long clubs.”
Entire Thread: “Reducing the number of wedges in your bag”
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- Patrick Reed what’s in the bag accurate as of the PGA Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G400 (8.5 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 125 MSI 70 Tour X
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 125MSI 80 Tour X
Hybrid: Callaway Apex Pro (18 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila RIP Phenom Hybrid 100 TX
Irons: Titleist 716 TMB (2), Grindworks PR-202 (4), Grindworks PR-101A (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore (50-10 Mid), Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (56-08M @55), SM10 (60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Odyssey White Hot RX Pt Customs No. 2
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
More photos of Patrick Reed’s WITB in the forums.
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Welcome to the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky.
In the last two PGA Championships held at Valhalla, Tiger Woods won in 2000 – when he famously pointed his golf ball into the hole during the historic duel with Bob May – and Rory McIlroy won the 2014 event, basically in the dark on the final hole.
The point is, history shows that Valhalla tends to produce top-tier champions and plenty of drama.
This week at the 2024 PGA Championship, GolfWRX got its first up-close look at what some of the LIV Tour players have in their bags in 2024. We also caught back up with a few PGA Championship legends, such as Rich Beem and John Daly, and we dove into the bags of PGA Sectional qualifiers, too.
In total, we captured 47 different photo galleries this week, including 32 individual What’s In The Bag (WITB) forum threads. Click here to see all of our photos from the event, or continue reading to see my 10 equipment highlights from Valhalla.
1) Brooks Koepka’s new putter
Koepka was previously using a Scotty Cameron T5.5 putter with a slant neck, which he used to win at the beginning of the month in Singapore on the LIV tour. This week, however, he tried a T5.5 with a plumbers neck instead of the slant neck, and it’s immediately going in the bag. According to Scotty Cameron Tour rep Drew Page, Koepka already loved the head, and now finds the plumbers neck a bit more familiar to the blade-style putters he’s used throughout most of his career.
2) The lead tape king returns, with putting goggles
Phil Mickelson has always been one of the GOATs when it comes to lead tape usage, so it was no surprise to see his 64-degree custom Callaway wedge slathered with slabs of lead tape on the back.
The big surprise was that lefty was spotted using ProAim putting training goggles on Wednesday during his warm-up session.
The ProAim goggles are helpful to find center lines and ensure proper alignment to the target.
See Phil Mickelson’s full WITB from the 2024 PGA Championship
3) Dobyns’ old-school gamer setup
Speaking of lead tape, check out Matt Dobyn’s old Titleist 718 T-MB irons, which are so loaded with lead tape that the club is nearly unrecognizable.
Respect.
The head professional at Meadow Brook Club is making his sixth start in a PGA Championship, and he’s using a throwback Callaway GBB Epic driver with MOI-boosting lead tape and adjustable weight placements.
As GolfWRX Forum user “InTheBag” pointed out in our Matt Dobyns’ WITB thread, he has the type of setup that makes you want to hide your wallet: “I don’t know Mr. Dobyns, but one look at that bag tells me he can take your money,” writes InTheBag.
Spot on.
4) John Daly’s custom Sub70 irons and wedges
We first saw John Daly using $750 direct-to-consumer Sub70 659-CB irons and TAIII wedges at the 2023 PNC Championship, and he still has them in the bag, but he’s since stepped up the customization on the Sub70 clubs.
Does Daly ever NOT keep things entertaining?
View this post on Instagram
A true showman.
5) DJ’s custom putter
Dustin Johnson has always been one to test multiple putters week-to-week, and he has a keen eye for different alignment lines and crowns. This week, he’s opting for a completely gray TaylorMade Spider Tour “T3.0” prototype with a short slant neck.
See the rest of DJ’s WITB from the week here
6) Patrick Reed still rocking GrindWorks irons
Patrick Reed knows his stuff when it comes to equipment, and he’s a prolific tester. Still, however, the GrindWorks PR-101A irons are squarely in the bag after his departure to the LIV tour.
The most notable new addition to Reed’s bag is this Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond 3-wood.
Click here to see Reed’s full WITB from this week
7) Beem’s Scratch set
Rich Beem, who won the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine National, came to the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla with a bag full of Scratch Golf irons, which are loaded with lead tape and equipped with some of the coolest custom ferrules in professional golf.
See Rich Beem’s full WITB here
8) Jon Rahm’s 10-iron
Before going to LIV, Rahm was using a Callaway Apex TCB pitching wedge.
Now, he’s using a Callaway Apex TCB “10 iron.”
He’s also since upgraded to three Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke metalwoods, and fresh stampings on his Jaws Raw wedges. Click here to see Rahm’s full WITB from the 2024 PGA Championship.
9) “Why so serious?”
Tyrrell Hatton, another LIV player in the 2024 PGA Championship field, channels his inner Joker to ask everyone, “Why so serious?”
10) Block’s “Proto” iron, from address
As you probably know by now, Block switched out of his old TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC 2014 irons, and into a full set of TaylorMade’s new “Proto” irons. We’ve already seen the Proto 4-iron in the bags of Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa, but this is our first look at the higher-lofted irons in the set.
Here’s a look at the 7-iron from address:
See what GolfWRX members are saying about the Proto irons in our Forums
And, with that, we say goodbye to Louisville, and the second major championship of the 2024 season. We’ll see you next week at the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas after a champion has been crowned.
Until then, don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week at the 2024 PGA Championship!
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We will be one quarter of the way through Thursday night men’s league season after this week. BK played much better last week, so he is hoping to continue that success and post another good score.
Here are the 14 clubs that will hopefully win him some skins!
Driver: PXG 0311 Black Ops (9 degrees, neutral setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 X (2024)
3-wood: Cobra Dark Speed LS Titanium (14.5 degrees, set +1)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-7x
Fairway: Callaway Apex UW (19 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura ATMOS Tour Spec Blue 8 X
Hybrid: PXG 0311 Black Ops 4h (22 degrees, Flat Setting)
Shaft: KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype 85 S
Irons: TaylorMade P770 Phantom Black (5-PW)
Shaft: KBS Tour 120 Stiff
Wedge: PXG Sugar Daddy II (50-13 BP)
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 Stiff
Wedge: PXG Sugar Daddy II (56-13 BP)
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 Stiff
Wedge: PXG Sugar Daddy II (60-13 BP)
Shaft: Nippon Modus3 Tour 120 Stiff
Putter: L.A.B. Mezz.1 Max
Shaft: Accra x L.A.B. White
Ball: Titleist ProV1 Enhanced Alignment
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Gene
Dec 25, 2020 at 10:22 am
Green side, PW Pitch n run, 54 Hop n stop, 60 Flop, at least that’s the hope. 11 total, the above, Driver, 2 rescue, 6-9, putter. At 71, less choices isn’t a bad thing
Rich
Sep 4, 2020 at 12:00 pm
Depends on what you consider a “wedge.” My irons set includes 5-iron through Sand Wedge–all with the exact same specs (except loft and bounce). These Wishon Sterlings are all the same length, swing weight, gross weight, MOI, etc. So swinging the 5-iron feels exactly the same as swinging the SW. The PW, GW, and SW can be thought of as 10-, 11-, and 12-irons, respectively, with proper gaps between them.
The only other “wedge” in my bag is a 60-degree LW I use for most bunker play and high-loft shots around the green. I had an LW consistent with the rest of my set, but it wasn’t as useful around the green as a traditional LW, so I switched it back.
MIKE
Sep 4, 2020 at 11:19 am
I’ve always carried 4 wedges (PW 45 deg, GW 50, SW 56 & LW 60). But with my new irons, my GW is now 48 deg, so the 48 to 56 gap between the two was too much. Recently went to 54 & 58, I like that combo better, I tend to play the 58 as my SW/LW & use the 54 for chipping. So far, so good!
Also agree that my previous LW @ 60 deg was very inconsistent, sometimes great, sometimes bad. So now I only use my highest lofted wedge (excluding sand shots) when absolutely necessary.
Brandon
Sep 4, 2020 at 9:19 am
The best my short game ever has ever been was when I was like 22 and too broke to afford anything more than a single 56 degree sand wedge. Can’t go back to that set up as I would have a 35 yard gap between my pitching wedge and my 56, but it was great for a long time.