Gap wedge

In the sport of golf, a gap wedge, also known as an approach wedge, is a wedge used to hit a shot with higher and shorter trajectory than a pitching wedge and lower and longer trajectory than a sand wedge. The name derives from the club's design to fill the "gap" between sand and pitching wedges.

History

Over time the loft angle on irons has been reduced for multiple reasons including improved designs and the desire to advertise longer ranges for clubs. This has affected long and short irons including the pitching wedge which is now pitched about the same as an 8-iron from the 1960s, generally about 48 degrees. However, sand wedges did not have the same reduction in loft, because their eponymous purpose requires 54-58 degrees of loft in order to lift the ball out of sand. It is now popular for golfers to carry a wedge in the 49-54 degree range to fill the gap; hence the term gap wedge.

Design

Gap wedges are loosely defined, but typically have the loft between that of a pitching wedge and sand wedge, between 50 and 54 degrees,. At the extremes there is redundancy with either the pitching wedge (typically 48°) or the sand wedge (typically 56°), however some players will "fine-tune" the lofts of these other wedges to their play style, leading to alternate choices in gap wedge. Most players look for a separation of 4 degrees between clubs, and so with the standard pitching and sand wedge lofts, the complimentary gap wedge would be 52°.

Within the range of lofts seen in gap wedges, the angle that the sole makes to the ground at address, also known as the club's "bounce angle", varies from 0° up to 12° or more. Lower lofts typically benefit from a lower bounce angle, suiting their use as effectively an "11-iron" for shots from firmer lies such as grass. Higher lofts, generally used from softer lies where the ball may have dug itself in more, require a higher bounce similar to the sand wedge to dig in and then lift back out of the ground. The most common 52° wedge is sold in a wide range of bounce angles; 8° is a common "medium bounce" choice.

The relation between actual loft and bounce can change based on how the player addresses the ball; the more forward the ball, and the more open the clubface, the higher the effective loft and bounce angles. Some clubmakers will vary the amount of bounce that the sole has from toe to heel, allowing the player to fine-tune the club to the specific situation by opening. When square at address, the club behaves more like a lower-bounce pitching wedge, while when opened, the club behaves more like a sand wedge. A few manufacturers call attention to this by labelling the wedge "D" for "dual wedge", indicating it can be used as either a pitching or sand wedge (or anything in between).

There is little consistency in labeling gap wedges; most manufacturers simply label the wedge with its angle, optionally including additional information about the amount of bounce (sometimes the angle measure, more often a series of one to three dots indicating "low", "medium" and "high" bounce). Some manufacturers call it an "Approach", "Attack" or "All" wedge, labelling it in all cases with "A". The Karsten Manufacturing Company, maker of the Ping brand of golf clubs, favored the use of "U" for "utility wedge", but currently only uses this label on wedges sold in matched sets; individual Ping wedges are currently labelled with their angle. It is actually uncommon to find a gap wedge labeled "G"; Adams Golf, Cobra and Wilson are among the few manufacturers that do so.