Selecting the Right Sand Wedge Loft | Simple Advice for Everyday Golfers 2024

Looking for an easy guide to selecting the right sand wedge loft for your game? Look no further.

Wedge lofts can be somewhat complicated to figure out.

How do you know which ones you should carry in your bag?

How many wedges do you need?

What is the correct sand wedge loft for the average golfer?

You are not here for a sand wedge history lesson, so let’s get straight into it.

What degree loft is a sand wedge?

A sand wedge has a loft of 54º, 56º or 58º.

Most golfers will have between 2-4 wedges in their bag depending on their ability. You may have heard of sand wedges, pitching wedges and lob wedges– it is important to understand the differences before deciding which clubs you need. Let’s look at the simple infographic below.

As you increase your loft, the ball travels at a higher launch angle, but goes less distance.

Is 54, 56 or 58 degrees a better sand wedge loft?

For most golfers, either 54 or 56 degree wedges are the best option, there is very little difference between the two. There are, however, a couple of things to consider when selecting your sand wedge loft.

The gaps between your wedges

The main thing to think about when putting together your arsenal of wedges is not leaving too great of a gap in their loft.

For example: A golfer with 44º pitching wedge, a 56º sand wedge and a 64º lob wedge is going to run into difficulties in their approach play. In an ideal world, we do not want more than 4º difference between wedges, otherwise distance control becomes a factor. With this said, 6 degrees of gap would not be a problem for most golfers.

Say you hit a 44º pitching wedge 130 yards, and a 56º sand wedge 100 yards. What happens if you’re 115 yards out from the flag? We are forced to either try and over hit our sand wedge or take a much lighter swing on our pitching wedge. Both approaches are less than ideal: meaning we have to sacrifice height and spin on our pitching wedge or roll the dice with accuracy on the sand wedge.

Ideally we want about 10 yards in distance variation between wedges.

It is a frequent theme in golf, but there are lots of degrees and options available because PGA pros that compete for glory and millions of dollars need to fine tune their games.

For most of us, it’s just important that we do not shoot ourselves in the foot on distance control by not thinking through our club selection logically.

Ability level

Carrying on from this– unless you are a very good golfer with a single figure handicap, there isn’t much reason to use a wedge with greater than 58º of loft.

Anything higher than 58 degrees takes good technical ability to strike properly.

A club designed to generate that level of spin and launch angle is prone to being chunked by a higher handicap golfer.

What wedges should I carry?

The vast majority of golfers will carry 3 or 4 wedges in their bag. The combinations you can have are basically limitless, and as I mentioned before, PGA pros tend to really tweak these options to lean into their strengths, weaknesses and abilities to play certain shots.

These wedge combinations are for the everyday golfer.

3 wedges (gap wedge, two sand wedges)

Realistically, most golfers will be absolutely fine with just three wedges in their bag. Most full sets that you buy will include three wedges, so you might not actually get a choice. If this is the case, you will be absolutely fine. We are nit-picking here.

The good news is that you can buy wedges separately, if so I would recommend the following set-up:

Gap wedge (GW) 50º : For approach shots at roughly 110-120 yards out.

Sand wedge (SW) 54º : Bunkers, chip shots, approaches 100 yards and closer.

Sand wedge (SW): 58º : Chipping over bunkers, approach shots at 50- 75 yards out

These distances and uses are purely illustrative, everyone’s distance is different. As you can see in the infographic above, gap wedges were invented by manufacturers to fill the gap in degrees between a sand wedge and a lob wedge. Don’t worry about missing out on a pitching wedge. Manufacturers have lowered pitching wedge loft over recent years to bring the gaps between clubs closer together. A 50 degree gap wedge is going to give very similar results to a pitching wedge.

My view is that a 50 degree fits nicely and stops the jump in distance you normally get between your pitching wedge and sand wedge.

The 58 degree sand wedge effectively acts as a lob wedge, but is slightly easier to hit. This setup keeps 4 degrees of loft between clubs.

4 wedges (pitching wedge, gap wedge, sand wedge, lob wedge)

By taking 4 wedges, it’s fair to assume that you are an intermediate golfer, or at least someone with a strong short game. If you have a feel for chip shots and you rely on your shots around the green to pick up shots, then a 4 wedge setup could be the way forward.

Here is what I would recommend:

Pitching wedge (PW) 48º : For approach shots at roughly 120 yards out

Gap wedge (GW) 52º : For approach shots at roughly 100-110 yards out

Sand wedge (SW) 56º : Bunkers, chip shots, approaches closer than 100 yards.

Lob wedge (LW) 60º : Chipping over bunkers, flop shots

The logic is pretty much the same as the 3 wedge setup, maintaining the 4 degree gap but allowing more flexibility around the green.

HANDY HINT: If you tend to play drier courses and specialise in hitting flop shots, a 62º or even 64º wedge will give you extra loft. Note these clubs are better suited to lower handicap players.

Is a 52 degree wedge a sand wedge?

No. As you can see in the graphic above, a 52º degree wedge would be considered a gap wedge.

What degree wedge is best for chipping around the green?

It depends on what kind of shot you are trying to play. Some golfers are more consistent with a 9 or even 8 iron and short, low sweeping motion. If you are more comfortable with a wedge then anything between 52º – 56º will be just fine.

Do I need a sand wedge for bunkers?

Yes, the vast majority of the time. Sand wedges are engineered with bunker play in mind, giving golfers the best chance of getting out. The reasons behind this are actually rather technical, but in a nutshell it comes down to two things.

Sand wedges have a wide sole and a high bounce. We explain bounce in more detail below, but essentially, a higher bounce means the sole/ leading edge of your club will not dig into the sand and glide through easier, helping you get out of the bunker.

I want to buy a wedge, but I don’t understand bounce and grinds. Help!

You are not alone. When selecting a wedge, golfers need to consider the grind options available to them.

Let’s get into what this means, and which you should choose.

A wedge’s grind is determined by the amount of material that has been removed from the sole of the club. The idea is that you get improved contact with turf, depending on what kind of shots you like and tend to play.

The type of grind you choose is determined by what sort of conditions you most play in, how you hit the ball and the level of bounce you want. The concept of bounce is a fairly technical idea to get your head around, so let’s simplify it.

Bounce is NOT to be confused with the angle of loft on the club.

Bounce is the angle created between the leading edge and sole of your club when it rests on the ground. It is the leading edge that travels through or on top of the turf (depending on how big your divots tend to be) and has a big impact on how cleanly you strike the ball.

There are three general types of bounce.

Low bounce: Wedges with 4 – 6° of bounce. These are best for firm turf conditions where the club will skip off the ground on its own. Taking conditions out of it, If your style focuses on clean contact and you tend to strike the ball at a shallow angle and not take out big divots, this will work for you. The objective is to create maximum friction with the ground below.

Mid bounce: Wedges with 7 – 12°of bounce. This will be the best option for most golfers, giving versatile playability across conditions and swing types.

High bounce: Wedges with over 12° of bounce. If you’re a golfer that tends to take larger divots or regularly plays on soft ground then the higher bounce angle will help offset this, and prevent the club digging so sharply into the turf. High bounce wedges give optimal spin.

You will see manufacturers offer grinds in S, X, Z and every letter in the alphabet. Don’t worry about this too much.

This is another example of manufacturers creating lots of options for professionals.

For most golfers– an S Grind (or equivalent) with a mid level of bounce (10°) will be absolutely fine across your pitching, gap, sand and lob wedges.

This will allow you to play a range of conditions: wet, dry, firm, soft etc and cover all bases.

What is the best sand wedge on the market?

We currently believe that Callaway Jaws wedges are the best wedges in the game. Designed by Callaway’s Chief Designer Roger Cleveland: JAWS wedges combine heritage and cutting edge technology– making them absolutely best in class.

Read our honest, and in-depth Callaway JAWS wedge review. As always, we aim to decrypt jargon and technical terms so our content is digestible for beginner and intermediate golfers.