Specialty Pitching Wedge Distance Issue

[knock it close]

35 minutes ago, Bye said:

From a mat, that would be fine. Off grass personally I would say that is a touch low for a PW. 

Tour average is low 9k on the pw and tour averages trend to the high end of the spin window. 

[Bye]

17 hours ago, knock it close said:

Tour average is low 9k on the pw and tour averages trend to the high end of the spin window. 

If your ball striking ability and spin deviation is at tour level then great. 145 carry for a wedge is slightly above tour average, loosing 500 rpms with a slight miss hit is going to cause a flyer. I just think it’s better to have a touch more spin on a stock shot at that speed. Others may take a different view.

 

 

[knock it close]

2 hours ago, Bye said:

If your ball striking ability and spin deviation is at tour level then great. 145 carry for a wedge is slightly above tour average, loosing 500 rpms with a slight miss hit is going to cause a flyer. I just think it’s better to have a touch more spin on a stock shot at that speed. Others may take a different view.

 

 

Ya that 500 rpms really is gonna cause a massive flyer, a whole 4 feet!

 

Edited July 24 by knock it close

[RacineBoxer]

1 minute ago, knock it close said:

Ya that 500 rpms really is gonna cause a massive flyer, a whole 4 feet!

 

Yeah, I was just about to ask, how many yards does -500 spin add. Thanks for doing the math, I knew it was a tiny amount. 

[knock it close]

1 minute ago, RacineBoxer said:

 

Yeah, I was just about to ask, how many yards does -500 spin add. Thanks for doing the math, I knew it was a tiny amount. 

Here it is at higher ball speed to match 145 carry, its still a yard

[RacineBoxer]

On 7/23/2025 at 6:55 AM, Birdieputt19 said:

I’ve been playing the Titleist 716 CB’s for the last 10 years, and have found of late that I struggle with the partial distances with my PW (47° w/x100). So I recently picked up a Mizuno T24 48° w/s400 and have been testing it out. My dispersion is so much tighter with the Mizuno, and it’s easier for me to use around the green. But I’ve found that I am consistently 5-10+ yards short on any shot.

 

Last night I played at twilight and was hitting shots from 145, my normal set wedge distance. Not a single shot with the Mizuno reached the flag/went past. Had 3 in a row all within 5 yards of each other, but were 12-17 yards short.
 

Has anyone experienced this much of a gap when switching to a specialty wedge? I have not had the loft checked yet (which is most likely the main problem), and am considering bending it strong by 1-2°, but am wondering if the S400 is causing higher spin, making the ball carry less? Im striking the ball solid and Id love to stick with the Mizuno since the dispersion is so much tighter, but am just trying to understand where I’m going wrong. 

 

So I've never played the CB's or really any iron like that. Typically been in larger midsized irons or even GI's. But I've typically seen about 5 yards of lost distance going to a specialty wedge compared to the set wedge. For me it was usually a 50* gap wedge (set) going 120 and when I swap in a 50* specialty wedge I only get 115. 

 

You might be better off buying a 46* vokey than trying to bend the 48. 

[Birdieputt19]

42 minutes ago, RacineBoxer said:

 

So I've never played the CB's or really any iron like that. Typically been in larger midsized irons or even GI's. But I've typically seen about 5 yards of lost distance going to a specialty wedge compared to the set wedge. For me it was usually a 50* gap wedge (set) going 120 and when I swap in a 50* specialty wedge I only get 115. 

 

You might be better off buying a 46* vokey than trying to bend the 48. 

Yeah looking around it seems the T24 46° wedges are pretty hard to come by. Lotta places want the new retail price for a used one. As much as I want to keep the 48 since I already have it, having to change a shaft/bend loft and so forth doesn’t seem worth it and not looking to have different wedge brands.

Edited July 24 by Birdieputt19

[SkolChicago]

20 hours ago, Pepperturbo said:

The difference might be tied to the CB of 716 PW vs. Mizuno T24 Blade.

I think it’s this. More mass lower in the head could cause ballooning, I think CBs have a pretty high CG? Two anecdotes from this year:

 

I bought Mizuno 245s bent two degrees weak. Could NOT get distance with the pitching wedge (then 45), was struggling to even hit it 110. After bending iron lofts for gapping reasons near the top I changed to 43 degrees, which is stock. Suddenly going 130, which was what I’d expect.

 

My buddy has incredible swing speed, and switched from some Mizuno blades to T100s. Same exact lofts. Says the 8 and 9 irons keep coming up short on him compared to the Mizunos.

 

Edison wedge could help with this, I have a 49 and have never, ever ballooned it. Goes about as far as my old 46 Ping (which I also had distance issues with, though my swing is better). Great on partials too.

[SkolChicago]

.

Edited July 24 by SkolChicago

[Birdieputt19]

14 minutes ago, SkolChicago said:

I think it’s this. More mass lower in the head could cause ballooning, I think CBs have a pretty high CG? Two anecdotes from this year:

 

I bought Mizuno 245s bent two degrees weak. Could NOT get distance with the pitching wedge (then 45), was struggling to even hit it 110. After bending iron lofts for gapping reasons near the top I changed to 43 degrees, which is stock. Suddenly going 130, which was what I’d expect.

 

My buddy has incredible swing speed, and switched from some Mizuno blades to T100s. Same exact lofts. Says the 8 and 9 irons keep coming up short on him compared to the Mizunos.

 

Edison wedge could help with this, I have a 49 and have never, ever ballooned it. Goes about as far as my old 46 Ping (which I also had distance issues with, though my swing is better). Great on partials too.

I just bought some lead tape and was planning to try that on the 48 to see if I got any added distance. But if that doesn’t work I’ll probably just go to a 46°, seems like far less work 😂

[goudok]

Haven’t read all replies, so not sure if anyone has suggested this, but did you check them side by side on the same machine same time?  

I had vokey wedges be off by as much as 2-3 degrees, so you thinking you are 1 degree apart might be 3-4. 

On centered strikes i do not lose any distance at all, on off centered strikes I lost 1-2 yards max not more than that.

Edited July 24 by goudok

[Birdieputt19]

1 hour ago, goudok said:

Haven’t read all replies, so not sure if anyone has suggested this, but did you check them side by side on the same machine same time?  

I had vokey wedges be off by as much as 2-3 degrees, so you thinking you are 1 degree apart might be 3-4. 

On centered strikes i do not lose any distance at all, on off centered strikes I lost 1-2 yards max not more than that.

I have not but I think it’s worth a check. I did buy it “new” used so possible it’s off. That’s going to be #1 on the list. 

[goudok]

19 minutes ago, Birdieputt19 said:

I have not but I think it’s worth a check. I did buy it “new” used so possible it’s off. That’s going to be #1 on the list. 

Thats the first thing I do when get any new club. I have an old 54 degree wedge that’s been validated on multiple machines that it’s 54. I always have them check that first and reference off that. 
I had VERY reputable fitters not calibrate the digital Mitchel machine and it be off by as much as 2 degrees. 

[Pepperturbo]

4 hours ago, SkolChicago said:

I think it’s this. More mass lower in the head could cause ballooning, I think CBs have a pretty high CG? Two anecdotes from this year:

 

I bought Mizuno 245s bent two degrees weak. Could NOT get distance with the pitching wedge (then 45), was struggling to even hit it 110. After bending iron lofts for gapping reasons near the top I changed to 43 degrees, which is stock. Suddenly going 130, which was what I’d expect.

 

My buddy has incredible swing speed, and switched from some Mizuno blades to T100s. Same exact lofts. Says the 8 and 9 irons keep coming up short on him compared to the Mizunos.

 

Edison wedge could help with this, I have a 49 and have never, ever ballooned it. Goes about as far as my old 46 Ping (which I also had distance issues with, though my swing is better). Great on partials too.

One of the reasons I switched from set PW to SM9 then to SM10 series is Vokey moved the SM10 COG higher up the face with each wedge, bringing the flight down.  

[Brady_Dow]

The specialty wedge is 1* weaker and the S400 shaft is ever so slightly heavier than the X100 shaft so I believe that is your reason right there. Nothing wrong with it unless it really messes up your gapping

[GolferTodd]

Im on team 46 deg SM10 or equivalent bent to 47 if you wanted. But I think that specialty wedge is always gonna be a little shorter than a set pitching wedge even at the same degree just because your pitching wedge probably has more mass on the face even if you're playing blades. All of these wedges like the SM tens or any retail specialty wedge it's like a super blade with much less weight behind it than even my MP-37 PW which has considerably more meat than my 50 deg SM10 and easily covers. Since the build of a 46° would be the same as that of a 50° you could see that the specialty wedge would still have less mass most likely. I'm actually thinking of replacing my 46° set Mp37 PW and 50 deg SM10 with a 48 degree SM10 to open up a space for another club in my long game. 

[Birdieputt19]

1 hour ago, Brady_Dow said:

The specialty wedge is 1* weaker and the S400 shaft is ever so slightly heavier than the X100 shaft so I believe that is your reason right there. Nothing wrong with it unless it really messes up your gapping

After playing this past weekend, I was able to get a few times where I had 140-145 and was able to get the ball to fly just about where I expected. I was more conscious of getting through the ball and I think that really helped. May bend it to 47° just for the few added yards

[Birdieputt19]

1 hour ago, GolferTodd said:

Im on team 46 deg SM10 or equivalent bent to 47 if you wanted. But I think that specialty wedge is always gonna be a little shorter than a set pitching wedge even at the same degree just because your pitching wedge probably has more mass on the face even if you're playing blades. All of these wedges like the SM tens or any retail specialty wedge it's like a super blade with much less weight behind it than even my MP-37 PW which has considerably more meat than my 50 deg SM10 and easily covers. Since the build of a 46° would be the same as that of a 50° you could see that the specialty wedge would still have less mass most likely. I'm actually thinking of replacing my 46° set Mp37 PW and 50 deg SM10 with a 48 degree SM10 to open up a space for another club in my long game. 

I personally prefer more options inside 150° and more of a gap at the top end, but I’m also on the longer side for distance so I rarely have a need for longer clubs off the turf. Dr, 3w, 3H can do everything I need

[ShortGolfer]

I simply use less lofted clubs and shaft lean. The most used club in my bag after the putter is my Callaway MD5 52* gap wedge with a KBS TGI 60 shaft.   It isn't a distance club!  It is a club for digging out of the rough as well as chip and pitch shots around the green.  Accurately pltching the ball in the middle of the fairway is a quick way to play golf.  I assume that the center of the fairway will give me a decent approach shots and in many cases it is.

 

I've put an old SW in the bag and it is what it is.  A reliable club from 37 yards with my high fade.

I took out the 60* because I couldn't get the distances I needed.  Instead I rather have a low bounce and a high bounce 58.

Edited July 31 by ShortGolfer

[joeconn]

Had the same issue. My bag was a complete set of Ping iSi irons circa 1999, 2i through PW (47) plus SW1 (52) and SW2 (54.5). I felt like the PW grooves were worn out so I picked up a Cleveland RTX to replace the Ping. BITD I loved the feel of Cleveland wedges, my clubs got stolen in around 2005. The Cleveland is 48*. My Ping distances were 120, 100, 80, respectively. The Cleveland, only 1* different but full swing was only 110 carry. My 9i is 135 carry, so I felt like 25 gap was too much 9i to PW. I had the PW bent to 47 and it's become a good 115 club now, and choke down an inch gets me to 105.