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2 October 2026 · 10 min read

Golf wedges explained: loft, bounce and how many wedges a beginner needs

The PW has 43 to 49 degrees, the SW 54 to 58, the LW up to 65. Plus the bounce, the gap between the wedges and a test with 45 balls in the simulator.

Golf wedges explained: loft, bounce and how many wedges a beginner needs — post image

A wedge is a club with a lot of loft for the short shots. The pitching wedge (PW), gap wedge (GW), sand wedge (SW) and lob wedge (LW) differ in loft: depending on the source the PW sits between 43 and 49 degrees, the SW at 54 to 58 degrees and the LW between 58 and 65 degrees (TGW, GOLFTEC). Bounce is the angle on the sole, and it keeps the club from digging into the ground. As a beginner you need two wedges, the PW and the SW, which is also what the starter sets described by the PGA of America look like. I read the sources on 2 October 2026, and the prices come from a Swiss retailer.

What do PW, GW, SW and LW mean? The loft

Loft is the angle at which the clubface sits relative to the shaft. It decides how far the ball flies and on what path, and wedges have the highest lofts of any club (TGW). The two sources, the US golf retailer TGW and the golf school GOLFTEC, name ranges that differ by one or two degrees:

WedgeLoft according to TGWLoft according to GOLFTECWhat it is for (GOLFTEC)
Pitching wedge (PW)44 to 49 degrees43 to 48 degreesfull approach shots to the green
Gap wedge (GW)50 to 54 degrees48 to 52 degreescloses the gap between PW and SW
Sand wedge (SW)54 to 58 degrees54 to 58 degreesbunkers and shots around the green where the ball should stop
Lob wedge (LW)59 to 65 degrees58 to 64 degreesflop shots with a lot of height and a soft landing

Your PW is not the same everywhere. In modern iron sets it is usually 44 to 46 degrees according to GOLFTEC, in sets with stronger lofts 41 to 43 degrees. And the more loft a club has, the smaller the smash factor, the ratio of ball speed to clubhead speed: the value to aim for is 1.48 with the driver and, in the ideal case, only about 1.25 with the pitching wedge (PGA Deutschland). What the other numbers on a launch monitor mean is covered in Understanding launch monitor numbers.

What is bounce?

Bounce is the angle between the leading edge of the wedge and the lowest point of the sole (GOLFTEC). PGA Deutschland describes the construction like this: the trailing edge sits lower than the leading edge, and that speaks for taking a sand wedge in a greenside bunker. The more bounce, the higher the leading edge stands above the ground at address (The Left Rough), and the less the club digs in (TGW). Bounce is typically between 0 and 14 degrees.

Loft and bounce can be stamped on the club. 56:12 means 56 degrees of loft and 12 degrees of bounce, 52:8 is a gap wedge with 8 degrees of bounce (The Left Rough). How the number of a club relates to its loft is explained in Club types and numbers explained.

How much bounce suits you?

The rule of thumb in the sources: little bounce for hard ground and tight lies, a lot of bounce for soft ground, steep swings and soft sand. The limits are not standardised, and according to The Left Rough there is no standard. The two sources draw them in different places:

Bounceaccording to GOLFTECaccording to The Left RoughSuits (GOLFTEC)
low4 to 8 degrees4 to 6 degreesfirm fairways, tight lies, shallow angle of attack
medium8 to 12 degrees7 to 10 degreesmost amateurs and most courses
high12 degrees and upover 10 degreessoft ground, steep angle of attack, bunkers

The angle of attack has a say. If you hit shallow and take hardly any divots you get by with less bounce, if you hit steeply and take deep divots you need more (The Left Rough). GOLFTEC calls the angle of attack the biggest factor in choosing bounce. A launch monitor measures it, and which values your bay shows is best asked before the hour. The same goes for the bunker: soft sand asks for a lot of bounce, from the fairway and from hard sand less is wanted (TGW). The shot itself and the rules are described in Out of the bunker.

The grind is the shape of the sole: material is ground away so the club moves differently through the turf (GOLFTEC). It matters mainly for players with a single-digit handicap who deliberately change the face. For you the sentence from GOLFTEC applies: most amateurs do well with mid bounce across the set.

Which bounce at which loft, and what does it cost?

Loft and bounce are two separate numbers. The range of the Swiss retailer Golfers Paradise shows it, here the listing data of 2 October 2026 for right-handers: a wedge with 56 degrees comes there with 10, 12 or 14 degrees of bounce, depending on the model. The prices are retailer prices per club.

ModelRetailer priceBounce at 56 degreesBounce at 60 degrees
Titleist SM11CHF 219.9010 degrees12 degrees
TaylorMade MG5 ChromeCHF 214.9012 degrees8 degrees
Callaway Opus SPCHF 199.9010 or 12 degrees8 or 14 degrees
Cleveland CBZ Zipcore (2025)CHF 189.9014 degrees14 degrees
Callaway CB 12CHF 169.9014 degreesnot offered

The 14 wedges in stock at this retailer cost between CHF 129.90 and CHF 219.90 per club, not counting chippers and children's clubs. If you do not need the newest model you find reduced older ones: the Callaway Opus Chrome costs CHF 139.90 instead of CHF 199.90, as the retailer's page shows. The price says nothing about the right bounce, which you read off loft, ground and swing. Where you can save on clubs is covered in Used clubs and lake balls.

How many wedges do you need?

The rules allow at most 14 clubs in the bag (R&A, Rule 4.1b). As a starter set the PGA of America names a driver and a 3-wood, the 5, 7 and 9 irons, a pitching wedge, a sand wedge and a putter. Two wedges, then. What such a small set looks like is shown in Golf beginner set.

A third wedge pays off when there is a gap between PW and SW. The spacing between two wedges should be 4 to 6 degrees according to GOLFTEC, TGW recommends 4 degrees and considers 3 to 5 degrees right for modern iron lofts. A gap of 6 degrees amounts to a carry gap of 10 to 15 yards according to GOLFTEC, which is about 9 to 14 metres. A worked example: your PW has 46 degrees, your SW 56 degrees. In between are 10 degrees and no club, and GOLFTEC names exactly this pairing as an example of such a gap. A GW with 50 degrees splits the gap into 4 and 6 degrees.

Loft of the PWGWSWLW
46 degrees50 degrees54 degrees58 degrees
48 degrees52 degrees56 degrees60 degrees

The table shows the examples from GOLFTEC for three wedges after the PW. The lob wedge comes last: GOLFTEC writes that many amateurs reach for the lob wedge more often than they should. When you chip and when you pitch is covered in Chipping or pitching.

Your wedge distances: your own table in the simulator

How far a wedge flies depends on your speed, not on the loft alone. The tour numbers are in Club distances in golf, and you measure your own in the bay. GOLFTEC uses a clock system for this: a swing to 7 o'clock brings about 30 % of the full distance, to 9 o'clock about 60 %, to 10 o'clock about 80 %. Those are starting values, not a law. The test: with each wedge you hit 5 balls at each of the three swing lengths and write down the carry. With three wedges that is 45 balls.

A worked example with an assumed number, it is not a measurement: your SW flies 80 metres at full swing.

Swing lengthShare according to GOLFTECCarry at 80 metres full
to 7 o'clockabout 30 %24 metres
to 9 o'clockabout 60 %48 metres
to 10 o'clockabout 80 %64 metres

If your measurements differ from the percentages, yours apply. From them you build the distance ladder for 30, 50 and 70 metres that Chipping or pitching describes. For the 80 venues in the directory that name an hourly price, the median is CHF 50 per bay (as of 2 October 2026, own entries).

Where to try wedges

Test wedges with your own clubs in a bay with a launch monitor. The golf simulator for beginners page explains the first visit, the map shows the venues by canton, and golf simulator near me names the nearest one. Hourly prices are under golf simulator prices. 81 of the 110 indoor venues offer coaching (as of 2 October 2026), and you find them under indoor golf training. If you want to measure what the wedge has to do before you buy, read Golf fitting in Switzerland.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a sand wedge and a lob wedge?

The loft: according to TGW the sand wedge sits at 54 to 58 degrees, the lob wedge at 59 to 65 degrees. The lob wedge sends the ball higher and lands it more softly, but GOLFTEC writes that many amateurs reach for it more often than they should.

How much bounce should a sand wedge have?

GOLFTEC puts medium bounce at 8 to 12 degrees and advises most amateurs to choose it. Soft ground and soft sand ask for more, hard ground for less. At 56 degrees a Swiss retailer lists models with 10, 12 and 14 degrees of bounce.

How many wedges does a beginner need?

Two: a pitching wedge and a sand wedge, which is how the PGA of America describes starter sets. A gap wedge is added when there is a gap between PW and SW. The rules allow at most 14 clubs in the bag (Rule 4.1b).

What does 56:12 mean on a wedge?

The first number is the loft, the second the bounce: 56:12 means 56 degrees of loft and 12 degrees of bounce. Bounce is the angle between the leading edge and the lowest point of the sole, and it is typically between 0 and 14 degrees.

How many degrees should there be between wedges?

GOLFTEC names 4 to 6 degrees between two wedges, TGW recommends 4 degrees. A gap of 6 degrees amounts to a difference of 10 to 15 yards in carry according to GOLFTEC, which is about 9 to 14 metres.

Sources