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A pitching wedge is a wedge used to hit a shot with higher and shorter trajectory than a 9-iron and a lower and longer trajectory than a gap wedge.

Design/history

Though technically a wedge, pitching wedges are generally treated as if they were numbered irons. This is for a number of reasons: first, before the term "wedge" became common for high-loft short irons, the pitching wedge was actually numbered as the "10-iron" of a matched set, and to this day it follows the normal loft progression of the numbered irons. Also, even though it has been named a wedge, many matched iron sets for retail sale include the pitching wedge even when not including other wedges. Finally, the loft of modern irons has been reduced compared to older designs. This is both to compensate for cavity-back iron designs that launch the ball higher for a given loft, and to increase the distance carried by each club for the average golfer's clubhead speed. (Professionals now also use similar designs, preserving the gap in hitting distance between the amateur golfer and the pro.) As a result the loft of the pitching wedge decreased along with the numbered irons from a traditional loft of between 48–54° to between 45–50°, similar to that of an older 8-iron. Many pitching wedges have a loft close to 50°.

Usage

The pitching wedge is a very versatile club. Being on the cusp between numbered irons and wedges, the pitching wedge has generally accepted uses falling into either class. Used with a "full swing" similar to a short iron, a golfer can produce a high-trajectory shot that carries between 80–130 yards (73–119 m) (depending on a variety of factors such as swing and club design), then "bites" with little or no roll after initial impact. Used with an abbreviated "chipping" motion, the club can produce short (25–45 yd (23–41 m)) "lob" or "approach" shots. And with a "putting" motion, the club can lift the ball over rough or fringe onto the putting green from a short distance to the pin (10–25 yd (9.1–22.9 m)). This last kind of stroke is commonly called a "bump and run" and can be done with many other irons, generally with a loft equal or higher than a 7-iron.

These clubs are most commonly used with a full swing to produce high-altitude shots such as approaches to the green or lifting the ball over trees. They are also commonly used to "lay up" in front of a hazard or to create a better lie for the next shot, and for recovery from firmer rough or sometimes from sand when the ball is lying on top of the surface. The loft of a particular pitching wedge follows the progression of the numbered irons of the same set, and these sets can have subtle differences in the loft progression and starting loft of the set, so the loft of pitching wedges can vary widely between sets. The loft of a pitching wedge generally falls between 42 and 49 degrees, but the launch angle and the average carry distance of the club between sets are typically similar. Pitching wedges can also have between zero and 10 degrees of bounce, though most pitching wedges have very low bounce (only 2 or 3 degrees) as other wedges like gap wedges or sand wedges are more traditionally suited for play out of hazards or soft lies where high bounce is desired.

References

"Pitching Wedge". The Encyclopedia of Golf. Sweet Water Press. 1992. p 520. See also pp 173, 174, 176, 187, 189, 192, 201, 248, 272, 286 and 354.
Doug Ford. The Wedge Book. Golf Digest. 1963. pp 4, 15 to 19, 21, 23, 50, 52, 55, 61 and passim.
Jim Fitzgerald with Dave Gould. Precision Wedge and Bunker Shots. (Precision Golf). Human Kinetics. 1998. pp ix, 4, 7, 34, 68, 86, 89, 90, 102, 104, 106, 108, 114 and passim.
Mike Fetchick, "The Pitching Wedge" (1966) Golfer's Digest 159. See also pp 85, 86, 94, 95, 146 and 157.
Hollis Alpert, Ira Mothner and Harold C Schonberg. "The Pitching Wedge". How to Play Double Bogey Golf. 2nd Ed. Crown Publishing Group. 1990. Chapter 11. p 82 et seq.
Charles Price. "The Pitching Wedge". Sports Illustrated Golf. J B Lippincott Company. Philadelphia and New York. 1972. p 42. See also pp 43 and 91.
James A Frank. "Pitching Wedge". Golf Magazine's Private Lessons. Stephen Greene Press/Pelham Books. 1990. p 36. See also pp 20, 34, 46, 53, 74, 153 to 155 and 167.
Ben Hogan. "the pitching wedge". The Complete Guide to Golf. Maco Magazine Corporation. 1955. p 78.
Curtis Strange with Kenneth Van Kampen. "Sand Wedge vs Pitching Wedge". Win and Win Again! Techniques for Playing Consistently Great Golf. Contemporary Books. 1991. p 153. See also pp 108, 123, 160 and 183.
Tom Wishon with Thomas Grundner. The Search for the Perfect Golf Club. Sports Media Group. 2005. pp 20, 21, 139, 140, 142, 172, 173 and 196.
Nick Mastroni. The Insider's Guide to Golf Equipment. Berkeley Publishing Group. 1997. pp 15, 16, 84, 137, 150, 192, 193, 195 and 199.
Mark F Smith (consultant ed). "equipment: the wedge". Golf Science. Ivy Press. 2019. p 128. See also pp 61, 76, 87 and 129.
Peter Dewhurst. The Science of the Perfect Swing. Oxford University Press. 2015. pp 4, 12, 33, 47, 65, 66, 89 to 91, 98, 112 to 115, 132, 133, 149, 160 and 161.