Golf Clubs 101: The Best Wedge Clubs For Women — Shop Now

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In this edition of Women’s Golf Journal’s Golf Clubs 101 series, we’re talking about the wedge club, variations of the wedge and the difference from men’s wedge clubs. You can also shop the best women’s golf wedges of 2022 to try out for yourself and shave a few strokes off your next round. Scroll to learn more about women’s golf wedges and shop our picks.

When discussing golf clubs, it’s crucial to understand what the club is used for before spending money on a new addition to your golf bag. When playing golf, you can break down the use for each club depending on the shot you’re taking.

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Drivers are used for tee-shots to give you maximum distance on the fairway. Fairway shots can utilize a variety of clubs depending on the ball’s positioning and distance to the hole. Typically, you’ll see golfers reach for a 3-Wood, 5-Wood or Hybrid club when more distance is needed to set up a pin shot. Fairway irons can also help set up your short game, which is where wedges and putters come into play — literally.

Understanding how to best use a wedge club, including which wedge type to use, can be extremely valuable on the course. Defining a quality short game is a great way for beginner golfers to not only get a feel for swing speed, but also gain confidence when working on long-distance shots that can be trickier to perfect.

Wedge clubs differ depending on the loft of the club head. When conceptually thinking of the wedge club, visualize the wedge as almost a scooper for the golf ball. The club is designed with higher degrees of loft in order to get underneath the ball and provide height in a shot. This is why you’ll see golfers utilize a wedge when they’re within a close distance to the pin.

This differs from a fairway shot, which would require more distance rather than the pop-up pattern that’s common when playing a wedge.

Wedges are used in a variety of situations on the course. Many golfers can play a wedge from the fairway if they are comfortable with using it for distance. The types of wedges include pitching (PW), sand (SW), lob (LB) and gap (GP).

The pitching wedge features the least amount of loft among the four types. Generally, pitching wedges feature loft degrees from 45-48°. This allows the pitching wedge to be used for distance during your short game.

Due to this, pitching wedges can be used from within 120 yards and are often substituted for low-irons such as the 9-iron club. When shopping for a good set of beginner golf clubs, the pitching wedge is usually the main wedge included. Other wedge types typically are bought individually.

The sand wedge gives away its use right away by its name. The sand wedge is used for bunker shots, where golfers will find themselves “at the beach.” Due to the softness of the sand and need for height to clear the sides of the bunker, sand wedges usually feature lofts around 54-58°. They can also be used on downhill ball placements and areas surrounding bunkers due to their ability to provide a flat shot around 70-yards.

When you see a golfer hitting a shot from the areas surrounding the green, or in shots where the ball takes on a rainbow pattern, they’re most likely using a lob wedge.

The lob wedge is designed to give a high arch to the ball’s flight pattern, making them a good choice for getting up on the green from surrounding lower areas. Lob wedges feature lofts ranging from 58-60°.

The higher degree of loft gives them height rather than distance and are typically used for shots within 30 yards. However, the lob wedge can hit up to 70-yards depending on the golfer.

The gap wedge is most commonly used among professional and experienced golfers and is the least utilized club for beginners. The club was designed to meet the “gap” between a pitching and sand wedge’s lofts; for this reason, gap wedges usually come with lofts between 50-52°. Gap wedges can be used for shots within 60 to 70-yards.

Scroll to shop the best wedges for ladies who golf.

Cleveland Women’s CBX ZipCore Wedge retails for $159.99 at golfgalaxy.com.

Available in 48°, 52°, 56° and 60° lofts. Bounce available in 9°, 10°, 11° and 12°.

Cleveland Women's CBX 2 Wedge 52° retails on sale for $109.99 (was $139.99) at golfgalaxy.com.

Callaway Women’s JAWS MD5 Wedge retails on sale for $129.99 (was $159.99) at golfgalaxy.com.

Top Flite Women’s Aura Wedge retails for $59.99 at golfgalaxy.com.

Available in 52°, 56° and 60° lofts. Bounce available in 8° and 10°.

Tommy Armour Women’s 2021 845 CB Wedge retails on sale for $79.99 (was $99.99) at golfgalaxy.com.

Tommy Armour Women’s 2019 Over N’ Out 2.0 58° Wedge retails for $79.99 at golfgalaxy.com.

Titleist Women’s Vokey Design SM8 Wedge retails for $159.99 at golfgalaxy.com.

Available in 50°, 52°, 54°, 56°, 58° and 60° lofts. Bounce available in 8°, 10°, 12° and 14°.