How a tour pro figures out the best wedge setup | Fully Equipped

Gapping can be one of the most important steps to optimizing your bag to shoot the lowest scores, and that extends all the way to the wedges.

While most players consider wedges scoring clubs or clubs that will save you shots around the green, longtime pro Charles Howell III said you should choose which wedges to play in your bag based on how far you hit them from the fairway.

Howell joined Johnny Wunder on this week’s edition of GOLF’s Fully Equipped and talked about how he likes to set up his wedge gapping for professional events. Howell currently plays a 52-56-60 wedge setup, but he adjusts the lofts to make them fit the yardage window he wants.

“Like I want 130 yards out of my 52 degree, well, I’ve got to make it a little under 51 to get that,” Howell said. “So, Nick, my caddie and I started, how far do we need this ball to go? Let’s just get the loft there.”

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Howell says many people get hung up on having lofts that are supposed to be what is standard (i.e. four-degree gappings). You should focus on having each wedge go the proper number.

Wunder added that the concept of not caring about what the actual loft of the club is and just worrying about the carry yardage is a common one amongst the best in the world.

“You take Phil [Mickelson]’s bag, for example, Phil’s 4- and 5-iron part of his bag, it depends if the hybrids in, but like if he has a 4- and a 5-iron, his 4-iron might be 22 degrees and his 5-iron might be 22 degrees,” Wunder said. “It doesn’t matter to him, like he doesn’t care about the lofts or the clubs.

“That’s another thing that people get really held up on is the lofts. Like, ‘I need an 18-degree club.’ No, you need a 220-club. You need a 215-club. They might be the same loft, but it doesn’t matter. It’s all about carry distance, especially when you get to 7-, 8-, 9-, pitching wedge. When you get to that money maker part of the bag is when you really want to back into the loft.”

The three-time PGA Tour and one-time LIV Golf winner also said golfers shouldn’t shy away from playing more bounce on their lob wedges.

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Howell said he likes to have a mid-bounce lob wedge while many pros use low-bounce wedges, and if he ever feels like it’s too tight for him to be comfortable, he’ll just stand the shaft more vertically and hit the shot off the toe.

“I think most people can benefit from a little more bounce than they believe,” Howell said.

For more from Wunder and Howell, including how Howell finds clubs he can trust, listen to the full episode of Fully Equipped here, or watch it below.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2025? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.