What is the (Best 60 Degree Wedge) | Distance | Bounce

What Is a 60 Degree Wedge Used For

A 60-degree wedge is a golf club with a loft angle of 60°. The loft angle formed between the clubface and the shaft of the club is 60°.

The lob wedge, as the 60-degree wedge is otherwise called, has a high loft angle which allows golfers to launch the ball high up in the air. While coming down, the ball lands on the ground softly without rolling away much.

As the 60-degree wedge delivers a soft landing, it’s often used by golfers on the course when they don’t want the ball to roll away after landing.

 

Is a 64 Degree Wedge Better? Read My Answer

 

How Far Does a 60 Degree Wedge Go

A 60 degree wedge can cover a distance up to 100 yards (91.5 meters)

An experienced golfer can hit the ball approximately 100 yards while an amateur or a beginner can cover 30 yards by hitting it with the 60-degree wedge. You can cover an average distance of 50-75 yards or above irrespective of your experience.

 

How to Add Distance to 60° Wedge Shot

Steps to to add distance to your 60° Wedge:

1. While striking the ball using a 60-degree wedge, make sure the ball is placed closer to your back foot. This is imperative as it produces a steeper angle which will add more length to your shot.
2. Maintain a strong grip over your golf club such that only three knuckles of your dominant hand (the hand on top) are visible on the club. During impact, it helps if your clubface is in a closed position. A loose grip will alter the position of your clubface to produce a steeper trajectory of the ball which will, in turn, lessen the distance covered by the ball.
3. Shift your body weight to your front leg during a 60-degree wedge shot. More weight on the front leg will ensure that you strike the club hard enough on the ground to gouge a hole. If you do not make enough contact with the ground during such shots, your ball might not hit the center of the clubface to deliver a long shot.

 

What is the best bounce for 60-Degree Wedge?

A 5°-8° bounce is considered best for a 60-degree wedge.

Bounce refers to the angle formed between the leading edge of the club and the sole (bottom of the club). This angle is visible when your golf club establishes contact with the ground during impact. 60-degree wedges with a high loft angle make strong contact with the ground during impact with the ball to produce a low bounce of around 4°-8°.

A low bounce of around 4°-8° with a high loft wedge will mean that the club digs the ground a little before impact to launch the ball high up in the air. A high lofted wedge often gives more trajectory to the ball with less roll and a soft landing.

 

How Much bounce on a 60 Degree wedge

The 60-degree wedge has a high loft angle which produces a low bounce of around 4°-8°.On average, golfers aim to produce a bounce of 5°-8° while striking the ball using the lob wedge.

The lob wedge is used by golfers who find it difficult to launch the ball higher in the air. As the wedge hits the ground hard during impact with the ball, it helps lift the ball higher into the air.

Just before the impact, it helps if the sole of the club digs the ground hard enough to make a divot. This will position your club beneath the ball thus producing a lower bounce and a higher ball flight.

To hit a low bounce with the lob wedge, maintain a steep angle of the club and shift most of your body weight to your front foot. Ensure that the clubface is positioned at a closed angle lest you want to increase the bounce in your shot.

 

How to Hit a 60-Degree Wedge

It would make more sense for beginners to try their hands at the 60° wedge on smaller yardage and gradually progress to higher yardages.

To hit a perfect shot using a 60 degree wedge, follow the steps below:

1. To perfect your stance, keep your shoulders parallel to the surface.
2. While striking the ball using a 60-degree wedge, place the ball closer to your back foot. This will produce a steeper angle which will add more length to your shot.
3. Concentrate more than half of your body weight on the foot in front.
4. The 60-degree wedge has a higher loft (of 60°) but that doesn’t mean one shouldn’t hit the ball hard enough. When the golf ball is hit softly with a loft wedge it may not produce the desired results.
5. Restrict the backswing to 3/4^th of your usual motion and do not shift your weight to the foot in the back during the swing. A shorter backswing and a longer follow up swing work best when striking with a lob wedge.
6. Establish good contact between the center of the clubface and the ball to deliver a good shot.
7. Swing the club hard enough to make a good divot on the ground so that the club is beneath the ball during impact.
8. A soft dig at the ground will add to a lower bounce which is appropriate when using a 60-degree wedge.
9. Make sure that the clubface is not open during impact. Square up the clubface without opening it so that it directly faces the target. Hit the ball hard and watch it take flight high up in the air.

 

Tips on Using a 60-Degree Wedge

A combination of lower bounce and a harder strike gives the best shot when striking a 60-degree wedge. There are several tips that one can implement while hitting with the lob wedge. They are:

• Clubface stance – It’s crucial that you maintain a neutral stance with your clubface. If your clubface is open during the impact, it’ll add to the loft which will launch the ball higher and shorten the distance of the shot.
• High loft – The golfer must remember that they are striking with a wedge that has one of the highest loft angles of 60°. A high loft wedge is used to launch the ball higher and give it more flight.

More flight means that the ball lands softly at the target without rolling too much. Providing more loft by opening the clubface at impact will shorten the distance of your shot and make the ball drop quicker than needed.

• Perfecting the stance – Place your shoulders parallel to the ground. Widen your legs and focus your body weight more on to the leg in the front. Also, make sure that the ball is closer to your foot in the back.
• Backswing – A shorter backswing and a longer follow up swing coupled with an accelerated strike will give you the adequate bounce, flight, and distance during a 60-degree wedge shot.
• Divot- Dig the ground a little when the club contacts it before the impact. This will add to your loft and accelerate the swing. Concentrate on getting the club underneath the ball for a fuller shot.
• Impact- During impact, make good contact between the center of the clubface and the ball for an accurate shot.

The 5 Best 60-degree wedges

The five best 60 degree wedges are as follows:

1. Callaway Golf Company’s Men’s Chrome Mack Daddy 4

• Callaway golf clubs are known for their performance and efficiency. This club model manufactured by the company comes in four different grinds namely, S, W, C, and X. The different grinds are made to suit different conditions and striking methods.
• The shaft is made of steel. The model comes with a broad range of loft angles ranging from 50-64°.
• The 60-degree wedge comes with a 10° bounce and an S grind. The S grind produces a bounce angle that suits most course conditions. Also, the grind has a sole that narrows towards the heel which produces less bounce.

 

2. Cleveland Golf Men’s RTX-3 VMG

• This wedge has a shorter hosel to add more Center of Gravity (CG) to the clubface. The weight from the hosel has been cut down and added to the head of the wedge for this purpose.
• The V-shaped sole grinds offer better control to the golfer. This also accelerates the clubhead through the shot.
• The grooves on the wedge have been given a new design to increase the spin and the consistency of each shot.
• The shaft is made of steel and offers good control during the swinging motion.
• Although a great wedge, the low-bounce, high-loft wedges with the loft angle ranging from 54°-60° is mostly suited for experienced, professional golfers.
• The wedge doesn’t sit right with the beginners as there is a high chance that they might not be able to handle the wedge with little experience. Best suited for experienced players who are skilled enough to convert every shot into a perfect one.

 

3. Cleveland Golf Men’s RTX 4 Wedge

• This wedge comes with an array of loft angles ranging from 46-64°.
• It also has a variety of bounce types like low, mid, full, and XLow.
• The wedge carries a steel shaft and has a smaller head when compared to the RTX-3 version.
• The smaller head-size of the wedge could be one of its weak points as it doesn’t allow much margin for error.
• This wedge provides more spin to your ball as a way of offering control to the golfer making the shot.
• The RTX 4 has a V-shaped sole grind much like the RTX-3 which allows for a better swing action and contact with the ground and the ball.
• The low sole grind comes in the wedges with higher loft angles between 56 and 64°. This allows a great shot even to golfers who open the clubface up at address.

 

4. 2018 Cobra King Black Wedge

• The Cobra King Black wedge is a durable club with a steel body and a satin black finish.
• The clubface is thick enough to offer good control forboth long and short-distance shots. The clubface is so designed to bring down the vibration followed by a bad shot. It also enhances a good shot and converts it into a great one.
• Compared to other wedges, the finish on this wedge is immune to wear and stays on for a longer time.
• The wedge comes with a Progressive Spin Technology that delivers enough spin and ball flight from different yardages.
• It also allows for greater consistency between shots.
• The grooves on the wedge have been designed using Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) milling that optimizes the spin.
• On to the weaker points, this wedge has limited options surrounding the loft angle, bounce level, and sole grind.
• The Diamonized Black Metal (DBM) finish though a durable one, is the only finish available in this wedge. Players who are accustomed to chrome finish might find it difficult to get used to this finish.

 

5. TaylorMade Milled Grind Wedge

• TaylorMade Milled Grind wedge comes with different loft angles starting from 50-60°.
• It carries three different bounce levels with each loft angle namely low, standard, and high. This wide variety is a definite plus as it can be used by almost all golfers with varied skillset and experience.
• The Satin Nickel Chrome finish is appealing and the bronze finish in the Standard bounce wedge looks attractive.
• The sole grind and the bounce have been engineered using CNC rather than by hand which aids in the consistency of shots.
• The low bounce variant has been designed with a sole grind that is shaped like a C.
• The low point with the least bounce variants is that there is very little margin for error and is only suited for experienced or professional golfers. Beginners might find it difficult to handle this variant as the bounce is too low.

52 Vs 60-Degree Wedge

The 52 and 60° wedges have significant differences in function, loft angles, and application. The differences are as follows:

• Loft- The 6-degree wedge has a loft angle of 60° while the 52-degree wedge, as the name suggests, has a loft angle of 52.
• Moniker– The 60-degree wedge is otherwise known as the lob wedge while a wedge with a loft angle between 50 and 54 is called the gap wedge.
• Function– Any wedge with a higher loft is used to achieve a higher flight. The 60-degree wedge with a higher loft angle is used to launch the ball high up in the air.

  The 52-degree wedge, on the other hand, is used to close the gap between a pitching wedge and the sand wedge.

A pitching wedge, as the name suggests, is used to pitch the ball higher where the ball lands softly with fewer rolls after covering a good 110-140 yards.

A sand wedge is used to get the ball out of sand bunkers.

The gap wedge can be used as an alternative to the pitching wedge when you want a higher flight and a shorter length. It can also be used in place of a sand wedge when you want the ball to fly lower and longer.

• Application– Lob wedge is used to produce a lower bounce and roll in the ball and to elevate its trajectory. A gap wedge is used to hit the ball higher than a pitching wedge while covering a lesser distance. It’s used to hit the ball lower than a sand wedge but to cover a longer distance.
• Distance– Golfers use the 60-degree wedge to hit an average distance of 50-75 yards with an experienced player stretching it up to 100 yards. A gap wedge can cover85-100 yards.

 

54, 56, 58 Vs 60-Degree Wedge

Sand wedge

The 54-degree wedge is called the sand wedge. The loft in a sandwedge typically ranges from 54 to 58°. As the name suggests, the sand wedge is used to get the ball out of sand bunkers. Nevertheless, a sand wedge can also be used to hit high trajectories coupled with short distances.

A sand wedge can hit a rough distance of 70-100 yards depending on the player’s expertise in the game.

To strike using a sand wedge, a golfer must loosen their grip a little. A sand wedge has a high loft and is thus used to send the ball high up in the air.

The golfer would do good to rely on the loft rather than on the position of the clubface. Just like with the lob wedge, the golfer can shift their weight on to the front foot and place the ball across from the foot.

 

Lob wedge

A 60-degree wedge, on the other hand typically has a loft of 60°, higher than that of a sand wedge. The lob wedge is often used to hit the ball higher than a sand wedge.

The lob wedge hits the ball higher and lands it softly with fewer rolls. A lob wedge usually covers a distance of 100 yards.

The stance plays a crucial role while hitting with a lob wedge. Unlike the sand wedge, the lob wedge demands a tighter grip on the club. The position is different too.

While the body weight needs to be shifted to the front leg with a lob wedge, the ball is placed closer to the leg behind unlike with the sand wedge. While the clubface position is not as crucial with a sand wedge, the lob wedge requires a closed clubface position during impact.

Also, unlike in the sand wedge, it helps to make a good divot while using a lob wedge. A steeper angle goes a long way with the 60-degree wedge.

 

Can You Use a 60 Degree Wedge in the Sand

Yes, a 60-degree wedge can be used to hit the ball out of a sand bunker, provided it has an adequate bounce angle.

Although the lob wedge is all about its high loft, when it comes to hitting out of the sand, it’s important to concentrate on the bounce rather than the loft.

Typically, a bounce of 5-8° is considered best for a lob wedge. This bounce angle is adequate to hit the ball out of hard or wet sand.

If your golf course has soft sand, you may need a lob wedge with a higher bounce than the typical range. A bounce of 10-15° works best on soft sand.

Is a 64 Degree Wedge Better? Read My Answer