60 Vs 64 Golf Wedge

Do you need a lob wedge? What are the pros and cons? In this article, we’ll run through everything you need to know about the most lofted wedge in your bag. Let’s help you decide between a 60 vs 64 golf wedge.

What Is A Lob Wedge?

A lob wedge is the most lofted type of wedge in golf. It’s a relatively recent addition to your golfing arsenal. Tour players in particular find the club extremely useful when they are in awkward situations around the green.

Lob wedges would have more loft than a traditional sand wedge at 56°. While most people will probably tend to stick with a 58° or 60° there are some players who like to crank it up to 64° or even 68 degrees of loft!

Why Do You Need A Lob Wedge?

A lob wedge is a great option when you need to hit the ball up in the air quickly from thick rough or to clear a hazard. The extra loft is also useful when chipping from thick greenside rough or deep bunkers with steep faces.

Should You Buy A Lob Wedge?

There are different schools of thought on whether amateurs should stop carrying anything more lofted than a 56-degree wedge. Indeed it was recently suggested that the rules of golf should be changed to outlaw lofts greater than 56 at least in the professional ranks.

Some teaching professionals are of the opinion that the majority of club golfers would be better off sticking with a maximum of 58°. Butch Harmon for example.

Wedge Distances: How Far Should I Hit My Wedges?

Wedge distances vary depending on the type of wedge you are using and your skill level. For club golfers, a pitching wedge is typically used for shots up to 100 yards. A gap wedge will go about 10 yards less, while a sand wedge and lob wedge (60°) would be 10 and 20 yards shorter than that.

How far you hit a particular wedge is less important than being consistent and accurate, however. You’re not likely to have much success on the golf course if you are hitting a pitching wedge 100 yards one minute and 75 yards the next. Improving your distance control with your wedges should lead to lower scores over time.

Distance Gapping

When trying to decide which clubs to carry you need to go for clubs that will give you consistent distance gaps covering as many yards as possible.

How Far Does a 60-degree Wedge Go?

Average male club players will probably hit the ball 70-80 yards with this club when taking a full swing from the fairway. This wedge really comes into its own when you need some added loft. With so much loft built in you don’t need to manipulate the clubface to get the ball in the air quickly when you have shortsighted yourself. It’s just the sort of club to use if you want to try the Phil Mickelson flop shot.

How Far Does a 64-degree Wedge Go?

Not that many players use a 64 degree wedge. It can be quite tricky for club golfers to get any level of consistency with this much loft in their hands. For many, it would probably be a better choice to stick with a sand wedge as the most lofted club in their bag.

It’s unlikely you would be looking to hit this club full out but your carry distance will depend on your clubhead speed and the quality of your ball striking. A typical club golfer with a clubhead speed of 85-90 mph would probably hit this club around 60 to 70 yards.

The real use for this wedge is on short greenside shots. If you need to get the ball in the air quickly over a short distance then the added loft on this club might be just what the doctor ordered. The problem is that most weekend warriors don’t spend too much time practicing and this is a club that really demands your attention.

Know Your Yardages

Knowing the average distance that you hit a golf ball with your wedges is important if you are going to improve your golf scores. If you don’t have access to a launch monitor then the best option is to hit 10 balls with each different wedge and pace out the distance to where most of them have finished ignoring any bad strikes.

Are 64° Wedges Legal?

There are no limits imposed on iron lofts in the rules of golf. However, in practical terms, 64° is probably as far as you want to go although one or two manufacturers have produced clubs with even more loft!

So yes you can carry on using a 64-degree wedge if you like with a clear conscience.

Some have suggested that the professionals should be limited to a maximum wage loft of 56 degrees in an effort to bring back a little more skill to the game.

Do Lob Wedges Spin More?

Despite what most people probably think it is unlikely to be the highest-spinning club. As the loft starts to increase the ball tends to slide up the face rather than biting on the grooves so you actually doubt get as much spin as you would with slightly less loft.

When Should I Use A 60 Degree Wedge?

A 60 degree wedge is a golf club specifically designed for lofted shots around the green. Golfers use a lob wedge when they are stuck in deep rough and need to get the ball airborne quickly and onto the green. They are also useful when you are playing to a green set up above you as the extra height you gain will help you to stop the ball more quickly.

When Should I Use A 64 Degree Wedge?

A 64 degree is an extremely lofted wedge that in the right hands can get you out of jail. In the wrong hands, it can probably cause more problems than it solves. You’ll probably need to invest quite a lot of time to get consistent with such a club and most ordinary golfers might be better off sticking with just a pitching wedge and sand wedge.

Who Makes The Best 60° Wedge?

If you’re looking at tour validation as the best indication of quality then Titleist’s Vokey wedges would have to be considered as the best. At every tournament, they lead the wedge count. They probably offer the widest range of loft, bounce and grind options although that does come at a price with the latest SM9 wedges costing around $160 each!

Mizuno wedges are also highly regarded and would be a great addition to any golf bag. The other usual suspects such as Callaway with their Mack Daddy range or TaylorMade would be good choices if you can afford the premium prices.

For those on a budget, you might want to look at some of the direct-to-consumer brands like Sub 70. However, these aren’t much cheaper with their wedges starting at around $120.

Some reviewers have looked quite favorably at the Kirkland range available from Costco particularly given that you can get a set of three wedges for around the same price as one premium club. The big downside is of course the lack of choice when it comes to loft, degrees of bounce or grind options.

Can You Use A Lob Wedge From A Bunker?

Yes, you can use a lob wedge from a bunker. You can use a three-iron if you want! Unless you are Seve Ballesteros you are unlikely to escape from the sand though! Using a wedge with more loft can be particularly useful when you have a steep face to contend with or a flag that’s not too far from the bunker.

You should try to buy a wedge with the right amount of bounce for the type of sand in the bunkers at the courses you normally play.

Lob Wedge: Pros And Cons

Lob Wedge Pros

The biggest advantage of a high-lofted wedge is the increased loft which means you can get the ball up in the air more quickly without having to open the face on your sand wedge.

Lob Wedge Cons

For many players, they can be tricky to master. If you have little time or interest in working on your short game then you would probably be better off avoiding this type of wedge.

For example, Golf Digest points out that a 64° wedge has the lowest greens in regulation stat of any wedge loft.

Difficult from tight lies. The overwhelming majority of golfers would have much better results if they were to putt rather than chip where ever possible.

60 Vs 64 Golf Wedge: Summary

You should now have a much better idea of whether a lob wedge can work for your golf swing. A 60 or 64 degree club might not be the best choice for the vast majority of golfers. Given that it looks like more than 50% of greens are missed when using such a club you should probably consider whether it’s worthwhile getting one.

If you still think it’s a good idea then you might want to go for a 58 degree instead.