Pitching wedge vs Gap wedge distance
At tour speed a pitching wedge carries about 136 yards and a gap wedge about 124 yards, a gap of 12 yards on the published table. For a 15 handicap the gap is 10 yards: 108 yards against 98 yards. They sit next to each other in the bag, so the gap is the band of yardages between two full swings.
At tour speed
The pitching wedge row is 83 mph, 102 mph of ball speed and 136 yards of carry; the gap wedge row is 81 mph, 95 mph and 124 yards. Roll is 2 percent of carry for the pitching wedge and 2 percent for the gap wedge on a fairway landing, so the total gap is 12 yards. The gap wedge row is modeled and labeled so.
By handicap
Both clubs at each handicap step on the handicap model. The gap narrows a little as speed falls, because the shorter club loses fewer yards per mile per hour.
Pitching wedge and gap wedge by handicap
| Handicap | Pitching wedge | Gap wedge | Carry gap | Total gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scratch | 127 yards | 115 yards | 11 yards | 11 yards |
| 5 handicap | 120 yards | 110 yards | 11 yards | 11 yards |
| 10 handicap | 114 yards | 104 yards | 10 yards | 10 yards |
| 15 handicap | 108 yards | 98 yards | 10 yards | 10 yards |
| 20 handicap | 101 yards | 92 yards | 9 yards | 9 yards |
| 25 handicap | 95 yards | 87 yards | 8 yards | 9 yards |
| 30 handicap | 89 yards | 81 yards | 8 yards | 8 yards |
By driver speed
The same pair for golfers who know their driver speed: each club at the same fraction of its tour speed.
Pitching wedge and gap wedge by driver speed
| Driver speed | Pitching wedge | Gap wedge | Carry gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80 mph | 92 yards | 84 yards | 8 yards |
| 90 mph | 105 yards | 96 yards | 9 yards |
| 100 mph | 118 yards | 108 yards | 10 yards |
| 110 mph | 132 yards | 120 yards | 12 yards |
What the gap means
A gap of 10 yards at 15 handicap means every yardage inside it is a shot for neither full swing: the gap wedge needs more than it has and the pitching wedge needs less. That is a normal gap, and the cost inside it is small: the published fairway table moves only 0.02 of a stroke across half of it. The free launch monitor analyzer reads a session in the browser and flags gaps over 20 yards.
Distance decides less than the pattern around it. Two clubs that carry the same number can spread very differently, and the spread decides whether a target is safe; PinFlag measures the spread from your launch monitor sessions and your logged shots and draws it on the hole.
In PinFlag
Import a session and both clubs become Measured patterns in PinFlag: on the course the aim is priced with the pattern of the club in hand, and switching clubs redraws Shot Cloud with the other pattern around the same target, so the comparison is between two real spreads on the real hole, not two yardages.
Frequently asked questions
How much longer is a pitching wedge than a gap wedge?
Do a pitching wedge and a gap wedge overlap?
Which rolls more, the pitching wedge or the gap wedge?
What is the gap for a 25 handicap?
Which golf app does this on the course?
Related
Sources
- PGA TOUR statistics
- Golf simulator and launch monitor, Wikipedia
- How PinFlag calculates strokes gained
Every figure on this page is computed from the published baselines, the same ones PinFlag prices your shots with. The scope of the figures: Both clubs are the published tour anchors scaled by the handicap and speed models stated on the page; the pattern around each carry, which decides the choice, comes from your own shots.
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