Wedge Loft Chart
What degree every wedge is, what it carries, and how the four slots fit together — with the loft figures taken from the factory spec charts on this site.
| Wedge | Marked | Typical loft | Most common | Typical carry | Bounce |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitching wedge | PW | 43°–48° | 46° | 95–125 yd | 2°–8° |
| Gap wedge | GW / UW | 48°–52° | 50° | 80–110 yd | 8°–12° |
| Approach wedge | AW / A | 48°–52° | 50° | 80–110 yd | 8°–12° |
| Sand wedge | SW | 54°–56° | 55° | 65–90 yd | 10°–14° |
| Lob wedge | LW | 58°–62° | 60° | 50–75 yd | 4°–10° |
“Most common” is the single most frequently published loft for that club across the 1818 set wedges on file here. Gap wedge and approach wedge are the same club under two different names.
The five wedges, one page each
How to gap your wedges
Wedge gapping is subtraction, and it starts with one number: the loft of the pitching wedge that came with your irons. Look your set up on its brand page — do not assume, because pitching wedges run 37°–47° across the sets on file here introduced from 2010 on.
- Find your pitching wedge loft. A modern game-improvement set is often 43°–44°; a players set or blade is usually 46°–48°.
- Add 4°–6° at a time. That is roughly 10–15 yards per club for most players. From a 44° PW: 50°, 54° or 56°, and 58° or 60° if you carry four wedges.
- Check the bottom of the bag. Above about 60° you gain height without gaining control, so most players stop at 58° or 60°.
- Confirm it on the course. Loft predicts gaps; it does not guarantee them. Bounce, shaft and turf all move real carry numbers.
The most common gapping fault in an amateur bag is a strong modern pitching wedge paired with a traditional 56° sand wedge, which leaves 12° — two clubs’ worth of distance — with nothing in between. That is exactly the hole the gap wedge was invented to fill.
Wedge lofts by brand
Median loft for each wedge slot, across sets introduced 2010 or later. A dash means the manufacturer does not supply that wedge with its iron sets often enough to give a meaningful figure — most brands leave the lob wedge to their specialty wedge line.
| Brand | PW | GW | AW | SW | LW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Callaway | 44° | 51° | 49° | 54° | 59° |
| TaylorMade | 45° | — | 50° | 55° | 59° |
| Mizuno | 45° | 50° | — | 55° | 60° |
| Ping | 45° | 50° | — | 54° | 58° |
| Titleist | 45° | 48° | — | — | — |
| Cobra | 44.25° | 50° | — | 54.5° | 59° |
| PXG | 44° | 49° | — | 54° | 60° |
| Wilson | 44° | 48.5° | — | 55° | — |
| Tour Edge | 44° | 51° | 49° | 55° | 59° |
| Srixon | 44° | — | 50° | 56° | — |
| Bridgestone | 46° | — | 50° | — | — |
| Cleveland | 44° | 49° | — | 54° | — |
| Miura | 46° | 50° | — | — | — |
| XXIO | 42° | — | 48° | 56° | — |
| Nike | 44.5° | — | 49° | 54° | — |
| Adams | 45° | 50° | 50° | 55° | 59.5° |
| Honma | 43° | 48° | 50° | 56° | — |
| Sub 70 | 45° | 48.5° | 50° | 54° | — |
| Epon | 45.5° | — | 50° | 56° | — |
| Maltby | 44° | 48.5° | — | — | — |
| Tommy Armour | 44° | — | 49.5° | — | — |
| Vega | 43° | — | 46° | — | — |
| Yonex | 43° | — | 48° | 54° | — |
GW and AW are the same slot — brands use one label or the other, so each row normally carries a figure in one column and a dash in the other.
Set wedges and specialty wedges are not the same thing
The wedge that comes with an iron set is built to match that set: same head shape, same shaft, same finish, and a loft chosen to follow on from the 9-iron. A specialty wedge — a Vokey, a Cleveland RTX, a Milled Grind, a Ping s159, a Mizuno T-series — is sold on its own in 2° increments, normally from 46° up to 62°, with a choice of bounce and sole grind.
That is why the tables on this site stop at the set wedge. Every figure here comes from a manufacturer spec chart for a complete iron set; specialty wedge lofts are simply whatever you order.
Frequently asked questions
What are the standard wedge lofts?
Pitching wedge 43-48 degrees, gap or approach wedge 48-52, sand wedge 54-56, lob wedge 58-62. No governing body sets these, so they are conventions rather than standards, and a set's own spec chart always overrides them.
How many wedges should I carry?
Most players carry three: the pitching wedge that came with the set, a sand wedge, and one wedge between them. A fourth wedge only makes sense if you can keep 4 to 6 degrees between every one of them without giving up a club you use more at the top of the bag.
What loft gaps should be between my wedges?
Four to six degrees, which works out to roughly 10 to 15 yards for most players. Start from the pitching wedge loft printed on your own set's spec chart, not from a generic number, because modern pitching wedges vary by 5 degrees between brands.
Why do wedge lofts differ so much between brands?
Because the pitching wedge is part of the iron set, and iron lofts have been strengthened over time to advertise more distance. Specialty wedges sold separately are far more consistent: they come in 2 degree increments from about 46 to 62 degrees regardless of brand.
- Loft figures are computed from the manufacturer spec charts on file at LoftChart — 1818 set wedges across 23 manufacturers. Each model page lists its own sources.
- Loft bands, bounce ranges and carry distances are the accepted industry conventions for a standard men’s build. No governing body defines them, so they are given as ranges.
Last reviewed 2026-08-30. Spot an error? info@loftchart.com