This golf wedge degree chart gives typical lofts of about 41 to 48 degrees for a pitching wedge, 48 to 52 for a gap wedge, 54 to 56 for a sand wedge and 58 to 62 for a lob wedge. Lofts vary by brand, and the pitching wedge in the three current iron sets we checked was 41 to 44 degrees. Detail on each club is in the guides linked below. We summarize makers' published specifications and have not tested these wedges. This chart is part of our golf club guides, which also cover shafts, fitting and regripping.

Golf wedge degree chart

WedgeTypical loftMain jobGuide
Pitching wedge (PW)About 41 to 48 degrees, depending on the iron setFull approach shots, longer chips and pitchesWhat degree is a pitching wedge
Gap or approach wedge (GW, AW, W)About 48 to 52 degreesFills the loft and distance gap between PW and SWWhat degree is a gap wedge
Sand wedge (SW)54 to 56 degreesBunkers, short approaches, chips and pitchesWhat degree is a sand wedge
Lob wedge (LW)58 to 62 degreesHigh, soft shots over a hazard to a short pinWhat degree is a lob wedge

These are ranges, not rules. The top of the PW range, 46 to 48 degrees, is where the specialist wedge lines start. No governing body fixes the loft of a "pitching wedge" or a "gap wedge"; each manufacturer decides, and the names are a convention.

Chart · Typical ranges and real wedges
Where the maker lofts land
40°44°48°52°56°60°64°
  • Titleist Vokey SM10
  • PING s259
  • Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke MAX Fast
  • Ping G430 (PW plus wedge options)
  • Titleist T150 (PW only)
Every maker line fits the bands, but the specialist wedges start at 46°. A 41 to 44 degree iron-set PW leaves room for a wedge below 46.
The bands are the typical ranges in our table above. The dots are the lofts the makers list: Vokey SM10, PING s259, Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke MAX Fast, Ping G430 and Titleist T150. The PING s259 dots assume the 2-degree steps its 46 to 62 range implies. For comparison, GOLFTEC shows 43 to 48, 48 to 52, 54 to 58 and 58 to 64 degrees, so treat all bands as typical, not exact. The gaps between bands are lofts the ranges do not cover, not errors.

What the angles look like

The difference between a 46 and a 60 degree wedge is 14 degrees of face angle. The drawing is to scale for the loft numbers shown.

Illustration · Loft, drawn to scale
What 46, 52, 56 and 60 degrees look like
46°
52°
56°
60°
Geometry illustration: each line is the clubface tilted back from vertical by the loft shown, so the angles are true to scale. It shows the loft figure only; real wedges also differ in bounce, grind and face shape.

What the manufacturers actually make

The ranges above are typical ranges, our synthesis, and are consistent with the lofts that these brands list for their own clubs. The chart plots those lofts against the bands. They are recent models and not necessarily each maker's latest release.

Maker and modelLofts listedSource
Titleist Vokey Design SM10 wedges46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60 and 62 degrees, each with a bounce and grind code (for example 56.10S)Titleist's SM10 launch release
PING s259 wedges46 to 62 degrees, in several grindsPING's s259 page
Titleist T150 irons44 degree pitching wedgeTitleist's T-Series release
Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke MAX Fast ironsPW 44, AW 48, GW 52, SW 56 degreesCallaway's product page
Ping G430 ironsPW 41 degrees; wedge options of 45.5, 50, 54 and 58 degreesPing's G430 iron page

Two things stand out. First, the iron-set pitching wedge ranges from 41 (Ping G430) to 44 (Titleist T150, Callaway MAX Fast), which is below the 47 to 50 degrees in the older reference points later on this page. Second, the specialist wedges (Vokey, PING s259) start at 46, so a golfer with a 41 or 43 degree PW needs a gap wedge below the usual 48 to 52 range, around 45 to 48 degrees by our arithmetic from the 4 to 6 degree spacing below.

How pitching wedge lofts have moved

Plugged In Golf noted in 2020 that pitching wedges "can be found as weak as 47 degrees" in traditional sets and as strong as 41 in super game-improvement irons. Golf.com reported that the original PING Eye2 spec sheet had a 50 degree pitching wedge. The figures below are reference points from different sources, not a dated series. For how 7-iron lofts compare by model, see our iron specs and lofts chart.

Chart · Pitching wedge lofts, five reference points
Same name, different loft
  1. Ping Eye2, original spec50°
    Golf.com, Fully Equipped column
  2. Traditional blade setsas weak as 47°
    Plugged In Golf, updated 26 January 2020
  3. Titleist T15044°
    Titleist T-Series release
  4. Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke MAX Fast44°
    Callaway product page
  5. Ping G43041°
    Ping G430 iron page
  • Older or traditional
  • Current iron sets
A PW can be anywhere from 41° to 50° across the sets above, which is why you should check your own club.
Sources: Golf.com (Eye2 spec sheet), Plugged In Golf, Titleist, Callaway and Ping. These are reference points, not a dated series: the older figures are not year-matched model data, so read the bars as a spread, not a trend line. The bars start at zero degrees.

Pitching, gap, sand and lob in short

Pitching wedge. The last club in most iron sets and the one with the least loft of the four. Because makers keep strengthening iron lofts, the number stamped "P" has drifted downward. Check your own club rather than assuming. See what degree is a pitching wedge.

Gap wedge. Also sold as an approach wedge (AW), or marked with a G, A, W or just the loft number. It exists because the jump from a modern PW to a 56 degree sand wedge can be 12 to 15 degrees (56 minus a 41 to 44 degree PW). See what degree is a gap wedge.

Sand wedge. Usually 54 or 56 degrees, with enough bounce to glide through sand and turf. Our sand wedge guide explains 54 versus 56 degrees and bounce.

Lob wedge. 58 to 62 degrees. The most loft in the bag, and the least forgiving on poor strikes. See what degree is a lob wedge.

Loft is half the picture: bounce and grind

Vokey lists each SM10 as loft, bounce and grind together. A 56.10S is 56 degrees of loft, 10 degrees of bounce and the S grind. Two wedges of the same loft can behave very differently on firm or soft turf and in sand depending on bounce. Our guide to what bounce does explains how to match it to your swing and course conditions.

The chart shows which bounce options Titleist and PING offer at each loft. The 58 and 60 degree wedges have the widest choice.

Chart · Bounce options by loft
Titleist Vokey SM10
Loft4° bounce6° bounce8° bounce10° bounce12° bounce14° bounce
46°F
48°F
50°FF
52°FF
54°MSDF
56°MSD
58°TMSDK
60°TMSDK
62°M
The 58° and 60° wedges have the widest choice at five bounces each, from 4° to 14°.
Vokey SM10: Titleist’s 22 January 2024 launch release, which prints 54.14F twice, so a 56.14F is not shown. Later Titleist additions were not checked here. PING s259: the spec table on ping.com (undated). Each cell lists the grind letter offered at that loft and bounce, in degrees. This lists what the makers offer; it says nothing about which suits you.

How many wedges to carry

You can carry at most 14 clubs under the Rules of Golf (Rule 4.1b), so each extra wedge costs a place for another club. National Club Golfer lists two tour setups, one with three and one with four wedges including the pitching wedge. They are examples, not a template for your game.

Chart · Two tour wedge setups
Gaps of 4 to 8 degrees
Rory McIlroy
46°54°60°+8+6
Jordan Spieth
46°52°56°60°+6+4+4
McIlroy’s gaps are 8 and 6 degrees; Spieth’s are 6, 4 and 4. GOLFTEC’s 4 to 6 is a guide, not a law.
Wedge lofts as listed by National Club Golfer (4 August 2023, updated 29 April 2024). Gaps are our subtraction. These two setups are as listed in 2023 to 2024 and may have changed. Tour setups reflect a tour player’s swing, courses and equipment and are not a template for an amateur.

How to choose a wedge set

  1. Find the loft of your pitching wedge. It is usually stamped on the sole or listed on the maker's spec page for your iron set. If it is not, a club fitter or golf shop can measure it.
  2. Decide how many wedges you carry. The two tour setups above use three and four, counting the PW.
  3. Space the lofts evenly. GOLFTEC suggests 4 to 6 degrees between wedges, a working guideline rather than a rule, so that full-swing distances are spaced evenly. Enter your own pitching wedge loft below to see the lofts that spacing gives.
  4. Check your gaps on a launch monitor or range. Loft predicts the order of your clubs, not the yardage. Hit three solid shots with each wedge and note the carry, then look for gaps that are too wide or too close.
  5. Match bounce to your turf and swing. Steeper swings and soft conditions generally suit more bounce; shallow swings and firm conditions suit less. Our best wedge loft guide goes into choosing between the common options.
Calculator · Wedge gapping
Space your wedges evenly
40°45°50°55°60°65°
  • PW
    44°
  • Wedge 2
    49°
  • Wedge 3
    54°
  • Wedge 4
    59°
That is 4 clubs from 44° to 59°, so 3 slots of your 14 go to wedges after the PW.
The 4 to 6 degree spacing is GOLFTEC’s guidance. The lofts below are plain arithmetic (PW loft plus the gap, repeated), not a recommendation for your swing: confirm carry distances on a range or launch monitor. The wedge lines we checked, Titleist Vokey SM10 and PING s259, list lofts up to 62 degrees.

How far does each wedge go

Distance depends on swing speed, strike quality, ball and conditions, so this chart does not list yardages. Two golfers with identical wedges can be 20 yards apart. We looked for a published yards-per-degree rule from a named source and did not find one we could verify, so measure your own carry as described in step 4 above.

Source and date

Lofts checked against the Titleist, PING and Callaway pages linked above on 5 and 7 October 2026. The bounce chart uses Titleist's 22 January 2024 SM10 release (which prints 54.14F twice, so a 56.14F is not shown) and PING's undated s259 table. Manufacturers change lofts between models, so check the spec page for your exact club.