Control Is King When It Comes To How Far Pros Hit Their Wedges

While we often hear about pro golfers’ booming drives and iron distances, less attention is paid to how far pros hit their wedges.

Taking the briefest of looks at this topic we could most simply state that Tour pros hit their wedges the following typical ‘carry’ distances:

  • Pitching wedge: 130 to 155 yards (119 to 142 metres)
  • Gap wedge: 120 to 140 yards (110 to 128 metres)
  • Sand wedge: 105 to 130 yards (96 to 119 metres)
  • Lob wedge: 85 to 110 yards (78 to 100 metres)

But if we simply stop at these wedge distance ranges that the top players hit the shortest clubs in the their bag we run the risk of missing out on key lessons we can all benefit from.

So let’s dive deeper into the distances the pros hit their wedges to get all the insights.

Golfing Focused Takeaways For Time Pressed Golfers

  • PGA Tour pros hit their pitching wedge 130 to 155 yards, gap wedge 120 to 140 yards, sand wedge 105 to 130 yards, and lob wedge 85 to 110 yards on average
  • 90% of top 100 PGA Tour pros carry 4 wedges with precise loft gapping for optimal distance control
  • Top players like Brooks Koepka have up to 5 different distances for each wedge based on different swing types.
  • The key lesson for amateurs isn’t matching these pro wedge distances, but copying their focus on distant control and yardage gaps between wedges.

How Far Do Pros Hit Their Wedges? There Are ‘Lofts’ Of Things To Consider

When examining how far pros hit their wedges, we first need to understand which wedges we’re talking about.

There are literally hundreds of options when it comes to wedge choices, if you include bounces, grinds, finishes etc, but the simplest four main wedge classifications are:

  • Pitching wedge: 45º to 49º
  • Gap wedge: 50º to 54º
  • Sand wedge: 55º to 59º
  • Lob wedge: 60º to 64º

While debate exists about the precise loft ranges of different wedges, these variations highlight why comparing wedge distances isn’t straightforward.

How far pros hit a 45º pitching wedge – Bryon DeChambeau’s choice – is clearly very different to how far they hit a 56 degree sand wedge or 64º lob wedge!

Golfing Focus’ detailed analysis of the wedges the PGA Tour pros highlighted that 90% of the top 100 carry 4 wedges while 10% (including Tommy Fleetwood and Adam Scott) opt for three.

And given both these points we can easily see how pros playing the ‘same wedge’ – whether that be a pitching, gap, sand, or lob wedge – are in reality often playing a very different club.

This inevitably makes the comparison of how far they hit individual wedges more difficult.

And another added complication is that wedges, are the most versatile clubs in any player’s golf bag never mind in the hands of the best golfers in the world.

Take a look at this extract from Brooks Koepka’s yardage book for example.

Brooks Koepke’s yardage book shows how many distances pros want to cover with their wedges

He has 5 different yardages listed for each of his specialist wedges which illustrates just how much variety of wedge shots the best golfers in the world have at their disposal.

Taking a shot of 100 yards for example he has multiple options – whether that be a medium gap wedge or a three-quarter sand wedge or close to full lob wedge.

It is immediately obvious therefore that when comparing the distances pros hit their wedges there are a number of factors we need to consider.

Assuming though that the pros are hitting ‘standard’ lofted pitching, gap, sand and lob wedges we found the following stock ‘carry’ distances for how far the pros hit them:

  • 46º Pitching wedge: 142 yards (130 metres)PGA Tour average
  • 52º Gap wedge: 125 to 135 yards (114 to 123 metres)
  • 56º Sand wedge: 110 to 125 yards (101 to 114 metres)
  • 60º Lob wedge: 90 to 110 yards (82 to 101 metres)

And to help answer the question more fully still here;s a detailed breakdown of wedge distances for the top pros, including Tiger, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler, together with the known wedge lofts they use.

PLAYERPITCHING WEDGE
(loft)
GAP WEDGE
(loft)
SAND WEDGE
(loft)
LOB WEDGE
(loft)
Scottie Scheffler144 yards131 yards (50º)118 yards (56º)105 yards (60º)
Justin Thomas142 yards (47.5º)126 yards (52º)112 yards (57º)100 yards (60.5º)
Brooks Koepka148 yards (46º)130 yards (52º)119 yards (56º)105 yards (60º)
Rory McIlroy150 yards (46º)136 yards (50º)125 yards (54º)105 yards (60º)
Jon Rahm141 yards126 yards (52º)112 yards (56º)98 yards (60º)
Jordan Speith148 yards (47º)130 yards (51º)118 yards (55º)100 yards (60º)
Collin Morikawa130 yards 119 yards (50º)110 yards (56º)94 yards (60º)
Xander Schauffele148 yards135 yards (52º)123 yards (56º)110 yards (60º)
Tommy Fleetwood145 yards125 yards (52º)100 yards (60º)
Tiger Woods135 yards120 yards (56º)100 yards (60º)
Bryson DeChambeau155 yards (45º)140 yards (50º)125 yards (56º)110 yards (60º)
Rickie Fowler140 yards120 yards (52º)105 yards (56º)90 yards (60º)
Viktor Hovland142 yards130 yards (50º)116 yards (56º)97 yards (60º)
Joaquin Niemann145 yards130 yards (52º)115 yards (56º)100 yards (60º)
Sources: Trackman, GolfTV, Golf Digest, Golfweek. All distances are average ‘carry’ distances in yards

Dialling In on Why Pro Wedge Distances Matter to Amateurs

While these yardages again demonstrate the long distances the top players hit all their clubs they are in themselves not the valuable lesson they give amateur players.

The value we all can take from looking at how far pros hit their wedges is:

  • Distance control, and
  • Yardage gap management.

At the very top level of the game, where a yard or two can make the difference between winning or losing a tournament or a lot of money, it is vital they know how far they hit their wedges with a variety of different shots.

That is why you will find some pros’ wedges measured up to 0.5º or even 0.25º when listed.

And it is why they pick wedges not just based on how far they hit them as a ‘stock’ shot but on how many variations of shot they can hit a consistent number with different swings, trajectories and spins.

For Koepka that then means he can swing with his ‘smooth’ or ‘three-quarter’ or ‘full’ or ‘max’ swing and cover a 50 yard range with each of his gap, sand and lob wedges.

The great Tiger Woods by comparison goes all by feel and judges the distance he wants to hit the ball with his wedges based purely on that.

So while almost all amateurs won’t match the pro wedge distances – and it’s not really the point if they do not – understanding how they approach their wedge yardages offers hugely valuable insights to all golfers.

Whether you’re a scratch golfer or high handicapper therefore focusing on applying these professional principles to your wedge game can help hugely:

  • Knowing your exact wedge distances
  • Maintaining consistent yardage gaps between wedges
  • Developing reliable partial shot distances.

Before you go …

For a detailed breakdown of all the wedges the top 100 pros on the PGA Tour are using check out our next article.

Wedge Wizardry: What Wedges Do PGA Pros Use?

Or for the complete guide on how far pros each club across all the major tours read this post.

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