New Shot Scope data gives us a fascinating look at wedge distances among women golfers — and raises an important question about what each wedge in the bag is really there to do.

Last week, Inside the Scoring Zone asked: Are You Carrying the Right Wedges?

One of our readers, Roberta, followed up with a request:

“Interesting data for male golfers. Please run another article with data for female golfers and wedge distances etc.”

We thought that was a great request to do some additional research.

And the more we looked, the more interesting the story became.

According to the USGA's 2025 Golf Scorecard, the average Handicap Index for female golfers is 28.8, compared with 14.0 for men. That immediately gives us some useful perspective. When we talk about a 20- or 30-handicap woman in this article, we're not necessarily talking about an inexperienced or unusually high-handicap golfer. The 30-handicap benchmark we're going to examine is actually very close to the average female golfer who maintains a USGA Handicap Index.

That's important because much of the traditional wedge conversation revolves around how many wedges golfers should carry, what lofts they should have and whether the gaps between them should be four, five or six degrees. Those recommendations don't necessarily tell us whether the wedges in your bag are doing what you need them to do.

2.5 Million Shots Give Us a Better Look

In May, Shot Scope released The Women's Game: By the Numbers, analyzing approximately 2.5 million shots from 2,486 female golfers over 26,312 rounds. The study covers golfers from scratch through a 30 handicap and gives us something that's often missing from equipment discussions: benchmarks based specifically on how women actually play the game.

The wedge numbers are particularly interesting.

The first number that jumps out is pitching-wedge distance. The scratch golfer is at 117 yards, compared with 87 yards for a 10 handicap, 69 for a 20 handicap and 63 for a 30 handicap.

That's a difference of more than 50 yards between the scratch and 30-handicap golfer with the same type of club. Two golfers may both carry a pitching wedge, gap wedge, sand wedge and lob wedge, but they're asking those four clubs to cover very different parts of the golf course.

That last point is especially interesting in light of what you told us last week.

71% of You Carry Four Wedges

Last week's One Question was:

What is your wedge setup?

An overwhelming 71% of respondents said they carry a PW, GW, SW and LW.

So the four-wedge setup isn't unusual among Inside the Scoring Zone readers. It's the dominant setup by a wide margin.

But that result creates another question. If two golfers both carry those same four types of wedges, but one hits her pitching wedge 117 yards and another hits hers 63, should we assume those four clubs are performing the same jobs?

Probably not.

As we move from pitching wedge toward sand and lob wedge in the Shot Scope data, the distances become shorter and don't necessarily form the neat progression we might expect from looking at the lofts stamped on the clubs.

Before concluding that these golfers have poor wedge gaps, though, we need to understand what those numbers are really telling us.

A Wedge Distance Isn't Always a Full-Swing Distance

A 7-iron has a relatively straightforward job. Most of the time, you're trying to hit it something close to its normal distance.

Wedges are different. A sand wedge might be used for a full approach on one hole, a 35-yard pitch on another and a greenside bunker shot on the next. A lob wedge may be used for even fewer full swings.

That's important when looking at Shot Scope's observed on-course data. For example, the 20-handicap golfer shows distances of 69 yards with PW, 62 with GW, 41 with SW and 35 with LW. It would be tempting to look at 62 to 41 and conclude that she has a 21-yard hole in her wedge setup.

That isn't necessarily what the data tells us. It may also reflect how those clubs are being used during actual rounds. The sand and lob wedges can have important jobs that aren't defined by how far the golfer hits them with a full swing.

And that brings us to this week's question.

ONE QUESTION

Which best describes the wedges in your bag?

A. I know my distances and what I use each wedge for
B. I know my distances, but some wedges overlap in how I use them
C. I have at least one wedge I rarely use during a round
D. I really don't know my wedge distances or gaps

Start One Question

What I Saw Teaching Women at Fripp Island

The Shot Scope numbers reinforce something I've seen firsthand.

During my years as Director of Golf at Fripp Island, I had the opportunity to teach a lot of women golfers. They covered a wide range of abilities, but one thing became apparent: the conventional way golfers are told to build a wedge set doesn't always match the way many women actually play their scoring shots.

For a golfer who generates less clubhead speed, simply adding another four or five degrees of loft doesn't guarantee another useful full-swing distance. Two wedges can look perfectly spaced on a specification sheet and still produce very similar results.

At the same time, I've seen women get tremendous value from a higher-lofted wedge because of what it allowed them to do around the green. It might have been their preferred bunker club, their club for a short pitch or simply the wedge they trusted when they needed more trajectory.

That experience is one reason I wouldn't look at the Shot Scope numbers and immediately start eliminating clubs.

I'd start by asking what each club is there to do.

Does Every Wedge Have a Job?

Rather than beginning with what lofts you're supposed to carry, start with the shots you need those clubs to produce. One wedge might be your comfortable 80-yard club. Another might be the club you trust from 60. One could be your preferred bunker club, while another gives you the trajectory you need when you're short-sided with very little green between your ball and the hole.

Some wedges may perform several of those jobs, and there's nothing wrong with that.

The objective isn't necessarily to create four clubs that produce four mathematically perfect full-swing yardages. It's to make sure the clubs occupying those valuable spots in your 14-club bag are actually helping you score.

That distinction becomes particularly important for golfers who generate less clubhead speed. As speed decreases, adding several degrees of loft doesn't always produce the distance separation a golfer expects. Two wedges can have neatly spaced lofts and still produce surprisingly similar full-swing results.

At the same time, the additional loft can provide something extremely useful around the green. That's why distance matters, but distance alone doesn't determine whether a wedge belongs in your bag.

The Question Isn't Three Wedges or Four

This isn't an argument that women should carry fewer wedges, nor does the data tell us women shouldn't carry lob wedges. A lob wedge that is rarely hit with a full swing may still be one of the golfer's most valuable clubs around the green. The same can be true of a sand wedge.

The better question is much more individual: Is every wedge earning its place in your bag?

If two wedges give you essentially the same shots, if there's one you almost never pull from the bag, or if there's a distance you encounter regularly where you don't have a comfortable option, then your wedge setup deserves another look.

The answer could be a different loft. It could be a different number of wedges. It could even be keeping exactly the clubs you already have but learning to use them differently.

The important thing is knowing why each one is there.

Give Your Wedge Bag a Checkup

The next time you have access to a range — preferably somewhere you can measure carry distance — hit a series of normal shots with every wedge. Don't look for your absolute maximum or the one perfect shot out of ten. Find the carry distance you can comfortably reproduce with the swing you would actually make on the golf course.

Then go one step further and write down the shots for which you normally use each wedge.

Your pitching wedge might handle full approaches and lower-running shots. Your gap wedge could be your full- and three-quarter-swing club. Your sand wedge might cover bunkers, pitches and shorter approaches, while your lob wedge is primarily there for short-sided shots and situations requiring more trajectory.

Your list may look completely different, and that's exactly the point.

Once you've done that, look for the holes. Is there a distance you regularly struggle to cover? Do two wedges essentially perform the same job? Is there one that almost never leaves the bag?

Those answers tell you considerably more about your wedge setup than simply knowing the loft stamped on the bottom of each club.

This Isn't Only About Women

Roberta asked us to look specifically at women golfers, and the new Shot Scope data gave us the opportunity to do exactly that. But there's a broader lesson in these numbers.

A senior male golfer whose pitching wedge travels 85 yards may face many of the same equipment questions. So might a beginning golfer or anyone whose clubhead speed doesn't produce the distance separation assumed by traditional equipment recommendations.

That's why we wouldn't look at these numbers and declare that women should carry a certain number of wedges or use one particular loft configuration. There isn't one answer because there isn't one golf swing, one set of distances or one short game.

A Reader Request Worth Exploring

Roberta asked us to dig deeper into the wedge data for women. We're glad she did, because what we found was more interesting than simply another distance chart.

The Shot Scope numbers remind us that distance is only one measure of the value of a wedge. Its value also comes from the shots it allows you to hit, the trajectory it gives you, the confidence you have with it and whether it solves a problem you regularly encounter on the golf course.

And last week's One Question tells us that 71% of you are already carrying PW, GW, SW and LW. So perhaps the next question isn't whether four wedges is the right number.

It's whether those four wedges are the right four for you.

Know your distances. Understand the role of each wedge. Identify the shots or yardages your setup doesn't cover.

Do those three things, and you're much closer to carrying the right wedges for your game.