What Is the Loft of a Pitching Wedge? Standard Loft and Beyond

Updated March 28, 2022
wedge in sand trap with ball

TaylorMade Golf

  • DESCRIPTION
    TaylorMade Milled Grind 3 sand wedge
  • SOURCE
    TaylorMade Golf
  • PERMISSION
    Permission given by TaylorMade Golf

A pitching wedge is an essential part of any golf bag makeup, but pitching wedge lofts vary from company to company. While there is no set standard for pitching wedge loft, roughly 75 percent of pitching wedges sold today have between 43 and 46 degrees of loft. This pitching wedge overview details different OEM standards and some history of the lofty club.

Pitching wedges are standard in any iron set and are used for shots that require a lot of height and not a lot of distance. With all the new technology and changes to equipment in the past decade, pitching wedge lofts have been a topic of club-fitting discussion.

Pitching Wedge Loft

The standard pitching wedge ranges from 41 to 47 degrees of loft, depending on the type of player the set is designed for. Game Improvement Irons have stronger (lower) lofts because game improvement irons are designed to give extra distance.

On the other hand, irons with weaker (higher) lofts are typically for more accomplished players who have the swing speed and ball-striking ability to create the desired distance and want their golf club technology to assist their finesse.

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Pitching Wedge Lofts

Here are standard pitching wedge lofts among some of the most popular irons sets of 2022.

Brand and ModelPitching Wedge Loft
Callaway Rogue ST MAX41 degrees
Callaway Rogue ST Pro43 degrees
Cleveland Launcher XL43 degrees
Cobra LTDx41.5 degrees
Cobra King Forged Tec44 degrees
Mizuno Pro 22146 degrees
Mizuno JPX921 Hot Metal44 degrees
PING G42544.5 degrees
PING i52545 degrees
Srixon ZX746 degrees
Srixon ZX443 degrees
TaylorMade Stealth43 degrees
TaylorMade P79045 degrees
Titleist T10046 degrees
Titleist 620 MB47 degrees
Tour Edge Exotics E72242 degrees
Tour Edge Exotics C72244 degrees
Wilson D942 degrees
Wilson D9 Forged44 degrees

History of the Pitching Wedge

In the early 1900's a pitching wedge was referred to as a "lofter" and had between 40 and 50 degrees of loft. Shortly thereafter, sets of golf clubs were given numbers, and the modern-day pitching wedge was called a 10-iron.

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Significance

For most of the 20th century, the pitching wedge had approximately 50-54 degrees of loft. Since the 2000s, the lofts of all irons have been decreased because of perimeter weighting and changing the center of gravity on irons to allow the ball to fly farther. The sand wedge, on the other hand, is and always has been between 54 and 56 degrees, creating a large gap between it and the modern pitching wedge, which spurred the creation of the gap, or approach, wedge.

Identification

Most pitching wedges have a similar look to the rest of the irons in a set. Other wedges are specialty wedges that appear more like sand, gap, or lob wedges, such as Titleist's Vokey 48-degree wedge. Wedges are progressively shorter than a 9-iron and slightly more upright.

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Recommendation

It’s a good idea to have the lofts of all your irons and wedges checked at a reputable golf retailer. You want to be sure that your pitching wedge complements the other wedges in your bag so you don't end up with yardage gaps with your scoring clubs.