Wedge (golf) - Pitching Wedge

A pitching wedge is the lowest-lofted of the named wedges, used to hit a variety of short-range shots. The modern pitching wedge has a loft of around 48° (exact lofts vary by clubmaker and player preference) and little or no "bounce" (angle of the sole to the ground).

The pitching wedge is descended from the "niblick", an obsolete blade-style club with a high loft. As the older naming system gave way to numbered sets in the mid- to late 1930s, the standardization of loft angles led to a split in the niblick's normal range of lofts, to create the 9-iron (with a loft at the time of about 48–50°) and a new club lofted around 52–54°. Some manufacturers such as MacGregor kept with the numbering system and labelled this club the "10-iron", while other makers, seeking to capitalize on the usefulness of this club in the "short game", named the club the "pitching wedge" to associate it with the relatively new sand wedge and its similar utility for close-in shots. The term "pitching wedge" is now used by virtually all manufacturers and players to describe this club; Karsten Manufacturing (maker of the PING brand) simply labels their pitching wedges "W" for "wedge".

The modern pitching wedge is typically used from the fairway or rough for "approach" or "lay-up" shots requiring a distance of between 100 and 125 yards (exact distance will vary, as with any golf club's distance, on a number of variables such as exact club design, player skill and swing speed, and course conditions). It can also be used to play a ball from a bunker when the ball has not buried itself into the sand and the player needs more distance on the shot than their sand wedge can provide. With an abbreviated "chip shot" swing, a pitching wedge can produce high-accuracy shots in the 30–70 yard range, and with a putting motion, the club can be used for "bump and run" shots from the rough or fringe onto the green.