How to Measure Wedge Loft

Frank, Is there a easy way to measure my wedge loft if it doesn’t have it marked on the club? Thank you for a great news letter

–Marv

Marv,

Thanks for your kind comments. Unfortunately unless you have a loft measuring gauge there is no accurate and easy way to measure wedge loft. However, try my suggestion below.

Firstly you need to know how the loft of a club is defined, and secondly you can try to develop a system using protractors etc to make the crude measurement.  The loft, is the angle between the face plane and the vertical plane the shaft is in, when the club is in the normal address position and the grooves are horizontal.

Once you have set up the club as described, then use a protractor to measure the angle between the face plane  (at 90 degrees to the grooves) and the vertical. The method described is crude but should be close enough.

The third alternative is to take your clubs to your local custom clubmaker. They will have a loft measuring device that they can use to measure your wedge loft. Also ask them to check the lie angle of your wedges as that is critical for accuracy of your shots. Remember to equitably space your wedge lofts, but always make sure the sand wedge (56 degrees) has a decent bounce angle. That is important to help you get out of bunkers.

If you are looking for more information on how to buy new wedges, be sure to check out my article on Simple Rules for Buying the Right Golf Equipment.

Hope this helps
Frank

Frank Thomas was Technical Director of the USGA and Chief Equipment Advisor to Golf Digest and Golf Channel.