Best 56 Degree Wedges — (The Golf Instructor’s Buying Guide)

best 56 degree wedge from golf instructors at tell me more golf review and buyer guide

As the leader of the Golf Instructor team here at Tell Me More Golf, I want to help you make a more informed buying decision; getting you the Best 56 Degree Wedge from our review list!

Our expert review guidelines are used by Tell Me More Golf’s review team in order to complete the findings:

  • Spin
  • Control
  • Forgiveness
  • Feel
best 56 degree wedge from golf instructors at tell me more golf review and buyer guide

#1. Titleist Vokey SM9 Wedge – Best Overall


Best Quality
global golf titleist-vokey-sm9-tour-chrome-s-grind-wedge

To find the best 56 degree wedge for this year, our review team primarily looked at the aforementioned criteria: spin, control, forgiveness, and feel.

The Benefits:

The 56 degree wedge Titleist Vokey SM9 is our top choice for many reasons. It delivers terrific spin rates on many types of wedge shots – making it easy to land and stick the greens. While many things are similar to the previous SM8 model, Titleist has upgraded the Progressive Center of Gravity Design to give this wedge even better distance and trajectory control.

When we tested this wedge out, we found it easy to square up the face on longer shots and to control the spin and trajectory around the greens. This, combined with the great forgiveness, meant that we hit many greens in regulation and could stick the golf ball close to the hole. To top it off, the look and feel are top-of-the-range. 

There are over 23 different options of the Vokey SM9 wedges, which can make a decision challenging. To fix this, we recommend getting a proper wedge fitting.

Pros

  • Fantastic spin rates and spin control
  • Great control of trajectory
  • Excellent looks and feel

Cons

  • Many options can be confusing

#2. Callaway Jaws Mack Daddy 5 Wedge – Best Feel


Most Popular
Callaway Mack Daddy 5 Jaws Wedge (Platinum Chrome, Right Hand, 56.0 degrees, S-Grind, 10* Bounce, Steel)

Feel is a very important aspect of a good wedge. We searched for a wedge that lets you know where on the clubface you’ve hit the shot and has a soft and satisfactory feeling for optimal control.

The Benefits:

The Callaway Jaws MD5 wedges are made of mild carbon steel. Their center of gravity is placed in a way that creates a very soft and satisfactory feeling, making hitting your wedges more enjoyable. 

The spin and distance control is so great that you’ll want to hit your shots a few extra yards to take advantage of the zip-back effect. The looks are sleek and traditional, and the forgiveness is also terrific. There are many bounce options available to suit every golfer’s swing, so nothing is stopping you from reaping all the benefits of the jaws wedge. 

Some may prefer a longer and straighter leading edge for confidence and alignment reasons, but we didn’t experience any less forgiveness than its competitors.

Pros

  • Soft and crisp feel
  • Excellent spin rates 
  • Beautiful design

Cons

  • Leading edge can seem too short to some

#3. Cleveland CBX ZipCore Wedge – Most Forgiving


Most Forgiving
Cleveland CBXZipcoreTS56 ST RH, Wedge, Right Hand

Forgiveness is crucial in a wedge, as amateur golfers won’t always hit the sweet spot. When searching for a forgiving wedge, our review team looked at the dispersion of all shots, including mishits.

The Benefits:

This Cleveland 56 degree wedge has a blend of a muscle-back and cavity-back design, making it forgiving and easy to hit. While the back design might not be to everyone’s liking, the wedge looks great at address. Besides superb forgiveness, this wedge has great spin and trajectory control to help you around the greens.

The feel of the CBX ZipCore wedge is very nice, but the impact sound may be a little too clicky for some. 

Pros

  • Extremely forgiving 
  • Great spin 
  • High-performing distance control

Cons

  • Sound is a little clicky

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#4. TaylorMade Milled Grind 3 Wedge


Taylormade MG3 Black LB

Looks should be a significant factor in choosing a wedge, as it will give you confidence when standing over the golf ball. This is especially important for challenging wedge shots around the greens.

The Benefits:

This 56 degree TaylorMade wedge comes in several finishes, and all in all it’s one of the best looking wedges available today. The spin rates and trajectory control are excellent, making it easier to hit fewer shots around the greens and improve your score. The feel is fantastic – making this wedge both enjoyable and rewarding to use. 

One could argue that there is a lack of versatility regarding bounce options, as there are only four, but unless you’re an extremely creative wedge player, this shouldn’t be an issue. 

Pros

  • Perhaps the best looking wedge available 
  • Great spin and trajectory control
  • Fantastic feel

Cons

  • Less bounce options than competitors

#5. Ping Glide 4.0 Wedge


global golf ping-glide-40-s-wedge

Spin is another essential characteristic of a good wedge. To find the wedges with the most spin, our review team tested them out by hitting multiple shots and averaging out the spin results.

The Benefits:

The Ping Glide 4.0 is a great looking wedge, especially in its most common teardrop form. When our review team tested this wedge, they were immediately struck by the high spin. Even on poorer shots, the ball sat down quickly. This makes the wedge very forgiving and fun to use as a result. Other than that, the distance and trajectory control was excellent.

This wedge features a different feel than some competitors. We really liked it, but it may take some time to get used to. 

Pros

  • Great looking wedge
  • Super high spin, even on poor shots
  • Easy to control distance and trajectory

Cons

  • Different feel may take some time to get used to

Finding the Best 56 Degree Wedge – Our Buyer’s Guide


finding the best 56 degree wedge our buyers guide with clubs from titleist callaway cleveland taylormade and ping

The Differences Between Wedge Lofts 

There are mainly four different types of golf wedges that golfers use: the pitching wedge, gap wedge, sand wedge, and lob wedge. 

  • Pitching Wedge Loft

The pitching wedge typically has 44 to 48 degrees of loft and can be used in many circumstances, including from the fairway onto the green, partial shots, chipping, and longer bunker shots. 

  • Gap Wedge Loft

The gap wedge is just what the name implies: the wedge that fills the gap between the pitching wedge and sand wedge. This wedge usually has around 50 degrees of loft – making it suitable for many scenarios. 

The sand wedge has a 54 degrees of loft, but there are also 56-degree sand wedges. That’s why the 56 degree wedge, which this article is all about, is also classified as a sand wedge. These wedges are perfect for bunkers and around the green.

  • Lob Wedge Loft

The highest loft, ranging from 58 degree to 60 degree wedges is assigned to the Lob Wedge. This means that lob wedges create the maximum spin and height. Lob wedges can be challenging to hit for beginners and high handicappers, which is why we recommend sand wedges instead to improve your short game.

The Key Traits of a Good 56 Degree Wedge 

During our extensive wedge reviews, we’ve gathered plenty of information to help you find the best wedge possible. The four key traits of a good wedge are also the main criteria for this article: spin, control, forgiveness, and feel. 

  • Spin 

High spin enables you to land and stop the ball close to the pin. A good wedge has excellent grooves and technology, which creates consistently high spin rates. All wedges on our top 5 list provided above offer maximum spin.

  • Control 

Distance and trajectory control are also crucial components of a good wedge. Sometimes you want to hit a high flop-like shot, and sometimes you might want to keep the shot lower. Partial shots will always come into play, which is when distance control becomes essential.

  • Forgiveness 

All golfers, including professionals, will occasionally hit poor shots. Forgiveness is needed to ensure that these mishits don’t always ruin our hole. All wedges featured on our top 5 list have great forgiveness, but we found the Cleveland CBZ ZipCore wedge the most forgiving. 

  • Feel  

While feel can be subjective, it’s still crucial to give you better touch on your wedge shots and have a more enjoyable time out on the golf course. All wedges on our top 5 list have a great feel, but we especially enjoyed the Callaway Jaws MD5 wedge. 

Why the 56 Degree Wedge Is a Great Club 

The 56 degree wedge is one of the most versatile clubs in the bag. It can be used for pitch shots onto greens, partial shots, chipping, bunkers, and more. We recommend most golfers to use a 56 degree wedge over a 60 degree because of the increased forgiveness while maintaining high spin and trajectory.

Tell Me More Golf – Frequently Asked Questions


How far should you hit a 56 degree wedge? 

The 56 degree wedge distance depends on many things like swing speed, smash factor, etc. Every golfer will hit each club very differently, but you can expect a carry distance of around 85 yards on full shots for an average male golfer. 

What is a 56 degree wedge good for?

The 56 degree wedge can be used for many different types of shots, including pitch shots onto greens, partial shots, chipping, bunkers, and more.

What is the best 56 degree wedge on the market? 

We believe that the best 56 degree wedge for average golfers and high-level golfers is the Titleist Vokey SM9. This wedge offers unrivaled spin, control, and feel. 

56 degree wedge vs sand wedge? 

While most sand wedges are 54 degrees, the 56 degree wedge is still classified as a sand wedge. This makes it very suitable in the sand on longer and shorter bunker shots. You should pick the loft of your sand wedge based on your other wedges. For example, if you have a 52 degree wedge, it’s unnecessary to have a 54 as well.

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The 56 degree wedge is a very useful golf club, and in this article we’ve shown our top five 56 degree wedges for this year. Hopefully, you now have a better idea of which wedge suits you the best. Thank you for reading this article from TellMeMoreGolf.com – your golf comparison site. 

Patrick Corley Tell Me More Golf Instructor and Coach
Patrick Corley
From a golf scholarship to a Southern California University, to a private golf coaching career and an instructor position at a nonprofit organization, I’m here to help you get better at golf! With my 50+ years of golf experience; I bring you Tell Me More Golf. A golf coaching website that helps your game with instructional golfing content that’s ultimately geared toward making you a better golfer and having more fun!
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