Many golfers have asked us about how far you should hit your gap wedge. As the resident golf instructor here at Tell Me More Golf, I have answered that question in this article.  

The gap wedge, also known as a 50 or 52 degree wedge, is a very important club in the golf bag. It’s used for chipping around the greens, longer bunker shots, approach shots, and getting out of tricky situations.

How Far Does the Average Person Hit a Gap Wedge?

The average male golfer hits a gap wedge around 85 yards. That’s carry distance, but because the spin and launch are so high on a gap wedge, there won’t be much rollout. Skilled golfers with great ball striking might even experience a shorter total distance than carry, as the golf ball will sometimes spin backward on the green.

How far you will hit a gap wedge depends on many factors.

Just like all other clubs in the bag, the most significant factors for distance are clubhead speed, smash factor, spin, and launch. How many degrees of loft you have on your gap wedge and how hard you tend to hit your golf wedges also make a big difference.

Gap Wedge Distance Chart 

	Average Women	Male Beginners	Average Men	Advanced Men	Professional Golfers
Gap wedge distance:	65 yards	65 yards	85 yards	110 yards	135 yards

To give you a better idea of how far a full swing gap wedge should go, we made a chart with the average carry distances for women, male beginners, average men, advanced men, and professional golfers.

However, it’s crucial to remember that you might experience totally different distances.

For example, many male high handicappers hit their gap wedge well over 110 yards, putting them in the advanced category. The distance you will get mainly depends on clubhead speed and smash factor. 

Tips on Hitting a Gap Wedge for Distance

Because the loft on a gap wedge is very high, the launch and spin will be very high. This isn’t ideal for maximizing your distance with a golf club. To hit your gap wedge further, you can either increase your clubhead speed and other distance factors, or deloft the club and create a lower launch.

Delofting the club is rarely great for your short game, but it’s a great way to gain distance and get a more controllable ball flight out on the golf course.

Compared to a lob wedge for example, a gap wedge goes noticeably lower, but it still goes very high, which isn’t always ideal in windy conditions. But with that said, delofting your wedges isn’t easy and not something we recommend for high handicappers. 

Gap Wedge Average Club Head Speed

Generally speaking, the shorter the club the less clubhead speed the golfer will have.

This is also true for wedges, and the gap wedge in particular. You will have a significantly slower clubhead speed on your gap wedge than a 5 iron, and way slower than a driver.

Professional male golfers swing their gap wedges at just over 80 mph, which is very fast for a wedge. For average male golfers, a clubhead speed of around 65 mph is the most common when hitting a gap wedge. However, it’s important to note that very few golfers hit their gap wedge with a 100% swing, making clubhead speed numbers somewhat misleading. 

TellMeMoreGolf.com – Frequently Asked Questions

Do beginners need a gap wedge?

While it’s hard to say if beginner golfers need a gap wedge or not, having one undoubtedly helps. It’s very useful to have an in-between club between the pitching wedge and sand wedge that can be used when that specific yardage is necessary. 

Is a 52 degree wedge a gap wedge?

A gap wedge typically has a loft between 50-52 degrees. So yes, a 52 degree wedge is a gap wedge. 

Is a gap wedge a 50 or 52?

Gap wedges come in different lofts, but generally between 50 to 52 degrees. What loft you should have in your gap wedge depends mainly on the loft of your other wedges in the bag, including your pitching wedge and sand wedge. 

Conclusion:

The gap wedge is a very useful golf club, and how far you will hit it depends on many factors. The average male golfer will hit their gap wedge around 85 yards of carry distance, while females will hit it slightly shorter at about 65 yards. Thank you for reading this article from TellMeMoreGolf.com.