There are two distances numbers that are really important to amateurs:
- How far they can hit a driver.
- How far they hit each wedge.
A golfer can take his or her game to the next level with an increase in driver distance and dialing in the distance they hit each wedge. Today, we focus on the average wedge distance and creating your own shot chart to take your game to the next level.
Below, we will dive into the following:
- Our field test of 9 golfers with pitching wedge, gap wedge, sand wedge, and lob wedge.
- A breakdown of how far each club travels on average.
- A process to create your own distance chart and how to use it.
Details of our Average Wedge Distances Test of 9 Golfers
Goal: Determine the average distance for the most common wedges in a players bag.
Process: We took 3 low handicap golfers, 3 mid handicap golfers and 3 high handicap golfers and had each golfer hit 12 shots. We eliminate any major outliers from poor contact and averaged the distances below in the chart.
Length of swing: Golfers were instructed to make a full, yet comfortable swing with each wedge.
Average Wedge Distances
Overall, the average distance for amateur golfers for a pitching wedge is 118 yards, for a gap wedge the average distance is 107 yards, for a sand wedge the average distance is 95 and a lob wedge the average distance 83 yards.
Average Pitching Wedge Distance
On average, our golfers hit their pitching wedge 118 yards. The range on the low end was 98 yards and the high end was 132 yards.
Pitching Wedge Distance Chart
| Handicap Level | Average Distance |
| Low Handicap | 124 |
| Mid Handicap | 119 |
| High Handicap | 111 |
| Average | 118 |
Special Note: With all of the wedges, we had a wide range of distances. The worse the handicap level, the more mishits we had to eliminate. But the goal was to identify the average distance on a well struck shot. The averages would be thrown off if a golfer wasn’t striking the ball solid and we didn’t want that to factor in.
Related: How far should you hit your pitching wedge to get to the next level?
Average Gap Wedge Distance
On average, our golfers hit their gap wedge 107 yards. The range on the low end was 85 yards and the high end was 125 yards.
Gap Wedge Distance Chart
| Handicap Level | Average Distance |
| Low Handicap | 118 |
| Mid Handicap | 107 |
| High Handicap | 96 |
| Average | 107 |
Special Note: As we moved from the pitching wedge to the gap wedge and then to wedges with even more loft, the mid to high handicap golfers actually had worse contact than with the pitching wedge. Not sure why exactly this happened, but the extra loft might be difficult due to the ability to compress the ball and keep the handle forward.
Related: What is a gap wedge?
Average Sand Wedge Distance
On average, our golfers hit their sand wedge 95 yards. The range on the low end was 78 yards and the high end was 118 yards.
Sand Wedge Distance Chart
| Handicap Level | Average Distance |
| Low Handicap | 109 |
| Mid Handicap | 95 |
| High Handicap | 83 |
| Average | 95 |
Special Note: We see a bigger drop in the low handicap from gap wedge to sand wedge then we did see previously. This might be due to the fact that many low handicap golfers often don’t take a full swing with a sand wedge and instead prefer to hit these shots at 80-95% and flight a shot into the green.
Related: How far should you hit a sand wedges to get to an elite level?
Average Lob Wedge Distance
On average, our golfers hit their lob wedge 83 yards. The range on the low end was 60 yards and the high end was 100 yards.
Lob Wedge Distance Chart
| Handicap Level | Average Distance |
| Low Handicap | 97 |
| Mid Handicap | 82 |
| High Handicap | 70 |
| Average | 83 |
Special Note: We enjoyed truly seeing what the average numbers are. If most amateurs can create a chart, they will be in great shape to score better. Most golfers don’t have much of an idea of their average carry distances. Our golfers left this day with a shot chart like the one below.
Related: How far should you hit a lob wedge to reach an elite level?
How Far Do Wedges Go
Below is a summary of the average distance of each wedge we tested.
Wedge Distance Chart
| Golf Club | Low Handicap | Mid Handicap | High Handicap |
| Pitching Wedge | 124 | 119 | 111 |
| Gap Wedge | 118 | 107 | 96 |
| Sand Wedge | 109 | 95 | 83 |
| Low Wedge | 97 | 82 | 70 |
Next Steps: Create Your Own Distance Chart
Each golfer needs to answer this question on their own and create a shot chart, especially for their wedges, but hopefully with the entire bag.
| Club | 100% (Full Swing) | 90% | 80% | 70% |
| Pitching Wedge | 128 | 118 | 108 | 98 |
| Approach Wedge | 118 | 110 | 102 | 96 |
| Sand Wedge | 105 | 97 | 91 | 85 |
| Low Wedge | 85 | 76 | 68 | 60 |
Create Your Own Chart: Process
We recommend using a launch monitor such as a Skytrak to compete this process.
These portable devices can be used at the driving range, golf course or set up in your home net or golf simulator. These devices are game changers not only on being able to map your bag and know your distances, but they also provide quality feedback after on every shot and provide the following information:
- Carry Distance
- Spin Rate
- Launch Angle
- Spin Axis
- Total Distance
- Ball Speed
This information will help you map your bag, decide on which clubs are best for your game, develop a stock shot and much more. I love using my SkyTrak 365 days a year in my golf simulator setup.
The process for mapping your bag can looking something like this:
- Hit 5 shots with each club in your bag.
- Log the carry distance and total distance for each shot.
- Eliminate any outlier numbers (poor hits or low spin rates).
- Take the average and create a map of your bag.
If you visit any PGA Tour event you will see plenty of golfers utilizing their launch monitors. While most can’t afford a Trackman, there are some very affordable options in the 500-2000 dollar range. I own the SkyTrak and think the world of it.
Related: How can I improve my distance control?
Here are the top 3 options to check out:
How Many Different Wedges Are There in Golf?
There are typically four different wedges that a golfer might carry. These include the pitching wedge, gap wedge, sand wedge and lob wedge. Each wedge comes in several different lofts. For example a lob wedge can range from 58, to 60 and even a 65 degree wedge.
Golfers will determine if they should carry 3 wedges or 4 wedges. Here is a common setup for each option.
Related: What wedges should a beginner carry?
3 Wedge Setup
- Pitching Wedge – 48 Degrees
- Sand Wedge – 54 Degrees
- Lob Wedge – 60 Degrees
4 Wedges Setup
- Pitching Wedge – 48 Degrees
- Gap Wedge – 52 Degrees
- Sand Wedge – 56 Degrees
- Lob Wedge – 60 Degrees
Related: What degree are golf wedges
Pitching Wedge: The pitching wedge is 46 to 48 degrees and will be used between 100 and 125 yards for the majority of golfers.
Gap Wedge: The gap wedge is 50 to 52 degrees and will be used between 90 and 115 yards for the majority of golfers.
Sand Wedge: The sand wedge is 54 to 56 degrees and will be used between 80 and 110 yards for the majority of golfers.
Lob Wedge: The lob wedge is 58 to 65 degrees and will be used between 65 and 105 yards for the majority of golfers.
Average Wedge Distances: Final Thoughts
There is plenty of golf technology in today’s game. From launch monitors to measure distance to sensors such as Arccos to get your game distances and average. Then when you head to the course having a GPS watch or Range Finder is a major key in having the key information that the professionals have had for years. Make sure you are tapping into the technology in today’s game to get your game to the next level!
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