Wedge Carry Chart: Check Your Gaps Before Buying

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A wedge carry chart helps you decide whether another club would fill a real distance gap. Start with the pitching wedge and wedges you already own, record the carry of shots you can repeat, and take that evidence to a fitting before choosing a new loft.

This guide provides a blank worksheet and our suggested practice routine. It is research-based advice, not a test of particular wedges or a promise of lower scores. The manufacturer and measurement guidance linked below was checked on 16 October 2026.

What to put in your wedge carry chart

Give each club-and-shot combination its own row. A normal full shot and a comfortable partial shot with the same club are different entries. Use yards or metres consistently, and write the unit at the top of the page.

Record these session details before starting:

Clubs: exact model, stated or checked loft, and any known changes to length, lie or shaft.
Ball: model or range-ball type used throughout the comparison.
Setting: date, indoor or outdoor location, mat or turf, lie, wind and any relevant changes during the session.
Measurement: how carry was obtained, whether readings were measured or estimated, and any simulator normalisation or environmental settings.
Shot: your own repeatable description, such as normal full swing or a particular comfortable shorter motion.

The blank chart below contains no measured results. Copy the rows for each wedge you use; the labels do not prescribe a particular set or number of clubs.

Club and loft	Shot description	Carry results and unit	Typical carry	Misses and notes
Pitching wedge: ______	Normal full shot	______	______	______
Same pitching wedge	Repeatable partial shot: ______	______	______	______
Next existing wedge: ______	Normal full shot	______	______	______
Same wedge	Repeatable partial shot: ______	______	______	______
Other existing wedge: ______	Shot: ______	______	______	______

If you use a summary such as the median, keep the underlying shots too. The median is the middle result after sorting the carry values; for an even number, average the two middle values. A single summary cannot show the spread or explain poor contact, so retain those notes beside it.

Keep carry separate from total distance

Carry concerns the airborne part of the shot; total distance also accounts for where the ball finishes. Do not enter a ball’s resting distance in a column intended for its landing distance.

For a launch-monitor example, Trackman’s Carry definition refers to the point where the ball returns to the launch elevation, often called Carry Flat. An uphill or downhill landing spot is therefore not interchangeable with that reading.

Its Total definition describes a calculated resting position, using a flat surface and normal hardness. That simulated rollout is not an observation of your ball rolling on your own green. Label the device and mode, and compare like readings.

If you practise outdoors without a launch monitor, use a facility where landing areas can be identified and distances assessed appropriately. Mark estimates as estimates. A range sign alone may not establish your exact landing distance, and you should not walk into an active range to measure it. A fitting session can help when reliable carry information is unavailable.

A suggested session with your existing wedges

Warm up and choose the shots. Start with a comfortable normal motion rather than a maximum-effort swing. Add one partial shot you can describe and reproduce; “half swing” need not mean half your full-shot distance.
Collect a group for each row. Use the same ball type and comparable lie where practical. Record ordinary misses as well as successful strikes instead of stopping at one excellent shot.
Note the spread. Look at shorter and longer outcomes around the typical result. If a reading appears faulty, flag it and its reason separately rather than silently removing an inconvenient shot.
Keep conditions visible. Do not combine indoor normalised readings, outdoor windy shots and different range balls as though they were one controlled session. Separate them in your notes.
Repeat useful comparisons. Check a promising pattern in another group or session before turning it into a buying decision. Stop and return another day if tiredness makes the comparison unhelpful.

This is our proposed recording routine, not a published laboratory protocol or a minimum number of shots needed for a fitting. Ask your fitter how much reliable data they need and which settings they use.

Read the gaps before choosing another loft

Arrange the normal full-shot entries by typical carry, then look at their spread and your partial-shot entries. A gap matters when you regularly need a distance that none of your dependable shots covers. An overlap deserves a question when two clubs repeatedly do the same job.

Those observations do not automatically prove you need a new club. An inconsistent strike, an unfamiliar partial shot or an unrepresentative practice setting can make the pattern hard to interpret. A fitter or coach can help separate an equipment question from a shot you are still learning.

Vokey’s current loft guide recommends a 4–6-degree progression between wedges and says the ideal setup depends on the golfer’s own carry distances. Use that as a starting discussion, not a guarantee that a particular loft step produces a fixed number of yards or metres for you.

Compare golf wedges for the carry gaps you have checked.

Take the chart to a fitting

Bring the existing clubs and your session notes. Ask to compare a candidate with the neighbouring clubs it would sit between. Record the exact build and repeat the same relevant shots, then check whether the new option adds useful coverage rather than only producing a different number on one swing.

Vokey’s fitting FAQ describes evaluating the current set and testing carry before moving to bounce and grind fitting. Its process also includes short shots from different lies. A carry chart supports that conversation; it does not settle the whole wedge choice.

Two clubs with similar full-shot carry can still have different roles around the green. Use our wedge bounce guide for the separate sole-and-ground discussion. If you are also replacing irons, our iron set makeup guide explains why the actual pitching wedge and included clubs need checking.

Before paying for a new wedge

Write down the distance or shot role you want to add, using your chart and fitting results.
Confirm the exact model, loft, bounce, grind, handedness, shaft, length, lie and grip on the order.
For a used club, ask about alterations; a stamped loft or old catalogue may not describe its current build.
Compare total delivered cost, currency, local support and the seller’s return terms, including any limits on custom orders or used equipment.

You do not need to replace a satisfactory wedge simply to make the numbers look evenly spaced. Keep the existing setup if it covers the shots you use; revisit the chart when equipment, your swing or playing conditions change.

Compare gap wedges in your fitted specification.

Common questions

Should I use my longest shot as the chart distance?

Keep it in the shot record, but do not treat it as your dependable result by itself. The typical carry, spread and ordinary misses together give a more useful buying discussion.

Does a partial swing produce a fixed percentage of full-shot carry?

Do not assume that from its name. Record what your repeatable motion actually produces and describe that motion in your notes.

Does every gap require another wedge?

No. Check whether an existing shot, more practice or a fitted equipment change best addresses the distance you actually need. Consider the other jobs each club performs too.

Sources

Vokey: Wedge Loft — How to Fill Your Distance Gaps — loft progression and personal carry-distance context.
Vokey: Wedge Fitting FAQs — current-set evaluation, carry testing and separate bounce/grind fitting.
Trackman: Carry — airborne distance and equal-elevation definition.
Trackman: Total — calculated resting distance and surface assumptions.