What is an AW Golf Club? (Everything to know)

What is an AW golf club? This abbreviation for golf club means “approach wedge”. Many golfers also call an approach wedge a gap wedge. These golf terms are interchangeable.

Most golfers exploit the AW golf clubs coupled with pitches as well as sand wedges. These clubs are crucial for completing the space between sand wedges and pitching wedges.

Below, you can find a range of detailed information about variations and usage.

What is an AW golf club? What does AW stand for with regard to Golf Clubs?

AW means Approach Wedge. It is the shift between the irons (to the pitching wedge or a ten-iron) the sand wedge, and the lob wedge. It fills up the spaces, so it is also termed a gap wedge.

Its aim is to strike the golf ball and land it softly as near as possible to the hole. Furthermore, you could use them as a complement to your wedges.

It is possible while playing short shots and in the case of a shortage of green areas around golf holes.

You could buy gap wedges in golf equipment shops. The average price of the gap wedges is about 230 dollars and up.

AW Loft

There are diverse types of approach wedges according to the loft. Loft monitors the motion trajectory of a golf ball. The bigger it is, the quicker the golf ball is.

In general, AW has an altitude of 45 to 51 degrees. The most widespread degrees are 50 and 51. It also forms the altitude and distance for each of the 4 wedges. Figures point out the mean distance.

Factual distances depend on some aspects:

• rate of motion,
• angle-of-attack

AW, GW coupled with PW usually provide an iron set. You could consider your pitching wedge as a ten-iron and your approach wedge as an eleven-iron.

As for the sand wedge and lob wedge, golfers use them for shorter shots around the green. In contrast with them, you could use the two lower lofted ones for complete shots.

It is important to have a loft that provides a nice interval with regard to the nine-iron. This way, you might take many complete swing shots.

According to the player’s talent, he has to hit his PW 9 – 15 yards less than a 9-iron on a full swing. For a complete swing AW, has to take 9 – 15 yards less than his pitching wedge.

It is also rather crucial to have the appropriate yardage for the short approach shots.

The loft, which is crucial for appropriate intervals, relies on such factors as:

• iron design
• lofts through the irons set

Game improvement sets focused on beginner golfers have lower lofts. As for the standard iron sets, they focused on professionals with a high skill level.

AW made for low-handicap golfers has a range of 50 to 52 deg. As for the game-improvement AW, they have 48 deg.

The Degree of AW Loft

The standard variety for Approach wedge is from 46 to 52 deg. That is the biggest variety of degrees that every type of wedge has.

It is rather useful for a golfer as it provides a wide range of variants for customers.  It is able to adapt to one type of golfer or another.

Below, you can look through the table. You could observe the range of iron loft in game-improved and standard sets.

Comparative Chart

1. A standard loft for a 4-iron club is 24 degrees. When it comes to the strong ones, that number drops to 19 degrees
2. A standard one for a 5-iron club is 27 deg. Strong – 21
3. The standard for 6-iron club – is 30 deg. Strong – 25
4. The standard for a 7-iron club – 34 deg. Strong – 28
5. The standard for an 8-iron club – 38 deg. Strong – 32
6. The standard for 9-iron – 42 deg. Strong – 38
7. The standard for PW – 46 deg. Strong – 43
8. The standard for AW or GW – 51 deg. Strong – 48
9. Standard for SW – 54-58 deg. Strong –
10. A standard for LW – 58-64 deg. Strong –

Common Ways to Use an AW Golf Club

You could use an approach wedge for hit shots to greenspace from the distances above. And also for any other distance on a golf course.

An AW permits to make a high trajectory on hitting shots if there is a lack of green. It is also necessary while serving or hitting shots around the green.

Its target is to hit the golf ball high and touch it down as near as possible to the golf hole. This kind of club permits hitting the ball through barriers. For instance, bunkers and water hazards.

A successful hit would touch the golf ball down next to the flag and pause soon. It could also roll back if the golfer planned it.

Creating the reverse rotation is rather helpful in the case of striking the ball to the green. GW assists in holding the shots at an appropriate altitude to prevent rotation.

The Way to Swing an AW Golf Club

The full swing you put in place on the short iron is the type of swing you would desire for the Approach wedge or GW. It engages the ball in the middle of the position and takes a swing to lift it into the air.

The knockdown throw helps as well if you don’t need a complete swing to achieve the goal with the GW. It has a similar swing to the standard one for wedges.

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Kinds of Shots to Hit using an AW Golf Club

There are a couple of standard throws.

1. Complete Swing Approach To Green

You would put the ball in the midst of the position and swing the best you could with every iron shot.

Golfers would hit the complete swing approach wedge with many diverse meterages. This interval varies from 80 to 120 yards.

In the case of playing with a blade-style wedge, you would desire to select a GW with less bounce. A high level of bounce helps the club slide on the grit. If you desire to take plenty of complete swing shots, the bounce may disturb you.

2. Chip Shots

The chip shot will soar for the first part of the path and then spin.

As an approach wedge is not the most lofted one in the golf bag, you should permit it a certain space for rolling.

You might also desire to examine striking the ball approximately halfway to your aim. Then permit it to spin the rest of the path.

The approach wedge golf club is ideal for chip shots. It would permit more forgiveness than the PW or nine-iron.

3. Long Bunker Shots

Many golfers wonder what the perfect option is while getting to the suggested shots. Many of them select their SW, but it is a pointless choice.

The best option for long bunker shots is an approach wedge. That’s because the pin is behind the green and the bunker is ahead.

You could use your usual swing speed and course conditions. But this way, you might finish with excess distance and quite a bit nearer to the pin.

Auxiliary Sources

There is plenty of information about approach wedges, golf clubs, and the rest.

You can find it in the:

• Internet
• articles in the profile magazines
• manuals

Here is one extra source. It will explain the main difference betwixt pitching wedge and a sand wedge. As well as AW and lob wedge

It would also ensure you have four wedges in your bag. That would help make a short game more simple.

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FAQ about AW Golf Clubs

Below, you can look through the most frequently asked questions and find the short answers.

Final Word

It is a rather responsible task to find the appropriate tools for the game.

Approach wedges are precious clubs to keep in your golf bag. Many golfers appreciate it for getting rid of the excess long irons.

Please leave feedback if this article was useful for you. Good luck!