3 Reasons a 10 Iron Should Replace Your Pitching Wedge
What is a 10 iron? Here’s your answer, plus why you should use one
You’ve heard of a 9-iron and you’ve heard of a pitching wedge, but have you ever heard of a 10-iron in golf? Xander Schauffele, who won two major championships in 2024, has a 10-iron in his bag, so maybe you should, too.
Most manufacturers don't include a 10-iron in their iron sets, so it's not like you can just add a 10-iron whenever you upgrade your irons. Yes, 10 irons in golf are rare, but hear us out, they actually make a lot more sense than a pitching wedge. Here’s why.
First of all, a 10-iron is simply another name for a pitching wedge. Quite literally, the only difference is a 10-iron is stamped with a 10 on the sole rather than a P. That’s it. Think 1-wood, driver. Gap wedge, A-Wedge. Tomayto, tomahto.
So if there’s no difference between a 10 iron and a pitching wedge, why should 10 irons replace pitching wedges? Here are three good reasons.
1. Define the Line Between Your Irons and Wedges
When you consider that your irons come in a set that’s designed to work perfectly as a unit, and your wedges should be a set that’s assembled to be well-balanced and optimal for your game, it doesn’t make sense that your pitching wedge is part of your iron set.
Calling a pitching wedge a 10 iron, then starting your wedge set with a gap wedge makes it much easier to define the line between your irons and your wedges. Callaway has taken this concept one step further, offering an 11 iron with certain iron sets, rather than stamping it A for A-Wedge.
2. Loft Jacking
Gone are the good ole days of the 1990s when the 36° 7-iron and the 48° pitching wedge were more or less standard. Today it’s much easier to find a 7-iron with lofts in the higher 20s and pitching wedges in the mid to lower 40s.
Back then, most iron sets started with a 3-iron, or even a 2-iron. With the loft jacking that’s taken place over the years, 3-irons have become nearly obsolete and most iron sets begin with a 4-iron (or even a 5-iron). On the other end of the bag, that turns today’s 9-iron into a 7 or 8-iron of the past, which leaves room for another iron or two in the set before graduating to the wedges.
Until the day club manufacturers stop stamping irons with a number and start stamping them with their loft, the name 10-iron makes way more sense than designating 40-something degree irons that match the rest of the iron set as a wedge.
What Is the Loft of a Pitching Wedge? Standard Loft and Beyond
3. Novelty
We’ll say it again. You’ve heard of a 9-iron, but have you heard of a 10 iron? Well, you have now, but how cool would it be to have one in your bag?
Not only does it just make more sense to call it a 10-iron, but there’s something cool about having a novel club in your bag, even if the only difference is the stamp on the sole.
When you pull out your 10 iron, there’s no doubt your playing partners will wonder what the heck it is.
Perfect 10
Right now, Callaway is the only manufacturer we can find that even offers an iron set that includes a 10 iron rather than a pitching wedge, which, along with an 11 wedge (instead of an A-Wedge), is available in many of its Apex iron offerings.
Perhaps this trend will gain popularity and catch on among other leading club manufacturers and we can better define the line between your iron set and your wedges.