Looking at the assortment of letters stamped on your golf clubs - P, S, A, G, L - can feel like trying to decipher a secret language. These aren't random, each letter represents a club designed for a very specific job on the course. This guide will walk you through exactly what those letters mean, moving you from confusion to confidence so you can always pull the right tool for the shot at hand.
Modern golf bags are split into two main families of clubs. First, you have your numbered irons, typically ranging from a 3- or 4-iron all the way to a 9-iron. The system is straightforward: the higher the number, the more loft the club has, the higher the ball will fly, and the shorter it will travel. A 9-iron is built to go much shorter and higher than a 5-iron.
But below the 9-iron, numbers often give way to letters. This is primarily the world of wedges, the scoring clubs designed for precision on approach shots, chips, and pitches around the green. You’ll also find letters on your longest clubs, like your driver and fairway woods. Let’s break down what each of these letters means.
Your wedges are arguably the most important clubs in your bag for shooting lower scores. They handle all the delicate work from about 125 yards and in. Because they are so specialized, manufacturers started using letters to help identify their purpose. While many modern wedges have moved to just stamping the loft angle (like 52° or 56°), the traditional letter system is still widely used and provides a great reference point.
Almost every set of irons comes with a Pitching Wedge. Think of it as the 10-iron - the natural next step down from your 9-iron. It holds a permanent and vital spot in any golfer's bag.
Here’s where things get a bit more diverse. You might see an ‘A,’ ‘AW,’ ‘G,’ ‘GW,’ or even a 'U' on a club. They are all different names for the same thing: a Gap Wedge.
As pitching wedge lofts became stronger (lower), a large "gap" in distance opened up between the pitching wedge (e.g., 45 degrees) and the traditional sand wedge (e.g., 56 degrees). This club was created specifically to fill that void. Think of it like a half-size shoe - it just fits perfectly when the whole sizes feel a little off.
Every golfer recognizes the Sand Wedge. Its original purpose was, of course, to escape greenside bunkers, and it's designed specifically for that job. But its utility extends far beyond the beach.
The Lob Wedge is the club with the highest loft in most golf bags. It is a specialty tool designed for the most delicate and creative shots in golf, where getting the ball up in the air quickly is the only objective.
The ‘D’ on your longest club stands for Driver. Often called the "big stick," it has the lowest loft of any club in your bag (besides the putter) and is designed to hit the ball the farthest. It is used almost exclusively off a tee to start a hole.
You’ll see clubs marked with a number followed by a W, like '3W' or '5W'. The 'W' simply stands for Wood. These clubs, also known as Fairway Woods, are designed for long shots from the fairway or as a more controllable alternative to the driver off the tee. The lower the number, the less loft and the farther it goes (a 3-Wood is longer than a 5-Wood).
Similarly, a number followed by an ‘H’ or ‘HY’ denotes a Hybrid club, such as a '3H' or '4H'. Hybrids have become incredibly popular because they combine the best attributes of a fairway wood (forgiveness, easy launch) and an iron (shorter shaft, more control). They are designed to replace difficult-to-hit long irons (like the 3, 4, or 5-iron) and are excellent from the fairway and particularly useful when hitting out of the rough.
While the letters P, G, S, and L give you a general idea of a wedge's purpose, the modern way to think about your clubs is by their actual loft in degrees. Many specialized wedges today only list their loft (52°, 56°, 60°) and bounce numbers. Understanding loft is the key to proper "gapping."
Gapping means making sure there aren't huge distance gaps between your clubs. Ideally, you want a consistent 10-15 yard difference between each iron and wedge. The best way to achieve this is to have about 4 to 6 degrees of loft separating each wedge.
A perfectly gapped set might look like this:
This setup ensures you have a club for every distance inside 125 yards, so you're never caught in-between and forced to make an awkward, uncomfortable swing.
The letters on your clubs are more than just an alphabet soup, they represent a system designed to give you options and help you make smart decisions. Comprehending whether you need a Pitching Wedge (P) for a running chip, a Gap Wedge (G/A) for an in-between yardage, a Sand Wedge (S) for a bunker shot, or a Lob Wedge (L) for a high-flop shot will remove the guesswork from your short game and give you a clear plan of attack.
Knowing what each club is designed to do is the first step, but knowing when to use it is where confidence lives. It’s tough standing over a shot, unsure if your Gap Wedge is enough or if you need to hit a softer Pitching Wedge. This is why we built Caddie AI. The app can analyze your situation on the course and serve up a smart club recommendation in seconds. It allows you to commit to your decision and swing away freely, without the crippling second thoughts that can ruin a shot.
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