For the golfers that tend to struggle getting height on their wedge shots, something like a 70 degree wedge sounds like the perfect solution. But is a club like this too good to be true? Is it legal to use a 70 degree wedge?
To help you get the answer to this question, I took a look at the USGA’s equipment rules to find out exactly whether or not a club like this is legal to use in a round of golf.
Is a 70 degree wedge legal in golf? A 70 degree wedge is totally legal to use according to the USGA. More specifically, 70 degree wedges are valid to use in any casual, high-level amateur, or professional golf match.
Legality Of 70 Degree Wedge
Surprisingly, the USGA does not have a limit on the amount of loft a wedge can have. With this being said, you are not likely going to find many wedges out there that go above 70-72 degrees. However, hypothetically speaking, you could use a wedge that has 89 degrees of loft.
Do Professional Golfers Use a 70 Degree Wedge?
Golf clubs like the 70 degree wedge are more common amongst casual and amateur players. Mainly because these types of players do not have the skill set to hit a flop shot with a wedge that has a lower amount of loft. In other words, casual players and amateur players aren’t able to get the ball up without this kind of club.
Professionals on the other hand do not need 70 degrees of loft to be able to hit a flop shot, so it is an unnecessary club that will just use up room in their golf bag. With this being said, there have been a few instances in the past where some pros have used a 70+ degree wedge, but it is so infrequent.
Who Makes 70 Degree Wedges?
The most popular manufacturer of 70 degree wedges is named Golf Knack. According to the BBB, Golf Knack is a relatively new company, who mainly creates a variety of golf clubs. Their 70 degree wedge is known as the club known as the Hummingbird H7.
Is The Hummingbird H7 Wedge Legal?
According to the USGA’s club database, the Hummingbird H7 wedge is totally legal to use when golfing. More specifically, all versions of the club (58 degree, 64 degree, and 70 degree). So using a Hummingbird H7 during a round of golf is totally allowed.
There are two sets of rules that a club must pass in order to be considered a legal club. These two sets of rules are called the “pre-2010 rules of golf” and the “2010 groove rules”. The pre-2010 rules encompass the entire spectrum of club rules. Things like clubhead regulations, length regulations, grip regulations, etc. are all included in this set of rules.
The 2010 groove rules are a more specific set of rules that helped regulate clubs that were designed with incredibly advantageous grooves. Nowadays, all golf clubs that are manufactured need to pass both sets of rules in order to be considered legal to use in any high-level amateur or professional tournament.
Below is a photo taken from the website. As you can see each version of the Hummingbird H7 passes each set of rules.
