Wilson Dual and Triple Duty Wedges, how useful are they?

[deejaid]

I’ve been looking at 50’s era Wilson dual wedges and Triple Duty wedges lately and thinking of adding one to the bag. Have any of you guys played these and just how versatile are they around the greens and up to 60 yards or so?

 

I like the Sandy Andy for green side rough and bunkers but it is not a club I trust for longer shots. I was thinking of pulling the Sandy Andy if one of the dual or triple wedges plays well enough from the sand.

 

 

[dcopp7]

I have a Byron Nelson Northwestern dual wedge and like it. It does well 90yds and in.

[rgk5]

The Triple Duty is more versatile. A Hogan 53 is without peer from that era, albeit a little strong for SW.

[BIG STU]

I had a Triple Duty Wilson I think it was a 65 67 model. It played all right for me but no better or worse than any 588 Cleveland. I think I gave it to Randy ( Old School Rocker) when he came up and visited me. He is a big Wilson fan and I knew he would use it. If I go back to the triple cut sole I have several Macgregor Tommy Armours and a Cally PM grind that I re ground like I wanted it. If I go the Wilson route I will go back to the JP series which I am also a big fan of. Face the facts I will admit I am a big time wedge ho. 99% of the time if it is a wedge I like it

[deejaid]

Yeah Stu, I’m starting to really look at the old wedges now too. I picked up what looks to be a 1955 Wilson 3D Triple Duty Wedge so I’ll put it up against the 1961 Sandy Andy see which I prefer.

[BIG STU]

Those Sandy Andy wedges were one heck of a wedge back in the day along with the R-90. Both of those wedges were great out of the Brick Mason type sand most public courses in the area had in those days. They were also good off of quite a few lies we had in the rough on those goat tracks. My old man sold a boat load of both in those days. I had an Original R-90 from the 50s or 60s I carried and wore the face concave. A few years back I found a remake one at the Goodwill here. Had an awful rotted Winn grip on it . They were fixing to scrap it because of the grip. I gave $1 for it. Regripped it but never could get it to perform like my old one at least in my eyes anyhow. I gave it to Randy too I think. But IMHO the older vintage wedges are heavier right off the bat. I think back in those days they used heavier denser metal and I know for a fact those old steel shafts had thicker walls in them than any modern shaft. Out of all the vintage wedges I own my favorite 3 are a 52 Armour split sole , A 53 Top Flite ( that has a little pedigree of it's own) and a 54 Spalding Dynamiter. The Dynamiter has a little too much offset for my taste but I like it anyhow

[deejaid]

Well I got to the range today with the 3-D Triple Duty Wedge and I have to say I’m quite impressed. I started by hitting some balls on the range and while it felt a bit heavy for full swings it could be a good 3/4 swing 60 yard clubs. It was very versatile around the green and was easy to open up for flop shots.

 

Where I was really surprised was out of the sand. It doesn’t seem like it has much bounce but I had no problems popping the ball right out, actually much easier than with my Sandy Andy. I figured for sure it wouldn’t play well out of the sand but it just kept popping them out.

 

I’m pretty happy with the Triple Duty and am gonna put it in the bag for awhile and the Sandy Andy can go in the bag with my ‘61 Dyna-Powered’s.

[Richard 77]

I have a Wilson harmonized Dual wedge my father in law gave me back about 1968. His. Brother threw across the fairway about 1955 and said if he wanted it he could have. Been my bag in an out now 51 years. It was always good for about 65 yds (back when I could hit it 65) it now in my bag of54 Top Flites.

[ChipNRun]

Back in the previous century (circa 1969) I played a 1950s set of TopFlite Syncrodyned irons 2-9 with no PW. Due to budget constraints, my sole wedge was the Wilson Triple Duty.

It was OK for greenside or bunker shots, but I had trouble controlling it for longer shots. One day I checked the swingweight at a pro shop, and it weighed in at E8! No wonder it felt so heavy.

The starter suggested I get some metal bored out of it. I took it to a machine shop, and the machinist happened to be a golfer. He bored out four holes along the red line just above the back flange. I checked it out and the new swingweight was D5, if I remember right.

The lighter swingweight opened up some mid-range Triple D shots for me. I also got a Hogan Equalizer to use as a PW, pulling a 2W (brassie) from the bag to make room.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

E8?? Good grief. I picked up a club (Cobra baffler 5-6 wood) in the local second hand shop last year -- before my back injury -- that had some very heavy, stiff shaft in it. I hit it surprisingly well, but it had a real heft to it.

When I measured it on the swing weight device, it came out something like E5. I didn't buy it.

 

[deejaid]

Well I’ll chime in again as it’s been 9 months with the Triple Duty in the bag and I must say I haven’t played with anything else in that time. The Triple Duty is a great club from 80 yards in and I use it for all shots inside 80 yards. The loft is about 53-54* and it is quite easy to open up for higher lofted shots or close it down for chipping. It is surprisingly adept at bunker shots in both soft and hard packed sand. I think I’d agree that the Triple Duty is a very versatile club.

I actually bought a second identical wedge with a replacement rubber grip that I regripped with an arthritic grip as I didn’t want to mess with my first one. Great wedges.

[Dyna-Powered Guy]

I absolutely love the Wilson 3-D wedge from 1955-57.   Wonderful for chips from 45 yards in. Great from tight lies.   E0 swing weight.  Goes straight.  My course has fluffy sand so I also carry a big-bounce Haig Ultra or Wilson SW, also heavy, from the era.  Love the heavy old Dynapower and Haig Ultra wedges.  Heavy is better.   Also, love the low or negative bounce PWs and 9 irons from Wilson in that era.