Let's talk about wedges

[jjfcpa]

I've tried a few different wedges and decided on the Mack Daddy 4 - 48, 54, and 58. I really like the 58, but I have trouble with the 54. Looking for something that might provide a little more forgiveness. I've tried the Mack Daddy Forged and did not think it provided any benefit. I've also played the Ping Glide Stealth 2.0 and while I think they are good wedges, just had difficulty with them as far as consistency. Always looking for a better mouse trap... any suggestions?

[sdandrea]

Cleveland as added some size/forgiveness via their CBX line.

[MadGolfer76]

> @jjfcpa said:

> I've tried a few different wedges and decided on the Mack Daddy 4 - 48, 54, and 58. I really like the 58, but I have trouble with the 54. Looking for something that might provide a little more forgiveness. I've tried the Mack Daddy Forged and did not think it provided any benefit. I've also played the Ping Glide Stealth 2.0 and while I think they are good wedges, just had difficulty with them as far as consistency. Always looking for a better mouse trap... any suggestions?

 

If you like the design, try a model with some more bounce.

[RainShadow]

What grinds are you playing in the MD4's?

 

[Kale_m]

Maybe mess with the lie angle. Not sure what part of “forgiveness” you are referring to.

[pinestreetgolf]

> @Kale_m said:

> Maybe mess with the lie angle. Not sure what part of “forgiveness” you are referring to.

 

This. Impossible to help with just "forgiveness". In the full swing, "forgiveness" is generally accepted to mean "retention of ball speed on hits that are not 0.0 face or path" but with wedges it could be anything.

 

Fat/thin contact forgiveness? Grind and bounce.

Toe/Heel face forgiveness? a CBX like the other gentleman said or an iron set wedge maybe.

Path/flipping forgiveness? Usually too much offset, sometimes too big a club head or too little loft visually.

More or less spin than expected? Usually swingweight or shaft.

etc...

[Kale_m]

> @pinestreetgolf said:

> > @Kale_m said:

> > Maybe mess with the lie angle. Not sure what part of “forgiveness” you are referring to.

>

> This. Impossible to help with just "forgiveness". In the full swing, "forgiveness" is generally accepted to mean "retention of ball speed on hits that are not 0.0 face or path" but with wedges it could be anything.

>

> Fat/thin contact forgiveness? Grind and bounce.

> Toe/Heel face forgiveness? a CBX like the other gentleman said or an iron set wedge maybe.

> Path/flipping forgiveness? Usually too much offset, sometimes too big a club head or too little loft visually.

> More or less spin than expected? Usually swingweight or shaft.

> etc...

 

To add to my previous comment. It is a wedge. If you can’t hit a wedge, the shortest, most lofted club in the bag, then it is a swing issue or a lie issue.

 

I have the md4 in the 52/56. When I first got them they felt hard and clunky. Got them bent 2 flat and man. They feel like butter through the ball now. Strike before wAs very heel side. Now I have a wear mark right dead center on the black finish.

 

Almost thinking of getting a 60 to replace my hi toe they are that good

[ChipNRun]

If you know a golf instructor, have him take a look at your 54* swing. As **pinestreetgolf** said, what aspect of forgiveness do you have trouble with?

The MD4 54* (and 56*) come in three sole grinds with 8, 10 and 12 degree bounce. Which one do you have? If you can keep all your wedges within the same family, this helps with feel and more uniform look at set-up.

 

[JAMH03]

> @jjfcpa said:

> I've tried a few different wedges and decided on the Mack Daddy 4 - 48, 54, and 58. I really like the 58, but I have trouble with the 54. Looking for something that might provide a little more forgiveness. I've tried the Mack Daddy Forged and did not think it provided any benefit. I've also played the Ping Glide Stealth 2.0 and while I think they are good wedges, just had difficulty with them as far as consistency. Always looking for a better mouse trap... any suggestions?

 

I like this question!

1 the problem is not defined we need to define it to solve it.

W/O knowing the problem I FEEL like where the solutions might be found are

* 1 the golf shaft.

* 2 the wedge swing, implementations or expectations

* 3 data where is the data !?!

 

How does this 54 compare to the 48 on the course and in outcomes? To your previous wedges etc what are you seeing from the ball flights turf interaction etc all? Are you playing the same courses? Same golf ball? Has your SS increased or decreased? Are you practicing the same? Do you actually practice your distance wedges? How is your short iron and driver swing? Are you taking about chipping and pitching vs full distances swings? What do you like in wedge or iron shafts

 

Need data @jjfcpa my friend looking forward to your reply.

 

[Joelsim]

> @jjfcpa said:

> I've tried a few different wedges and decided on the Mack Daddy 4 - 48, 54, and 58. I really like the 58, but I have trouble with the 54. Looking for something that might provide a little more forgiveness. I've tried the Mack Daddy Forged and did not think it provided any benefit. I've also played the Ping Glide Stealth 2.0 and while I think they are good wedges, just had difficulty with them as far as consistency. Always looking for a better mouse trap... any suggestions?

 

Try a 52. Personally I find a 52 a far easier club to hit full than a 54. That may just be me though.

 

 

[tucker500]

> @jjfcpa said:

> I've tried a few different wedges and decided on the Mack Daddy 4 - 48, 54, and 58. I really like the 58, but I have trouble with the 54. Looking for something that might provide a little more forgiveness. I've tried the Mack Daddy Forged and did not think it provided any benefit. I've also played the Ping Glide Stealth 2.0 and while I think they are good wedges, just had difficulty with them as far as consistency. Always looking for a better mouse trap... any suggestions?

 

58 is ok but the 54 is not? Same wedge. Bounce would be only difference?

 

[jjfcpa]

Sorry about the omissions. Here are the specs on the wedges and the issues I seem to have with each.

 

Shafts are all UST Mamiya Recoil 460 Wedge Graphite senior. Lie and length are all standard. All with Lampkin 48g UTx grips.

 

58 - 12 ( X grind ) - I always seem to hit this too short because I find myself decelerating - not sure if this is a grind issue where it's getting hung up. I use it within about 40 yards and in the bunker.

54 - 12 ( W grind ) - I find that I don't really use this wedge very much - it's got to be that perfect distance and I find myself reach for the 58 or 48 most of the time.

48 - 10 ( S grind ) - This is my full swing 60 - 75 yard club. No real problems hitting this, but I find that I'm not getting the distance as consistently as I'd like.

 

If I were to replace them, I'd probably go with the following instead. I still like the MD4's but I think the grinds are wrong. I've 5'6" so I think the lies should be 2 degrees flat.

 

58 - 12 ( W grind ) - 2 degrees flat

52 - 12 ( W grind ) - 2 degrees flat

48 - 10 ( S grind ) - 2 degrees flat

Appreciate the feedback guys.

[RacineBoxer]

> @jjfcpa said:

> I've tried a few different wedges and decided on the Mack Daddy 4 - 48, 54, and 58. I really like the 58, but I have trouble with the 54. Looking for something that might provide a little more forgiveness. I've tried the Mack Daddy Forged and did not think it provided any benefit. I've also played the Ping Glide Stealth 2.0 and while I think they are good wedges, just had difficulty with them as far as consistency. Always looking for a better mouse trap... any suggestions?

 

I went from Glides to the Cleveland CBX last year. Whenever I hear "forgiveness" and "wedge" in the same sentence that is the first place to look. They are forgiving, no doubt. I switched back to Glides (stealth) because they didn't offer quite enough finesse for me but I'd definitely recommend them to anyone who misses the sweetspot consistently and tends to fat quite a few wedges.

 

Otherwise, the ole adage here is important: practice, practice, practice. No club can truly fix a fat/chunk/bladed/thin shot. Wedges can be finnicky, need to spend some quality time with them :)

[jjfcpa]

> @RacineBoxer said:

> > @jjfcpa said:

> > I've tried a few different wedges and decided on the Mack Daddy 4 - 48, 54, and 58. I really like the 58, but I have trouble with the 54. Looking for something that might provide a little more forgiveness. I've tried the Mack Daddy Forged and did not think it provided any benefit. I've also played the Ping Glide Stealth 2.0 and while I think they are good wedges, just had difficulty with them as far as consistency. Always looking for a better mouse trap... any suggestions?

>

> I went from Glides to the Cleveland CBX last year. Whenever I hear "forgiveness" and "wedge" in the same sentence that is the first place to look. They are forgiving, no doubt. I switched back to Glides (stealth) because they didn't offer quite enough finesse for me but I'd definitely recommend them to anyone who misses the sweetspot consistently and tends to fat quite a few wedges.

>

> Otherwise, the ole adage here is important: practice, practice, practice. No club can truly fix a fat/chunk/bladed/thin shot. Wedges can be finnicky, need to spend some quality time with them :)

 

Well said, and I do. I probably spend 60% of my practice time with wedges and putter.

[JAMH03]

@jjfcpa what method do you use for distance wedges?

[RainShadow]

What grinds are you playing in the MD4's?

 

[jjfcpa]

> @RainShadow said:

> What grinds are you playing in the MD4's?

>

See my later post where I provided all the specs.

 

 

[pinestreetgolf]

> @jjfcpa said:

> Sorry about the omissions. Here are the specs on the wedges and the issues I seem to have with each.

>

> Shafts are all UST Mamiya Recoil 460 Wedge Graphite senior. Lie and length are all standard. All with Lampkin 48g UTx grips.

>

> 58 - 12 ( X grind ) - I always seem to hit this too short because I find myself decelerating - not sure if this is a grind issue where it's getting hung up. I use it within about 40 yards and in the bunker.

> 54 - 12 ( W grind ) - I find that I don't really use this wedge very much - it's got to be that perfect distance and I find myself reach for the 58 or 48 most of the time.

> 48 - 10 ( S grind ) - This is my full swing 60 - 75 yard club. No real problems hitting this, but I find that I'm not getting the distance as consistently as I'd like.

>

> If I were to replace them, I'd probably go with the following instead. I still like the MD4's but I think the grinds are wrong. I've 5'6" so I think the lies should be 2 degrees flat.

>

> 58 - 12 ( W grind ) - 2 degrees flat

> 52 - 12 ( W grind ) - 2 degrees flat

> 48 - 10 ( S grind ) - 2 degrees flat

> Appreciate the feedback guys.

 

Distance issues are almost always spin issues in the wedges. Its not like irons where adding more mass will impact more velocity, because you are making a much more relative swing. If you have 60 yards to your target and your flat out wedge goes 75 it doesn't make any sense to "fix" being short by playing a wedge with more mass (i.e. the Cleveland wedges) because you could hit it longer if you wanted to, so adding a wedge that increases your theoretical distance is pointless, unless you are coming up short due to missing the center, in which case this is the answer. Many players experience the "I hit it really well just came up short" phenomenon and its usually because their shafts spin way too much. I don't know much about the Recoils specifically, but playing senior flex shafts in clubs that are 54* already and designed to go less than a hundred yards seems kinda nuts (not sure if you got fit or not). Those shafts are meant to get your 26* 6 iron up in the air. They are extremely high launching and extremely spinny. Before I went out and dropped a ton of coin on a new wedge set, I would get a single wedge off eBay with a SL s300 shaft (SL is "super light") which is my favorite wedge shaft for lighter-swinging players. At a certain point you don't need help launching the ball anymore and you're just getting more spin.

 

Its very common for players to do one of two things to avoid that "middle wedge syndrome" that you have. Either they make the middle wedge their bunker wedge, or they use their lob wedge only in the green complex and make the middle wedge anything from 10-55. Basically good players almost always end up greenside-fairway-fairway OR greenside tight-greenside loose-fairway. Its common for players without a defined plan for the wedges to squeeze out one, because one becomes their favorite around the green and another off the fairway and the third never gets used. For you, this makes sense. An X grind is designed for greenside and a S is designed for the fairway. Your "W" was originally designed for a loose sand bunker wedge. I think you'd hit that a lot more if it was also an S. A W is very hard to hit from significant distance. Its designed to pop the ball up out of crap softly and easily.

 

My two cents FWIW. Unless you have issues with fat and thin shots you don't need grind changes and unless you have issues with heel/toe you don't need a CB wedge. I suspect those senior flex, lite recoils are making it really tough to get a 54* clubhead launching anything but superduper-spinny, weak shots.