Is there a consensus on wedges?

[Swingthoughts]

I am in the market for new wedges.  I know all club decisions are personal and involve a number of variables.  I tested Volkey, Ping, Taylor made and Callaway last week.   Was I wrong in 'feeling' that the Callaway Jaws 60 and 56 degree wedges feel/play lighter?   Is there any consensus on wedges these days as to which are the best?  Is there a #1 lob/sand wedge on tour?  Any feedback is appreciated.

[PEI_Golfer]

No, there is no consensus as to what is the best.  Try things out, find the best grinds that suit your needs and pick out the head that you like the appearance of the best.  Match up with grip/shaft of choice and off you go.

 

Wedges are a pretty personal and regional thing.  We have sweepers and diggers, people in the south playing vastly different grasses than in the north and in the middle it is usually much drier and harder than in the corners.  All needing different things.

Edited April 13, 2021 by PEI_Golfer

[monkeyboy]

Very personal.  How it looks to your eye, how it feels / weighting.  Grind matched to your swing and what you are trying to achieve / conditions.  It can be very confusing.  I tend to end up with generic - all purpose grinds, but would like to do a real fitting on my next refresh.

Hard to go wrong with Titleist, Cleveland, Callaway. 

But also tons of other great options depending upon budget, customization.  It is probably hard to find a really poor wedge IMO.

[nostatic]

28 minutes ago, Swingthoughts said:

I am in the market for new wedges.  I know all club decisions are personal and involve a number of variables.  I tested Volkey, Ping, Taylor made and Callaway last week.   Was I wrong in 'feeling' that the Callaway Jaws 60 and 56 degree wedges feel/play lighter?   Is there any consensus on wedges these days as to which are the best?  Is there a #1 lob/sand wedge on tour?  Any feedback is appreciated.

 

No consensus for a lot of reasons:

 

1. wedge can cover anything from 150 yard full swing shot to 1 yard chip, fairway, rough, sand, etc. What someone wants in a 46* wedge may be completely different than a 58* wedge.

 

2. Most irons you're looking at loft, lie, shaft (composition, flex, length), sole. Wedges you're looking at all that plus much more focus on the details of the sole - particularly bounce and grind.

 

3. Shots inside of 100 yards probably have the most variation from player to player. Lots of partial swings and different approaches (opening the face, etc). What works for one player may not work for another. For instance I don't like 60* wedges - I'd rather use a 58* with a grind that allows me to open the face. I also would often prefer to hit a GW over a LW in almost every instance (except when I have to go over a bunker, etc). Other guys prefer it the other way.

 

So of all the clubs, I think wedges are the hardest to generalize. If you're mid-high handicap, some think that CB wedges like CBX or Glide have their advantages.

[Yoshifan151]

All the big companies make great wedges, just gotta go with whatever grind/bounce fits you. It's good because now companies offer a lot of options for both.

[Guy In Lyon]

1 hour ago, Swingthoughts said:

Was I wrong in 'feeling' that the Callaway Jaws 60 and 56 degree wedges feel/play lighter?

Nope. If that feel is what you want, go for it.

[randshoe]

I would also recommend you feel the club on real grass opposed to a mat when trying them out as the mat can be deceiving in my experience.

[nostatic]

4 minutes ago, randshoe said:

I would also recommend you feel the club on real grass opposed to a mat when trying them out as the mat can be deceiving in my experience.

 

I find this true for every club - particularly wedges - with driver being the exception. Mats suck.

[randshoe]

Just now, nostatic said:

 

I find this true for every club - particularly wedges - with driver being the exception. Mats suck.

100% agree, its just unfortunate there isnt really a way to take the clubs out on real grass to give them a test spin first.

[nostatic]

18 minutes ago, randshoe said:

100% agree, its just unfortunate there isnt really a way to take the clubs out on real grass to give them a test spin first.

 

Not the cheapest route, but for irons I'll order a 7i in a spec that should be close (I have been fit in the past). Then I'll hit it at the local range (grass) and can put it into play. In the past I've ordered the same head with two different shafts and some other variations. I'd rather burn money that way than hit off a mat and think that gives me "an answer."

 

Well, it does give an answer but I think it is even odds it is the wrong answer and certainly my elbows will not be happy.

[kintap]

The brand is less important than the bounce.  I would stick to mid (8*-10*) for all of your wedges unless you really know what you're doing.  People focus on the turf interaction aspect of bounce, which IS important, but there is another equally important aspect: trajectory/spin.  The more bounce on a wedge, the lower on the face you will hit the ball.  Proper bounce will allow you to hit penetrating spinny wedge shots that hop and stop due to contact lower on the face.  Too little bounce will cause you to hit high wedge shots with less spin that are harder to control.  Too much bounce will increase your chances of hitting line drives 40 yds over the green.

[95124hacker]

There are so many choices if you include finish (raw, black, copper, chrome). Unfortunately even if you go to a big box store, you’ll only be able to hit off mats & can’t tell how they’ll perform in sand or various degrees of rough.

Edited April 13, 2021 by 95124hacker

[20six]

I am absolutely sold on Bettinardi wedges. The best I have ever played.  I've got a 52, 56 and 60 and love them all.

[SwingMan]

It's personal - 

 

Titleist has fitter, Edel has fitters, and then there are the fitting stores. With wedges, I go to the guy with grass and get fit. Once I know what grinds work, I can get something that's close, get it in raw or chrome -if you don't mind the raw spot, and have someone grind it from data on Trackman and lie board.

 

Or go to Artisan and get fit.

 

I've kept my Mizuno MP T20 the longest - about 15 months

Edited April 14, 2021 by SwingMan

[morgan1819]

If you can't test outside, then I would go Vokey.

They will sell the quickest, if you don't love them.

 

Assuming you can get the bounce and grind you want, my next criteria would be feel.  For me, this is where the Cleveland Zipcore had a slight edge in 50-52 lofts.  Otherwise, I personally didn't see major performance differences.

[bosgolfer]

I’ve played Vokey’s since the 200 series. Always liked them more than other OEM’s. Even with that was always looking for something that performed better. I know much of it is operator error!  More than that is confidence. I worked with Jamie at Artisan and can’t be happier with the results. Just the sound of the pure strikes and the lack of damage with less than perfect passes at it. Can’t say enough good things about Artisan from the diagnosis, communication, and exceptional build quality. 

[ChipNRun]

5 hours ago, Swingthoughts said:

Was I wrong in 'feeling' that the Callaway Jaws 60 and 56 degree wedges feel/play lighter? 

 

It's largely a matter of touch and feel on wedges. I prefer Callaway wedges over Vokey because the Vokeys feel "strange."

 

Vokeys feel shaft heavy but head light to me. Despite the personal view, I have the greatest respect for Vokey for leading the way with a wide range of wedge options in loft and grind. Be aware that at a major golf expo I had almost an hour in Vokeyland. It was lunch time, and I was one of the few people hitting the then-new SM6 wedges.

 

But then the Callaway rep made a special visit to our club three months later. I could tell after 15 minutes that I wanted to play Callaway. Again, it's personal preference. Some players just love Vokey wedges, and work magic tricks with them on course. Alas, I channel Callaway magic (sometimes), not Vokey magic.

[North Butte]

If there were a consensus best brand it would be Vokey. Easily the most widely used. 
 

But in fact Vokey wedges are NOT played by lots of people at every level. There is no consensus. 

[extrastiff]

I think there are only three things most people I have talked to/played with agree on

 

1. is that typically, shorter wedges (at the proper swingweight) have increased control. But I know a lot of us taller guys cannot get comfortable over those. 

 

2. U must test a bunch of wedges obsessively, around the greens you will play the most. 
 

3. Most tournament (really good) golfers I’ve met seem to either have heel relief in their most lofted wedges, or wish they did. 

Edited April 14, 2021 by extrastiff

[srksi]

Mizzy makes the best wedges.  

[phizzy30]

Wedges are very personal.  Like others have said the correct grind, swing weight, length, shaft and what loft you choose depending on how you gap distance are all important.  Lastly, it comes down to feel.  I've probably tested and played all the major OEMs out there.  This time around I chose to go with Miura.  Very simple look, softest feel, correct bounce among other factors.  Before that I played a tour issue scratch wedge.  Sure I can play pretty much anything from a major OEM but I gravitate towards smaller club makers when it comes to wedges.  Seems like they offer more customizable options for the discerning golfer.  With irons in general, I'm open to DTC options. 

[Sons_of_Pitches]

7 hours ago, randshoe said:

100% agree, its just unfortunate there isnt really a way to take the clubs out on real grass to give them a test spin first.

There is a way but there is a fee to doing it.  It's called Global Golf'f U-Try program, however, it can get a little pricey especially if your trying to test several clubs like wedges....

[craz-e]

5 hours ago, 20six said:

I am absolutely sold on Bettinardi wedges. The best I have ever played.  I've got a 52, 56 and 60 and love them all.

 

 

How good are those Bettinardi wedges!!!  I recently added a 50* and its by far the best feeling wedge I have hit. 

[Chief Penguin]

I think there's an argument for wedge play for picking something and sticking with it.  I've been playing Vokey wedges my entire life.  I've changed grinds and loft intervals, but with long experience I'm really comfortable with how they play and behave.

I'm sure some of the other stuff is just as good, but I have no desire to try them.

[Stinger83]

In my opinion a wedge is a wedge as long as the bounce/loft/lie/shaft are equal. I played nothing but Vokey's forever. Switched to Mizuno's and then Ping glide forged - haven't missed a beat with my wedge game. If you don't know what your preference or specs- get something in the middle in terms of bounce. Match the shafts to your irons and gap your lofts equally

[randshoe]

15 hours ago, nostatic said:

 

Not the cheapest route, but for irons I'll order a 7i in a spec that should be close (I have been fit in the past). Then I'll hit it at the local range (grass) and can put it into play. In the past I've ordered the same head with two different shafts and some other variations. I'd rather burn money that way than hit off a mat and think that gives me "an answer."

 

Well, it does give an answer but I think it is even odds it is the wrong answer and certainly my elbows will not be happy.

I like this will have to consider in future luckily just started gaming srixons and im in love so wont need irons for a bit.

[monkeyboy]

Wow - Those Bettinardi wedges are drop dead gorgeous.  I'd buy a set in a heartbeat if they were available in lefty.

Looks like awesome reviews too

[JNJ3]

Wedges are totally personal... and greatly depend on your chipping style(s).  I did not see much mention for them, but I put Miura's Pro wedges in play about 12 months ago.  Great feel and control, and love the K Grind on my 54* to help get thru the sand and heavy bermuda rough around NC greens.

[Kale_m]

Had vokeys, Mizunos, more recently cally MD4. 
 

just got Cleveland rtx4 and I love them. Such a great look and great feel. 
 

zipcores will be the next ones in the bag 

[achappy]

There’s a reason I have a backup setup of JAWS CC in my basement. I stumbled on these about 5 years ago when I was building a backup bag for Puerto Rico.  Was looking for something really cheap and picked them up and immediately fell in love with the 58*/13*.  It’s a high bounce C-grind with the leading edge blunted which fits my steep swing perfectly.  I also love the slight hint of offset with the short groove on the bottom which helps alignment.  My short game has been really good with these even though I don’t practice as much as I use to.  I’m just comfortable with what they can do and I have no issues with spin.

 

Tried to replace but then I asked why??  So I picked up a second set (on them now) and when these wear out and and I switch to the backup I’ll see if I can pick up another pair.