Clubs: F2 Wedge Review

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By Everardo Keeme via TheSandTrap.com

Can a club really help you you hit the ball to within 10 feet of the pin twice as often, from 100 yards in.

According to Face Forward Technology there has not been a major innovation in wedges in the past 50 years. Taking a look at all the wedges in golf shops today and you'll surely agree that although there are subtle differences that none really stand out.



Enter the F2 Wedge and its radical design. In fact, the first time I had these out on the range a few passers-by even paused to take a look at this odd looking club. According to the company "both human testing and robotic testing proves that the F2 gets you into the Scoring Zone more often than any other wedge tested." We'll see about that…

By now you may have seen the infomercial featuring Bruce Devlin demonstrating with others the benefits and gains your game will make by using the F2 wedge but can one club really live up to all the hype?



Technology
First things first: the F2 Wedges do conform to the USGA club standards, so you have no worries about legality with these clubs. Now, the F2 wedge doesn't get your attention with a fancy finish, "tour" grooves that spin the ball like crazy or even a half dozen bounce and loft combinations. Instead, what first draws your attention is that the leading edge and face of the wedge are actually in front of the hosel. The F2's design claims to cure many of the ailments that plague golfers of a wide range of abilities and handicaps, from making it virtually impossible to shank the ball, getting the ball airborne from the rough, and improving your greenside chipping and bunker play.

F2 stands for Face Forward technology. As you can see with this ingenious design, the face has been moved forward and the hosel back, enabling the ball to strike and leave the clubface before grass or sand can grab the hosel and twist the clubface. The F2 Wedge may look unconventional, but as soon as you hit it, you'll know why it is the biggest jump in short game technology since the invention of the sand wedge!

Look and Setup
A side by side comparison with the standard wedge and you'll immediately notice the difference in the shape of the face.




When comparing the F2 Wedge to a Vokey 200 series wedge on the right and here is where you can really see the difference in setup. With this view you can also see how the shank is next to impossible.



The F2 does have its face forward of the hosel, which may take a little getting used to. Otherwise the shape of the head is close to a classic teardrop shape with a simple cavity back head and gleaming finish. The club naturally sits open at address and with a rounded leading edge will make you rely on the black painted grooves to line up initially. The first time you pickup the F2 you'll also notice the weight difference, not so much in the over all weight but how the weight is distributed. With the face forward and thus placing the hosel in the center of the club head mass, this forced me to waggle the club more often than my current wedges in order to get comfortable with it. I also noticed a different feel during my back swing and also had to adjust to that.



Specs and Pricing
The F2 wedges come in only one finish, a cobalt (grey) and come with a step-less steel shaft (a graphite shaft will run you an additional $19.95) and a velvet-like grip. At this time they are available in the following lofts: 52°, 56°, 58° and 60° in both right and left hands. Which should satisfy the average golfers needs out there. Now pricing is on par with most wedges in the marketplace running $99.99 each and you receive free shipping and additional discounts with the purchase of two or more. So for the same price as others I think they're worth a shot.



Performance
The F2 has several advantages including:

• When entering the impact zone, the face comes through and makes contact with the ball before the hosel even enters the hitting area. On all shots, this literally makes it impossible to shank the ball.
• In deep rough, the F2 clubhead moves through the grass with less resistance and keeps the grass from grabbing the hosel, forcing shots offline.
• In sand, the F2's unique wide-open face design allows you more opportunity to flatten the club and hit a high, short sand shots.
• When pitching the ball, the F2 design helps you setup in the desired hands forward position which makes it harder to skull or hit your shots thin.
• When chipping, the face comes through the hitting area ahead of the hosel, allowing contact to happen sooner. This lets the natural loft of the club do the work for you.
  

So the F2 claims to be virtually shank proof, which in all my testing was true. Even when I purposely tried to shank a few, the hosel couldn't get near the ball and did keep the ball flight somewhat online. The F2 wedges also worked pretty well out of the bunkers and deep rough, making it a little easier to get the ball out and airborne. However this is where the performance gains stopped for me. I like to think my bunker play is pretty good already and I have had good results with specialty type sand wedges however it is very important to me that every club in my bag also be used for multiple shots (with the exception of the driver and putter). I live and play in Arizona so desert landscape and hard pans lies are all part of an average round. Those specialty clubs and these F2 wedges, while great from the sand, did not do well for me in tight lies or desert areas where you need to hit down on the ball.



I practice my short game several hours a week already and have become very comfortable using my current wedges, irons, and hybrid for chipping and flop shots. That's not to say that I can't improve and the F2 wedges with its face-forward design does simplify your average chip shot but it left me to hit many of my initial chips fat. In reading the website and viewing the infomercial again I see that no adjustment should be necessary and that my regular setup and swings should be used. Maybe it's just the look of the wedge that got in the way for me but I felt that my swing and stance did need some adjustment to make better contact. So after adjusting my stance a little I was able to get better results. However that meant I had to re-adjust a little when chipping with a iron or hybrid or going back to a full swing with any other club.



Conclusion
My main 2006 goal is to improve my short game, specifically I want to improve my proximity to the hole, this may sound obvious but the closer to the hole I can get my GIR or Up and Down chance the better chances of making fewer putts, thereby reducing my scores and handicap.

Fact: 65% of a golfer's score comes from shots that are 100 yards in. Every good golfer knows that this is the scoring zone, the zone that separates great players from the rest of the pack. This is where most average golfers leave their strokes. This is the difference between breaking 90, 80, or even par.

So when I heard about a wedge that claims From 100 yards in, you will hit the ball to within 10 feet of the pin twice as often, I was thrilled that I had found my Holy Grail! I certainly didn't get the same results as the F2 testers claimed on the website and infomercial. As I mentioned above the problem I faced was that I could never get used to the look and I also do not want to adjust my stance or swing for what I feel is a specialty club. So for that reason alone I wouldn't put this club in my bag because I never felt 100% comfortable with it.



Although the F2 wedge is marketed for all players, I wouldn't recommend this club for mid to low handicappers based on my same experience and playing conditions. Now I do recommend this club to beginners and high handicappers and also wish that I had these F2 wedges when I was first learning to play the game because I think it would have made my rounds a lot more fun and enjoyable.

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