WEDGE FOR BEGINNER

vecchio14 · June 28, 2006

VOKEY WEDGES

Im 17 handicap, are the vokeys to tough for beginners, does anyone have suggestions on a great wedge with some forgivness, money not a issue, i love the look of the titleist but titleist is normally for better players, please help soon as im looking to buy soon, thanks

golfernut78 · June 28, 2006

i had a number of people tell me vokeys are difficult to hit when i first got them when i was a 27 handicap. i thought they were easy. i started with a 54.10* and 60.08*. i've now got a second set, 52.08* and 58.08*. i've always thought they were one of the easiest wedges to hit. big thing is you get the proper bounce. in my opinion, the hardest thing about vokey wedges is selecting the loft, bounce, finish and whether you want spin milled. they have so many options, its awesome.

EHSgolf11 · June 28, 2006

Callaways or CG 11's

dfung · June 28, 2006

Vokeys are beautifully made and a pleasure to hit. They are also comparable in price with any "serious" wedge. So go for it!

If you're playing a big cavity game improvement club, then you'll definitely notice a difference with a blade-type wedge, but most wedges are blades. A full wedge will be a little harder to hit, but partial wedge shots will be different regardless of what wedge you're using. There may also be a gap in the distances you can hit between the pitching wedge in your set and these clubs.

Personally, I think the Vokey is a little easier to hit than the CG10 which must be the most popular one right now. The CG10 has a softer feel and has a bigger sweet spot, but the leading edge of the Vokeys tends to be a little sharper and really makes it easy to catch the ball just right, even in the higher bounce models. The Vokey feels more dense and when you nail it it really feels great. I haven't tried the CG11 which has a small cavity.

You might also consider the wedges that match your other clubs. This will match the feel and look better, but cavity back wedges tend to be pretty big and bulbous and I think the big sole hurts me more than helps.

I got my first Vokey when I was playing Callaway X-14s which is a game improvement club (but pretty small compared to a Big Bertha or Nike Slingshot). After I spent some time with them, I realized that I liked the feel so much better that I ultmately decided to move to a game enhancement club (ultimately Mizuno MP-32).

Go for it. I don't think you'll regret it.

taylormadefan · June 29, 2006

Excellent advice given by dfung and golfnut78. :yahoo:

Only thing I'll add is that the biggest factor in "forgiveness" (especially directional) is loft. Loft makes the ball want to have backspin rather than side spin (why your Pw is so much easier to hit than your 3iron). So the loft of a wedge itself makes it forgiving.

Contact is going to be the big issue, if you can make good ball first contact consistently you've got the game for a Vokey. Little tweaks like keeping your hands slightly ahead at impact and specialty shots can come later.

I really think for golfers in your handicap range you should focus on buying wedges and putters that you really like and are comfortable with because that's where you can shave the most strokes the quickest.

Vokeys give you the playability both on full swings and around the greens and bunkers that you don't get with the wedges that come with iron sets.

Good luck!