Suggest a Wedge

Guys/Gals,

I am in the hunt for a new wedge. Basically I have been using a 52* hippo performance series soft steel but have found that I get very little (if any ) check on the ball. I would get approx 70 yards 1/2 swing with this wedge but it forgets that when it reaches the green it has to stop.

So, what I am after is a wedge that will give me versatility from 80 yards and in and also good around the green - up and down kind of stuff.

Cost consideration would be up to £100.00.

Any suggestions.....?

NWOT.................

Sounds to me, Robbie, that you are looking for a club to do the work that you should be doing yourself. IMO no club is worth £100. It is more likely to be the ball you are playing with coupled to an inferior strike.

David, will recommend that you go out and buy a Titleist Vokey, spin milled of course.

Half swings can be difficult to get the control you are looking for as you are probably not striking as firm as you would do a full shot, whereas I still strike a half shot the same as a full shot, there are many ways to reduce the distance a club will go but they all have to be struck firmly, if you want any action on the ball.

I already have a mizuno 60* which I use out of bunkers David and also I am a leftie but thanks for the offer.

That's interesting John because I was once told that you should never hit a full shot with a wedge. This is why I have always gone for the half swing wedge shot. Maybe I could sneak a peek at your wedge play on the 15th April.

NWOT.............

Wayne is right, Robbie, I will not be there on the 15th, but I am willing to give you my views on wedge play when we meet.

I carry 4 wedges, two of which are specifically designed to cure a shank that I used to have on various kinds of pitches. My normal wedges are the same as my irons, Callaway x14 steelhead, so are nothing special when compared to the specialist wedges.

I hit a full wedge 100 yds carry, it does not run on any significant distance. I play threequarter/half  shots with it, when the distance is around the 60/70/80 yds distance. Fifty yds and below I use my 56 degree sand wedge, a club that is very good for stopping close to the pin. Wedge play is all about feel, in fact if I go to a range I usually only use my wedge and maybe a five iron.

14th it is then......

NWOT..........

Vokey is the way forward, ive just treated myself to a set of oilcans and they are great and im stopping the ball like never before. But as david said they do shred balls. Especially any balls with softer covers (warbirds and Ad-333's).

However before i opted for the vokeys i looked at the Taylormade Rac fe2o3 rusty wedges and they are very nice and the performance is on a par with the vokeys. 

What i would say is before you fork out the cash, try them out just because its a £80 club doesnt mean that its going to suit your game/swing or have the right "feel" 

Cheers. 

Kevin. hitting it thin puts more spin on the ball than normal, that is why it stops even with the low trajectory.

For £100 you can get 2 MD wedges that get rave reviews.

md wedges  

Well, Kevin, sometimes one can get away with a thin but a fat is pretty depressing. IMO the ball should be back in the stance anyway. Just think of the quality one you hit into the last at Donnington.

You expect to hole fifteen footers????????

Don't we all?

15 footers?  Easy.  Then I wake up.

Back to the wedges.  If you want backspin without the hard work then either the Vokey or the MD will give you more 'bite' simply because of the spin-milled faces (I did this subject in an earlier post), I'm not sure how many other manufacturers do this, not many I suspect.  This has nothing to do with the grooves but is purely the way in which the face is machined (in between the grooves).  By leaving it rough it grips the ball (hence the cutting up of the ball) more and imparts more backspin for a given weight of shot almost regardless of whereabouts in your stance you hit it.  It's analogous to chalk on the end of a snooker cue or the bobbled rubber face on a table tennis bat.   

And of course the material thats ripped off the ball will eventually mean that the effectiveness of the club lessons with wear.  With my (illegal) prototype wedge the machining marks fill up really quickly with all sorts of rubbish.  I clean the face with an electric toothbrush and occasionally get the dremel out to scuff it up a bit.

Hundred pounds for a wedge, you won the lottery? 

S W O H T N 

You see David, the hc come down a bit so he thinks he's a golfer now, he needs proper clubs with grooves and everything....

"up" to chaps.. "up" to....

Managed to grab a 56* vokey second hand £20.00 and working on. the head with a steel brush as we speak. It is battered and bruised but still works.

It will be coming to grantham me thinks::::

No, David, let him bring it, he will be coming up short all day with the added backspin.

Back spin....Now theres a term not usually mention in my game.

Got some back spin once when I slipped on ice - nearly broke me neck.

So is cleaning the grooves wth a wire brush illegal..? i am not altering the face or grooves just a good old "top and tail" to remove/hide the bruising.

NWOT............

(not long now lads... )

The MD's get a good press

I've got one, but with my short game, thats no advert.

That would be cool David...

Blowing in the wind has got to be better than P......Oh best not...

NWOT......

(closer still this morning lads)

It will last your lifetime, Matt.

hi all - not sure if this will help - but a few months ago i think it was Todays golfer magazine did a review on wedges......if you can get a hold of this it may help you out with a few answers.  I believ it had stats on spin rates and other technical stuff.  Sorry I've thrown my copy away so cant post these figures (I cant seem to find the table of stats on the todays golfer website either).

I'd luv to get a vokey myself but first things first i need to learn to stop thinning my shots.

Well, I managed to pick up a 53* and 56* cleveland tour wedge and the results are brilliant. Reduced from £100 each to £40 each and the quality feel and ball spin stop is first class.

I am so happy I had two inches took off my putter - result 27 putts yesterday including 5 on the bounce chip and 1 putts

A happy lad is coming to Belton Woods....

NWOT........