Questing for the perfect Wedges

[RookieBlue7]

Big Trusty Rusty... You're welcome. They're super easy to hit and the misses are manageable.

 

I've never found a stock wedge that was perfect to me. I've always had to get the grinder out to get it just right (and payed people before I taught myself). Why, I don't know. But, being as you're in Atlanta, I'd make a recommendation if you have the time. Take the 2 hour drive to Scratch's facility in Chattanooga. Last I checked the facility was still there and they'd do a fitting there for you and grind you a set if need be. Reason I say Scratch is they have a ton of options and they have a facility semi local to you. And lastly, IMO, you'll be hard pressed to find better.

[revkev]

As an FYI Dru Rookie has always nailed it for me when he's made a recommendation.  I'd give it a try.

 

I have to ask - do you really mean you're trying to pick your 60 out of the sand?  If that's the case it has nothing to do with your club - its your head - what are you thinking?  I don't care how firm the sand is unless you're a touring pro you aren't hitting that shot - better to use a hybrid or putter and bump and run it if the sand is that firm.

 

Bottom line though when I hear that the conditions are wet and you're trying to use a low bounce sand wedge I know that this is your problem.  Pre-SCOR I had two sets of wedges - my summer set with higher bounce for wetter conditions and my winter set with lower bounce - I'm guessing your conditions are the oposite of ours.  If its wet you need more bounce, less will stick in the ground.

[dru_]

Pick is probably not terribly accurate, I'm still hitting and taking sand, but far far shallower than I would a normal sand wedge ( where I play it way way back and arguably dig too deep ).

[dru_]

but that said, I've never made a case that any of this isn't in the head :-).  

[revkev]

but that said, I've never made a case that any of this isn't in the head :-).

 

.

 

Trying playing it center of your stance, weight on the left side and, this is key, close the face. You could also try your gap wedge or even pitching wedge.

[jaxbeachpackerfan]

Looking forward to Friday, maybe both 

 

As an FYI Dru Rookie has always nailed it for me when he's made a recommendation.  I'd give it a try.

 

I have to ask - do you really mean you're trying to pick your 60 out of the sand?  If that's the case it has nothing to do with your club - its your head - what are you thinking?  I don't care how firm the sand is unless you're a touring pro you aren't hitting that shot - better to use a hybrid or putter and bump and run it if the sand is that firm.

 

Bottom line though when I hear that the conditions are wet and you're trying to use a low bounce sand wedge I know that this is your problem.  Pre-SCOR I had two sets of wedges - my summer set with higher bounce for wetter conditions and my winter set with lower bounce - I'm guessing your conditions are the oposite of ours.  If its wet you need more bounce, less will stick in the ground.

Looking forward even more to Friday, maybe I'll be able to absorb something from both you and Rookie!!  I share many of Dru's woes.  Anything inside of 80 down to 10 yards is a "just hope I get it on the green" shot, whereas from 80 to 125 is a "how close can I get it to the pin for a birdie put".  I, too, have tried the 60 deg low bounce solution to wet sand (with no success as well).

[Salmon]

Big Trusty Rusty... You're welcome. They're super easy to hit and the misses are manageable.

 

I've never found a stock wedge that was perfect to me. I've always had to get the grinder out to get it just right (and payed people before I taught myself). Why, I don't know. But, being as you're in Atlanta, I'd make a recommendation if you have the time. Take the 2 hour drive to Scratch's facility in Chattanooga. Last I checked the facility was still there and they'd do a fitting there for you and grind you a set if need be. Reason I say Scratch is they have a ton of options and they have a facility semi local to you. And lastly, IMO, you'll be hard pressed to find better.

 

The Trusty Rusty's have always been an superb wedge in my opinion, my grandfather had one and I loved it.

 

Another couple of options you could look at the lob wedge I have, its a SHARK by Greg Norman but for the life of me I can't find one online so it might be a bit hard to find, if your interested its in my WIYB thread. I realise 64* is a bit extreme (thats how I roll lol) but they do have a 60* as well.

 

Vokeys are probably worth having a look at, love the rusties and oil can finishes from their line. Also the new Nike wedge with the massive heel grind could be an option as well

[dru_]

I thought I would circle back to this a bit based upon the last 3 weeks of work. 

 

Finally broke down and went back to the drawing board.  At issue, IMO, was the conflict between natural swing and work done under instructor #1 and the reversion back to the natural swing. Every wedge shot suffered the double edged sword of no-confidence and swinging 'deep'.  I was chunky under every wedge shot, which is fine when the conditions are summer time hard, but in this soggy morass that we call this winter, I was just digging craters.  Mucking around with clubs only made the problems worse.

 

So, we worked on the swing, and got into a rhythm. Grabbed the collection of clubs I have been testing, and got a chance to make a choice.  The end result is, for the moment the SpeedBlade wedges to go with the Tour Preferred irons but will reevaluate when the TP wedges are retail available.

[BIG STU]

Dru - I thought I'd chime in here with similar advice to some that I gave a buddy of mine.

 

The 60 is a very difficult club to hit - its the 3 wood of the lower end of the bag if you will.  That could easily be why you haven't found one that you love or why you have some success and then its gone.  Personally I don't think its worth carrying one at your handicap level because you have other things to work on.  I have to make sure that I practice with mine occasionally or else........  I had that or else occur last Friday and I made double by the way.  Sometimes I wonder why I didn't go 54/58 instead of 55/60 in fact.

 

At any rate just some food for thought.

I go 52/56 myself most of the time but on certain courses I will carry my 5* bounce 58 Vokey only for greenside bunker shots. I do agree that the 60 can be the 3 wood equivalent on the wedge scale. But Rev remember us old school guys learned to "manufacturer" lofts because we only had a PW ( 48 to 50) and a SW (52 to 56) when we were coming up. I just always stuck with that mostly

[Sschaffer24]

Dru,

 

No idea whether or not you have ever heard of them or given them any consideration. But consider the Edel wedges. The fitting process is seriously phenomenal. I went through it myself and couldn't be more impressed. I think with the wide range of options, customization options and the premium feel that these bring will definitely satisfy what you're looking for.

 

I purchased all three of my wedges 52/56/60 through them and love them.

[RoverRick]

I play a 52, 58, & 64 at my home course, but I think that when I travel to other courses, I will swap the 58&64 for a 60 Hogan Sure Out and add a hybrid or FM.  Most places do not have the hard fast greens that my club has and honestly, I am more nervous at other courses because of the unfamiliarity of the course.  The Hogan Sure Out is just stupid easy to hit, and a 64 is not.

 

Of course if I somehow end up playing where it matters what grooves it has, not likely, then I will stick with my current 58.  My course will put a pin very close to the edge of the green and a 64 is sometimes needed.

[dru_]

I started testing out a 50/54/58 setup this week.  Will see how that works. Things have been getting better as the ground has returned to a more normal condition aafter MONTHS of horrible rains.

[Sschaffer24]

Dru,

 

Any progress on your wedge search? I understand you're testing the 50/54/58 setup. I gamed that last year and loved it. Just recently switched to a "more conventional" 52/56/60 setup.

 

You have mentioned before in a lot of the posts in this thread about getting steep with your wedges and really digging at impact. Are you playing a low bounce wedge? Have you thought about getting something with more effective bounce to help counteract that swing style?

[revkev]

I go 52/56 myself most of the time but on certain courses I will carry my 5* bounce 58 Vokey only for greenside bunker shots. I do agree that the 60 can be the 3 wood equivalent on the wedge scale. But Rev remember us old school guys learned to "manufacturer" lofts because we only had a PW ( 48 to 50) and a SW (52 to 56) when we were coming up. I just always stuck with that mostly

I had P 51 and SW around 58 in my eye 2s and they worked fine together for 10 plus years. Honestly I could hit flops with that sand wedge before they called them flops.

[dru_]

Dru,

 

Any progress on your wedge search? I understand you're testing the 50/54/58 setup. I gamed that last year and loved it. Just recently switched to a "more conventional" 52/56/60 setup.

 

You have mentioned before in a lot of the posts in this thread about getting steep with your wedges and really digging at impact. Are you playing a low bounce wedge? Have you thought about getting something with more effective bounce to help counteract that swing style?

 

Almost all of my wedges are set up with a lot of bounce.  

 

I really think, and the instructor I am working with is the one that posited this, is that I created a bit of a self inflicted wound this winter.  I played all winter, and was trying lots of wedge options and trying to compare them to the expectations set during the summer and fall.  Summer and fall were damp by Atlanta standards, but this winter has been downright soggy.  The net result is that the ground got so saturated that even on 'dry' days, no amount of bounce would keep the club from digging in. I had become so used to playing in much firmer conditions that I developed a bad habit of throwing the face of the club into the ground. He has me more or less worked through that little bit of stupidity, but that fix has broken my gaps such that a 60 is good for about 65-70 yards, and I'd prefer not to have to swing 'hard' to get to 75.  The 58 is a better 70-75 fit @ 80%, with a 54 being comfortable 80-90 @ 80% and the 50 fitting the 100-110 range. 

 

To say this has been an adventure is a gross understatement, but it has been a hell of a lot of fun. 

[dru_]

I should also mention, that for the 50/54/58 testing I am back t the Hopkins Golf wedges.  Really pleased with the early results.

[Sschaffer24]

Dru,

 

I'm sure this has been part of your consideration but where does the 50 fall in line with the gapping of your PW? The reason I went from 50/54/58 to 52/56/60 is because with my current PW being 47 the 50 was essentially the same club.  

 

Actually, after hitting them both on a launch monitor it turned out I was only hitting my PW roughly 5 yards further. So it didn't make sense for me to have those gaps. You may be different, but I'm curious.

[dru_]

My PW is 46*, but it plays a little longer than the loft indicates, as it is a 125-135 club.  I have a 51* AW from the set that actually plays 5 yards longer than the 50* Hopkins for me, and I may end up using that in the long term.  Still experimenting. 

[Sschaffer24]

That's ironic. 

It just goes to show how important dynamic loft and strike conditions are! Hope to hear of you figuring something out with the setup soon! 

[BIG STU]

I had P 51 and SW around 58 in my eye 2s and they worked fine together for 10 plus years. Honestly I could hit flops with that sand wedge before they called them flops.

Yep that is because you are old school like me. You learned to manufacture a shot and how to execute it. The way the eye 2 wedges were ground on the sole helped too. I think Ping is making them again with conforming grooves