Problems with wedge distances

[BBedell]

Until last month I was playing a set of TM ATV wedges (52, 56, 60) given to me by a buddy.  I love the way they play from the fairway, but around the greens they werent too amazing.  I had reliable full swing distances of 110, 100, and 90 with the wedges, respectively.

 

Last month I decided to upgrade.  I bought a set of Cleveland RTX 2.0 wedges (50, 54, 58) and had the opposite problem.  The 54 and 58 were great around the greens, but distance wise I was hitting them 10-15 yards shorter per club on average.  Seemed very weird to me given their lofts compared to the ATVs.

 

I sold the Clevelands, and picked up a set of Ping Glide wedges in the same lofts, with no change in results...still 10-15 yards shorter compared to the ATVs.

 

I'm wondering if anyone has had similar loft/distance discrepancy problems when switching between manufacturers, and if you have any recommendations?  My iron set is Ping S56 with a PW loft of 47, which I carry about 120.  Ideally I'd like a gap wedge in the 50-52 degree range that I can carry 110 to give me consistent gaps between clubs. 

 

thanks for any ideas.

[Fireinthehole]

Hmm that does sound interesting. I did experience some distance loss with some Mizuno R-12s I had with the Spinner shaft- those suckers went high and spun like crazy.

 

Someone might have a better answer, but here are my $0.02

With the expectation that the lofts are as stamped, if might be a set up issue, ball more forward in your stance/ backswing length. I experienced a bit of this with my new wedges, once corrected saw avg's return. If your old wedges had older worn grooves it would equate to less spin and maybe less carry- how much? I don't know.

 

When in doubt check your swing set up.

 

Another thought is that the heavy swing weight of the Clevelands maybe threw you off a bit? I know they use the Dynamic Gold "wedge" shaft not sure what TMAG uses, but I know the CFS shafts Ping uses are light and feel soft to flex as a result.

 

 

Also forgot- the CG of the wedge does come into play as well, I found the clevelands had it closer to the hosel than say the Cobra Tour trusty wedges i had, sometimes found that i was hitting it closer to the hosel on the clevelands and about middle of the face on the Cobra's.

[fozcycle]

Try the SCOR wedges......I got a 50/54/57 set off eBay for $140. I must say they are the best wedges I have ever played.....the V soles are just what I needed. I am getting 90/75/60 yards consistently. Plus I have gauged the 1/2 wedge with my hands halfway down the grip for 35/45/55 yardage.

[hckymeyer]

Where on the face you are hitting the shots can play a large part of how far they go.  You might just not be grooved with the new ones yet and could be hitting them a little high on the face resulting in distance loss.

 

As already mentioned shaft differences could also be the culprit.

 

One last thing I will throw out there is to check the lie angles.  I picked up a consistent 10 yards just by having the proper lie angle which allowed me to hit the sweet spot on the face.

 

Best of luck with your search!

 

Edit:  Also check the lengths and swing weight.

[Kor.A.Door]

I switched to from Cleveland cg16,(51, 55) to Titleist SM5 (50, 54, 58) this year, I found at first that I was losing distance, but after using them for a while I have gotten the distance back, I hit the 50 deg full 125, 54 deg full 115, and the 58 deg full 95, which I petty close to where I was hitting the cg16, I think give it some time and you will likely get used to them and gain back the perceived loss of distance. My preferred distances with each are 85, 105, 120, but I can adjust accordingly knowing what the max is for each.

[BBedell]

Thank you guys for all of the insightful replies...tons of good ideas to consider.

 

As far as the shafts, I do not have the old ATVs in front of me, but online it says that they have KBS Tour Steel wedge shafts.  Both the Cleveland and ATVs are listed at 35.5 in length, cant find length info on the Pings.  Also, I have seen more than one person comment on how the ATV wedges are lower spin compared to other wedges...perhaps this lends more to the theory of more spin from my newer wedges is affecting my distance?

 

I will admit that I never gave myself a chance to get totally in tune with the Clevelands, and I have only hit the Ping wedges 2-3 times at this point, so maybe I will indeed grow accustomed to them.  I am definitely not hitting the ball pure in the middle of the club face consistently yet, and have had more than a few shanks and close shanks that hit towards the hosel...probably as a result of my distance frustrations and me swinging too hard.

 

As to what Fireinthehole said regarding setup, this was my first thought as well.  I have tried playing the ball actually just behind center on full swings (I almost always played the old wedges right at center), and it hasn't really given me any change in trajectory or distance...just resulted in a few huge slices and shanks while I try to get the club face square faster .

 

I'll see if I can get lie angles checked as well.

[revkev]

One last thought, just because the ATVs were stamped with those loft numbers doesn't mean they were what they said they were.

 

That and if you were happy why did you change? Oh yeah you're a golfer we golfers are never happy until we mess ourselves up. . I should know, I have an entire spare room full of ways that I screwed myself up through "better" equipment. From now on I'm taking lessons first.

 

Good luck, SCORs are great by the way but they would create an entire other set of issues for you that you may not wish to deal with mid season.

[BBedell]

I thought about the stamping being inaccurate too, esp with them being TM clubs, but I figured moving down in lofts in my new wedges should compensate for that.

 

I decided to switch bc the TMs were great on approach shots, but not great around the greens...not great spin on the short shots, and too many shots hit fat and thin...they have a very weird bounce system in place where none of them have an actual bounce listed bc it's supposed to be a once size fits all bounce that transitions from the toe of the club to the heel

[Fireinthehole]

I know a lot of people don't like heavy wedges- which is why i hear more complaints about the Clevelands, Considering I play my irons to D5 and most Clevelands are at D6, didn't bother me a bit. Their bounce/ sole grind is a little odd to me, I was fitted using their swing analyzer and it said I was STEEEEEEP swinger and needed the 3 dots, but I did not like them at all,

 

The mizuno's I am using now have 52-8 , 56-10 , and 60-10  are perfect. I play the ball middle of the stance too, I hate how far I hit each wedge so i only go vertical with the backswing hitting each wedge about 10yds shorter so i get a nice 125-110-95 distance, only play it forward- narrow stance off the left heel- to get some good height on each (110, 95, 80) allows me to further decrease distance and hit it straight with little curve.

 

Actually looking to pick up a second set to use during the winter 

[RoverRick]

The TMag ATV are stock with the KBS Hi Rev shaft. This is a counterbalanced shaft and will give a different feel and tempo and thus club head speed.

 

I personally prefer the heavier head and thus no counterbalanced shaft for me in my wedges. I am playing the Scor wedges but it has taken me 5-6 weeks to adjust.

 

My advice is to pick one brand of wedge AND shaft and stick to it. What looks best to you and go to work. And I mean work.

[Sschaffer24]

I have some unusual thoughts on where your different distances may come from. It very well could be a difference in the bounce on the clubs. More specifically the effective bounce!

 

I know I've touted the Edel brand quite a bit around here, but they really are on to something over there. If you have a distinct style of swing (really steep/really flat) it becomes that much more important!

 

Where that comes from is during my fitting for my Edel wedges I hit multiple bounce options on their wedge, part of what the fitter told me is that as I hit my correct bounce on the wedges, my distances increased pretty dramatically.

 

I think that the TN wedges may have just fit you better in that regard and allowed you a more effortless and simpler swing. Try having that checked at your local store. Not saying you need to buy Edel (i would heavily recommend) but get something with the best bounce and grind set up for your swing!

[revkev]

The more I reflect on this thread the more it hits me that I've made this mistake many times in the past.  I had equipment that worked and I thought I needed something new because everyone around me had it so I bought it and was worse off than when I started.

 

I actually did it to myself even when I got what ever I wanted for free.  Some of you will recall that I was the 2nd place winner in the MGS tour staff contest a couple of years ago.  Boy did I butcher that prize by being Mr. Smarty Pants.  Any Mizuno Iron set that I wanted.  Had I just gone with one of the two logical ones, the 825 pros graphite or better the new MP progressive line (those would have been perfect of me) graphite - I'd still be bagging them.  Oh but I need the cool looking shafts that didn't fit my game at all! 

 

Bottom line, if it works for your game just keep it in the bag and when things go south see a teacher.  More than likely it's something with your swing, not the clubs, the money is better invested in lessons and equipment.

 

At any rate I still have the SCOR wedges, the Tru Links Wear shoes and the sub 70 outfit.  I have the R11s but the SLDR replaced it and my church got $425 out of the deal for that beautiful Bettinardi.  (I get to see it now and again whenever I play with the guy who won it in our annual fund raising auction.)

[mizuno_lover]

I see what you mean Rev and I'm quietly chuckling to myself.  You post is exactly what I've been thinking lately about my purchase of the MP H5's I should have just got the 54's re shafted in the first place but happily talked myself into buying equipment I didn't need

[BBedell]

Thanks again for all the feed back.

 

My decision to switch to new wedges was made for a reason. As stated, my old wedges performed well on full swings from the fairway, but were very subpar on pitches and chips around the green. I'm happy to report that the Ping wedges are a huge step up for my short game. I shot my best round in 6 months last week, and it was highlighted by a stellar short game on a day when I had no idea where the ball was going off the tee.

 

Thankfully, the more I practice with the new wedges, it seems that my distance is improving. During my range session yesterday I was only about 5 yards short of my previous distances. Even if I don't ever get the full distances back with these new wedges, I'll gladly trade 5 yards on full swings for multiple saved strokes around the green. Very happy I made the switch at this point!

 

Beau