[Toura Golf Irons Build Test]

Very cool (and different!) opportunity. Love this.

[Runner Golf Putters]

Interesting! Very cool opportunity.

Doing great work, as always, @GolfSpy_APH.

[TaylorMade Qi10 Drivers]

Whoa! TaylorMade getting in on the action. 

This might be a record breaker!

[FlightScope Mevo Progression Test]

What a year for testing. Incredible.

[Edel SMS Wedges]

Checking back in almost a year later and the Edels continue to perform. I haven't been using my ShotScope as much recently (bit of a hassle to clean up my rounds afterwards), but for the data I do have, it shows me as gaining strokes vs. scratch in the short game.

 

I'm not surprised this is the case as I've been very good around the greens with the Edels this season. I certainly am managing my misses a little better, but realistically I feel like I can get up-and-down more often than not if I'm just off the green. I've switched to using both the 54 and 58 around the green depending on the situation.

My full wedge game is coming along as well. I've implemented a wedge matrix and that has helped somewhat.

I am starting to get a nice wear mark on the 58, but overall these wedges are still in great shape!

[2023 MGS Forum Test: Callaway Paradym Drivers]

Oooohhhh boy. We'll have to get close to a sign up record for these! TD is such a great driver.

[2023 MGS Forum Test: L.A.B. Putters]

Hits keep coming!

[Cobra 50th Anniversary Member Special]

So excited to see this come back. While I didn't take home the trophy (damn you @GolfSpy_BOS!) that was one hell of a summer.

[2023 MGS Forum Test: Edel SMS/SMS Pro Irons]

Wow. Another great opportunity. Looking forward to the reviews!

[2023 MGS Forum Test: Callaway Paradym Irons]

What a great surprise this morning. So happy to see Callaway back in the testing mix. Looking forward to reading the reviews.

[Edel SMS Wedges]

The Edels continue to be really solid additions to my bag. Over the past few weeks my short game and wedge play have continued to improved, even from the improvement I saw during test official test period.

I've chipped/pitched in a couple of birdies, and in general the 58 is a weapon around the green. I've taken to using a toe-down chipping/pitching motion. Combined with the additional bounce on the V grind, this ensures I glide right on the ground without digging at all. At my home course I get lots of bare and poor lies and this has become my answer to them. 

As I've continued working on my full swing, I've started throwing darts with the Edels. Just in the past few rounds I've stuck several approaches within 10-15 feet, some even closer. I still get a slight fade unless I try to hit a high draw, but the fade is controllable and I like how it leads to a very soft one-hop-and-stop approach.

[Edel SMS Wedges]

Two really nice birdies with these wedges in hand this past weekend. And a lot of work from all sorts of different situations - chipping, pitching, full and partial swings. They feel so buttery when pured.

Yesterday morning a full 50 resulted in a tight baby draw and a five footer that I sunk for birdie. After a nice drive on No. 18 Saturday, I had a partial 58 that dropped and stopped at three feet to a back pin. Both shots felt great.

[Edel SMS Wedges]

11 hours ago, MyWifesSwingCoach said:

Awesome follow up Cody, can you comment on the 3 pitches using the 58* with the weights in the heel?

The dispursion was really tight and straight but the distance seemed to be the only issue.

How did those shots feel to you and would you change the weights for that wedge alone?

That's the wonder of deleting shots in FlightScope. I didn't show how many shots I had to hit to get three that were close to my target distance. I believe it took 10 shots versus four with the weight in the toe. I was trying to look at spin/face angle on similar distance shots more so than anything else and not my inability to hit wedges the same distance when faced with nothing by a net to look at.

I think, given enough time, most people would adapt to the weight in whatever position you put it in. I do know, however, that I've been money around the green with the 58 so I'd be hesitant to change the weights around.

Moral of the post is that: One, I really struggle with shots inside of "full swing" distances. Two, that struggle becomes even more pronounced when I don't have a real target to look at, as is the case indoors hitting into a net with no screen.

[Stewart Q Follow Electric Caddie]

Awesome! Have fun, guys. Should be a great test to follow along with.

[Edel SMS Wedges]

I also finally got my garage in order and am able to fulfill my goal of testing the different weight positions with my FlightScope Mevo+ radar unit and Titleist ProV1x RCT golf balls.

Starting last night and finishing this morning, I cycled through the three wedges with the heavy weight in all three positions. For the sake of time and swings, I split the testing up as follows:

• Full shots with the 50 degree wedge
• Three-quarter partial shots with the 54 degree wedge
• 40-yard pitches with the 58 degree wedge

My goal was to get three or four "good" strikes in each weight position. Unfortunately, my garage was 92 degrees yesterday evening and the iPhone I use for the Mevo+ overheated before I could finish my testing. My swings today were not quite as good as yesterday, which is sad because I was swinging quite well last night! The heel-weighted 54 degree wedges and the 58 degree pitches were all taken during the second session this morning when I just wasn't on my game.

Disclaimers aside, here's the goods. I'm sorry these are images as there is not a good way to post tabular data.

50 Degree Wedge - Full Swing

54 Degree Wedge - 3/4 Swing

58 Degree Wedge - 40-yard Pitch

Do the weights greatly influence the numbers? Sort of? Maybe? I would say with the weight in the toe (as I was fit for and having been playing) I tend to get the face less closed through impact in all three scenarios. That leads to more spin.

Consistency-wise, I did begin to adapt to all three positions relatively quickly but was most comfortable with the weight in the toe (no surprise there). As such my distance control appears to be better. There is a pronounced feel difference between the weight positions, and as we know feel can really influence club delivery.

I will make the observation that I was much more easily able to generate three quality shots with the weight in the toe. 

Last thought unrelated to numbers but relevant to the review. We mentioned Edel did not ship a tool to change the weights. The weights do not use the standard Torx/star bit that most drivers use and instead are a normal 4mm Allen/hex wrench. I initially used my driver tool (since it does fit), but nearly stripped out the head of one of the weights. I would definitely recommend the Allen wrench if you intend on swapping weight positions.

[Edel SMS Wedges]

I got out this afternoon and spent more time in the practice bunker with the Edels. I didn't touch on their performance out of the sand too much in my final review, largely because most of my testing was done on course. My course has very few bunkers, so I don't spend too much time practicing a shot I will almost never use.

The V grind performs about as I expected out of the sand. My greenside sand technique is derived from a Gareth Raflewski video I watched a few years ago. Gareth basically talks about feeling a draw with a wide open clubface. That leads me to have a pretty shallow delivery in the sand.

As you might guess, in firmer sand conditions the V grind does bounce a bit much when you come in shallow. I can get around this by stacking a lot of weight on my front side and digging the leading edge more into the sand on the downswing. It works pretty well for me, but today during my practice I hit a few thinned burners over the green when I got a little lazy.

On the flip side, on very soft, fluffy sand the additional footprint of the V grind is very helpful. You can really go at the ball and splash it out pretty easily.

Overall, the sand performance of the Edels is more than adequate for my game. I suspect if I practiced sand shots more often I would resolve my aforementioned issue with the bounce. 

One reason I don't like practicing a ton of sand shots is that they are truly hard on the clubs. I cleaned my clubs tonight and noticed several new dings and dents in the faces of the two wedges I used from the sand today. 

[Edel SMS Wedges]

5 hours ago, russtopherb said:

In the past have you normally taken full swings with your wedges? Curious to know what would happen when you did that previously. I know I never go more than 1/2 with my wedges BUT that's just me. 

Yes, I'm a full swing wedge guy. It was a bit of an adjustment coming from my previous wedges (Cobra MIM Blacks) because I was so used to just hitting full shots from everywhere and anywhere with my 54 and 58 degree wedges. 

I have made an effort to hit more partial wedges because the Edels really shine when used like that. But, playing most of my rounds in the morning off wet grass and with dew-covered greens I usually prefer the height and spin of a full wedge if I can use it like that. 

This morning I had a great example of each. On No. 4 after a so-so tee shot I had about 115 to the flag but a 54 would have hit some branches above. I used a 1/2-3/4ish 50 off my back foot to flight the ball lower and stuffed it to within seven feet. On 18 I pushed my drive right leaving me 120 yards to the flag over some trees. Full swing 54 carried over the trees and dropped pin high leading to a par to close out the round.

[Edel SMS Wedges]

I've been working hard on my full swings with these wedges and they are coming around. I do think sometimes I over spin the ball a bit and lose some distance by taking full swings.

When you find the center of these wedges even my firm MTB-Xs feel like marshmallows. It's an addicting feeling.

I am absolutely in love with these and the V grinds.

[Edel SMS Wedges]

Good mention by @scooterhd2of something I think I neglected in my final review, though I know I posted about it once or twice:

Quote

For me, and I admit that my eyes are sensitive and I am playing in the absolute extremes of sunlight in Arizona in July; but the finish, while incredibly durable and incredibly beautiful in hand, is so glaring behind the ball. 

Especially coming from my MIM Blacks, the Edel finish is very tough on the eyes in harsh sunlight. I catch a lot of low early morning sun during my usual rounds and it's pretty distracting.

Really enjoyed your comments about the small options that some people had when ordering. My Club Champion made no mention of different paint, ferrule or stamping options. I realize now the Edel website has those options, but when I submitted my order to Chris Koske I didn't ask about any of them. Lots of customization available, apparently.

I wonder if CC does a full tear down and rebuild of Edel wedges like they do for other clubs? That may be why I was not presented with any of those factory custom options.

[Edel SMS Wedges]

15 minutes ago, GolfSpy_BOS said:

That's awesome Cody!  I can't recall if you mentioned any spin concerns in your AM dewy rounds.  Most Wanted testing revealed that there was a significant drop in dry vs wet spin on these (To be fair... I don't recall our MIM Black wedges doing well in that test either).

Really awesome to see a smaller company pushing well into the performance of some of the top tier OEMs as you found.

 

There's definitely less spin in the morning. I play so many morning rounds that I'm just used to it now. Still "enough" spin. The Cobras, especially after two seasons of wear, were worse offenders.

I went out on the practice green yesterday afternoon (completely dry by that point) and felt like a tour pro. Crazy amount of spin in dry conditions, almost too much since I'd had to recalibrate my roll out expectations.

[Edel SMS Wedges]

I touched on the strokes gained improvement in the review but hadn't realized how much my game had come around since my introduction post:

Before Receiving the Edels + June Lesson

After Receiving the Edels + June Lesson

[Edel SMS Wedges]

My final review has been posted. You can check it out over here!

Thanks to everyone for following along, and a huge thanks to Edel and the moderators for the testing opportunity. 

I still have some further testing to do in my garage once I get the Mevo+ setup again.

[Edel SMS Wedges]

I've been a little remiss with an update these past few days. Unfortunately, my wife and I brought COVID home with us from our vacation and I've been out of action since mid-last week. I'm hoping to get back out on to the course for a full 18 for the first time in a while tomorrow.

I cleaned up the Edels tonight and am pleasantly surprised with how they are holding up. I use no head covers on my wedges. While I do usually have covers on my irons (when you switch as often as I do, resale value matters), I've always thought wedges looked better with a little chatter and patina on them.

There are a few dings here and there. The faces show a few little scuffs, probably from dirty range balls. Overall, however, they've held up extremely well. The milled bottoms do a great job of hiding any marks on the soles.

I know the weights are the selling point of these wedges, but you can definitely not overlook the value of the excellent grind options. For me, the V grind has been wonderful. I really love the eased leading edge and the large amount of leading edge relief. Even when I catch a ball a little fat (which is common) this grind gets in and out of the turf so well. 

Here's a comparison picture to the Cobra MIM Blacks that were in my bag previously. I liked the MIMs but if you caught a little turf before the ball you were punished severely. I never thought I'd like a fatter soled wedge, but the shaping of even the V grind is so versatile - every bit as much as the Cobra versatile grind I am coming from.

I am still playing with the weight in the toe and haven't seen a reason to move it. My goal is still to get on the FlightScope Mevo+ and see what happens when the weight is moved. Unfortunately, we are also renovating a bathroom in my house at the moment and my garage hitting space has become a staging area for that. I'm hoping to get it cleaned up and grab some numbers soon.

I've been hesitant to move the weight around because the results are there as is! This was the result of about a half bucket's worth of 50 degree wedges on the range:

 

[Edel SMS Wedges]

Seeing some very consistent full swing yardages out of the Edels over the past few weeks. Now that I've adjusted back to the steel shafts they don't feel all that different than my SteelFibers, which makes sense given the weight class.

I may have lost a couple yards but based on the gapping in the rest of my bag I don't really have an issue there. Note that I step down to 50-54-58 from my 46 degree Hogan PTx Pro pitching wedge.

(Don't mind the 8 and 7 iron shots - I almost never hit the seven iron and my 8 iron is a punch out club routinely. I don't always remember to mark them as positional shots in ShotScope.)

[Edel SMS Wedges]

It came up in the "How'd you play?" thread, but I was able to put the Edels through their paces this week while on vacation. I found a very nice par 3 course near where we stayed, and for $17 I could not pass up a quick walk.

In retrospect, I should have played from the forward tees so that I could use the wedges on every single hole as some of the longer holes were 170+ and required 7/8/9 irons from the tee. However, I still had several opportunities for full swing, half swing and short game wedges. I landed several of the full swing wedges within 15 feet of the hole and had several good birdie looks, but more importantly when I missed the green the 58 really got me close and helped save par. I walked away shooting a 29 (+2) with seven pars and two bogies - my putting was miserable.

I don't have a picture of it, but my favorite hole of the day was actually a tough par. I hit my Edel 50 into a breeze and came up just short of a mounded green off the tee. I was probably 8-10 feet below the green with a front pin location. The only way I could envision getting it close was to hit a sharp chip shot with a slightly opened face. I executed it perfectly, cutting across the ball just a bit, landing it in front of the pin with the sidespin ripping the ball to a stop for a tap-in par save.

I was also able to play another, very hilly course later on in the trip. My wedges weren't as crisp that round, but there were several holes where I just saw the shot I needed in my head around the green and executed perfectly. My confidence around the greens feels like it is at an all-time high right now.

My introduction mentioned my concern about wet weather performance, but I would say the Edels perform just fine in wet conditions. I feel like I'm still getting plenty of spin, almost too much at times. I've hit a few chips that stopped far short the hole due to the amount of spin I can generate with these things.

My wife snapped a great picture of the Edel 58 getting some green-side use after a great drive and second shot on a par 5. This was one of those holes where I got a little too much spin and ended up short of the hole. Tap-in two putt for par.