Square Strike Wedge Unofficial Review

[ole gray]

A little history about me will get this review off on the right foot. I have been playing golf since 1975 and I'm 67 years old now so you do the math. My handicap has been as low as a 9 and currently is at 14.  I've had many lessons over the years that included greenside work.  One of the schools I attended was the Dave Peltz short game school. I know proper chipping and pitching techniques.  There's a difference between knowing how to do something and then doing it under pressure.  I'm retired and I have plenty of time to practice however with multiple surgeries on my right knee plus I broke my right hip a while back, I'm not willing to put in hours upon hours because it hurts.  The saying about getting old isn't for a sissy is no joke! My chipping is inconsistent with chunks being the main fault and I waste at least five strokes per round due to poor chipping and pitching.  You might say well why you don't chip with an eight or nine iron? Maybe try a hybrid or use your putter.  Heck my best chipping club was my five iron because I could put a putting stroke on it with good results.  That is until I changed irons and my new ones have a narrower sole.   Guess what?  No matter what I use now my results are less than stellar. 

 

I will be working on this review for several weeks so updates will be coming as I progress.  I hope you will follow along with my journey and let's see if the SSW can improve my consistency.   I'm going to lay it all on the table and you'll get an honest and fair review.  Hopefully you can get an idea from a fellow spy if this puppy will bark up your tree.

 

Ok so I ordered the product last Sunday and received it on Thursday so I'd give an "A" on shipping.  In fact I received notification that it was at my local post office so I scurried down there to pick it up!  I had a golf round scheduled for 10:40 a.m. today and the club arrived the PO at 7:00 a.m.  Came home and unboxed my soon to be short game cure. 

 

 

First thing I noticed was the long green grip that looked pretty darn skinny for my big ole hands.  In fact it looked like a noodle on steroids .  Hmmm maybe not even that because it was not much larger than my  bird shooting finger. In all fairness I do have big hands. Big feet too for all you Ladies out there..  Just kidding of course.    Here's a pic of the entire club so you can see the grip.  You might have to double clip on the pic to enlarge it.  

 

 

Just to stir the pot I hit some fantastic chips with this thing today!  I  also hit it from some gawd awful places and still landed on the green.  On the down side I skulled a few across the green however this was more user operator error than the SSW.  I'm saying this because I did it with different irons as well.  You must keep ya big melon still no matter what club you use! 

 

First thoughts are I like this thing however I don't like that skinny noodle feeling grip so that will have to be changed.  Stay tuned as I will update several times over the next several weeks.  I'll post some videos of me actually using it and maybe even throw in a few shots during our weekly blitz. 

 

[StrokerAce]

Great start OG... how does this compare to a chipper? What's the range where you feel comfortable using it...?

Can you take a full swing with it?

Have you tried it from a bunker yet?

 

Have fun... looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

[ole gray]

Great start OG... how does this compare to a chipper? What's the range where you feel comfortable using it...?

Can you take a full swing with it?

Have you tried it from a bunker yet?

 

Have fun... looking forward to seeing your progress.

 

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

 

 

In my opinion it's more versatile than a chipper.  You can hit shots from all sorts of lies and although I haven't hit one out of the sand yet, I'm betting it will work very well.  I'm not talking about deep high lip type bunkers.  I'm thinking it will help a ton of folks who have problems punching the ball out of fairway bunkers and shallow greenside bunkers. 

 

I didn't have the opportunity to try anything longer than a sixty five yard shot today.  I will stay my playing partners eyes got bigger than a chicken in a fox den when I punched it on the green.  I hit several shots in the 40 yard range today that were successful. 

 

I'll try all sorts of shots and report back.  I can honestly see good things about to happen. One thing that I hope they offer in the future is the option for a larger grip.  You got to cater to the big boys too. 

[MaxEntropy]

Nice start, OG. This will be interesting to follow

 

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[BillC]

OG - which wedge are you using - the 45 degree? They also ae hyping the 55 degree and the 3CSi wedge. It wold be good to get feedback on these clubs as well.

[ole gray]

OG - which wedge are you using - the 45 degree? They also ae hyping the 55 degree and the 3CSi wedge. It wold be good to get feedback on these clubs as well.

I have the 45 degree. When in deep green side bunkers I use my Cleveland Smart Sole wedge which is 58 degrees.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[MDGolfHacker]

Great review start! So you're going to swap out the grip? We're you chipping from cushy lies or tight lies?

 

MDGolfHacker

[ole gray]

Great review start! So you're going to swap out the grip? We're you chipping from cushy lies or tight lies?

 

MDGolfHacker

I'm going to change the grip ASAP. I'm use to holding on to big things.

 

We got a boat load of rain Monday night so courses in my area are still drying out. I did find some tight lies today although damp and it was easy. I had some fluffy lies too and it blew my mind at my success. Here's a guy who hops out of his truck, pops open the box, tees it up while playing for money and has success!

 

I can handle 15 minutes pre round working with it so I can't wait to actually have a grip added that is comfortable for me and some actual bonding time with it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[MDGolfHacker]

I'm going to change the grip ASAP. I'm use to holding on to big things.

 

We got a boat load of rain Monday night so courses in my area are still drying out. I did find some tight lies today although damp and it was easy. I had some fluffy lies too and it blew my mind at my success. Here's a guy who hops out of his truck, pops open the box, tees it up while playing for money and has success!

 

I can handle 15 minutes pre round working with it so I can't wait to actually have a grip added that is comfortable for me and some actual bonding time with it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

 

Ha ha ha...

 

MDGolfHacker

[cksurfdude]

OK, question:

Was this a late night impulse after a few cold ones.....?

[ole gray]

OK, question:

Was this a late night impulse after a few cold ones.....?

 

lol naw buddy I wasn't liquored up.  In fact I haven't had a beer or anything going on two weeks now.  I will say I've been hammering down the prune juice pretty hard.  

 

I'm the kind of guy who will try something golf wise only if I think there is a benefit for me.  I'm also the kind of guy who doesn't give a rats arse what others think when they're looking in my bag. The proof will be in the pudding and you have 60 days to try it out so I figured why not?   I'm losing strokes around the green and if it works cool, if not I'll get my money back.  Simple....

[Jbmullin]

seen the ad for this club on the golf channel and was curious. chipping is an area I could use help in. I bought the x-act tank and I cant seem to get it under control , I took it out by itself to practice and for every good shot I hit 4 poor ones. could be the operator. 

 

thanks for the review, look forward to hearing more about it. 

[ole gray]

seen the ad for this club on the golf channel and was curious. chipping is an area I could use help in. I bought the x-act tank and I can seem to get it under control , I took it out by itself to practice and for every good shot I hit 4 poor ones. could be the operator. 

 

thanks for the review, look forward to hearing more about it. 

 

 

Practicing is something I can't spend over 15 minutes at because of some physical issues.  I'll be putting in at least that amount of time before my next round of golf.  I'm sure there will be some negatives I'll run across however I haven't seen a club yet that's pure perfect.  

[cksurfdude]

lol naw buddy I wasn't alcohol charged up. In fact I haven't had a beer or anything going on two weeks now. I will say I've been hammering down the prune juice pretty hard.

 

I'm the kind of guy who will try something golf wise only if I think there is a benefit for me. I'm also the kind of guy who doesn't give a rats arse what others think when they're looking in my bag. The proof will be in the pudding and you have 60 days to try it out so I figured why not? I'm losing strokes around the green and if it works cool, if not I'll get my money back. Simple....

Sounds good to me! Totally agree - if it works for you, then that's all that counts!

 

Those initial results appear pretty promising.

[cnosil]

Great info and appreciate your taking the time to do the review.  It appears that the club is pretty versatile on where it can be used.   

[ole gray]

Great info and appreciate your taking the time to do the review.  It appears that the club is pretty versatile on where it can be used.   

 

Yea it's pretty cool to say the least.  There's a long way to go with my review however I'm seeing some promising stuff from the get go. 

[tommc23]

Nice write up sometimes the things in infomercials help

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[ole gray]

.

To be honest, I think limited practice is going to give a more realistic view of the performance of the club as it would more accurately portray the habits of the average golfer.

 

Weight-wise, I'm curious if it compares to your SS-58 ???

 

 

Hey that's a good point!

 

I think it's heavier as it's got some meat on them bones.    I'll compare the two tomorrow and get back with ya. 

[HardcoreLooper]

OG - Great info! I am convinced that narrow soled blade wedges are not the best choice for most of us. Thanks for taking the time to write this up!

 

Sent from my SM-J727VPP using Tapatalk

[russtopherb]

I'll be interested to see how things work out, OG. The weight of the club aiding in not-so-great lies sounds like something that would benefit a lot of golfers, especially those that don't regularly play in well-manicured conditions such as myself!

[ole gray]

I'll be interested to see how things work out, OG. The weight of the club aiding in not-so-great lies sounds like something that would benefit a lot of golfers, especially those that don't regularly play in well-manicured conditions such as myself!

 

Amen bruther.  I had to come out of some snarly stuff a couple times yesterday and the SSW came through like a John Deer pulling a bush hawg. 

[ole gray]

Ok guys after much thought I decided to order this grip from Amazon Prime. Plus the green/white grip goes well with the green on the back of the SSW.

 

 

Like I said earlier in my review I have big hands so I prefer something substantial to hold on to.  With the Square Strike Wedge you use a putting stroke so why not go with the Fat Cat.  If it doesn't work, I have two putters I can try it on. 

 

Beware --  If you play tournament golf and or abide strictly by USGA Rules of Golf, a putter grip is not legal on anything other than a putter.

 

Local rules within our senior group does not forbid this sort of equipment altercation. We are in it for the fun and competition golf is not on our agenda. Well unless you are trying to take my quarter on the 18th hole. 

[00sportsman]

I'm really interested in knowing more about your experience, as well.   I'm always a little skeptical about the "as seen on TV" stuff, but sometimes the stuff actually works the way they claim.  I'm also really interested in what you decide to re-grip with and how it helps you.  Keep us updated.  (I know you will.)

[ole gray]

I'm really interested in knowing more about your experience, as well. I'm always a little skeptical about the "as seen on TV" stuff, but sometimes the stuff actually works the way they claim. I'm also really interested in what you decide to re-grip with and how it helps you. Keep us updated. (I know you will.)

There will be lot's of info posted for the next couple of months.

 

I ordered the standard flat cat grip this morning.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[00sportsman]

There will be lot's of info posted for the next couple of months.

 

I ordered the standard flat cat grip this morning.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Yup.  I was literally notified that there was a new reply as I was hitting "Post."  I wondered whether you'd go with a regular putter grip.

[russtopherb]

I think the putting grip makes sense based on the stroke you're using.

 

 

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[Canucklehead]

Looking forward to following along OG! Do you maintain a putting grip even out to 40 yards?

 

Sent from my E6853 using Tapatalk

[ole gray]

.

To be honest, I think limited practice is going to give a more realistic view of the performance of the club as it would more accurately portray the habits of the average golfer.

 

Weight-wise, I'm curious if it compares to your SS-58 ???

 

 

The SSW definitely feels heavier than the Cleveland Smart Sole 58. I didn't put them on the scales however when I took them out of my truck and held one in each hand horizontally, the SSW came out the heavy weight champ. 

[goaliewales14]

The concern I have with this club is that it'll replace have to replace a wedge in the bag to stay at 14.  Are you using it as a LW replacement?  If so, would you just use your 56 for any flop shots you would need to hit over a bunker or something?

[ole gray]

The concern I have with this club is that it'll replace have to replace a wedge in the bag to stay at 14.  Are you using it as a LW replacement?  If so, would you just use your 56 for any flop shots you would need to hit over a bunker or something?

 

Actually I have a Cleveland CBX 50 & 56 along with the Smart Sole at 58 degrees.   I'm light at the top of my bag so I'm set at 14 clubs including the Square Shot Wedge.  I only bag the Smart Sole for certain conditions so that takes me down to 13 clubs.