Wedge Fitting?

[Richie3Jack]

I've never really gotten wedge fitting because it's quite vague.

 

I understand things like...softer turf, steeper attack angles = more bounce

 

 

But, how much is a 'lot of bounce' vs. 'small amount of bounce.'

 

Another kicker...the grinds. I see places like Scratch and other companies have all of these grinds...often exotic grinds. But it seems to be 'choose the grind that you like the feel of the best' instead of actually fitting the golfer.

 

Any ideas, thoughts, suggestions?

 

 

 

 

 

 

3JACK

[RookieBlue7]

The guys at Scratch do a great job. They have different basic grinds for swing types. From there, the other grinds are made to accentuate that swing type coupled wiht the shots you play most often. The grinds are there to make shots easier, and they're not just for looks. With a wedge fitting, they usually check loft, length and lie and then from your swing type find the grind that fits you best. If more tweaks are needed for shot types you play (flop, punch, intentional blading, etc) then the other grinds come into play to make those shots easier and the club work for your swing, not your swing work to get the clubs to perform.

[Justin66]

The guys at Scratch do a great job. They have different basic grinds for swing types. From there, the other grinds are made to accentuate that swing type coupled wiht the shots you play most often. The grinds are there to make shots easier, and they're not just for looks. With a wedge fitting, they usually check loft, length and lie and then from your swing type find the grind that fits you best. If more tweaks are needed for shot types you play (flop, punch, intentional blading, etc) then the other grinds come into play to make those shots easier and the club work for your swing, not your swing work to get the clubs to perform.

 

+1

 

I'd just add that the industry "standard" (as far as that goes) seems to hover around 12* for a SW, and 6-8* for a GW and LW. But there's more to it than that. Some people are getting into using the LW as their greenside bunker wedge, with the SW used for longer bunker/finesse shots. So to make a LW work from the bunker, they need more bounce than "standard" and a thicker sole.

 

There's also manufacturing of said bounce. Some companies claim a wedge to have 14* of bounce, but that's only for the exact center of the sole. The toe and/or heel have been recessed (ground) to allow for flop shots and toe-down chips. Still others will say a wedge has 14* bounce, but the sole will be beveled along the trailing edge. You get the benefit (with this term being relative) without the possibility of a distractingly thick sole.

[Xamilo]

I have had a similar question for long. I really don't seem to see a big difference between a 4 and 6 bounce for example, nor I understand the different "grinds". Yes, I understand there is a different one for each swing "type" but I don't understand the idea or the concept behind which one is for which and why

[Manavs]

great topic, and I hope we can get a great explanation from a wedge company rep.

 

til then i'll give my standard simple explanation.

 

the grind is designed to match the person's attack angle. its actually designed to prevent what the person does to start with.

 

the steeper one attacks, the greater the opportunity for deep divots - these folks would make best to have a wider sole to prevent the club to dig to deep.

 

a person who doesnt attack so steeply, will tend to not take too deep a divot if any, and be more of a picker. this action since it does not contact the turf, it doesnt need a wide sole nor much bounce.

 

of all the different things you can do to a wedge. basically your dealing with -

 

Bounce angle - height of leading edge to trailing edge

Camber - roundness of sole front to back and toe to heel

Width of sole - narrow, standard, wide

leading edge - dull, rounded, sharp, blunted

basic grinds - scalloped, v-grind, round, multi-plane.

 

 

I've shallowed out my swing over the years, but am still relatively steep. Some of my personal favorites that i've used -

 

Titleist - Curtis Strange 57* - wore out 3 of these over the years. Basically it had a wider sole at the toe, and narrower a the heel. Big high round toe. It was great to open up and hit cut shots with it.

 

Went through 2 sets of KZG forged wedges next. the first set had a great soft trailing edge grind. the second set had some offset and wasnt the same, and passed on em.

 

CG12's were next. 56* and 60* Never had a cleveland wedge before and wanted to try them. Still have them in the bag and there is a reason why they've been the standard wedge all others are compared to.

 

Just got my CG15's from the pga show and went with the DSG grind. These have a V shaped sole, and the verdict is still out if I got the right grind. Short game wise they are good with little contact of the turf, but full swing wise with my steep attack they tend to amplify a slightly fat shot into a very fat shot. we'll see.

 

Anyways - rambled a bit, hope that helps

[Manavs]

just to add a little to this - the best way to see where you fall into is to demo and try as many wedges with different grinds out for yourself. pga demo day is THE place to start if you can make it.

 

But i've tried a few different clubs over the years, and i remember giving a lesson to a person who had a set of Jack Nicklaus' personal set of irons. Jack gave them away to him. I had to try them and found out very quickly I couldnt hit them. The soles were so flat. no bounce at all, all i did was dig up the practice tee. crazy sharp leading edges.

 

another wedge was a former tour pro's cleveland 585 54* that had the entire width of the wedge ground off. so think the thickness of the wedge at the top line all the way down to the sole was the same thickness. that was a crazy grind.

[RookieBlue7]

A few links to help explain grinds and bounce from Scratch's site:

 

http://www.scratchgolf.com/tech-talk/bounce/

http://www.scratchgolf.com/tech-talk/grinds/

 

 

As for an explanation on how a wedge fitting is done, I'll shoot Ari a message and see if he or one of his guys could get on and explain it from their perspective.