PMookie gets an Edel Wedge fitting at Nevada Bob’s in Jackson, MS!

[PMookie]

I went to Nevada Bob’s in Jackson, MS, today to do my Edel Swing Match System (SMS) wedge fitting. Tony Bishop, the owner, did my putter fittings, and is highly recommended by Edel. We did the fitting inside in one of his three bays, using TrackMan. One of the things Tony talked about right away was the biomechanics of my build. In doing the Edel wedge fitting it’s important to look at lengths of the arm: wrist to elbow vs elbow to shoulder and see which is longer. My elbow to wrist is longer, so I’m naturally going to have a steeper swing. Someone with a longer elbow to shoulder would generally have a shallower swing. Where I was at the top of the swing was also a clue. I’m also a “side-on” player as well, which can additionally contribute to a deeper divot, so right off the bat Tony knew which grinds to start with. 

I want to mention that although the fitting was only indoors, TrackMan is built to be able to show divot depth, swing path, etc so Tony could see right in the computer exactly the depth my wedge would be passing through the turf. We could see how far up the face the ball was making contact, how many “grooves” up the face where impact was made, so being outside isn’t absolutely necessary. For those who watch TXG, note how Ian fits Matt indoors.

We started with me hitting my pitching wedge to get a baseline distance to start thinking about gapping. I was between 135-140, with 136-137 being the most consistent number. The idea was to start to look at having 10-12 yards in gaps. Tony asked what number I wanted to be able to hit with the 58*, or my highest loft, and I told him I really didn’t care as long as it was a consistent number. 110? Sure. 100? Ok. 95? Fine. We talked about how I use my wedges, which ones I hit full shots with, which one’s used around the green, if I like to manipulate them, etc. I hit my 50* for full shots 99% of the time, and the 58* is my 60-90 yard club from the fairway/rough, up to full shots. The 54* is the one that has to be the most versatile as that’s the one with which I hit all kinds of different shots from full, to 3/4, 1/2, chips, pitches, sand shots, etc. So, with all of this info, we started hitting full shots. We then hit some baseline shots with my Vega 50* to get some numbers on spin, launch, total height, distance, divot depth using TrackMan, and then looking at dispersion.

Tony started me in the Edel SMS V grind 50* with the heaviest weight in the middle. Shots were really pretty good, launch had come down (I’m a high ball hitter) compared to my Vega, spin jumped around 1,000 rpms, and distance was going a few yards further than my Vega, filling that gap better. We changed out shafts a number of times going through KBS, Modus, and Dynamic Gold Tour issue, we moved between heads, and he kept digging through the data TrackMan was showing. He kept the weight in the middle until he figured out the grind. Turns out the D grind was the best. When he showed me how the depth of divot changed to become shallower, and I started hitting the 2nd/3rd groove on the face, we knew this was the right grind for sure. Next he moved the weight to the heel. Um, yeah. I immediately hit three shanks, and every shot was leaving a mark just inside the hosel that I could see plain as day! Dispersion was erratic, and the feel was not good. Tony then moved the weight out to the toe…………. Pure. Pure. Pure. Three in-a-ROW flushed, and when looking at the screen in front of me, all three formed a single red line, dispersion was indistinguishable. Feel? Oh, my! I turned to Tony and let him know THIS was the one! He could see it plain as day on TrackMan too! I’m telling y’all, it’s a feel that I’ve not had with a wedge before. I was actually hitting the dead center of the face, at about the 3rd groove, and the flight, height, distance, etc were right where Tony wanted to see them! This is not hyperbole… This is what @dlow206noticed in his fitting too. When everything came together, and the weight was in the right spot for OUR swings, body make-up, delivery, etc, it’s crazy how it feels. You would just KNOW it was right. D grind, weight in the toe… Unreal. Divot depth was right-on, path, numbers for height, distance, etc. and dispersion was crazy-tight. Tony even said he got goose bumps when it all came together. I was stunned…

We moved to the 54* and tried some of the other grinds, and the numbers fell into line with the V grind, keeping in-mind this would be the wedge that needed the most versatility. V stands for versatility, so it was the one we went with. In the 58* we went back to the D grind because I would use this club similarly to the 50*, so Tony wanted that same help with shallowing out my divots via the make-up of the sole. Again, weight in the toe, everything was right-on. Shaft-wise, what he chose was to go with the Nippon Modus 130 wedge shaft, which is basically the 130 I have but using an 8 iron shaft to give it more play, but Edel doesn’t offer it, so he’s going to look at the shaft offerings that would be closest and we’ll give it a try. And right HERE is why one should go to Tony Bishop at Nevada Bob’s in Jackson, MS, for a fitting: he called me on his way home tonight and let me know he was going to order the Modus 130 himself, ship them to me, then have me bring what he ends-up ordering from Edel and these 130s to the shop to get BACK on the TrackMan and see what it all looks like. If the Edel shaft option doesn’t work, he’s going to just install the Modus 130s…….. Who does that?! Most fitters would just say, “Oh well. They don’t offer it.” He’s going to get what I MIGHT need ANYWAY. He’s going to make SURE my build is just right! Seriously. Who does this?! Tony Bishop does….

Set make-up will be standard lofts and lies, +1” in length. 50* D grind, 54* V grind, 58* D grind. 

Quick side-note. Just after I left, one of LSU’s women’s golfers drove to Jackson to do the Edel wedge fitting too. Guess what happened during her fitting when they got the weight/grind etc all lined-up just right? Yep, she turned to Tony and said the same thing as me. The feel was incredible, flight, everything. “Don’t mess with it, this is the fit!” Same reaction@dlow206 had too…  Turns out her set-up was the same as mine for lofts and grinds. Folks, I’m telling you. You gotta give these a shot! https://edelgolf.com/collections/wedges

Me at the top of my swing giving Tony clues as to if I’ll be steep/shallow

Here’s where I add the visual evidence of what happened when that weight was moved into the right spot for me, and we had the right grind.

Weight in the center

Weight in the heel

Weight in the toe

Different view. Weight in the center/heel
Weight in the toe

Here are some pics of the grinds I’m getting 

D grind 

V grind

[dlow206]

I think its really impossible for someone who has not gone through the fitting to understand how awesomely different it is when you get the right combo with the weight. 

And for those thinking about it like how you move a weight in a driver, its nothing like that in terms of the effect/results you get. 

[PMookie]

7 minutes ago, dlow206 said:

I think its really impossible for someone who has not gone through the fitting to understand how awesomely different it is when you get the right combo with the weight. 

And for those thinking about it like how you move a weight in a driver, its nothing like that in terms of the effect/results you get. 

Folks will discount it and say it’s marketing… I posted pictures of the actual tangible results of the shifting of the weight. You’ve seen it/felt it, I have, and so has that LSU women’s golfer! It’s NOT marketing. Crazy. 

[fixyurdivot]

If it works, it works. Now let's move the technology into the rest of the bag and particularly the ones most struggle to hit consistently.

[ejgaudette]

7 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

If it works, it works. Now let's move the technology into the rest of the bag and particularly the ones most struggle to hit consistently.

Right how long now till someone at least attempts movable weights on irons, or should I say retry since I am sure someone somewhere had tried it already.

[fixyurdivot]

Or, we could simply transcend a generation of development and jump right to the Holy Grail.  THE ADJUSTABLE IRONS: WALKING STICKS GOLF CLUBS - ClickitGolf 

As to the "invented already" thought, yup., a handful in fact.  US3979122A - Adjustably-weighted golf irons and processes - Google Patents

Which begs the question "why hasn't this design approach become the industry standard?"  My guess is that the effect becomes more and more subtle as the overall size/volume of the club decreases.  It would be interesting to see an experiment with a really consistent ball striker like Morikawa and whether this would further improve his percentage of center strikes.

[PMookie]

1 hour ago, fixyurdivot said:

Or, we could simply transcend a generation of development and jump right to the Holy Grail.  THE ADJUSTABLE IRONS: WALKING STICKS GOLF CLUBS - ClickitGolf 

As to the "invented already" thought, yup., a handful in fact.  US3979122A - Adjustably-weighted golf irons and processes - Google Patents

Which begs the question "why hasn't this design approach become the industry standard?"  My guess is that the effect becomes more and more subtle as the overall size/volume of the club decreases.  It would be interesting to see an experiment with a really consistent ball striker like Morikawa and whether this would further improve his percentage of center strikes.

I would tend to guess that the reason why is because of the cost, and almost NO ONE gets fitted for wedges! HUGE OEMs like Titleist/Callaway/Cleveland would have to create thousands of fitting heads, carts with shafts, weights for the heads, etc, that I would think it would almost be a “non-starter”. Like was mentioned in my fitting, to this point they’ve used bending to achieve a similar result. Go a little flatter with the lie, or a little more upright to move the strike location ever so slightly. Add some lead tape too. I just think the cost of it when hardly ANYONE gets fitted for wedges just isn’t an expense that’s worth it to the “big boys”. 

[PMookie]

This is Edel’s niche. This is why they have the in-depth putter fitting, and now wedge fitting. David believes in the science of swing biomechanics and takes it to designing clubs, fitting systems, etc. Big OEMs can put wedges and putters into stores by the thousands and MOST folks just grab them off the rack and check-out. There’s nothing wrong with it, but this is where Edel comes in. @fixyurdivot I don’t think the big boys care. They’re making millions on putters and wedges without doing it.... To some, maybe because the big boys don’t, they think what Edel is doing isn’t worth it. “Titleist doesn’t do it. Scotty Cameron doesn’t do it.” To those folks what this wedge is doing can’t be valid unless a pro does it, or sees the benefit. Eh, I get that way of thinking, but it wouldn’t change what happened in MY fitting, or in LSU’s Women’s All-American fitting either. 
I can say this without a doubt: $40 for a wedge fitting at Nevada Bob’s in Jackson is worth it to see if it works for someone else....

[ncwoz]

11 hours ago, PMookie said:

I went to Nevada Bob’s in Jackson, MS, today to do my Edel Swing Match System (SMS) wedge fitting. Tony Bishop, the owner, did my putter fittings, and is highly recommended by Edel. We did the fitting inside in one of his three bays, using TrackMan. One of the things Tony talked about right away was the biomechanics of my build. In doing the Edel wedge fitting it’s important to look at lengths of the arm: wrist to elbow vs elbow to shoulder and see which is longer. My elbow to wrist is longer, so I’m naturally going to have a steeper swing. Someone with a longer elbow to shoulder would generally have a shallower swing. Where I was at the top of the swing was also a clue. I’m also a “side-on” player as well, which can additionally contribute to a deeper divot, so right off the bat Tony knew which grinds to start with. 

I want to mention that although the fitting was only indoors, TrackMan is built to be able to show divot depth, swing path, etc so Tony could see right in the computer exactly the depth my wedge would be passing through the turf. We could see how far up the face the ball was making contact, how many “grooves” up the face where impact was made, so being outside isn’t absolutely necessary. For those who watch TXG, note how Ian fits Matt indoors.

We started with me hitting my pitching wedge to get a baseline distance to start thinking about gapping. I was between 135-140, with 136-137 being the most consistent number. The idea was to start to look at having 10-12 yards in gaps. Tony asked what number I wanted to be able to hit with the 58*, or my highest loft, and I told him I really didn’t care as long as it was a consistent number. 110? Sure. 100? Ok. 95? Fine. We talked about how I use my wedges, which ones I hit full shots with, which one’s used around the green, if I like to manipulate them, etc. I hit my 50* for full shots 99% of the time, and the 58* is my 60-90 yard club from the fairway/rough, up to full shots. The 54* is the one that has to be the most versatile as that’s the one with which I hit all kinds of different shots from full, to 3/4, 1/2, chips, pitches, sand shots, etc. So, with all of this info, we started hitting full shots. We then hit some baseline shots with my Vega 50* to get some numbers on spin, launch, total height, distance, divot depth using TrackMan, and then looking at dispersion.

Tony started me in the Edel SMS V grind 50* with the heaviest weight in the middle. Shots were really pretty good, launch had come down (I’m a high ball hitter) compared to my Vega, spin jumped around 1,000 rpms, and distance was going a few yards further than my Vega, filling that gap better. We changed out shafts a number of times going through KBS, Modus, and Dynamic Gold Tour issue, we moved between heads, and he kept digging through the data TrackMan was showing. He kept the weight in the middle until he figured out the grind. Turns out the D grind was the best. When he showed me how the depth of divot changed to become shallower, and I started hitting the 2nd/3rd groove on the face, we knew this was the right grind for sure. Next he moved the weight to the heel. Um, yeah. I immediately hit three shanks, and every shot was leaving a mark just inside the hosel that I could see plain as day! Dispersion was erratic, and the feel was not good. Tony then moved the weight out to the toe…………. Pure. Pure. Pure. Three in-a-ROW flushed, and when looking at the screen in front of me, all three formed a single red line, dispersion was indistinguishable. Feel? Oh, my! I turned to Tony and let him know THIS was the one! He could see it plain as day on TrackMan too! I’m telling y’all, it’s a feel that I’ve not had with a wedge before. I was actually hitting the dead center of the face, at about the 3rd groove, and the flight, height, distance, etc were right where Tony wanted to see them! This is not hyperbole… This is what @dlow206noticed in his fitting too. When everything came together, and the weight was in the right spot for OUR swings, body make-up, delivery, etc, it’s crazy how it feels. You would just KNOW it was right. D grind, weight in the toe… Unreal. Divot depth was right-on, path, numbers for height, distance, etc. and dispersion was crazy-tight. Tony even said he got goose bumps when it all came together. I was stunned…

We moved to the 54* and tried some of the other grinds, and the numbers fell into line with the V grind, keeping in-mind this would be the wedge that needed the most versatility. V stands for versatility, so it was the one we went with. In the 58* we went back to the D grind because I would use this club similarly to the 50*, so Tony wanted that same help with shallowing out my divots via the make-up of the sole. Again, weight in the toe, everything was right-on. Shaft-wise, what he chose was to go with the Nippon Modus 130 wedge shaft, which is basically the 130 I have but using an 8 iron shaft to give it more play, but Edel doesn’t offer it, so he’s going to look at the shaft offerings that would be closest and we’ll give it a try. And right HERE is why one should go to Tony Bishop at Nevada Bob’s in Jackson, MS, for a fitting: he called me on his way home tonight and let me know he was going to order the Modus 130 himself, ship them to me, then have me bring what he ends-up ordering from Edel and these 130s to the shop to get BACK on the TrackMan and see what it all looks like. If the Edel shaft option doesn’t work, he’s going to just install the Modus 130s…….. Who does that?! Most fitters would just say, “Oh well. They don’t offer it.” He’s going to get what I MIGHT need ANYWAY. He’s going to make SURE my build is just right! Seriously. Who does this?! Tony Bishop does….

Set make-up will be standard lofts and lies, +1” in length. 50* D grind, 54* V grind, 58* D grind. 

Quick side-note. Just after I left, one of LSU’s women’s golfers drove to Jackson to do the Edel wedge fitting too. Guess what happened during her fitting when they got the weight/grind etc all lined-up just right? Yep, she turned to Tony and said the same thing as me. The feel was incredible, flight, everything. “Don’t mess with it, this is the fit!” Same reaction@dlow206 had too…  Turns out her set-up was the same as mine for lofts and grinds. Folks, I’m telling you. You gotta give these a shot! https://edelgolf.com/collections/wedges

Me at the top of my swing giving Tony clues as to if I’ll be steep/shallow

Here’s where I add the visual evidence of what happened when that weight was moved into the right spot for me, and we had the right grind.

Weight in the center

Weight in the heel

Weight in the toe

Different view. Weight in the center/heel
Weight in the toe

Here are some pics of the grinds I’m getting 

D grind 

V grind

Great read, thanks for sharing!! Fascinating results. When I'm next up for wedges I'm going to need to try and find a local Edel fitter and experience it for myself.

[fixyurdivot]

34 minutes ago, PMookie said:

I would tend to guess that the reason why is because of the cost, and almost NO ONE gets fitted for wedges! HUGE OEMs like Titleist/Callaway/Cleveland would have to create thousands of fitting heads, carts with shafts, weights for the heads, etc, that I would think it would almost be a “non-starter”. Like was mentioned in my fitting, to this point they’ve used bending to achieve a similar result. Go a little flatter with the lie, or a little more upright to move the strike location ever so slightly. Add some lead tape too. I just think the cost of it when hardly ANYONE gets fitted for wedges just isn’t an expense that’s worth it to the “big boys”. 

Good points. This is where MIM technology gets really intriguing... the ultimate "fitted & built" club. 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

3 hours ago, ejgaudette said:

Right how long now till someone at least attempts movable weights on irons, or should I say retry since I am sure someone somewhere had tried it already.

Wasn’t that pxgs point with their 0311 irons?

[PMookie]

26 minutes ago, ncwoz said:

Great read, thanks for sharing!! Fascinating results. When I'm next up for wedges I'm going to need to try and find a local Edel fitter and experience it for myself.

It’s pretty crazy! Well worth taking a look. Definitely can’t hurt!!!

[PMookie]

Here are a few more pics of some of the other grinds. C grind and T grind. The T looks what I played in my previous set of Edel wedges, and if you look at the relief on the bottom of the C, it’s ridiculously versatile!!! Some added toe and heel areas ground-off to be able to manipulate the lie to a greater degree each way. Pretty cool!

[PMookie]

Here’s a breakdown of the grinds from the Edel site. First, the V and D I was fitted to, then the C and T.

 

 

[sirchunksalot]

I'm really enjoying reading about your experience with the Edel wedge fitting and the philosophy they use to fit golfers into their product. I'm glad to see they found the right fit for you and can't wait to see how they perform for you on the course. 

It's also got me really excited to read the Edel putter review once testers are selected and it goes live. 

[PMookie]

9 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

I'm really enjoying reading about your experience with the Edel wedge fitting and the philosophy they use to fit golfers into their product. I'm glad to see they found the right fit for you and can't wait to see how they perform for you on the course. 

It's also got me really excited to read the Edel putter review once testers are selected and it goes live. 

Thanks, I’m excited to see the results from the wedges! Yeah, the putter review will be great! I fully believe in the putter fitting and since switching back to an Edel putter this year, I’ve had my lowest number of putts in a round ever: 29. The new EAS putters are a BIG step forward from the pixel-faced ones just from a distance consistency standpoint. 

[twyatt700]

6 hours ago, ejgaudette said:

Right how long now till someone at least attempts movable weights on irons, or should I say retry since I am sure someone somewhere had tried it already.

isn't that what pxg did at first?

[PMookie]

Just received an email from the COO of Edel that they’re going to call me Monday to talk about shafts so that “everything is perfect”. Pretty dang cool. Thanks guys!!!!

[Fjd]

Thx for sharing on your fitting.  Sounds like it was a great experience and as another person mentioned, can’t wait to see how the wedges perform during actual play.  Regardless, you have to be thrilled with having an ah-ah moment knowing the fitting checked all the boxes for you.  Very impressed with the Edel fitting and their products.

[PMookie]

23 minutes ago, Fjd said:

Thx for sharing on your fitting.  Sounds like it was a great experience and as another person mentioned, can’t wait to see how the wedges perform during actual play.  Regardless, you have to be thrilled with having an ah-ah moment knowing the fitting checked all the boxes for you.  Very impressed with the Edel fitting and their products.

It’s going to be fun to see what happens on-course here in a few weeks. I’ve done wedge fittings in the past, and there’s no doubt this is another level!

[dlow206]

6 minutes ago, PMookie said:

It’s going to be fun to see what happens on-course here in a few weeks. I’ve done wedge fittings in the past, and there’s no doubt this is another level!

I'm excited as well. I am hoping i get the same good front to back dispersion that i was seeing. My 50 degree wedge shots at the fitting were all going about 100 yards. With my current wedges, I feel like there is too much distance variability between shots, even on what i believe to be good strikes. 

[stephen moss]

I have been playing with a used Edel e-3 putter for the last 3 year off and on but life happens to be taking me to Austin on Tuesday so I made an appointment for a wedge and putter fitting at the Edel HQ.  Reading your post has me so excitied since I rely on my short game to score. 

 

I will try to send an update after my fitting. 

[PMookie]

1 hour ago, stephen moss said:

I have been playing with a used Edel e-3 putter for the last 3 year off and on but life happens to be taking me to Austin on Tuesday so I made an appointment for a wedge and putter fitting at the Edel HQ.  Reading your post has me so excitied since I rely on my short game to score. 

 

I will try to send an update after my fitting. 

That’s awesome! I was at the HQ in Liberty Hill about 5 years ago and was able to meet David Edel and the whole gang! Great people, great products, ridiculous fittings! You’ll have a blast! Enjoy, and I can’t wait to hear what you end-up with!

[Kanoito]

Sounds pretty sweet and would definitely like to give it a try.

But can't seem to find any fitters outside the US. I remember seeing a fitter in Germany for Edel putters a few years back, but can't find it anymore.

[fozcycle]

Great write up PM. As always your reviews are detailed and on point.  I think wedge fitting will be the next big thing in players bags.  I am amazed at how exact the system is to identify what groove you are striking the ball with.  Keep it up and let us know when they arrive.

[PMookie]

1 hour ago, fozcycle said:

Great write up PM. As always your reviews are detailed and on point.  I think wedge fitting will be the next big thing in players bags.  I am amazed at how exact the system is to identify what groove you are striking the ball with.  Keep it up and let us know when they arrive.

And that’s just TrackMan, which should be available to anyone that has one. I never knew it gave all of the path and impact depth info until this fitting because I’ve only ever done driver and iron fittings with it, and no one ever pulled-up that info when fitting for irons. It’s pretty cool to know it’s there! The bounce change effects were immediately seen using that part of the program. Really neat to see how depth of divot, path, spin, etc were all changing.

[Chip Strokes]

i looked on their site and it seems like i’d have to trek into NYC for an edel fitting. they could be worth their weight in gold, but that’s enough to keep them out of my hands

[PMookie]

32 minutes ago, Chip Strokes said:

i looked on their site and it seems like i’d have to trek into NYC for an edel fitting. they could be worth their weight in gold, but that’s enough to keep them out of my hands

Totally understandable. I drove 5 hours to do a putter fitting the first time… There aren’t a lot of Edel fitters at this point. Ugh. 

[M. Parsons]

@PMookie & @dlow206 I've been looking at the Edel website quite a bit the past few days, and I know that their irons are single length, so I was wondering if that plays into the wedges as well?  I saw that yours are +1", but are they all the same length, or do they vary like most wedges?

[dlow206]

40 minutes ago, M. Parsons said:

@PMookie & @dlow206 I've been looking at the Edel website quite a bit the past few days, and I know that their irons are single length, so I was wondering if that plays into the wedges as well?  I saw that yours are +1", but are they all the same length, or do they vary like most wedges?

By standard spec, the Edel wedges vary in length, but you can order them to match if you want

Standard Length Specs 46°-53° = 35.5", 54°-57° = 35.25", 58°-62° = 35"