Wedges

[silver & black 5,556]

I'm looking to get new wedges. I've always used Titleist Vokeys. My current SW is 10 years old and needs replaced. I'm thinking of getting a GW because my new irons didn't come with one.

 

My question is..... what bounce? My current SW is 12 deg. I don't know what my GW is. I use the GW quite a bit from the fairway. I also chip with it a lot. What is the rule of thumb for bounce for a wedge that is used mainly for full and chip shots?

 

Also, what grind for the SW in the Vokey line? I have no idea what my current SW has for grind. I will be staying with 11-12 deg. of bounce in the SW.

 

Does the finish have any effect on the club? I really like the black nickel and oil can finishes. Are they purely aesthetic?

[wbealsd 1,063]

I just picked up a pair of SCOR wedges I'm really thrilled with, still getting used to them (and they DO take some time to adjust to) but I'm finding them amazingly accurate, so far. I don't have the link handy and was just getting ready to log off my PC, but there's a very good review of the SCOR system here, which ultimately led to my decision.

[JMiller 18]

I'm looking to get new wedges. I've always used Titleist Vokeys. My current SW is 10 years old and needs replaced. I'm thinking of getting a GW because my new irons didn't come with one.

What is the loft of the PW? How many wedges do you want to play 4 or 3 total including PW?

You HAVE to gap your wedges properly based on this information.

 

For me I have a PW that is 47* of loft, I currently play a 47, 52, 56, 60 and will be switching to a 47, 54, 60 probably. It is a personal preference based on your distance and touch what you want to play in lofts. but don't go more then 6* or 7* of loft between wedges. Smaller gaps of loft are better for people that don't have good touch. Someone with a lot of touch can go with more gap in loft in wedges.

 

My question is..... what bounce?

 

My current SW is 12 deg. I don't know what my GW is. I use the GW quite a bit from the fairway. I also chip with it a lot. What is the rule of thumb for bounce for a wedge that is used mainly for full and chip shots?

There really isn't a rule of thumb it's very dependent on the player would it comes to loft and bounce numbers. The only rule of thumb I give better players is to vary the amount of bounce they have in their wedges. Here is what I recommend:

NOTE :: yes I know SGI PW are 44* and 45* I'm traditionally speaking of lofts, jacked up lofts from hell are not covered here.

 

~ LW (58* to 61*) or SLW (62* to 64*)

>> very low amount of bounce something less then 6*

this wedge loft is only used really to get the ball high and a specialty shot like a flop shot. Low amount of bounce will allow it to get under the ball easier on tight lies. An Example is a short sided pitch over a bunker from the fairway, you would want to bring it in high and soft to get close to the pin without leaving it short.

 

~ SW (54 to 57*)

>> Medium to high bounce (something equal to or more then 10* of bounce)

This wedge would be used for soft lies and bunker shots, you want the additional bounce in fluffy lies / soft bunkers to keep yourself from digging you want the club to slide as easily as possible.

 

~ GW (49* to 53*)

>> whatever bounce is stock on it probably a medium bounce around 8* is likely to be standard.

Majority of the time this wedge is swung 1/2, 3/4, full and not used too much around the greens unless it's a chip so the bounce is not a factor that often and you don't normally get that many options in bounce with this club anyways.

 

~ PW (46* to 48*)

>> whatever the bounce is, again just like the GW the functionality of this club is not used as a super open face most the time where the LW and SW are played with open faces almost always.

 

 

Also, what grind for the SW in the Vokey line? I have no idea what my current SW has for grind. I will be staying with 11-12 deg. of bounce in the SW.

Again, grind would depend on how you plan to use the club the most often. If you open the club you want heel relief so when you open it the effective bounce isn't increased a ton bringing the leading edge too high off the ground.

 

Are you just sticking with the Vokey line for familiarity / comfort? I personally like my wedges to be forged, it just gives a little bit of a softer metal / feel to the wedge but it wears out a lot faster. I'm looking to get the most feel and spin off a wedge and I recall the Vokey line being cast and a bit firmer of a feel over other wedges.

 

I am playing the Mizuno MP T-11 line currently they are some really really damn good wedges but you don't get the massive amount of bounce options like you would with Vokey.

 

 

Does the finish have any effect on the club? I really like the black nickel and oil can finishes. Are they purely aesthetic?

Yes the finish can effect the end results feel of firmness. The Chrome finishing process actually hardens the face slightly compared to the oil can. Traditionally the oil can finish on the Vokey line has been the softest feel. I have not hit a Black Nickle in the Vokey line to compare only the chrome / oil can finishes. I play black nickle Mizuno wedges over the Chrome as I know the Black Nickle is a bit softer finish as well in that line. I would assume that black nickle and oil can would be pretty close to one another and a bit softer then the chrome finish.

[silver & black 5,556]

Thank you very much for the input.

 

My PW in my new set is 46*. I was thinking of getting the GW in 52* as that is what I'm used to. My SW is 56* with 12* of bounce. I can get the Vokey with a medium soul grind that has a bit of heel and toe relief. The GW is available in 8* of bounce. I have a Ray Cook 60* that I rarely use and was thinking of just eliminating from my bag.

 

I usually just open up the 56* for flop type shots or higher trajectory shots.

 

And yes.... I'm sticking with Vokey because of familiarity.

[revkev 22,017]

Thank you very much for the input.

 

My PW in my new set is 46*. I was thinking of getting the GW in 52* as that is what I'm used to. My SW is 56* with 12* of bounce. I can get the Vokey with a medium soul grind that has a bit of heel and toe relief. The GW is available in 8* of bounce. I have a Ray Cook 60* that I rarely use and was thinking of just eliminating from my bag.

 

I usually just open up the 56* for flop type shots or higher trajectory shots.

 

And yes.... I'm sticking with Vokey because of familiarity.

 

As an FYI that's a huge gap between wedges - 46 to 52 - you're likely to have a yardage issue there that you don't want in that part of the bag - If you go with the 52 I'd strongly recommend weakening the 46 a degree or 2 - maybe weaken the 46 two degrees and your 9 iron a degree to smooth out your yardage gaps - you really don't want more than 5 degrees between clubs and if you're a longer player (higher swing speed) it would be better if it were 4 degrees.

[JMiller 18]

Vokey SM4s have a ton of bounce options and with the TC grind it's a lot like the MP T-11 grind anyways. I have no idea what your ability is in golf as I really don't have any references to make suggestions on bag makeup.

 

IF you really want to go to 3 wedges instead of 4 you have a lot of options and it comes down to your distance preferences and feel around the greens.

 

Here are some options:

~ 46*, 53*, 60* (7* gaps giving maxim gaps recommended)

>> either bend a 50* 1* weak adding roughly 1* of bounce OR bend a 52* 1* strong reducing the bounce by 1*

 

~ 46*, 51*, 56* (giving you 5* gaps)

>> Again bend either a 5* weak or a 52* strong to get loft based on what bounce you want is which to do.

 

~ 46*, 52*, 58* (giving you 6* gaps)

 

 

Assuming you might tweak your PW loft 1* weaker

~ 47*, 54*, 60* [gaps of 5* (9i to PW), 7* (PW to SW), 6*(SW to LW)]

 

~ 47*, 51*, 56* (4* gaps each)

 

~ 47*, 52*, 57* (5* gaps each)

 

~ 47*, 53*, 59* (gaps of 6* each)

>> would require a lot of bending using Vokey Wedges

 

If you wanted to go with 4 wedges still

~ 46*, 50*, 54*, 58* (4* gaps each)

~ 46*, 52*, 58*, 64* (6* gaps each)

 

 

 

For the fun of it I'll list some tour set ups:

47/48*, 52*, 56*, 60* (extremely common)

47/48*, 54*, 60* (extremely common)

 

 

47*, 53*, 59* (Steve Striker setup)

47*, 53*, 60*, 64* (Mickelson setup)

 

47*, 56*, 60* (Tiger, Dufner play this set up i think, not recommended for AMs honestly)

47*, 53,5*, 58* (Webb Simpson)

47*, 52*, 58* (Matteo Manassero)

49*, 53*, 57*, 60* (Scott Piercy satup)

 

You can look up all the Titleist players here: http://www.titleist.com/players/Default.aspx just click on each one that says Wedge next to it to expand the loft / bounce.

 

 

The better your touch the bigger the gaps can be in loft in wedges, the less the touch the lower the gaps should be in wedges.

[silver & black 5,556]

I

f you wanted to go with 4 wedges still

~ 46*, 50*, 54*, 58* (4* gaps each)

~ 46*, 52*, 58*, 64* (6* gaps eac

 

You guys are great.

 

I was going to ask what you thought of going 46*, 50*, 54* and 58*.

 

If I go this way, would my normal SW be the 54*? If so, I would still stay with 11*-12* of bounce in that club. What bounce in the 58*?

 

Which grind for the 54*, assuming it would be my bunker wedge.... full or medium?

[Hula Rock 700]

I have three sets of wedges that I keep in rotation, to me it all depends on the course that I am playing. Here in South Texas most of the courses run really dry in the summer months requiring a different sole. When traveling to Myrtle Beach I bring a different set. Try the 2013 Nike wedges when they come out the "N" and "W" grinds are amazing......

[Paul S 1]

I

 

You guys are great.

 

I was going to ask what you thought of going 46*, 50*, 54* and 58*.

 

If I go this way, would my normal SW be the 54*? If so, I would still stay with 11*-12* of bounce in that club. What bounce in the 58*?

 

Which grind for the 54*, assuming it would be my bunker wedge.... full or medium?

If you go that route (which I've considered as well), I would recommend a high(ish) bounce 54* and a low bounce 58*. The 54* would be for softer sand and lies while the 58* would be ideal for tighter lies and harder bunkers in addition to the opened up flop shot. It's nice to have versatility.

 

Paul

[Tyk 7]

I bag 46*, 50*, 54*, 58, just switched to that setup last season having come from using a 56* as my base, which left me constantly trying to fill gaps and make do. I was REALLY comfortable with my 56* and it took a bit of practice to figure out how to replace it. I am still learning and adjusting, I'm not sure my short game is as good as it was when I was using the 56* as my primary greenside weapon, but my approach into the greens, basically from 40 yards out to 110 yards, has improved dramatically since the change.

 

I now use the 54* and the 58* almost evenly depending on the shot I am playing, I'm getting into the habit of carrying both wedges to the green. I use the 54* for shots that I want to roll out and longer chips and pitches with lots of green to work with. I use the 58* for shots I am carrying to the hole, most bunker shots, shortsided situations, and most short "holeable" chips. Of course this can all vary, but the point is that between the two clubs I have more options than I had with the 56*. Sometimes, that isn't good! There's a bit more decision making going on for me than there used to be. My biggest issue is that whereas before I'd open/close the 56* to get what I wanted, now I sometimes find myself opening the 58* on a shot where I would have opened the 56* but I shouldn't, or I'll play it neutral as I would my 56* and not give it enough to account for the extra 2* of loft. I'll do the same with the 54*, grab it and close it down as I would have with the 56* forgetting that the club itself has already done this for me.

 

I'm getting better about it, when I play the right shot I'm just as accurate as I was, I'm just still adjusting a bit. No way I'm going back though. I'm getting my 1/2, 3/4 and full swings dialed in better than ever.

 

Also, I switched to the SCOR Wedges and I don't know what it will take to get those out of my bag, they are quite simply fantastic wedges!

[BK in TEXAS 190]

I bag 46*, 50*, 54*, 58, just switched to that setup last season having come from using a 56* as my base, which left me constantly trying to fill gaps and make do.

 

Also, I switched to the SCOR Wedges and I don't know what it will take to get those out of my bag, they are quite simply fantastic wedges!

Exactly what Tyk said! I love my SCOR's and use the same setup...plus a 42Ëš SCOR that replaces my 9 iron. I was really surprised how easy the 42Ëš was to hit!

 

I use the 54Ëš/58Ëš around the green the same way too.....one for a little roll...the other for a little less.

[Tyk 7]

Ha BK, I have the 42* as well! Wish SCOR made a whole iron set!

[JMiller 18]

I

 

You guys are great.

 

I was going to ask what you thought of going 46*, 50*, 54* and 58*.

 

If I go this way, would my normal SW be the 54*? If so, I would still stay with 11*-12* of bounce in that club. What bounce in the 58*?

 

Which grind for the 54*, assuming it would be my bunker wedge.... full or medium?

 

Yes the 54* would be more of the SW and the 58* more of the LW in that set.

 

The wedges I would recommend in this case looking at the Vokey SM4s

50.08 (lower bounce option of the two)

54.11 or 54.14 (middle or high bounce option)

58.06 (lowest bounce option)

 

In soft bunkers and soft soil you would want as much bounce as you can get to keep from digging.

For Firm bunkers or firm soil you would want less bounce for the shot.

 

So the medium bounce option would be good for either situation, if it's real hard you got the 58.06 to use as well form a bunker or tight firm lie around the green. The entire point of varying the bounce is to have multiple options based on turf conditions, sand conditions and situation.

[silver & black 5,556]

Thank you all for your input. I think I'm going to stay with 4 wedges and go 46*, 50*, 54* and 58*. The bounce #'s jmiller065 and Paul S suggested are what I was also thinking of.

 

Those SCOR wedges definitely sound intriguing. What is so different about them compared to traditional wedges?

[Tyk 7]

You should check out their site if you are curious, www.scorgolf.com . The short answer to what makes SCOR different is the sole and the weighting of the wedges. They have a great grind which they call a "V-Sole" that is kind of a compromise between a high and low bounce wedge, although some guys that are used to high bounce have reported having trouble adjusting to them. They're worth a look anyhow, mine are my favorite clubs!

[Kor.A.Door 5,838]

I looked up the rules on the clubs and it shows in rule 4 appendix II

A club that conforms with the Rules when new is deemed to conform after wear through normal use. Any part of a club that has been purposely altered is regarded as new and must, in its altered stated, conform with the Rules.

 

So what it sounds like to me is that if you alter the face of the club it needs to be re-certified as conforming after the alteration.

So sanding the face with a belt sander sounds lie it would be illegal unless it was checked to be conforming.

[wbealsd 1,063]

+1 on SCORs!

 

You may, or may not, decide to go with them and speaking for myself they're definitely sometthing one needs to adjust to, but as long as you know you're going to change your setup, I recommend you check out their site, the review here and consider them.

 

I've only been able to use mine in my indoor practice setup, but checked against my other wedges with my launch monitor, the difference in accuracy is jaw dropping!

 

I just bought the 41* yesterday to complete my set.

[Kor.A.Door 5,838]

I looked up the rules on the clubs and it shows in rule 4 appendix II

A club that conforms with the Rules when new is deemed to conform after wear through normal use. Any part of a club that has been purposely altered is regarded as new and must, in its altered stated, conform with the Rules.

 

So what it sounds like to me is that if you alter the face of the club it needs to be re-certified as conforming after the alteration.

So sanding the face with a belt sander sounds lie it would be illegal unless it was checked to be conforming.

I think this reply should be in another thread I was reading, I don't know why it's in here, sorry about that. This as nothing to do with tis thread.

[BK in TEXAS 190]

I think this reply should be in another thread I was reading, I don't know why it's in here, sorry about that. This as nothing to do with tis thread.

Took me a second when I first read it, but I figured that out too!

[BK in TEXAS 190]

They have a great grind which they call a "V-Sole" that is kind of a compromise between a high and low bounce wedge, although some guys that are used to high bounce have reported having trouble adjusting to them.

You know it's funny you mention that. I am fairly certain I am still not using these wedges to their full potential.