“How do I find the right wedges?”
It’s a question we get asked a lot.
The simple (probably too simple) answer is to get fitted.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. Enjoy the rest of your day.
Also, good luck with that.
For my money, a wedge fitting is the single most impactful of any club. I’d wager golfers who get properly fitted for their wedges will see immediate improvement.
Unfortunately, it’s not easy to find a competent wedge fitter (or even an incompetent one, for that matter).
As a result, wedges are among the least fitted clubs in the bag (hybrids could probably give them a run for their money) and that’s kind of sucks when you consider that, short of your putter, you’ll hit more shots with your golf wedges than any other club.
With improperly fitted wedges, you’ll hit even more. I think that’s what they call “getting your money’s worth.”
The takeaway from all of this is that wedge fitting is important.
Unfortunately, in addition to the lack of fitting opportunities, wedge fitting info is in short supply and what’s out there is confusing.
I wish I could tell you I’m going to demystify everything for you but as, with our recent golf ball fitting guide, if we’re going to have an honest conversation, it needs to start with an acknowledgment that wedge fitting is complicated and to spin it any other way would be a disservice.
Bounce, grinds, swing type, course conditions. I get that pulling it all together is a challenge.
In a perfect world, you’d have a fitter right down the road who could handle the nuance for you.
Failing that, it would be nice if we could experiment with any golf wedge from every lie condition, hit some bunker shots … the whole 9.
But this world of wedge fitting isn’t perfect—not even close. I once drove an hour to demo a new wedge only to have the sales guy wrap the sole and face in duct tape.
True story.
So, yeah, I get there are obstacles.
Having acknowledged the complexity, I’m going to (hopefully) give you a different perspective, change your thinking and maybe even provide some sensible guidance on how an average golfer without access to world-class fitting facilities can go about finding the right wedges.
Wedge Fitting – Where to Start
Whether you’re fortunate enough to work with a fitter, a knowledgeable sales guy or you’re flying solo, wedge fitting starts with an honest conversation (it’s OK to talk to yourself … sometimes).
The fundamental question you need to answer is: What am I trying to achieve with each wedge?
With a driver, the answer is easy. You probably want to hit it long and straight. If not, seriously, what ARE you trying to achieve?
With wedges, you really need to think about course conditions, the type of shots you play with each wedge and understand that wedges aren’t copy-and-paste.
You need to understand that what’s true for your gap wedge very likely isn’t true for your lob wedge.
We’ll get to all of that but first I want to run through a quick list of things you might need to do differently.
Stop Thinking of Wedges as One Thing
Erase the phrase “set of wedges” from your vocabulary
Whether you carry two, three or four, golf wedges aren’t a package deal. Each wedge in your bag should be thought of as an individual tool. While there will be some overlap, what you need from your lob wedge likely isn’t what you need from your gap wedge. Choose accordingly.
You may have heard the terms digger, driver and sweeper. They were coined to simplify wedge fitting but, like a good bit of other golf club fitting info, they oversimplify to the point of detriment.
Your full wedge swing isn’t your every wedge swing. There are guys on the PGA TOUR who take deep (digger) divots on full swings but barely brush the grass around the green (sweeper). I’d wager that in this respect, most of us are like Tour pros.
This is why it’s important to think about the shots you need to hit with each wedge.
Also consider that, regardless of how you deliver the club, the course is guaranteed to deliver a range of conditions: soft, firm, fluffy lies, tight lies, buried lies, etc.
So, even if you’re a hardcore sweeper, the course will never care. You need an assortment of wedges that give you the versatility to tackle whatever the course throws at you.
Rethink Your Lofts (maybe)
I’d wager many golfers still buy the same lofts they’ve always played because, well, those are the lofts they’ve always played.
Circular logic sucks. It might be time to rethink some things.
Chances are your irons are stronger than they were five years ago and way stronger than they were 10 years ago. With that, the old “standard” wedge progression of 52, 56 and 60 degrees may not make sense for you anymore.
I’d bet that, for most golfers, moving to a slightly stronger 50-, 54-, 58-degree progression would better align with the rest of your bag.
Stop Trying to Hit High Wedge Shots
It’s almost counterintuitive, given the emphasis on hitting high iron shots with more stopping power, but the physics of wedge play are such that you’ll generate more spin and increased stopping power with lower-flying shots.
That’s how I’d define “control” in the short game.
I suspect many recreational golfers are conditioned to want to see towering wedge shots but Tour players will say there’s no such thing as a properly struck wedge that flies too low.
Don’t Obsess Over Spin
Spin is obviously important in the wedge game but it’s certainly not the only thing that matters.
I’m not suggesting you buy a low spinning wedge but a couple of hundred rpm here or there probably shouldn’t be the deciding factor.
Also, keep in mind that there’s no guarantee that the wedge that spins the most in a demo bay will still spin most after a few hundred shots.
Stop thinking You’re Not Good Enough to Get Fitted for Wedges
I believe every golfer can benefit from a wedge fitting. Unlike most clubs in the bag, a wedge fitting isn’t as much about maximizing every possible variable as it is dialing in consistent contact while ensuring you have the versatility you need to hit whatever shot you need to hit.
With that out of the way, let’s tackle what is likely the most confusing element of wedge fitting.
Wedge Bounce
You’ve probably heard of both “bounce” and “grinds.” Bounce has been an industry-standard talking point for wedges for as long as I can remember.
What is wedge bounce?
Bounce is the angle created between the leading edge of the wedge and the lowest point on the sole or trailing edge.
Does that help? I’m guessing not much.
Going back to that stuff I just told you to forget about—the idea is that if you’re a digger (steep attack angle, big divots), you need a high bounce wedge.
Sliders are shallower into the ball and require less bounce.
Wedge bounce isn’t a bad starting point but it’s not so much the bounce angle that matters so much as it is the shape of the sole. Bounce is certainly part of the sole equation but you also need to think about things like camber (is the leading edge basically flat from heel to toe or is there a bit of curve), and relief (areas of the wedge that have been removed to create specific performance attributes) to tune the playing characteristics of wedge.
Bounce really is just a number and that’s before we get into measured bounce versus effective bounce and the fact that there’s plenty of variability in how the various manufacturers arrive at a bounce number.
Bounce is a starting point but not much more.
Wedge Grinds
The grind, which we can very simply define as the shape of sole, is what dictates how the wedge moves through the turf.
The grind is what works with your swing to provide consistency, versatility and, to an extent, forgiveness. The grind, not the bounce, provides the most complete picture of the performance attributes of a wedge.
Case in point: Vokey’s L and T grinds have stated bounce angles of four degrees. So does the higher lofted W grind, for that matter. The thing is, the shape of their soles is different and because of it, they play quite differently.
The point I’m trying to reinforce is finding the right wedge isn’t as much about finding the right bounce as it is about finding the right grind.
With that said, let’s again acknowledge this wedge stuff is complicated but if you’re still with me, I’m hoping we can simplify things just a bit and perhaps give you some practical advice.
Finding the Right Wedges (in any golf shop in the world)
Finding the right wedges is easy.
Walk into any golf shop, grab a few wedges, walk out the back door to the pristine outdoor practice facility and test the wedges in the fairway, rough, bunkers and whatever else you need.
As I said, good luck with that.
The good news is there’s a lot you can figure out indoors. We’ve already written about the Vokey Wedge Fitting App and we’d certainly recommend you take advantage of it if your fitter has access.
If that’s not possible, no worries. There’s still plenty you can do on your own.
Here’s how to find a better wedge.
Start by grabbing three wedges. I’d recommend starting with a single manufacturer and make sure you grab a mix of grinds.
Titleist, Callaway, TaylorMade … It doesn’t matter and I don’t care. The idea is to get a variety of grinds (high, mid, low bounce) in your hands and start to see which ones work better.
Cool. How do I define better as it relates to wedges?
Good question. Wedges aren’t speed clubs and, assuming the lofts are the same, they’re going to go damned near the same distance.
What you’re looking for is consistency. To be clear, this shouldn’t be an opinion. Keep an eye on the standard deviations (the smaller numbers under the big numbers on nearly every launch monitor), they’ll tell you which wedge is producing the most consistent results.
Even though we’re not playing home run derby today, the standard deviation of ball speed is still a really good indicator of the consistency of the strike. Launch and spin consistency are also worth keeping an eye on. You’re looking for small numbers here. Even off a mat, you can get a solid idea of which grind allows you to strike the ball most consistently.
Don’t be afraid to test how you play
You’re probably not going to be able to hit out of sand but you can do things like open the face. See how the leading edge sits. Deloft the club if that’s the kind of thing you do on the course.
You be you, play how you play and see what the numbers have to say.
When you think you’ve got it figured out, don’t be afraid to grab a similar grind from another manufacturer to see if you can do better.
You’re going to need to repeat the process for each loft because, again, what works—what allows you to hit the shots you need to hit—with a gap wedge is likely different than what works with a lob wedge.
They’re different clubs. Treat them as such.
Many golfers will find it takes a mix of grinds (and bounce angles) to ensure you can handle whatever shot the course gives you.
What If I Can’t Tell the difference in wedge grinds?
Maybe you can’t tell the difference or maybe you don’t have a place to try anything. That’s not ideal but in those cases, I’d recommend a fairly basic grind without a ton of relief—the stuff typically labeled “mid bounce.”
Focus on Trajectory
Again, we’re definitely not looking for the highest flight. With a wedge, higher flight is indicative of grooves not doing their job.
As a rule of thumb, you’re looking for the launch angle to be 50 percent of the loft. That means a 54-degree wedge should launch at about 27 degrees.
For sure, not everyone is going to be able to get the ball down that far (I struggle) but you want that flight as low as you can reasonably get it. Short of blading it, you’d be hard-pressed to hit your wedges too low.
Get It Wet
If you get a chance, splash a bit of water on the face and compare the results to your dry numbers. That’s where you’ll see more spin separation. In our testing, we’ve seen massive drops in wedge spin when moisture is added to the equation.
This is also not ideal.
To reiterate an earlier point, spin is important but the right wedge isn’t always one that spins most.
What About Wedge Gapping?
Your first wedge should be an extension of your iron set. That is to say, the loft progression should flow such that you’re maintaining a 10- to 15-yard gap between clubs. My advice is to continue that progression until you reach a wedge that you don’t take full swings with very often.
I flow from a 45-degree pitching wedge to a 50-degree gap wedge into a 54-degree sand wedge. I’ll take a full swing with my lob wedge maybe twice a year so the gap from my sand wedge isn’t particularly important.
With that, I jump from a 54 to a 60-degree lob wedge. There’s some risk with the higher loft but also some benefit.
How Do I know When it’s Time To Replace My Wedges?
The hard truth is that groove deterioration is unavoidable and it starts almost as soon as your new wedge goes into play.
It absolutely boggles my mind that guys have 10-year-old wedges in the bag. You’re killing me.
I get that a new driver is always tempting and, yeah, putters are temperamental bastards that sometimes need to be put in time-out but your wedges, particularly your sand and lob wedges, should be your most frequently replaced clubs.
I’ll say that again. Your wedges should be the most frequently replaced clubs in your bag.
As the grooves wear, they don’t grip the ball as well. When that happens, the ball slides higher on the face resulting in higher launch, lower spin and reduced stopping power.
These are not good things, people.
If you can, get some baseline launch and spin numbers each time you put a pristine new wedge in the bag. Recheck periodically. When you see the numbers slipping appreciably, it’s time.
If you can’t do that, Vokey suggests you replace your sand and lob wedges every 75 rounds.
You can hold on to your gap wedge and a non-set-matched pitching wedge (if you carry one) a bit longer.
A simple approach to knowing when to replace is to never regrip your wedge. If you play frequently, when it’s time to replace the grip, it’s time to replace the wedge. Trash that sucker or donate it to someone you don’t like.
What about Shafts?
There are a handful, if not more, of specialty wedge shafts that promise enhanced spin and more control. They may be worth looking into when you have the option but, in most cases, you’ll be fine matching your wedge shafts to your iron shafts.
It’s not absolutely necessary but you may want to consider buying a flex softer in your sand and lob wedges (your partial shot clubs). For example, I play Nippon Modus 120X in my iron shafts but at the fitter’s recommendation, I play 120 S in my sand and lob wedges.
A Quick World About Lie Angles
If you’re working with a fitter, they’ll handle the lie angle details for you. If you’re flying solo, you’ll want to see how the lie angle of your irons compares to your wedges. It’s not uncommon for wedges to be a degree or two flatter than irons, especially on the higher-lofted wedges.
How Important is Wedge Forgiveness?
The short answer is that it’s less important than with other clubs.
The longer answer is that when it comes to wedges, there are a few ways to think about forgiveness.
The conventional approach comes via larger shapes, perimeter weighting and higher MOI. That can be particularly important for golfers who play super game-improvement and even game-improvement clubs.
The Cleveland CBX and Mizuno S23 are a bit larger than most and can be confidence-inspiring for higher handicap golfers.
While they do offer a little bit more mis-hit protection, it’s important to understand that the practical value of MOI diminishes as loft increases. That is to say, higher MOI is more meaningful on a 5-iron than it is a wedge.
Fundamentally, forgiveness is consistency. With that in mind, spin consistency is part of the forgiveness equation as well. A good bit of spin consistency is driven by impact consistency but we sometimes see significant differences in wet versus dry conditions.
If you play in the morning, it’s important that a wedge can maintain its spin in wet conditions. PING’s Glide series does this better than most and we’ve found that some wedges will lose as much as 50 percent of their spin when moisture is introduced.
Finally, an element of forgiveness comes from the grind. The right grind is going to produce more consistent impact and nearly every element of forgiveness will flow from there.
I suppose that brings us back full circle.
Wedge Fitting: Not Easy, But Not Impossible
As I said at the beginning, wedge fitting is complicated and not particularly accessible, which is probably why so few golfers have been fitted for their wedges.
While it’s never going to be uncomplicated, we hope this guide gives you a better idea of what to look for in your next wedge and how you can find it if a proper fitting isn’t in the cards.
Let us know how it worked out.
