Wedge shafts and flexes

[Dave B]

I recently changed my TM XFT wedges for Callaway Forged wedges and have suffered a loss of distance of 10-12 yds for the same lofts, (50 and 54, less on the 58).

The TM's are fitted with KBS tour, wedge flex shafts, whereas the Callaways are fitted with Dynamic Gold S300 shaft

The only thing I can put this down to, assuming the lofts are correct to spec is the shafts and this has got me thinking about wedge and iron flexes in general.

If you ask a golfer what he wants from his irons most will answer consistent gaping and to get this the manufacturers give us a choice of shafts so that we can tailor the characteristics of the irons to our swing.

I agree that with wedges we want control, however assuming that you know your correct flex, why have manufacturers over recent years assumed that we all want stiff or tour shafts in our wedges?

The majority of the buying public will not benefit from wedge flex or overly stiff shafts particularly if they are looking for consistent gapping and distances from their irons.

I can appreciate that you may want a firmer shaft for digging in the sand or rough however with the modern game and techniques, most wedge shots are played from the fairway and on the fringes of the green so my question is, would we not benefit more by having wedge flexes that match our irons to keep correct distance gapping?

 

[Foxholer]

I don't really care what shafts are in any wedge - as long as it's reasonable. And I'm a bit finicky/ott when it comes to shafts elsewhere.

Wedges are rarely played 'full' by most players, so gapping isn't quite as important as in normal irons - consistency is.

I've played all sorts of different shafts - from PX6.5s (130gms and super stiff) to Regular Nippon 950s (95gms and rather soft) and there's not a huge amount of difference in performance. It takes about 3 swings to get used to the feel and then just calibrate the distance - which rarely differs much on my Wedge swings. The amount of spin I generate doesn't seem to change significantly - it's the quality of strike that affects that the most.

Vast majority of wedges I've used have had TT Wedge shafts in - apparently a pretty much an S200.

 

[Ethan]

The difference is probably a combination of effects - heavier shaft, different launch and spin characteristics, different head (softer vs harder) and possibly different turf interaction and bounce affecting how you strike it (more or less digging or skimming).

Anyway, distance isn't really the objective for wedges, so if you are hitting the new wedges the same distance more often, that is better than hitting them overall further but more consistently. Just figure out how far you hit these, and choose the right tool for the job.

 

[LinksTurf]

Wedges generally tend to be stiffer flexes anyway. I normally play regular, but don't really worry about stiffer flex in my wedges as I rarely play full shots with my wedges.

 

[nemicu]

Like most other things, wedge flex shafts (most commonly good old S200 DG) are aimed at providing the solution to meet the largest target audience for OEM's. Stiff DG provides good feel and response to a wide variety of swings. True, some players could benefit from a softer and lighter shaft, but I'm guessing this could lead to ballooning shots and too much spin - especially when you consider the loft and aggressive grooves on wedges. It's also worth noting that wedges heads are the heaviest of anything else in your bag - hence true flex maybe somewhat softer than a comparable iron shaft.
At the end of the day, wedges (like putters) are a matter of personal choice and players of all abilities will have their own preference. Thats why custom options are more widely available too.

 

[splashtryagain]

I use dg spinner wedge shafts and love them, they are far more controllable in terms of height and the stop is reliably dead on second bounce, perfect!