Wedge tech???

[thesheriff]

Golf is massive on tech with a never ending stream of clubs released with NASA sounding features pushing the limits of performance. But sitting in the bag between the low MOI, high gear effect, high smash factor woods/irons and the counter-balanced, perimeter weighted putter, sits the humble wedge. Not alot has changed over the years. Perhaps a bit of milling here or a new grind there, but materially wedges today seem as purist as they ever were.

Why, in such tech driven world, is the wedge simply left to be a wedge?

 

[Yant]

Shafts in wedges are not the same as the shafts in your other irons.
Bounce and loft need to be considered in order for your wedge gapping to be right for you.
I carry 4 wedges.

 

[Khamelion]

Shafts in wedges are not the same as the shafts in your other irons.
Bounce and loft need to be considered in order for your wedge gapping to be right for you.
I carry 4 wedges.

I think what the OP was asking is why have wedges stayed pretty the same, whereas all other clubs have massive development.

Wedges for the most part are blade style or cavity back and there lofts remain static. I mean a 50 degree wedge from 2010, is going to play pretty much the same as a 50 degree wedge from this year. There might be a couple of new features such as milled faces, but not much else

 

[ruff-driver]

I think that most clubs have reached their tech limits and it's mostly cosmetic nowadays, a tweak to weighting or cog is about all that's left on some models.
we'll see what the sales blurb is if/when they release the vokey sm7.

 

[the_coach]

would say there's been at least as much development in wedge design & wedge shaft design as there has been in the rest of the irons through the bag (under the existing regulations)

3i - 9i still looks pretty much the same overall shapes too all down to the governance that exists

but at the back of the clubheads + under the skin of the iron club heads -wedges included- bunch more things have changed through development over the recent years than did back a while ago

there are also a variety of shafts produced specifically for wedges

stuff has changed a fair bit it's just less immediately noticeable unless folks look into it

 

[jim8flog]

The biggest change in wedges in the past few years has definitely been the ability to buy sole grinds to suit how you hit the ball and ground conditions where you play.

Not actually something that new, my RAM bare lies wedge dates from the 1980s. It is just that many more manufacturers have seen this as the way to go rather than something that was really only available to Pros.

 

[garyinderry]

They have been really pushing grinds and bounce this last few years and rightly so.


Giving someone who hits down really steeply a low bounce wedge can be a real killer in soft conditions.


The benefits are just not as sexy as the long game shout of ' x more yards '.


I originally bought real high bounce wedges thinking they would become my winter wedges but they have been firmly in my bag all year round now on all course types.

 

[Imurg]

The benefits are just not as sexy as the long game shout of ' x more yards '.

And not as obvious....
Several manufacturers have developed wedge specific shafts and, as has been said, many different grinds, bounces, materials and finishes have been developed.

 

[Crow]

Because wedges can't be bigged up the way that drivers and irons are by claiming that they go further than previous models.
People don't want extra yardage from a wedge, they want feel and accuracy.

And as they're not usually swinging off their feet when hitting a wedge they make solid contact out of the middle of the clubhead so forgiveness isn't a requirement either, hence wedges still look like proper golf clubs.

If only we weren't so stuck on the distance we hit each club and treated them all like our wedges; this club goes this far so I'll use it for shots of this distance and I don't care what my playing partners are hitting.


Maybe then we'd all be playing vintage woods and blades.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Surely wedges could be bigged up if manufacturers wanted to. Didn't Vokey really push their grinds and bounces for the SM5 a few years back. I remember there were plenty of demo days at the time with just wedges on offer to hit

 

[Crow]

Surely wedges could be bigged up if manufacturers wanted to. Didn't Vokey really push their grinds and bounces for the SM5 a few years back. I remember there were plenty of demo days at the time with just wedges on offer to hit

Read the second line.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Read the second line.

Yeah and? I understand they aren't designed for distance. What I meant by "bigged" is promoted which is why I referenced the SM5 and the big demo day push

 

[shortgame]

The benefits are just not as sexy as the long game shout of ' x more yards '

Spin is sexy. Dead sexy 😍

I recently came across my 10 year old Taylormade (RAC?) lob wedge and it seems to spin more than my newish Vokey SM5

Not sure if this would've been down to any changes in the rules governing the grooves?

 

[jim8flog]

Spin is sexy. Dead sexy 

I recently came across my 10 year old Taylormade (RAC?) lob wedge and it seems to spin more than my newish Vokey SM5

Not sure if this would've been down to any changes in the rules governing the grooves?

Absolutely, my old square groove wedges use to take the urethane off the ball which could be seen left in the grooves. I have never seen it happen with either my SM4s or my Cleveland Rotex wedges.

 

[clubchamp98]

Wedges are about accuracy this Is dependant on the player.
This is something the OEM have no control over as a 28 capper and scratch guy could have the same wedge /putter but dought if they would have the same driver / irons.
Robots test drivers but have never seen robot testing of a wedge.

 

[mikejohnchapman]

I think the key is that you need to know your game and the courses you usually play.

The grid / bounce options you can now get enable you to play much more to your natural game than trying to manufacture shots to suit the club as standard.

Interesting that many coaches now teach that using loft from around the green is normal. You see professionals and good amateurs nearly always select a lofted option vs the older players choosing to bump and run.

Not sure you would have done this with the old wedges.