wedge testing/fitting

[theeaglehunter]

Having recently acquired a 3 wood which I am forming an ever bettering relationship with, the next thing I wish to change in my bag is my wedge line up. I am quite happy with my 46* G10 pw but am now looking at getting a 50* , 54* and 58* specialist wedge with varied degrees of bounce to increase my short game versatility as well as my shorter approaches. My question is therefore what is the gimmick with testing wedges on the range/ short game area (both which I will have access to)? I have never done it and don't like the idea of having the whole of the face and grooves taped up as surely this will strongly affect the way the wedge feels/ plays making it very hard to distinguish between different wedges. Is this the case?

And secondly having been custom fitted for my irons by Ping I am tempted to get my wedges fitted as well but was wondering if this is necessary (yes I know it will help but will the difference be as significant as it is in the irons?) as if not I will probably purchase them off the shelf.

Also any recommendations for any top end wedges will be much appreciated.


Thanks in advance.

 

[andiritchie]

will you be buying ping wedges as you would just get the same lie as your irons,as for wedges normally they will have demos to try out without tape otherwise it will be useless otherwise,just have a play with them around the greens then get fitted for them,the bounce is important for the shots you going to play i have very low bounce on my 60 but quite a bit on my 56 then standard bounce on my 52 so i got every situation covered just have fun trying the most fun clubs in your bag and watch your score tumble

 

[theeaglehunter]

cheers Andy thats very helpful. I'm not necessarily buying Ping wedges. I'm keeping my options open, and I will definitely make sure I find somewhere with demo wedges then because I know that the place I was thinking about only has their stock available and therefore they tape them up and I have always thought this was stupid. Although my choice seems to be limited by the lofts that I want specifically as I have only found MD, Callaway and Ping do the 50* model so far. Most other websites have the other makes only selling 52* gap wedges, but the 54* and 58* are readily available.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I went to a couple of demo days (one had TM and Callaway) and the other had Ping, Mizuno and Wilson) and basically tried the various wedges out on the short game area set aside for the demo.

 

[Tommo21]

All my wedge changes over time have come about by trying some of my mates gear. I’ve recently changed to two Vokey wedges 52 and 56, £69 each, and I still have the PW from my R7 irons. I don’t think fitting is of much of a deal considering the shafts are short not like say a 3 or 4 iron.

 

[TonyN]

Custom fitting is usually free if you buy the clubs anyway so why not get it done?

 

[USER1999]

4 wedges is too many. I used to carry 4, but it gets confusing as to which to use, and in not hitting the same one all the time, you never really get used to how they perform. This game is complicated enough without adding too much choice.

 

[TonyN]

I could simply not play without my 4 wedges, actually i couldn't play simply, without my 4 wedges.

They all serve a purpose from within 110 yards, which includes getting out of and over all kinds of trouble.

I only carry Driver, 3wood and 4 to PW so i might as well stock up at the other end.

Each to there own though!

 

[GB72]

I also find that 4 wedges are necessary. Simply put, the gap between the PW and SW in most sets now is too big so a gap wedge is a useful addition. If you want to carrya lob wedge as well (and I am getting on well with mine) then 4 wedges to me seems sensible.

 

[andiritchie]

The lie angle on wedges is very important as when there is more loft any degree of inperfection with the lie it will push and pull the shots a lot more,have you ever seen one of those demo clubs with a steel rod sticking out of the sweetspot it makes sence to get everything fitted

 

[nomadpaul]

Forgive my ignorance here but what would the loft be on a standard PW and SW ? Is there a specified angle of loft that marks them out as these clubs or do the angles vary from manafacturer to manafacturer ?

 

[viscount17]

they don't only vary between manufacturers they can also vary between models made by the same manufacturer. some manufacturers are more consistent than others.

. . . and if anyone can point me to the lofts of my Macgregor 565's I would be grateful.

 

[theeaglehunter]

http://www.bhmgolf.com/desc.ydev?prod_id=8761

Try that mate- presuming it is a reliable source they are the lofts for your macgregor's.