Looking for advice on Wedges

I am in desperate need of new wedges.  Currently I only have the standard pitching wedge that came with my Cobra SZ set and a old Cleveland 56 degree.

I would like to replace my 56 degree and add a 52 and a 60 to fill the yardage gaps that I have. I’m curious if there is one wedge I should be looking at over the others, and is there anything else I should be keeping in mind when I pick up these clubs.

A bit about my game today, I’m hitting out of the rough a lot more then I’d like to be, and have a very difficult time creating any backspin on the ball even when I am in the short grass.

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

Just go hit them all and see which you like. There is no magic wedge. None of them will help you impart spin on the ball if your swing is flawed. They will all to the same thing. None of them are better than the others.

Things to consider:

• Look at the Adams golf Tom Watson series wedges. A boxed set of three comes in at around $100. Standard mix = 52, 56, 60 | not fancy, but decent durable clubs.
• Sports Authority is trying to unload some earlier model Callaway XForged wedges. You could probably get your lofts, provided you want some fairly high bounce. You'd have to practice a little to get them down, but they're good clubs. Can get for about $59 each - if you can find them. Also, old groove Callaway Jaws available for some two-fer deals.
• Tommy Armour has come out with some 845 wedges in the lofts you want. Can't vouch for them, but they look like solid clubs.
• Cleveland has reissued some CG14 wedges with the new conforming grooves. These come in at about $89 each. Look for black gel inserts.

Also, just look around. Specific stores of different chains may have a bloc of decent wedges of one model you could look at. Lots of good wedges here and there that haven't sold out during this recession.

Remember, your swing and your ball type also influence amount of backspin - not just the wedge.

The single most important and most often over looked aspect of the wedge is the bounce.  If you play a soft manicured course the more bounce the better, if play in Texas with hard pan every where less bounce is better. you'll still need some bounce out of the sand but the softer it is the bounce I want.  I always keep one extra wedge at home if I am plying somewhere I know it will be hard I take out the 12 degree bounce and put in the 6.  I don't need it much but it make s a huge difference.

I just got a pair of Nike VR wedges from Global Golf (love that site btw). They are night and day compared to the old junk I played before and were only $100 new. They have a nice weight to them and the feel is just like their irons.  I never knew why everyone complained about the old TopFlight Gamers until I used these wedges and destroyed the cover on 3 balls in one round.  I have since used a couple of titleist balls that have held up decently.

Shades – That’s how I picked my hybrid.  I hit all of them, all in all it probably took me 3 hours but I got the one I liked.  If I could avoid that 3 hour process it would be nice, but if I have to go hit golf balls for 3 hours again * sarcasm * I guess I can tough it out =)

WUTiger – Thanks for the heads up on the Adams wedges & the Callaway deals!  Why is the black gel insert important on the Clevelands?  & thanks for the tip on swing and ball type. I’m focusing on the swing, I’m working hard at fixing it, as far as ball goes I’m using the Penta right now, but I don’t know if it’s the ball or swing or both but it’s not spinning at all for me.  I’ll keep working at it.

ND Fan – Thanks for the tip on the bounce, the course I play at is mostly pretty hard, soft spots here and there but I wouldn’t call it well manicured.  I was thinking about getting the 56 with a bit more bounce for the sand, and the 52 and 60 around a 6.  Thoughts?

Iacas – Thanks for the heads up, I haven’t heard of either of those, I’ll do some research on them and take a look!

Thanks everyone for the great feedback, lots of good stuff for me to think about here!

Last year I bought a set of demos  60*. 54* and 50* Cleveland CG14s and love them.  If you want to be safe, go with either Cleveland CG14 or Titleist Vokey and you will not go wrong.  Do heed what ND Fan said about the bounce though.  Soft turf and sand require a higher bounce and hard turf and sand require little or no bounce.  I also have a 60* zero bounce Cleveland raw wedge from when I lived in Tucson.  The sand in some of the courses was like concrete.

I was talking to a guy the other day who was playing these and he loved them too, i'll have to go try them out.  Thanks!  What titleist ball are you using now with that wedge? and how does it hold the greens for you?

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Just a quick visual reference. CG14s with gold inserts have the old Zip grooves / black gel wedges have the new CC grooves - Tour Zip - and would spin a little less.

(Regardless of color, the gel inserts soften the shaft vibration on the wedges; helpful if you're older and get sore tendons.)

I like the NXT Tour. It doesn't seem to get chewed up too bad, sits or spins back a foot with wedges, sits or rolls out a couple feet with mid irons.  I have had a lot more confidence attacking pins or spots on the green. Distance is nice as well.

Here is a link to what Erik was referring to:

http://thesandtrap.com/forum/thread/48184/new-wedge-concept-scor-4161-from-terry-koehler-eidolon

I just bought the Professional Open Wedges and had blue steel shafts put on them, look and play great. I have the 52, 56, and 60. They are a bit higher on the bounce which is perfect for the courses I play as they pretty much sit where they hit without much roll. Also very affordable wedges, about $18 a wedge. I switched from my Titleist wedges to these and I'm not looking back. If you need some clubs with bounce I couldn't suggest these any more strongly.

Golf4ever – One of the things I’m very curious about, and might discover when I got and hit them myself is what the differences between the CG14 and Vokey’s are?  Because of where the wife works I can get a very good deal on the CG14’s, but not the Vokey’s.  So if they are both fairly equal, that makes my decision much easier.

WUTiger – I’m curious that the Gold Inserts have the old zip grooves that spin more, would that not be a benefit for me? I’m mean I’m no pro golfer and don’t need to worry about those rules so would it be a bad idea for me to use the Gold?

Tws1098 – I used to play the NXT’s a lot, because the price was very good for the ball I felt.  But I didn’t get a lot of stopping power around the green with them.  I think I need to keep working on my swing to really take the ball to it’s limits though, so it’s probably good for what I need, but I’ll be curious to see how that develops as my ball striking improves.

Mike French – Thanks for the link! It’s very interesting where they are going with the idea.  They sell a four pack of wedges and I’d be able to replace my pitching wedge with one of their clubs, which is an idea I really like.  My 46 degree wedge doesn’t need to be nearly as offset as it is, and I think I would have much more control over it if it was more of a bladed club.  Which is why I’ve always been interesting in a combo set of irons.  The article really made me think it would be awesome if Cleveland, Nike, Titlelist etc… made 46 or 47 degree wedge, because myself personally I’m more confident going with a company I know versus something that is more unproven in my eyes.  Although I’m sure they make a incredible club.

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Fair enough, if they are a last year model they are probably harder to find now.  I did find some online though for like you said $89.  Same with the black.  If you were to pick from the two which would you go with?

If you buy used wedges online could you get them fitted to you if you brought them into a golf shop?  Found some good prices on 3balls.com and was thinking about buying them.

I'm pretty sure it's not difficult for them to fit a used club.  I asked the guy at my shop if he could do the same to my old one and he said sure.  But that's the thing with wedges and grooves, I think they loose their bite after awhile.