Wedges Fitting Necessary?

[ColePRN]

I have been fitted for my irons, I was just wondering if you think it would be necessary for me to go through the whole fitting process again for wedges. I thought it would be more important just to get the loft/bounce/grinds dialed in. I’m 5’10 so I would think most clubs off the rack are going to fit me, but do you think it’s worth paying the extra money and going through the process to get fitted? Thank you in advance! 
 

[Adam C]

No, assuming that you have a basic understanding of what you should be looking for. Wedge fitting, especially indoors is a huge waste of time personally. Wedges should ideally be adjusted after you have played with them a bit or at least spent some time at the chipping green. Then you can bend the lie angle or grind them down to fine tune what you need.

[Mr22putt]

  On 7/4/2020 at 6:16 PM, Adam C said:

No, assuming that you have a basic understanding of what you should be looking for. Wedge fitting, especially indoors is a huge waste of time personally. Wedges should ideally be adjusted after you have played with them a bit or at least spent some time at the chipping green. Then you can bend the lie angle or grind them down to fine tune what you need.

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This....

[Cantankerish]

On this note, I am curious.  Would you say that driver is the most important club to get fit for, and the other clubs become increasingly less important as you go down the list toward putter?

[Bonvivant]

  On 7/5/2020 at 3:50 AM, Cantankerish said:

On this note, I am curious.  Would you say that driver is the most important club to get fit for, and the other clubs become increasingly less important as you go down the list toward putter?

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I think the biggest individual shot gain can be had by driver, but iron play makes up more of the game in general, so I think iron fittings are more important. That is to say, you may play driver 12-14 times a round, but you are probably hitting double of that in full iron shots, unless you are playing a course where you are always hitting a wedge into the green, but in that case you should be moving back a tee or two.

[Adam C]

  On 7/5/2020 at 3:50 AM, Cantankerish said:

On this note, I am curious.  Would you say that driver is the most important club to get fit for, and the other clubs become increasingly less important as you go down the list toward putter?

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No I wouldn't say that. Each club or group of clubs has certain elements that should be "fit" to the golfer. Drivers should have the correct weight, length, loft, grip size, swing weight etc, and this can be done in doors for many golfers and get the results you need. Wedges need to have the correct lofts and lies but this is much harder to discern indoors. Grinds can be important depending on the golfer but really need to be addressed outdoors on grass.

[TourSpoon]

For the average player the wedges should be fit for loft and grinds and if you just did your irons you should have an idea on lie.  Doing a little research and experience you can pretty much figure your lofts, but you should at minimum hit some demo wedges at a green grass location. The grinds and bounces can be tricky and you should hit full and partial shots from fairway, pitches and chips from various locations especially rough and tight lies, and finally bunkers. I just did this on my own and then went to see the fitter for his input. Since I had narrowed the choices down it didn't take long at all and he charged me for his 30 minutes. In the end the wedges are tools to score with so you better have some options that you can hit from the typical circumstances you will face. 

Edited July 13, 2020 by TourSpoon

[ChetlovesMer]

  On 7/5/2020 at 8:59 PM, Adam C said:

No I wouldn't say that. Each club or group of clubs has certain elements that should be "fit" to the golfer. Drivers should have the correct weight, length, loft, grip size, swing weight etc, and this can be done in doors for many golfers and get the results you need. Wedges need to have the correct lofts and lies but this is much harder to discern indoors. Grinds can be important depending on the golfer but really need to be addressed outdoors on grass.

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What Adam said. I'd also add if you are one of those players that carries a "sand wedge" by that I mean a wedge which you only use from the sand, testing that without sand may be the biggest waste of time ever. 

Often a wedge fitting begins with the question "What do you do with your wedges?" Do you favor a specialized wedge for a certain task, or do you use all of your wedges for multiple tasks? Somebody who hits full shots with their wedge has far different needs than somebody who only uses it for chipping, short pitches, or long pitches, or only uses it out of the sand. Some people carry one wedge for this purpose, one wedge for that purpose and then a utility wedge which needs to do a lot of stuff. 

Similarly, the answer to the above question can change over time. 

I just realized I never actually addressed the OP's original question. 
If you have the funds to get fit for a club before you buy it. I'd always recommend doing so. This is true of everything in your bag, including your putter. 

1. Getting fit can help reduce or eliminate F.U.D. (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt)
2. I believe getting fit also allows you to learn more about your game and how you use your clubs.
3. Personally, I find getting fit is fun. 
4. Of course, there is always a cost factor and I totally get that. 

[Typhoon92]

No.  Don’t overthink it either with the bounce and grind options.  There are things you have to ask yourself.  For me, I am a public course golfer so I see all kinds of grass.  I don’t even bother thinking “tightly mowed” “fluffy” fairways.  I know I like to be able to open up a 60 degree so I like the heel relief of a c grind.  Other than that I go standard grind on my 56 and 50.

Some people overthink it... they think they are better than they are and end up with a bunch of “specialty grinds” so they can impress the GolfWRX crowd.  Look at your skill level and the shots you hit.

[WUTiger]

if you wanted to try some Vokeys, see if Titleist Thursdays option is still available. Under TiTh, you could schedule an outdoor Titleist fitting with a local pro participating in the program. Don't know if it's still active under COVID restrictions.

You would get a Vokey session outdoors, baseline distances for your current wedges and comparable Vokey wedges. Then you can try out different grinds to see what you can discover.

As for you, are your current wedges getting the job done? If so, the challenge would be blending your current wedges into your new irons. You may find an odd distance gap between iron PW and specialty G, S and L.

If wedges have been a problem in the past, lead off with a short-game lesson to ensure you don't have any set-up or swing flaws that are hurting your wedge game. 

If you rely on square-face wedge shots, chances are the Callaway S-grind and the Vokey F-grind would be a good starting point.

[Vespidae]

  On 7/4/2020 at 5:01 PM, ColePRN said:

I have been fitted for my irons, I was just wondering if you think it would be necessary for me to go through the whole fitting process again for wedges. I thought it would be more important just to get the loft/bounce/grinds dialed in. I’m 5’10 so I would think most clubs off the rack are going to fit me, but do you think it’s worth paying the extra money and going through the process to get fitted? Thank you in advance! 
 

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I was fitted for my wedges. My primary course has very tight lies and needed a completely different grind. Can you do this on your own? Maybe. But my club fitter is Vokey trained and put together a great 3 wedge set for me. I’d repeat.

[BeCu]

  On 7/4/2020 at 5:01 PM, ColePRN said:

I have been fitted for my irons, I was just wondering if you think it would be necessary for me to go through the whole fitting process again for wedges. I thought it would be more important just to get the loft/bounce/grinds dialed in. I’m 5’10 so I would think most clubs off the rack are going to fit me, but do you think it’s worth paying the extra money and going through the process to get fitted? Thank you in advance! 
 

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Have reviewed comments in this thread. Several good ones. Yes you should get a wedge fitting IMO based on your distance gap needs (loft), type grass/course conditions (bounce/grind) and possibly the swing weight/feel (you may desire "like feel" from your iron set model and/or heavier). A quality fitting from a certified / experienced fitter can help you identify ideal specs regarding the wedges that you could game.

My one caution from experience is regarding outdoor vs indoor fitting.I did not like the couple of indoor wedge fittings I have done. All I got was spin numbers from a perfect lie on the mat. Nothing representative of the various conditions on the course. Maybe that is enough for some but it was not for me. I bought a wedge that had no sole relief and had trouble opening face on the course in situation where I needed to flop.  IF you can get outdoor fitting (chip, pitch, sand shots, flop shots, any wedge centric type shot you play) would be a bonus for dialing in the needed specs. Also, take the brand golf ball to the outdoor fitting your play.