Scratch Brand Wedges

[iammpspeer]

Anyone play with or hit any of these wedges? They have two models I believe, a $99 version which is made of the same material as Vokeys (Which I compare every wedge to) And a $149 version, which are forged.

The cool thing about these wedges is that they are completely customizable for your game. They have multiple different head shapes,groove options based on your swing, finishes etc. You can also customize how they label the wedges. You can tell them where on the club you want the degree to be listed and you can also put your initials or any 6 character thing.

ScratchGolf Website
Click on Tour Department, Then Custom Wedges Studio to create your own.

Reviews?
I havent played or even seen them in RL, but at $99 and with all the options offered, they could potentially be great to pursue. I am interested heavily in the Vokeys, but I hear good things about these.

Thoughts?

[DaSportsGuy]

I'll definitely have to check out their site and I'll be sure to consider them as I am currently shopping the market for a new 54° degree GW. Not sure if I'm up to spending $99 though. I'm looking for something around $50.

[iammpspeer]

I'll definitely have to check out their site and I'll be sure to consider them as I am currently shopping the market for a new 54° degree GW. Not sure if I'm up to spending $99 though. I'm looking for something around $50.

I would assume you are going the used route then for $50. I personally think that for $99 and to have everything to your specs is an awesome deal. The only thing I am questioning is the quality and feel compared to the Vokey's lol.

[elchene]

Check over on golfwrx.com. folks over there are obsessed, and the CEO of the company posts there as well.

From what I've heard, they are just incredible wedges.

[iammpspeer]

Funny you say that, that was actually the inspiration for this post, I wanted to get all my friend's opinions from over here

[wmiller]

Am considering them for my next wedge. I like their descriptions of the swing types. I'm a digger.

[iammpspeer]

I wish I could try one, if they are as good as everyone says they are, I would love to get a couple. My fear is they won't be as good as my other choice (Vokey's) which I know I like. But the customization Scratch offers is almost too hard to turn down.

[elchene]

Funny you say that, that was actually the inspiration for this post, I wanted to get all my friend's opinions from over here

Lol, that makes sense. Everytime I visit there, I drool over the Scratch wedges and blades. SB-1s are sweet!

[Boeing777]

Well i can give you my opinion, I bought one a few weeks ago and here is my thought. I had a vokey, I've played about 5 rounds with it. And i just love it, i have a digger type swing, and they helped me out with it. I've hit out of the sand, grass, rough, and the grooves are still strong. The ball checks up great for me, the quality is really great. I have taken the vokey out of the bag and have no intentions in putting back in my bag. It's a 56 degree, I cant be more happier.

[rebby]

Lol, that makes sense. Everytime I visit there, I drool over the Scratch wedges and blades. SB-1s are sweet!

The SB-1's ARE sweet, the wedges ARE sweet. It's all good.

Order one up, you won't be disappointed. My previous comments on these in another thread -> http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showthr...781#post379781

[iammpspeer]

The SB-1's ARE sweet, the wedges ARE sweet. It's all good.

I see in your signature you have a few wedges types with different grinds. Why did you get different grinds? If you have the same swing, why wouldnt you have the same grind for each wedge?

My original idea was to buy my 2-3 wedges with all the same grinds based on what the get fit said would work best for me. Is this not a good idea? what made you get different grinds?

[elchene]

The SB-1's ARE sweet, the wedges ARE sweet. It's all good.

thanks rebby!

[rebby]

I see in your signature you have a few wedges types with different grinds. Why did you get different grinds? If you have the same swing, why wouldnt you have the same grind for each wedge?

The fitting based on your swing is a very good starting point but it really doesn't end there. It's difficult to sort out from the various grind names (labels or whatever you want to call them) but my 3 wedges actually cross into all 3 of Scratch's grind categories (sort-of, but let's not get too technical here). Anyway, I chose my grind on a per-wedge basis taking into consideration how I used each club and how I wanted to be able to use each club.

First, my irons are their stock D/S grind. I "fit" into the D/D but after hitting the S/S, D/S and D/D, I choose the D/S mainly because they were far more versatile. I found that the S/S had a tendency to dig when I really went after the ball in an attempt to generate some spin or get after a nasty lie. Conversely, the D/D didn't really allow me to pic the ball as cleanly off a hard-pan lie as I would have liked. The D/S is a great all around grind that really allows for a wide selection of shots and is easily the most versatile iron sole that I've ever bagged. I went with an SND for my 52' wedge since I tend to use this club a lot like I would my PW. I do like to play higher spin shots into the green though so I went with this grind since the high bounce and minimal camber tends to stabilize the wedge when I get aggressive and really get after the ball. The high bounce also helps on those long sand shots. For my 56' wedge I was looking for many of the same attributes as in my 52' however, I wanted a little more versatility. I like to open the blade on my 56' a degree or two from time to time for a little higher trajectory and little softer shot. Like my 52' wedge though, I do like to play some high spin shots into the greens. Additionally this wedge serves as my primary wedge out of the sand so I wanted a decent amount of bounce. I wanted an SND like grind with a decent amount of relief in the heel and toe. The SFU turned out to be a perfect grind for this club. My 60' wedge is really a specialty wedge for me. I don't take a lot of aggressive full swing shots nor do I use it from the sand (except for very rare, specific, situations) so I don't need the bounce that I have in my 52' and 56'. With my 60' I like to play a lot high, soft, lobs and other shots that lend themselves to picking the ball cleanly or sliding under the ball. I also like to open the face up and slide under the ball popping it straight up into the air with this wedge. For this wedge the EGG was really my best fit. It has a nice narrow sole that works to my advantage when trying to pick a ball cleanly and has some pretty aggressive relief in the heel and toe to allow a variety of face angles without the bounce getting in the way. Swingweight is another topic altogether (which you didn't ask about), so I'll leave that alone (for now?). Definitely get "fit" for your swing and lean in that direction when picking your exact grind but don't forget to think about how you use the wedge either. Spend some time looking at the grind, I mean really looking at all aspects of it and thinking of how it's going to interact with the turf on the types of shots that you like to (or would like to) play on a day to day basis with that club in your hand. When you really think about the types of shots that you use your wedges for and how the sole of the club will interact with the turf it becomes pretty obvious which grinds will work well for you and which won't. Lean on the side of your "fitting" whenever you need to make a compromise and I think that you'll be very happy with your selected wedge in the end. Let me know if you have any other questions, comments, whatever. I'll do my best to help you out. If you really want specific answers though, give Scratch a call. They have very knowledgeable people working for them that will be a great help. As I've said before, I don't work for them or represent them in anyway so be sure to contact them for specifics. My comments are simply a reflection of my personal opinion and experience.

[iammpspeer]

That was a great reply. As for swing weight, since I love my brother's Vokey's, I was planning on getting the same swing weight as those for their respective degrees, is this not recommended?

[elchene]

@rebby

That was really in depth - great insight. Did you pick those grinds based on pictures, or did you tell Ari what you were looking for in each wedge and haveg him suggest different grinds for your wedges?

[rebby]

That was a great reply. As for swing weight, since I love my brother's Vokey's, I was planning on getting the same swing weight as those for their respective degrees, is this not recommended?

That would likely work just fine. I like a little extra heft in my wedges. For me, it's a feel thing more than anything. If you like the feel, and weight, of the Vokey's, that's a good starting point if nothing else. Chances are it will work out just fine for you. Depending on the Vokey that you're looking at the swingweight comes in at either D2 (48' only), D4 or D5 which is pretty close to what I settled on in the end as well.

@rebby

I spent about 3 months thinking about the various grinds and what I wanted from the club. In that time I hit every wedge that I could get my hands on to get a feel for what each grind had to offer. My wedges have always had similar grinds to what I ended up with in the end so I'm pretty sure that long-term personal experience had a lot to do with my choices as well. Anyway, after getting a pretty good feel for what various grinds had to offer I really studied the images of each Scratch grind (found on the TD configuration tool) and picked my top 2 choices for each wedge. Armed with this knowledge I sent some emails back and forth with Ari to discuss each grind on my list combined with the type of performance that I was looking for with each club. After some basic discussion I spent some time on the phone with Ari to solidify my choices. I got 3 Tour Department wedges (not a cheap investment by any definition) so I wanted to make absolutely 100% sure that I got the exact wedges that I wanted.

In the end, it turned out that I had really done my homework on grinds. Ari and I agreed on every grind with the exception of the 56' (IIRC, I had the SLT as my #1 choice w/the SFU as my #2, after some discussion though we determined that the SFU was the better choice. The SLT and SFU are very similar designs). If you're the type of person who is willing to spend the time to study wedge design and learn about what affect different grinds have with turf interaction I think that you'd more than capable of selecting your own grind. On the other hand, the guys at Scratch are very knowledgeable and a great resource. It would be a shame if you didn't at least give them a call and bounce some ideas back and forth.

[iammpspeer]

Would it be stupid of me to say that I want all 2-3 of my wedges to hit flop shots? I usually would not with a 52*. But If I go the 54 and 58/60 route, I would want both for flops. Also, to ask them to personalize to a specific swing weight, would I have to call them, they don't seem to offer that on their online customizations.

[rebby]

Would it be stupid of me to say that I want all 2-3 of my wedges to hit flop shots? I usually would not with a 52*. But If I go the 54 and 58/60 route, I would want both for flops. Also, to ask them to personalize to a specific swing weight, would I have to call them, they don't seem to offer that on their online customizations.

I don't know that it's the most usual choice but the grind choices are certainty there to allow it. Personally if I want to hit a higher shot with more loft I'm more apt to grab a higher lofted wedge to start with then start opening the blade. For that reason, I don't see any reason to relief the sole of my GW much, if any. In a two wedge system, like a 53'/58' or similar, I'd likely set that up like I did w/my 56' and 60' (some sole relief on 56' and a lot of relief on the 60').

As for swingweight they should be able to get you whatever you want (within reason of course). You can either add it to your "notes" upon checkout (that's what I did) or call your order in. In your situation, I'd give them call. You can talk about grinds then as well.