Hopkins Wedges

[posey55]

Ordered one of the new Hopkins wedges last week. Supposed to get it tomorrow.  Anyone else tried them out yet?

I ordered the 58 degree with plenty of customization.  Super excited.

[UpDown]

So, whats the word?

[WUTiger]

According to the Hopkins web site, 27 players on the Champions Tour use their wedges. Also, site has wedge selection menu:

https://www.hopkinsgolf.com/index.php

[posey55]

Got my 58 degree Hopkins wedge and love it so far.  The grind makes it so much easier to get under the ball and glide through the grass.  It makes flop shots, sand shots and shots out of the deep rough so much easier than before with my 56 degree Vokey.

They also included a slip in the packing that said 30 day return guarantee "until you are happy".... thats pretty great customer service if you ask me.  Luckily I was happy with the first wedge they sent.

I will upload some photos when I get a chance.

[Dave2512]

These are my next and "final" purchase to complete my bag upgrades.

[Mr. Desmond]

The only problem is not having a try before you buy fitting.

Yes, you can guess, and if it doesn't work out, return them, and try another grind.

But of all the club I've purchased, the wedge is the most difficult to get right unless you know what you are doing.

[Ernest Jones]

I looked at their site, cool options but I didn't see anywhere where you could choose the amount of bounce?

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by Ernest Jones

I looked at their site, cool options but I didn't see anywhere where you could choose the amount of bounce?

They could describe the grind better with stated bounce and where they place it. The grind is key but it's good to know where the bounce starts, how much, where it trails off - the heel, toe, trailing edge, etc.

[WUTiger]

I was merely identify the web site, not necessarily endorsing the blubs.

Ernest and Mr. D have a good point. Hopkins doesn't tell the measured bounce vs. effective bounce (related to turf interaction) of the different grinds. Also, does the shelf grind give  you two different bounces, depending on whether you deloft the club?

Other drawbacks to site:

• H makes no mention of how long the shafts are, and what the standard length differences between lofts.
• You can't hit before you buy. Has anyone seen a Hopkins booth at a recent demo day? (I assume the Champions tour guys get to test hit these wedges)

Hopkins is offering a semi-custom wedge for $100 (plus extra for certain sole grinds, personal paint jobs, etc.). They have a money-back guarantee, but it would be nice to try out the different bounces and grinds first.

[TJBam]

I think they do a great job of describing grind on their site.

https://hopkinsgolf.com/grinds.php

All you have to do it order and try it out at your home course.  Return it if you don't like it.  Repeat process until you've found "the one."

I think their customer service is generous.

[Dave2512]

I assume Hopkins assumes golfers know what their numbers are. I've been fit several times, little changes in the data, certainly not enough to make me question whether or not I'd need a different loft, lie, shaft etc. when buying a new wedge. The grinds are preference and course condition specific as much as anything.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by Dave2512

I assume Hopkins assumes golfers know what their numbers are. I've been fit several times, little changes in the data, certainly not enough to make me question whether or not I'd need a different loft, lie, shaft etc. when buying a new wedge. The grinds are preference and course condition specific as much as anything.

I don't see grinds as a preference ... I see them as in, "Which one fits my swing?"

A guy with a shallow swing won't like a lot of big bounce. A guy who traps, digs, goes after the ball hard - will not like a low bounce wedge - because his club will be stuck in the ground...

[Dave2512]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

I don't see grinds as a preference ... I see them as in, "Which one fits my swing?"

A guy with a shallow swing won't like a lot of big bounce. A guy who traps, digs, goes after the ball hard - will not like a low bounce wedge - because his club will be stuck in the ground...

I suppose. I wonder how we all got by swinging off the rack wedges, with designs more similar than not before the custom club craze. Course conditions are dynamic and I don't know about anyone else but my wedge play isn't limited to one type of swing because if I have a wedge in hand it usually means I've missed a green. I might sweep it from one lie and hit steeply down on it the very next hole. If it's a clean lie in the fairway probably won't even have a wedge in my hand, when possible I do the rule of 12 thing and keep it on the ground as much as possible. Because of that my future wedges will have a variety of bounce and grind. Once I am in wedge range I view those clubs as interchangeable based on lie and what type of trajectory the shot calls for more than distance. When it's purely based on distance and I'm taking a full swing the shaft angle at address is pretty much going to negate the bounce anyway. I'll be de-lofting the club and hitting ball first. By the time the sole meets ground hopefully the ball is long gone.

[Mr. Desmond]

We use wedges differently and Your understanding of bounce, forgiveness, setup, and grinds are different than mine – fundamentally. Good luck with what you've got

[WUTiger]

I e-mailed the Hopkins customer support team, and they sent me additional info on wedge specifications:

Loft	Standard Shaft Length	Standard Rated Bounce
50°	35 3/8"	8
52°	35 3/8"	8
54°	35 1/4"	12
56°	35 1/4"	14
58°	35 1/8"	12
60°	35 1/8"	12
60°W grind	34 7/8"	8

The rated bounce is the measured bounce with club shaft perpendicular to ground. The effective bounce will change depending on custom sole grind, and the clubhead interaction with the turf; clubhead interaction will vary somewhat by player swing characteristics.

[cybear]

I recently purchase a 3 wedge set of Hopkin’s Golf black stain wedges.  My pitching wedge is an Adams 44 Degree a12os so I purchase a 48-08 full sole, 52-08 shelf grind, and a 56-14 channel grind with the Hopkins OTM Steel wedge flex shafts and Hopkins Lamkin stock grip.  They came last week but I’ve had to wait five days to try out due to the wet cold weather we been having here in Virginia.  So this Monday 12/15 we get a break in the weather so I off to try them out.  A frost delay till 10:30 am before the temperature finally gets to 38 degrees in sun.  So I know the ground is going to hard.

Short of the 1 ^st green about 15 yards, I use the 52 dig the toe in and pull the club face open had to yell for my playing partner to get out of way as the ball flies by his chest and over the green.  Now I am wondering what I’ve done?  Second chip back on to the green about 12 yards away and roll to about 6 feet from hole.  Whew, better.  I as play the round I ended up in a lot of traps fall in love the 56 channel grind.  A few approach shots with good results with the 48 full sole.  But mixed results with the 52 shelf grind, until the second nine.  Then I begin to get the hang of this club.  I end up dropping 8 strokes between the front nine and the back nine.  Mostly due to my better than usual wedge play on the back nine.

This clubs have a great weight, the clubs feel heavier than my old Vokeys but I like the balance and weight. The black stain chrome looks great and held up well in the sand play.  The club head does feel harder than the Vokeys.  This was a surprise feel but by the end of the round I liked the feel as the feedback was not harsh and seem to be easier to identify where on the club face I hit the ball.  The sound at Impact was louder, however by the end of the round I had quit noticing the sound.   The head is slightly more compact than my Vokey 200’s.

From my initial results I think I am really going to enjoy this set.  Looking forward to improving my wedge play and lowering my scores.  Anyone who is in the market for wedges especially custom grinds would be well served to look at these Hopkins Wedges closely.  You can try them out for 30 days and return for full credit if you don’t customize the back with your name or other optional designs.  Be sure to check out their Facebook page for promo codes.  I found one for buy two wedges get the third free.