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Affordable Wedge Sets?


Joey G
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Alright, so I am just starting to pick the game back up after a decade long break, and the next logical step in terms of updating/improving my bag is to replace my current 1980's S wedge and kick the antique 1i out and replace them with a set of wedges to give me more options for the close game. Since I will be experimenting with lofts beyond a standard sand wedge for the first time, I don't want to spend $300 on set of wedges. I just missed out on a set of 3 Snake Eye 350 SL wedges for $59 at a Golfsmith store that's closing near me...kicking myself for waiting over a weekend to get back there. Now I'm trying to decide what to do....

1 - Used name brand stuff? I'm obviously a fan of this approach from the contents of my bag, but am a little concerned about the condition of the grooves and finish on the sweet spot of used wedges and how the groove wear might affect playability and life span.

2 - The 3 for $100 (or so) crowd

a - Giga Golf S2 - Fitted - available in black and in an "oil can" finish too. I found some older threads here related to this question but they weren't really relevant and the only reviews seem to be on the company's websites or that one guy re-posting the same negative review about Giga everywhere that he can.

b - Diamond Tour Felon - Fitted - these are non-conforming clubs but I'm just a weekend warrior not a competitive player...my buds aren't going to be checking my club grooves and it's available in black. The potential spin performance kind of intrigues me a little...and it's illegal...chicks dig bad guys...

c - McGregor VIP / Wilson Harmonized / Top Flite Tour - all available in black for around $30 each club at Dick's or GS right now.

d - The Snake Eyes 350 SL sets are normally around $99 but are not on the Golfsmith website anymore? Might be able to track a set down at a different store.

So, I'm leaning toward one of the new sets and really just looking for some feedback and first hand experience with any of the wedges (or sets) listed above to help me narrow the field a little and maybe avoid a bad purchase

Edited by Joey G

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Ping G Series - 3w & 5w 

Ping G5 - 7w & 5-PW

Ping Glide 2.0 Stealth 52*, 56*, 60*

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Never heard of any of those. Not sure if you are beginner/young/old?  

Send in your old clubs to an online company that gives you pga value for clubs.(or a store close to you if possible)

Buy SM4's in good shape for 40-60 dollars a piece. 

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6 hours ago, Joey G said:

Alright, so I am just starting to pick the game back up after a decade long break, and the next logical step in terms of updating/improving my bag is to replace my current 1980's S wedge and kick the antique 1i out and replace them with a set of wedges to give me more options for the close game. Since I will be experimenting with lofts beyond a standard sand wedge for the first time, I don't want to spend $300 on set of wedges. I just missed out on a set of 3 Snake Eye 350 SL wedges for $59 at a Golfsmith store that's closing near me...kicking myself for waiting over a weekend to get back there. Now I'm trying to decide what to do....

1 - Used name brand stuff? I'm obviously a fan of this approach from the contents of my bag, but am a little concerned about the condition of the grooves and finish on the sweet spot of used wedges and how the groove wear might affect playability and life span.

2 - The 3 for $100 (or so) crowd

a - Giga Golf S2 - Fitted - available in black and in an "oil can" finish too. I found some older threads here related to this question but they weren't really relevant and the only reviews seem to be on the company's websites or that one guy re-posting the same negative review about Giga everywhere that he can.

b - Diamond Tour Felon - Fitted - these are non-conforming clubs but I'm just a weekend warrior not a competitive player...my buds aren't going to be checking my club grooves and it's available in black. The potential spin performance kind of intrigues me a little...and it's illegal...chicks dig bad guys...

c - McGregor VIP / Wilson Harmonized / Top Flite Tour - all available in black for around $30 each club at Dick's or GS right now.

d - The Snake Eyes 350 SL sets are normally around $99 but are not on the Golfsmith website anymore? Might be able to track a set down at a different store.

So, I'm leaning toward one of the new sets and really just looking for some feedback and first hand experience with any of the wedges (or sets) listed above to help me narrow the field a little and maybe avoid a bad purchase

I've bought a few used Vokey wedges on eBay with success. Don't worry about the groove so much. If the face looks decent and the sole doesn't look damaged, the grooves will be fine. 

To keep cost down, go for older models like SM5 or SM4. As soon as the new models come out, the resale value of the older models drops. Some will as sell sets of 2 or 3 wedges because they got a new SM6 set. This applies to other makers as well like Cleveland, Calloway and Ping. 

Also remember that popular brand name wedges will have greater resale value when you may want to sell them. Inexpensive brands like the ones you posted will not. 

You can go to a golf store and try new ones out as well to get an idea of the lofts and grinds.  Stores like Golfsmith will also have used wedges. 

Hope this helps. 

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3 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I've bought a few used Vokey wedges on eBay with success. Don't worry about the groove so much. If the face looks decent and the sole doesn't look damaged, the grooves will be fine.

That's good to hear as that's the way I would prefer to go but a recent thread here had me concerned with buying a used wedge.

Thanks.

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Ping G Series - 3w & 5w 

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Another option is ValueGolf.  They have wedges starting at $30 running up over $100 with custom options.  I love my Sand Blaster I bought there a few weeks ago.  The downside is you can't handle the clubs before you buy.  

If you don't care about conforming clubs you can find some used wedges in a second hand store and sharpen the groves with a Dremel.  Done this myself and put a wedge in my bag for under $10.

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Joey - It looks like your W and S from the original Eye's would be the lofts below.

PW   50.5°
SW   57.5°

So with a 45° 9 iron I would suggest a 52° W with like 9° of bounce and a 58° S with 14 ° of bounce.  Thats what I did when I was changing from my Eye2's.  I have played the ISI's as well and used those wedges with them as I got pretty good with them.

Now playing newer clubs, I still game my 58° SW as it is money from the sand.  I will bring the W as well from time to time.  I am a Ping guy as well and with my BeCu clubs, the grooves are as new as the day they were made.  Dont shy away from Ebay as thats where I got some of my Ping stuff.

Like others have said, if the face and sole look good the grooves will be ok as well.  You gotta pound balls 7 days a week to wear them like the pros. 

PS - If you are gonna ditch the 1 iron I would be willing to give it a new home.:-D

I always wanted to try the original Eye's!

Edited by Vinny Cap
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On 10/6/2016 at 0:44 AM, Joey G said:

Alright, so I am just starting to pick the game back up after a decade long break, and the next logical step in terms of updating/improving my bag is to replace my current 1980's S wedge and kick the antique 1i out and replace them with a set of wedges to give me more options for the close game. Since I will be experimenting with lofts beyond a standard sand wedge for the first time, I don't want to spend $300 on set of wedges. I just missed out on a set of 3 Snake Eye 350 SL wedges for $59 at a Golfsmith store that's closing near me...kicking myself for waiting over a weekend to get back there. Now I'm trying to decide what to do....

1 - Used name brand stuff? I'm obviously a fan of this approach from the contents of my bag, but am a little concerned about the condition of the grooves and finish on the sweet spot of used wedges and how the groove wear might affect playability and life span.

2 - The 3 for $100 (or so) crowd

a - Giga Golf S2 - Fitted - available in black and in an "oil can" finish too. I found some older threads here related to this question but they weren't really relevant and the only reviews seem to be on the company's websites or that one guy re-posting the same negative review about Giga everywhere that he can.

b - Diamond Tour Felon - Fitted - these are non-conforming clubs but I'm just a weekend warrior not a competitive player...my buds aren't going to be checking my club grooves and it's available in black. The potential spin performance kind of intrigues me a little...and it's illegal...chicks dig bad guys...

c - McGregor VIP / Wilson Harmonized / Top Flite Tour - all available in black for around $30 each club at Dick's or GS right now.

d - The Snake Eyes 350 SL sets are normally around $99 but are not on the Golfsmith website anymore? Might be able to track a set down at a different store.

So, I'm leaning toward one of the new sets and really just looking for some feedback and first hand experience with any of the wedges (or sets) listed above to help me narrow the field a little and maybe avoid a bad purchase

I would go for option 1. Post-2012 wedges are turning over faster from manufacturers, as the rule change on clubface grooves has sparked a boost in R&D to recover the spin you used to be able to get from the now-banned sharp square grooves. The upshot is that a perfectly usable duo or trio of top-tier name-brand wedges from 2012-ish, like Cleveland 588 RTX or the original Cally Mack Daddys, can be had for the $100-$200 range instead of buying brand-new at $450 or more for a set of three.

When buying used post-2010, I personally recommend looking for chrome. The "raw" finishes like black or oil-can are great when they're brand-new, but after just one round of play they start looking used, and you have to care for them very closely to avoid them looking like this:

post-382-1155876386.jpg

While a wedge with this much rust is actually good news for spin (higher-friction face due to the pitting), and raw finishes are intended to rust to some degree (maybe not this much), you're going to be spending another $450 in 3 years once the rust eats into the steel enough to snap the clubhead off at the hosel.

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Try Rock Bottom. They have some name wedges on the cheap. Of course, you can't go wrong with the Vokey SM4/5s either as long as you get the right bounce. 

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Thanks for your time and help, guys. I have completely changed the direction that I was heading with this decision. 

:ping:   Ping G30 - Driver       

Ping G Series - 3w & 5w 

Ping G5 - 7w & 5-PW

Ping Glide 2.0 Stealth 52*, 56*, 60*

Ping Sigma 2 Fetch putter

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The Adams Tom Watson Classics came in a boxed set of three for about $100. See if you can find some, haven't seen any in boxes for several months. Not sure if they're still a production model.

You get 52, 56 and 60 degree wedges, all with medium bounce.

Also, lots of major OEM wedges, as mentioned by others, come at under $100 when new models come out.

 

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On 10/7/2016 at 0:15 PM, Liko81 said:

While a wedge with this much rust is actually good news for spin (higher-friction face due to the pitting)…

That's actually a myth… https://thesandtrap.com/b/bag_drop/is_rust_a_must.

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(edited)

Well, here's an update. For better or worse, I couldn't resist the $30 "open box" specials on Rockbottom Golf and picked up a pair of their Ray Cook Blue Goose wedges 56* & 60*. Thanks for the link TourSpoon, great deals on that site!  I'll let you know how they look/perform in 10-14 days.

 

On 10/7/2016 at 6:07 PM, TourSpoon said:

Try Rock Bottom. They have some name wedges on the cheap. Of course, you can't go wrong with the Vokey SM4/5s either as long as you get the right bounce. 

 

Edited by Joey G

:ping:   Ping G30 - Driver       

Ping G Series - 3w & 5w 

Ping G5 - 7w & 5-PW

Ping Glide 2.0 Stealth 52*, 56*, 60*

Ping Sigma 2 Fetch putter

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Got the new wedges yesterday and here are my initial thoughts. 

1 - finish is much softer, more like a satin finish and not nearly as bright as the images on Rock Bottom's website. I consider it a plus. 

2 - did a little chipping with them and some full swings using foam balls and they seem very well balanced and I swing them well...as well as others I have tried that cost more.

3 - the components seem well made, the grips are a little disappointing (thin feeling) but they aren't unusable. I've been planning to get new grips for my driver and fairway woods anyhow so I need to do 5 instead of 3 now, no biggie.

Hoping to get 9-holes in at the Par 3 course tomorrow evening and see how they perform there and how the finish holds up.

20161023_001721.jpg

:ping:   Ping G30 - Driver       

Ping G Series - 3w & 5w 

Ping G5 - 7w & 5-PW

Ping Glide 2.0 Stealth 52*, 56*, 60*

Ping Sigma 2 Fetch putter

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Note: This thread is 2704 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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