Noob question: Are wedges supposed to feel a lot heavier than other clubs

[wackychan]

I'm a 17 handicapper who has never really paid attention all too much to my equipment. My irons are currently Callaway X Hot and my wedges are just some cheap "whatever" clubs I bought used when I first started the game. So recently a golfing buddy of mine gave me his Callaway MD3 GW and SW (both standard length and TrueTemper Dynamic Golf Steel shafts), which would objectively be much better wedges than what I had before. However, having gone to the range with them a number of times and having taken them out for a couple rounds, I cannot get used to the fact that they feel considerably HEAVIER than my old wedges.

I can totally understand that it being heavier could lead me to be in much more control for precise shots, but I was wondering... is it NORMAL to have clubs that feel remarkably heavier (or lighter, for that matter) than the rest of your clubs. My Callaway X Hots irons are graphite shafts and I'm used to them having a certain weight (or lightweight, perhaps I should say) to them. I had steel shafts in my previous set of irons and steel shafts in my no-name wedges before so I am not at all unfamiliar with steel shafts and their general weight and feel. However, these MD3s feel considerably heavier to me and I'm having problem adjusting to how they feel and how they swing. On the course, I'll be playing with my regular clubs and then when it's time to hit a pitch shot with my new wedges it feels like I really have to get used to the FEEL of it right on the spot. It just feels so different than what I'm used to and what my other clubs generally feel like.

Is this normal? Is this just a function of the fact that I'm still high handicap and just need to practice more, or learn to be have more variety in my clubs? I know that of course not all clubs are going to feel exactly the same weight for many physics-based reasons, but I've always been used to a very general class of weight to my clubs. And these new wedges seem SO much heavier than my old ones that my swing just feels different. I fully admit I am a golf noob when it comes to equipment (I haven't been playing long and the whole time I had played with the same set of clubs) so just wondering if this is normal. Do players generally just have all kinds of clubs with different weights and feels to them? Or is it better to try to get your equipment to have a similar weight and feel to them? I mean, it's one thing to have my driver and irons have different feels and weights to them. But when I go down from PW (X Hot, graphite) to GW (MD3, steel) it feels like I'm just playing with something completely different even though they're "consecutive" clubs, so to speak. Is this considered normal?

[b101]

It's not necessarily normal, but if you have graphite irons (and your woods/driver/hybrids will definitely also have graphite shafts), then steel-shafted wedges will definitely weigh heavier. If you get a properly in-depth wedge fitting, they'll also switch a load of different weighted shafts in to control height and spin, so that can also add weight. My wedges would certainly be my heaviest shafts.

You'll get used to the differences with time - yes, it'd be better if you were custom-fit for everything, but it's probably not worth the cost for a little while yet. My question would be why do you have graphite irons? I had a set way back when I picked up the game again (2012 or so) and found that they just gave me zero control over the ball due to my swing speed being far too high for someone needing regular flex, graphite shafts. Might be that you're different, but I think graphite shafts tend to be targeted at golfers with slow swing speeds.

[WUTiger]

11 hours ago, wackychan said:

... I can totally understand that it being heavier could lead me to be in much more control for precise shots, but I was wondering... is it NORMAL to have clubs that feel remarkably heavier (or lighter, for that matter) than the rest of your clubs. My Callaway X Hots irons are graphite shafts and I'm used to them having a certain weight (or lightweight, perhaps I should say) to them. ...

First of all, let's talk about two takes on weight: swingweight and club/shaft weight.

Swingweight: deals with how heavy the club feels when a player swings it. Changing the shaft weight, shaft length, grip weight and head weight will alter the swingweight. (See Golfweek: Swingweight for details).

Current golf technology makes wedges heavier in swingweight than numbered irons. Wedges tend to have more head mass, and the extra swingweight helps the golfer keep the club aligned on downswing. And, it's a finesse shot with a short-shafted club, not a muscle shot.

Shaft weight: This would be the root of why the MD3 wedges feel so much heavier than your XHot irons. Your irons have the XHot Iron Graphite shafts, which in both R and S weigh between 72 and 79 grams. The MD3 wedges likely have the stock TT Dynamic Gold wedge shaft which weighs 130 grams, and is stiff flex. So, your MD3 shafts weigh 1.7 times as much as your iron shafts.

I had a similar problem when I reshafted my irons from PX 5.0 (115 grams) to NS Pro 8950GH (97 grams). I still had stock 125 gram shafts in my Cleveland CG.14 wedges. On full shots I was OK, but I started having distance control problems on partial shots.

I reshafted the CG.14s with R.flex KBS Tour (110 grams), and got better feel - closer to iron weight.

When I got MD3  PW and SW, I likewise had them shafted in KBS Tour (20 grams lighter than MD3 stock.) I lucked across a MD.PG high-toe 60* LW for $40, but it has a 125-gram KBS Tour V shaft; I may get it reshafted with the KBS Tour, because it feels really different than the other two.

You might consider getting the MD3 wedges reshafted to lighter weight - but not too light. Talk to a good clubfitter for options that will work for you. Two other points:

• Be aware that high-launch shafts may cause you to balloon the ball on wedge shots, being that the clubhead already enhances launch angle.
• MD3 wedges have 0.355 taper tip hosels, so make sure you get taper tip shafts if you buy them for someone else to install.

[wackychan]

Thanks for the insight and for looking up the numbers. As I said before I haven't been playing too long, relatively-speaking anyway, so all this is new to me. Never really thought all that much about my equipment before so club fitting has been totally off my radar. But I can see this probably where proper club fitting would smooth out the differences.

[1badbadger]

I realize this thread is a couple of months old, but if the weight of your wedges is still an issue, there are a couple of things you can easily check to help determine why they feel so much heavier.

Let me start by saying it's not at all unusual for wedges to be a little heavier than the rest of your irons, especially the sand wedge and lob wedge.  When hitting short shots around the green out of deep rough or sand, the extra weight helps with feel, and gets the club through long grass and sand easier.  But, it sounds like your new wedges are more than just slightly heavier, so here is where I would suggest starting...

Since these wedges were pre-owned, it's possible your buddy had them extended, or custom ordered them with shafts longer than standard.  If you still have your old wedges, compare the length to the Callaway wedges.  If the Callaway wedges are longer, that will make them feel noticeably heavier.

Also, look on the back of the wedges and see if there are any strips of gray tape stuck to the head.  If there is, this is called lead tape, and it's used to increase the head weight of a club.  It should be easy to peel off, and it won't hurt the finish of the club.

One other possibility is the grips.  If the grips on your irons happens to be a midsize or oversize that weighs more than a standard grip, and the Callaway wedges happen to have a smaller, lightweight grip, this will make the wedges feel heavier compared to your irons.

It will only take a few minutes to check these items, and even if it's not the answer, at least we've eliminated the possibilities and can go to "plan b".

[onthehunt526]

The sand wedge has the heaviest head of any club in the bag. (A lob wedge is a sand wedge too) You couple that with a 130g Shaft with a 50-60g grip, you're talking over a pound. Your Driver by comparison only weighs in at around 325g or so. Usually irons have 7g increments in head weight. Most sand wedges are around 300g... and go 7g up to gap wedge, and so on. 

[Buckeyebowman]

In short yes, but how much heavier is the question. It surprises me that the name brand wedges your buddy sold you fellt that much heavier than the cheapies. I still have a an old "Hubert Green" Sand Wedge that is swear is swingweights at about a D30!                                                                                                                                           In this case badger's cuations have some real validitry. I would think something had to be done to those clubs to make them feel that way.