Need Advice With My Wedge Set Up

[GrandStranded]

I'm 63 and have been playing 8 years. I'm now playing to a little over a 12. When I started playing I bought 2 Cleveland wedges and have used that blade style wedge ever since. Last year I changed irons and went from steel to light weight Recoil shafts. The set is 5-GW. I find myself using my 54* with full shots almost all the time. The 58(or 60) is my bunker or flop club. I might use anything from a 7 down around the green. Here's my question. I'm thinking I might be better off getting the SW w the Recoil shaft that matches my irons instead of using the steel shafted SW I have now. My thinking is it would be more forgiving, and be a better fit gapping from my 50*W. The sw I use now is a problem there, since my full swing goes anywhere from 75-90, depending on how I hit it. I know that's 90% me and my swing, but I don't have the problem with my PW or GW. They are 120ish and 105-110. I'm hoping for 90-95 with the set SW. Does this sound like a smart move for a player at my level, or should I do what I see most players do, use the steel shafted SW?  

[onthehunt526]

4 minutes ago, GrandStranded said:

I'm 63 and have been playing 8 years. I'm now playing to a little over a 12. When I started playing I bought 2 Cleveland wedges and have used that blade style wedge ever since. Last year I changed irons and went from steel to light weight Recoil shafts. The set is 5-GW. I find myself using my 54* with full shots almost all the time. The 58(or 60) is my bunker or flop club. I might use anything from a 7 down around the green. Here's my question. I'm thinking I might be better off getting the SW w the Recoil shaft that matches my irons instead of using the steel shafted SW I have now. My thinking is it would be more forgiving, and be a better fit gapping from my 50*W. The sw I use now is a problem there, since my full swing goes anywhere from 75-90, depending on how I hit it. I know that's 90% me and my swing, but I don't have the problem with my PW or GW. They are 120ish and 105-110. I'm hoping for 90-95 with the set SW. Does this sound like a smart move for a player at my level, or should I do what I see most players do, use the steel shafted SW?  

Well this I can help you with a little. Yes if you use the same shaft in your wedges as your irons, it will help on full shots. You won't give up much of "being able to feel the head" of the 54° around the green. Maybe a tad.

Last season when I was still playing GI irons I had the same shafts installed in all my wedges. I didn't notice much of a difference.

[GrandStranded]

5 minutes ago, onthehunt526 said:

 Well this I can help you with a little. Yes if you use the same shaft in your wedges as your irons, it will help on full shots. You won't give up much of "being able to feel the head" of the 54° around the green. Maybe a tad.

Last season when I was still playing GI irons I had the same shafts installed in all my wedges. I didn't notice much of a difference.

Did you use the same flex in the wedges also? I am playing regular flex in my irons now. They are the Recoil 760ES. I find them just as accurate(and a little longer) as the stiff steel I had prior. I'm thinking stick with the Regular in the SW also?

Edited April 9, 2018 by GrandStranded

[b101]

Being totally honest, the thing that made the most difference for me was getting the grind right on the wedges. I had two off the shelf Cleveland wedges from slightly different years (Lob Wedge in 588 RTX and Sand in 588 RTX 2.0) and absolutely hated my sand wedge but loved the lob wedge. I would feel like I chunked everything with the sand wedge and could hit pretty much any shot I wanted (obviously not, but it felt like it) with the lob wedge. So, after reading the Edel thread (see below) and pondering for about a year, I arranged a fitting:

Pleasingly, the photo in the thumbnail is of my wedges . But I digress...

Anyway, I went along for the fitting and explained this to the fitter, talked to him about shots I liked, didn't like and he got me to hit some shots and watched my technique. We then went to the pitching green and hit shots from around that green. There's more of this in my post in the thread, but he handed me a variety of 60* wedges, each with different grinds (the shape of the sole), in an utterly random order. One of those felt out of this world good and I could hit shots from anywhere, including cutting through rough I've never been capable of doing. One felt the complete opposite and I couldn't do a thing. One other (maybe two) was just 'meh' - some good, some bad.

You've probably guessed, but the wedge I hit like a dream? Exactly the same grind as my lob wedge. The awful one? My sand wedge grind. It makes that much difference...

The reason I bring this up is that we then went out on the course and started playing with shafts. Honestly, he noticed a few things with ballflight, looking for a piercing, mid-high flight, but I really couldn't tell much. It certainly didn't change much, strike-wise. I'm sure there's more to it than that, but the grind is the single most noticeable impact I've ever seen when swapping between two different clubs. I might as well have been hitting the sand wedge out of treacle; it was just never going to work.

[onthehunt526]

1 hour ago, GrandStranded said:

Did you use the same flex in the wedges also? I am playing regular flex in my irons now. They are the Recoil 760ES. I find them just as accurate(and a little longer) as the stiff steel I had prior. I'm thinking stick with the Regular in the SW also?

Yes... I had the same flex in my wedges.

[Shorty]

I think the most important thing regarding wedges is to make sure you have the correct bounce for the course you play and an understanding of what the bounce does and how to maximise its effect to eliminate chunks and skulls. Shaft flex is pretty much moot as is brand.

[WUTiger]

A couple of years ago, I had my X20 Tours reshafted.

Original shafts: PX 5.0 (115 grams) / Reshafts: NS Pro 8950GH (97 grams).

My first full season after reshaft, I began having distance control problems with my partial wedges. These were Cleveland CG14, with a 125-gram TRAction wedge shaft.

I reshafted the CG14s with KBS Tour R-flex (110 grams), and got back the control. I also had these put in the Calla MD3 wedges I got last season. Too great a weight gap between iron and wedge shafts causes problems for some golfers, like me.

@onthehunt526 has good information for wedges you hit full shots with.

[GrandStranded]

7 hours ago, b101 said:

Being totally honest, the thing that made the most difference for me was getting the grind right on the wedges. I had two off the shelf Cleveland wedges from slightly different years (Lob Wedge in 588 RTX and Sand in 588 RTX 2.0) and absolutely hated my sand wedge but loved the lob wedge. I would feel like I chunked everything with the sand wedge and could hit pretty much any shot I wanted (obviously not, but it felt like it) with the lob wedge. So, after reading the Edel thread (see below) and pondering for about a year, I arranged a fitting:

Pleasingly, the photo in the thumbnail is of my wedges . But I digress...

Anyway, I went along for the fitting and explained this to the fitter, talked to him about shots I liked, didn't like and he got me to hit some shots and watched my technique. We then went to the pitching green and hit shots from around that green. There's more of this in my post in the thread, but he handed me a variety of 60* wedges, each with different grinds (the shape of the sole), in an utterly random order. One of those felt out of this world good and I could hit shots from anywhere, including cutting through rough I've never been capable of doing. One felt the complete opposite and I couldn't do a thing. One other (maybe two) was just 'meh' - some good, some bad.

You've probably guessed, but the wedge I hit like a dream? Exactly the same grind as my lob wedge. The awful one? My sand wedge grind. It makes that much difference...

The reason I bring this up is that we then went out on the course and started playing with shafts. Honestly, he noticed a few things with ballflight, looking for a piercing, mid-high flight, but I really couldn't tell much. It certainly didn't change much, strike-wise. I'm sure there's more to it than that, but the grind is the single most noticeable impact I've ever seen when swapping between two different clubs. I might as well have been hitting the sand wedge out of treacle; it was just never going to work.

That's a cool story. I always thought only a really good player would notice (or look for) different grinds. I always thought it would be a very subtle difference, if any. Add that to bounce, and I guess a wedge isn't just a wedge, as I've been told... Thanks!

6 hours ago, Shorty said:

I think the most important thing regarding wedges is to make sure you have the correct bounce for the course you play and an understanding of what the bounce does and how to maximise its effect to eliminate chunks and skulls. Shaft flex is pretty much moot as is brand.

Thanks. This goes along with my understanding thus far. When I bought my wedges, I was told which bounce would work best for the course conditions I most play here in Coastal Carolina.

[MuniGrit]

I prefer my wedges heavier. Personally I'd go with your SW and LW with same steel shaft so they are similar unless you like the other shafts more. Those shafts in your set are probably about 40 percent lighter in weight than a steel DG R300 or S300. They do make a wedge flex too.

[GrandStranded]

4 minutes ago, MuniGrit said:

I prefer my wedges heavier. Personally I'd go with your SW and LW with same steel shaft so they are similar unless you like the other shafts more. Those shafts in your set are probably about 40 percent lighter in weight than a steel DG R300 or S300. They do make a wedge flex too.

That weight difference is my only concern. I was on Callaway Preowned tonight, and saw they had the SW in my exact iron shaft and flex in Like New condition for $65. I called and talked to a Rep there. I told him basically what I wrote in my first post. He was great. Told me to order the wedge, if I like it obviously keep playing it. He also set up a trade if I wanted to send them my old wedge in within 30 days. They also have a 90 day playability, with 90,80,70% credit each 30 day period. It's a no lose. I get to scratch the itch, try something out, and worst case, it costs me about $20. Best case, it improves my full swing gapping down thru my 90 yard club. From inside there I can take shorter swings or use a full 58* if the new SW works out.

[freshmanUTA]

The most important aspect of wedges is bounce, but i see a lot of people who forget that if there’s too big of a weight difference that can effect shots as well.

[tomvk77]

Bounce sure is important. Personally i don't like the GW that comes with the iron set. i prefer a real wedge. As for shafts, yeah i play my wedges with the same shaft as my irons. I like that the feel on full shots is the same. My Irons are Mizuno MP59 with KBS Tour Stiff shafts my wedges are mizuno T7 with same shafts.

I have a 52 and 58 wedge i have them with a 8 and 10 degree bounce. I know this is low for a 58 (lw) i like it this way.