Let’s continue our wedge discussion. Last week we talked about all things Bounce. What it is, how it’s measured, and how to use it. This week, let’s dig deeper and figure out how to get a set of wedges into a players bag that can help him play better golf.

First off, if a player says I’m a low bounce guy, or I’m an S-Grind guy, etc. You need to ask questions. Immediately. My first question would be do you always miss greens in the same spot and always have the same lies? Oh, and always hit it in the same sand in the same bunker? Laughable, but so is his statement. I start by giving a scenario and a question… Say you take your car into the garage to get fixed. You walk around and start snooping through the Mechanics tool boxes – Does he have 13 wrenches that are all the same?? Of course not. He has a different wrench for every job. Wedges are like wrenches in a Mechanics tool box – you want a different one for each job.

Unfortunately, that’s not possible since the USGA limits how many clubs we can carry. What you can do, however, is to create a set that offers the player as much versatility as possible. To do so, you need to consider his game, how he plays certain shots, course conditions where he plays, and the number of wedges he needs.

To start, I ask him about his short game. I ask him if he uses one wedge or multiple wedges around the green. Does he prefer to fly it high or low (or both). Does he use all wedges for full swing shots AND greenside shots, or just one or the other? What is his bunker shot club? Does he have more than one bunker club? Is he a digger or a picker? Does he take bigger/ deeper divots as the clubs get shorter? Once you have a good idea of HOW he plays, give him some balls and have him hit some shots with his 7 iron. Yes, a 7 iron. Tell him you want him to warm up with that. Why? If he digs with the 7 iron, he will certainly dig more with his wedges. If he’s a picker, the same will hold fairly true with his wedges. If he’s a “low bounce guy”, but he digs, you’re going to have to have a conversation with him – he’s not a low bounce guy. Next, have him hit a bunch of different short game shots with his current wedges. Hopefully, you can identify HOW he plays his short game shots after watching this.

Once you have a feel for his game, you can tailor a set of wedges to suit him. Ideally, you want a mix of grinds and bounces within his set of wedges. Consider this… Say a player hits a shot into a greenside bunker today. Nice fluffy sand, and that will call for a certain type of bunker shot. Let’s say that tonight we get 3″ of rain and he plays again tomorrow – hitting it into the same spot in the same greenside bunker. Same shot today as yesterday? Probably not, right? In a perfect world, he’d want to have a bunker club for BOTH of those scenarios. Or, say a player plays in Florida in the winter and up in NY in the summer. When he misses a green, there are two different types of grasses which require two different tools to get the job done. You CAN and should vary the soles/ grinds so that a single set of wedges will serve all of his needs.

Before we start, consider this. We like to see 4-6* between wedges. Start with the PW and see how his gaps fall. In a new set of Rogue Max for example, the PW is 41*. This set has an AW at 46*, and a GW at 51*. A SW at 56* and a LW at 60* would be appropriate. I know what you’re thinking… WHOA, that’s 5 wedges. You are correct. Maybe a 50-54-58 combo is better for this player. Maybe we can only do a 54-60. Do your homework before you just say something. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE. Google the set he has and find out the lofts he has so you can figure out what he needs. Just because he has a 52, 56 & 60 doesn’t mean it’s right. On the Rogue Max iron set, for example, the 4 iron is at 18.5* and a 5 iron at 21.5*. Virtually no Rogue Max set should be 4-PW (in fact, very few should even be 5-PW). The 6 iron is 24.5*, so it’s not that much of a stretch to think that a set of irons should start at the 7 iron. Compared to an old set, the numbers on the bottom are different, but when figuring lofts for wedges, we need to match the lofts of the wedges with the lofts on the irons.

Also consider that a full swing will create a different sole/turf/ball interaction than a partial swing. The slower the club is swinging and the firmer the turf conditions, the more important this relationship is. In other words, bounce/grind is more important in a partial swing (chip/ pitch/ bunker/ etc.). Finding out HOW he uses the wedge is critical to choosing the right sole.

Your old 4-PW, 52*, 56* & 60* set is 10 clubs. This is 4 wedges, so not a big deal to think that we now need 5 wedges and no 4 iron on one of todays sets. Or, ditch the 5 iron too and add an extra hybrid. Chat with the player to find out WHY he carries certain clubs. If the player carries a 3 wood, 5 wood, 3 hybrid and 4 hybrid (common), you can ask him to hit the 4 hybrid to see how far he hits it. Say that’s a 170 club for him. Do you need 9 other clubs to cover 160 yards and down? Probably 7 at most, but you can work on that in the process. A wedge fitting could very well include a set make up review. Maybe you can trim a club or two to get him more versatility in his wedge set. 

Consider the following:

Say a player is a digger. I might be inclined to make the 50-52* wedge a wedge that matches the set. Say his 54-56* wedge is primarily his bunker club and his 58-60* is his pitching club/ get out of jail club. Consider a W-grind (12* full sole) for an SW, and a X-Grind (12* with significant relief) for his LW. For Variety, you could add a Full Toe for the LW. 

Say a player is a neutral divot player. I might go S Grind in the 50 and 54, but C Grind in the 58.

You get the idea… The goal here is to establish HOW his short game operates. Then figure out what options does he need based on his current set. Finally, determine what club specs will help him in the widest array of circumstances. Don’t hone in on one grind. Be creative with what will give the most versatility. 

Hope this helps. Until next time – happy fitting!!