Wedges

I know this has been done to death, but I'm after some new wedges (Vokeys about 10 yrs old now).
Just been looking at Cleveland 588 RTX CB Wedge (Black Pearl).
Anyone anything nice to say about them? Or any others?
What lofts do folk go for - mine are 56 and 60. Was thinking of changing to 54 and 58.
Any advice welcome (about the wedges).

nothing to contribute re. cleveland. stuck with vokeys over the last 3-4 years and they'd get my vote. can't really go wrong with vokey/cleveland/mizuno etc. though.

lofts depend largely on what your set wedge is. mine is 47deg, and i go 52(08), 58(12) which i prefer to my previous 52(08),56(11),60(07) set up. tempted to go 50,54,58 next time, but only had one season out of the current set so no plans for a change anytime soon.

Thanks B.
Whats your max distance out of them?
I knock my 48deg ping i20 about 115, so want a good gap, so maybe 70 and 90 yards?

i rarely hit my wedges full out.
in calm conditions i hit my wedge up to about 110 yards (carry),
52 about 95,
58 about 80 - but tend to hit 52 in most cases for these unless i need the loft.
58 is more for bunker, lobs, and cheeky escapes.

Thanks Mr B, reckon 52 and 58 might be the way forward.

I hit my Taylormade PW quite a long way... 130 yards carry in summer. It's got 46 degrees loft. As George mentioned on the other thread, is that a 9 iron in disguise?

I also carry a 54 which flies 100 yards with a full swing (very rare - I would normally hit a three quarter PW from this distance). This club has plenty of bounce and is good for thick rough and fluffy bunkers.

Final wedge is a 60 (bent to 58) which I never use for full shots. This has low bounce and is perfect for delicate chips from tight lies.

Whatever lofts you get I would recommend getting varying amounts of bounce to give you more versatility... unless you only play one coursee and need one type.

Monty - I changed to Cleveland last year. I have the 50 and 54 RTX CB in black (with KBS Tour stiff matching my irons) and they are very good and I'm comfortable going to full shot with them, so they complement the irons nicely in yardage terms. Also have the 588 RTX blade one (dynamic gold spinner wedge flex) also in black for the more deft up and downs. High bounces relative to what I previously had but I think this is something I needed anyway. Spin rates are good (I'm not a high spin player and struggle to get much meaningful spin whatever I hit), dispersion on the fuller shots is excellent as is the forgiveness (on the CB - I don't hit the 58 blade anywhere near full). I think the feel is a tad hard (are they cast?) relatively speaking but I must have got used to it.

Had the Vokey SM4s beforehand 48/52/56/60 and I personally think the Cleveland are much better (NB better for me personally -  but accept this may be entirely down to the relative specs suiting my game better than the Vokey specs). How far I hit them won't mean a lot to you but I am getting the 54 as far and more accurately than my old 52 vokey but again this might be due to specs (Vokey had DG Spinner wedge+ flex). Because of the CB the Clevelands are noticably more forgiving on mis-hit fuller shots.

In short, love the Clevelands.

Would be interested in trying the new Callaway Mack Daddys and the SM5s because of the grind options but can't see me switching away again imminently.

raycastleunited wrote:I hit my Taylormade PW quite a long way... 130 yards carry in summer. It's got 46 degrees loft. As George mentioned on the other thread, is that a 9 iron in disguise?

I also carry a 54 which flies 100 yards with a full swing (very rare - I would normally hit a three quarter PW from this distance). This club has plenty of bounce and is good for thick rough and fluffy bunkers.

Final wedge is a 60 (bent to 58) which I never use for full shots. This has low bounce and is perfect for delicate chips from tight lies.

Whatever lofts you get I would recommend getting varying amounts of bounce to give you more versatility... unless you only play one coursee and need one type.

i have a a TM 46 also. i fund its a pretty big game between that and by SW so i bought a 50 degree wedge. seems to fit the gap perfectly.

i currently have 46 50 50 60. means i dont carry a 3i which suits me fine!

Monty - final piece of advice on wedges. leave the skin on for that extra crispiness.

HI

Changed from Ping Tour-S to the Clevelands you mention in the spring last year. 50, 54 and 60 deg

I have to say they are great, better feel and more consistant. The sole/grind (or what ever its called) makes it really easy to open the face up, when needed.

The black looks great but my 54, which gets the most use is starting to lose its finish and looks a bit weary but its no big deal really

I went with the Callaway bronzed wedges a couple of years ago, the ones with the grooves closer together. Absolutely love 'em. I hit my Ping i20 wedge about 120 full on so I went for 52, 56 & 60. which gives me 105, 90 & 75. Rarely if at all hit them flat out though. Love hitting that 52 deg 65-70 yards low into a breeze with enough zip to stop it dead. The touch/feel around the green with them is fantastic as well.

Can anyone actually hit a 60° wedge full on with any consistency? For me a full 60° shot seems to arbitrarily go anywhere from 60 to 100 yards.

At the moment I only have a PW(around 48°) and a 56°. I have chosen to go the mastery of one club (56°) route around the green instead of the dave peltz method of have 4 swings and 4 wedges.

I of course, also use other clubs when required - eg pitch and run - but feel most comfortable with how the 56° will travel in the air and on the ground. In some ways I increasingly find that how the wedge reacts once it hits the deck is the most important part of the short game.

I can hit my 60° wedge quite consistently, but it goes nowhere near 100 yards (unless I thin it!) It flies about 55 yards in normal conditions, a wee bit further in the warm summer air.

I don't hit as a full shot very often though because it's affected by the wind, and (especially in the winter and spring) I can't predict the spin. Sometimes on soft greens it spins right back off the front again. Sometimes it sticks in its own plug mark, and sometimes (if it's been frosty) it can bounce through the green.

I tend to keep it for bunkers and fiddly little shots round the green.

My Nike Pro Combo PW is (I think) 46 degrees and that carries about 125. My other wedges are all Vokeys, not sure the model name but they're the ones before the SM4s. The 52 goes 110-115, the 56 about 100 and the 60 around 85-90. When I'm warming up at my club there's a practice green at about 75 yards. If I'm not clearing that with the 60 I know I'm not striking it properly.

Maybe the range is more like 40 to 80 yards, the point is I just can't seem to get it to go the same distance twice in a row.  But as you say hitting full shots is hardly the purpose of a club like that anyway.

It's really hard to get consistent strikes when the ground is wet and muddy, like almost everywhere is at the moment.

I have a friend who practices 60 yard wedge shots assiduously. He's out there from lunchtime until dinner time at least four days a week, and he's really good from that distance. Even he doesn't bother in Jan/Feb/March though because the ground conditions make it so difficult.

Maybe you should wait until Spring before you try to achieve some consistency - or if you can do it with another club better, then just leave the 60° for chipping.