Have you paid any attention to Edel Golf?
This is a company who is wholly focused on disrupting the status quo through innovation not for the sake of it, but with the founding principal of the company always at the lead, to help golfers perform to their utmost potential by fitting to the induvial attributes we all have in our own swings.
THP has been at the forefront of the evolution and continued growth of Edel. Most recently it has been the introduction of their SMS wedges with moveable weight technology, of which you can read the feedback of both our staff as well as THP members here. Those three moveable weights have started a revolution for Edel, the ability to dial in wedges unlike ever before has been so successful that it only made sense it would find its way to irons.
Today, Edel announces the arrival of the SMS Irons, and trust us, you are going to want to pay attention to this one.
Swing Match System: SMS
For those perhaps less familiar with the SMS weighting that Edel has applied to their wedge line, it stands for “Swing Match System” and the idea behind it is brilliant, yet at the same time so obvious it is astounding we have not seen it integrated to this degree before.
This adjustable weighting system isn’t revolutionary in that Edel is the first to bring adjustable weights to wedges or irons, but they are the first to find a balance of understandable integration and adjustability within the framework of weight options that truly impact performance.
Each golfer has a unique swing, and rather than trying to fit the swing to the clubs, the SMS weighting focuses on fitting the club to the swing in a way that only a company like Edel is willing to do. By adjusting the positioning of the three different weights in the head to fit the golfers swing, it aims to improve clubface control at impact. By doing that, you can tame, or even eliminate, the big misses right and left of target which through better clubface position at impact also means more efficient energy transfer that can make for more distance and accuracy as well.
Iron Integration: Edel SMS Irons
This idea at its root isn’t new, in fact, any of us with a modern driver in the bag benefits from the idea of tuning the club to fit the person swinging it. Historically with irons however, it has always been more about making a lot of different models in a cycle, each of which pays attention to one specific speed, variable, or even flaw. The Swing Match System though, turns that on its head by allowing this single iron to be tuned to all of that, for every individual.
Because the SMS can adjust to a variety of different swing types, it is essentially a Swiss Army Knife of the iron segment, but in an aesthetic and design tech which is appealing to the overwhelming majority. The iron itself is classified by Edel as a “Hollow body, players distance iron”, meaning it seeks to work for scratch golfers all the way up to those in the high teens. The body is made up of 1025 Carbon Steel which is forged to give the sound/feel golfers will expect in an iron at this price point. The face is plasma welded to the frame to ensure not just maximum speed potential with the steel face cup, but also saving maximum weight versus traditional welding techniques. Internally however, is where it gets even more fun as the SMS is using a “urethane foam fill” that is high density to ensure that forged feel is intact.
When fitting the Edel SMS irons, the process allows the golfer to not have to alter their swing path to fit the iron and instead find the optimal location for the heaviest of the three weights that frees up the iron as well as the user to work together. In testing, the company put the new SMS in the hands of golfers against their 7-iron, hitting them against the user’s iron as well as swinging the SMS in each weight configuration. Each and every testing sample showed significant jumps not just from the persons own iron, but when the best fitting weight orientation was in play.
Overall, the testing showed improvement in every notable category (ball speed, carry, club speed, peak, descent, and yards from centerline) not just in the optimal position, but in all positions. What will jump out most from that data for most readers might just be the ball speed, with 3.3 MPH more speed found in the SMS Irons when dialed in versus 2.16 MPH without. A staggering 96% of testers saw speed increases, that is all but one tester.
Another part of the story here according to Edel is how quickly golfers could feel the difference when their “optimal” weight setting was found. This is right in line with what THP saw through the SMS wedges, with many remarks and feedback centering on how much easier the club was to square without feeling like it had to be forced than in a non-optimal setting.
For those wondering, the standard weighting in the irons will be two 2-gram titanium weights and one 8-gram tungsten loaded weight which is the key to the Swing Match System fitting. Additionally, the heavy weight will be able to be tuned in by exchanging for 4, 6, or 10-gram options to dial in swing weight as well. Standard swing weighting will be D2, with fitting options above allowing more possibilities for those who need it. Additionally, the SMS irons will play off a 45-degree pitching wedge, settling in nicely to what we see in this category of iron, if not a bit weaker lofted in some cases.
The SMS irons come in priced at $250 per club with 4-GW available. As stock, they will be paired with KBS Tour steel and Golf Pride Tour Velvet grips, however, there will be a handful of no upcharge shaft and grip choices as well as upcharge selections.
What do you think? Is Edel onto something? Do you want to know more? Be sure to keep and eye on THP as we will have ample feedback to come and jump into the conversations here as well as the community!
For more information, make sure to check out their website at www.edelgolf.com.
The Details
Retail Date: 7/21/22
Price: $250.00/club
Options: 4-PW, GW
Dexterity: RH
My question is when you get fit do you have the same weight configuration in all irons or do you get a different weight configuration for all irons?
If the latter, I might never be satisfied haha.
Apologize for the confusion, I was in a hurry typing that out and muddied the waters. I either need less coffee, or more coffee.
well….This may mark the end of me beating you in our matches!
I can not wait to see how they perform for you!
Bourbon.
This will be interesting to experiment with. I am looking forward to getting dialed in with this
100% agree with this statement. Has much more true forged feel and sound compared to the forge tecs and 790s I have hit
I hit the SMS next to my old King Forged Tec and also JB’s new set of Forged Tec. The SMS feel great and at least on par with the current Forged Tec and better than my KFT.
Going to be fun to experiment with. I’m thinking mine could be a mix of heel and mid. The thing that intrigues me is the ability to purchase additional weights. A person could then adjust swing weight progressively throughout the set if a person likes that setup.
As if I wasn’t excited before. Nothing feels and sounds quite as good as a flushed forged iron shot
That was the first thing I noticed, they have that soft but dense feel that is so much smoother than the clicky feel of my current gamers.
Where did you have the weight?
That said, is anyone worried at all about the amount of ready-made tweaking creating the potential of over analysis? That’s my one concern at the jump, is can I leave well enough alone once I get dialed in/fit for them.
I’m sure we will all struggle with this. I know I"ve already moved the weights in my wedges at least twice.
Worried or HERE FOR ALL OF IT
Definitely a comfortable size – they were about right in my Goldilocks zone, small enough to force my focus and make me try to put a good swing on the ball, but not ultra-thin topline razors like some "players" irons I foolishly window shop. After spending some time working with the wedges I am sort of under the impression that once I find my comfort zone with the irons the weight placement probably won’t have to change unless I am continuing to change my swing (but at least I then have the option).
Can’t wait to here how folks experience them. The approach is really appealing.
Custom Irons, Wedges, and Putters by Edel Golf
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It’s a worthy ponder for sure.
Maybe @Koske will chime in on this. He told me in a message recently that club champion should have demo heads by July 21st I believe.
Love this thinking!
Huge steps in iron tech are interesting either way to me!
I chuckled over the thought of you building up a six gram weight out of tape just behind one part of your club
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Oh if memory serves me well our captain might have already experimented with this. Not sure if that was discussed at event or on one of the two video conferences. Might have been at dinner the first evening.
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Really looking forward to hearing a lot more about them!
Wrong thread ???
– demos/fitting systems should be shipping out to our partners around July 11. It’ll be enough doors that we can ship all in one day, but should have nice coverage across the US. Ask your local fitter if they’re going to carry.
– JB did mess around putting lead tape/weight out on the toe of his irons. It’s funny, I spoke to two friends this morning who are so happy about these coming. So many irons have been adding weight toeward and it’s left them lead taking the heel of their clubs. No longer.
– shaft offerings from us are fluid. The steel shaft market has been crushed by supply chain issues. Doing our best to provide as much as possible.
– Different weight packs and a la carte weight options will be available. A set of irons has 24 weights and with 2,4,6,8,10 gram options ore packs are near impossible.
– The team at Edel was so excited today about the launch. Our lead engineer(Preston) and I were talking earlier today and he said, “Have you seen the THP comments? So cool!” Preston is the former #1 player at Colorado School of Mines. It’s one of the best engineering schools in the nation. This is his first product launch as a full time employee with us. It makes me so happy seeing his excitement along with the rest of the team. Thank you all for that.
Including up north of the border @Koske? There are some minds being blown by the people I’ve sent this to today.
This should be a quick fix I’d think.
Spent a good portion of the day talking adjustability with friends. It always costs a little more, but saves in the end if things need to be adjusted for optimal results at any given time. Personally, I think weight where you need it for your swing, strike, and face alignment is criminally underrated in fits to begin with. And the ability to change it isn’t something you normally get in irons. Feels like a no brainer to me to give these a go, and I know a bunch of people that are excited for them to show up locally now. Fun day. I’m excited for people.
Please just tell me we can get those sweet MMT’s you had in yours! Those were amazing.
Great product thanks for letting us be a part of this release. Looking forward to the ordering process and to see what shaft options will be added. Will be contacting my nearest Club Champion to put me down for first available appointment to swing these again. Hope we can help get the word out on Edel