We've launched the new forums! Read more here

Cleveland Smart Sole Wedges

SuperStroke
I took my C-wedge out to the course for the first time over the weekend. Results were mixed, though I can see the potential of the club. Chipping is by far the weakest part of my game, so if I could find a club that would help me get up n' down more often I'd be ecstatic. The C may be that club, but I'm not sure. I quickly learned that it is possible to skull and fluff shots with the club; not exactly the kind of discovery I was hoping for. However, for the most part I'd say my contact with the C was more consistent than with other clubs I've used. Unfortunately, given how poorly I chip that is not saying very much.

One thing I will need to adjust to is the run-out of the ball. I usually chip with a SW, and had a hard time judging the how far the ball was going to roll after hitting on the green. Several times the ball just zoomed instead of putting its brakes on. I do think with more practice this club could turn into an effective tool. As for now, let's say I'm cautiously optimistic.
 
So I need some advice on the sand. I was playing by myself on Saturday, and there was a foursome in front of me and nobody behind me. So I decide to drop balls in the bunker and practice while letting the group ahead get further on. I rarely find myself in bunkers on the course, and there is no practice bunker anywhere near me. When I first got eh S wedge last fall, I had two sand shots and got out easy. That was the last time I tried it from the sand. This time the sand was soft. I was terrible. I was taking boatloads of sand on my swings, but the ball was going very short. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. I was focusing on not decelerating my swing. Was I going in too steep perhaps? I had the ball in the middle of my stance like I remembered doing in the fall, but the results were completely different.

Any tips would be appreciated. I clearly have work to do, and it's me not the club that is at fault here.
 
Miller Time said:
I had a chance to try Ole Gray's out on the practice green this weekend. It had me thinking ATV on steroids. If you're someone who struggles to get up and down out of the sand, I'd give this a serious look.
Click to expand...

You chipped very well with it on the practice green however you hit every club on the planet very well last weekend!!! :D


I've come to the conclusion that the "S" wedge works really good for me especially out of the sand. I hit some pretty cool sand shots with this club in the King. Now the "C" wedge is good however I'm still having issues with distance control with my chip shots with this club. It's a good little club but is too short for me as I forgot to have extra length added when I put a new midsize grip on it. If anybody is interested, I will sell this for $65.00 bucks which includes shipping. :thumb: Send me a pm before I put it in the market place if ya interested.
 
Had a look at these in the pro shop today while I was hitting some demo clubs (and getting very tempted by the Mizuno Ez irons, but that's another story).

Full disclosure, I currently have all four niblicks in my bag, so I'm not really a stranger to this sort of club. The S wedge really interests me. Out of the four niblicks, the 56° is the one I like the least and I could see the S wedge kicking it out. I basically want a club just for sand (an easy out without getting cute), rough and lobbing over stuff when necessary.

I think I will borrow this when I play 9 tomorrow afternoon and we'll see how it goes. If I do, I'll report back here and share with you guys.
 
rbarthle17 said:
So I need some advice on the sand. I was playing by myself on Saturday, and there was a foursome in front of me and nobody behind me. So I decide to drop balls in the bunker and practice while letting the group ahead get further on. I rarely find myself in bunkers on the course, and there is no practice bunker anywhere near me. When I first got eh S wedge last fall, I had two sand shots and got out easy. That was the last time I tried it from the sand. This time the sand was soft. I was terrible. I was taking boatloads of sand on my swings, but the ball was going very short. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. I was focusing on not decelerating my swing. Was I going in too steep perhaps? I had the ball in the middle of my stance like I remembered doing in the fall, but the results were completely different.

Any tips would be appreciated. I clearly have work to do, and it's me not the club that is at fault here.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you have it in the right spot in your stance, I have found you havn't got to take a lot of sand just a little behind the ball, I would describe the swing as a chip out of the bunker taking a little bit of sand.
 
Just bought a Cleveland Smart Sole S Wedge in the marketplace, looking forward to trying that bad boy out.
 
Ole Gray said:
You chipped very well with it on the practice green however you hit every club on the planet very well last weekend!!! :D


I've come to the conclusion that the "S" wedge works really good for me especially out of the sand. I hit some pretty cool sand shots with this club in the King. Now the "C" wedge is good however I'm still having issues with distance control with my chip shots with this club. It's a good little club but is too short for me as I forgot to have extra length added when I put a new midsize grip on it. If anybody is interested, I will sell this for $65.00 bucks which includes shipping. :thumb: Send me a pm before I put it in the market place if ya interested.
Click to expand...


I will add the length for you if you want, I can blow the grip off with the air compressor and reinstall it. Let me know.
 
DawgDaddy said:
Just bought a Cleveland Smart Sole S Wedge in the marketplace, looking forward to trying that bad boy out.
Click to expand...

Well done! I had my hopes up for it, but no shipping to Canada unfortunately. Hopefully it works well for you!
 
DawgDaddy said:
Just bought a Cleveland Smart Sole S Wedge in the marketplace, looking forward to trying that bad boy out.
Click to expand...

I will be interested to see how you like it. The more I use mine, the more fond if it I become. That speaks well for it ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Ole Gray said:
I will be interested to see how you like it. The more I use mine, the more fond if it I become. That speaks well for it 
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I find the same thing OG. To think I bought this as an after thought. And now I really can't see a downside to playing it all the time, from around 90 and in.
 
Ole Gray said:
I will be interested to see how you like it. The more I use mine, the more fond if it I become. That speaks well for it ��


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

When I saw how well you did with it last Monday and this one came up in the Market Place for $65, it was a no brainer to at least give it a try. My sand play is always hot and cold, maybe this will make it hot and lukewarm from here on out.
 
I love both of those wedges--the C is amazing from 60 in. I am doing things that seemed impossible before I got my hands on it. Good stuff!
 
I'm struggling with the S from the sand right now. I hit two or three pitch shots perfectly with it last night from tight lies (which is where I think this club really works well for me), but my one bunker shot went over the green--my consistent miss.

I set up square, with a square face, ball is middle/front of my stance and I aim to hit the sand right behind the ball. What am I doing wrong?
 
The best advice I ever got from the bunker was from Kris Tamulis on the LPGA. Other than setup of course. She said to just keep my V and when I do that, I'm not prone to the thins.
 
Really bad day with the S. I played 36, shot a 104, then backed it up with a blazing 105. I haven't scored that badly since I can't remember when. I bladed way too many shots over, leaving me with unplayable lies, lost balls, you name it. I lost at least ten strokes due to horrible wedge play. Really making me question my resolve to stick with the S till I get the hang of it. Not the clubs fault though, it was my stupid left wrist again, not keeping it firm enough. That, and not having enough feel for how hard to hit shots yet. I knew I might get worse before I get better, but that's ridiculous. I started to go back to my default, but stuck with it anyway, just have to take my lumps I guess.

Between the gusty cold wind, lousy wedge play, and poor driving, I just couldn't turn things around. I was getting pretty confident with this club, but now I can see I need a lot more practice time with it. The weird part is I still hit it really well on a full shots, but really poorly on partial shots.
 
You guys that have the smart soles, have you compared them to the 588 RTX wedges? I can usually get out of the sand pretty good so I was thinking 588rtx's but if these could always be awesome I would defiantly be all over them.
 
coers said:
You guys that have the smart soles, have you compared them to the 588 RTX wedges? I can usually get out of the sand pretty good so I was thinking 588rtx's but if these could always be awesome I would defiantly be all over them.
Click to expand...

I've had 588 RTX before and have recently gone back to them. I love those wedges. I don't play the smart sole myself, but I did pick up an S for my father and spent a bit of time with it on the range. I had absolutely no issue hitting the smart sole for lots of types of shots. The swing weight is D6 on the RTX (at 54* and higher loft) just like the smart sole S. The S did feel to me like it had a bit more weight to it, but not in a bad way. It could purely have been mental. either way, it just felt like a simplified version of wedge play. put club face on ball, ball goes where you told it to.

one difference I noticed, at least with my swing, is that the smart sole seemed to do better for me when I swung through the back of the ball instead of the front of the ball. Those are super technical terms :D but what I mean is I guess the smart sole responded better to a sweeping motion. could just be my swing/ability but that's what I experienced.
 
O'Carroll said:
I'm struggling with the S from the sand right now. I hit two or three pitch shots perfectly with it last night from tight lies (which is where I think this club really works well for me), but my one bunker shot went over the green--my consistent miss.

I set up square, with a square face, ball is middle/front of my stance and I aim to hit the sand right behind the ball. What am I doing wrong?
Click to expand...

When I miss over the green it is because I got too much ball. Maybe experiment with the ball a little more forward. I try to be in a 3w ball position. Maybe that will help.
 
The C-Wedge saved at least 5 shots for my in my 2 weekend rounds - maybe more. Chipping has always been the weakest part of my game, but the C makes it easy. All you do is making a putting stroke consistent with your distance from the pin, and let it go. In yesterday's round alone I had four chips within gimme distance, which is a rare occurrence for me. I also used it on a 35 yard sand shot to the green. I used the same putting motion and picked it clean to about 20 feet. I missed the putt, but the point is this is shot I've always struggled with, and with the C it was easy. I don't have the S, but given how easy the C is to use, I'm tempted.
 
After a really up and down weekend in the sand, the SS is back on my ponder list big time. Probably going to be in my MC bag. Might be in my bag sooner.
 
i spent some more time with my father's S wedge this week at the range. I hit it side by side with my 588 RTX 58* to compare, since they are the same in so many ways. I found it worked well for almost every shot I tried to hit with it. I just couldn't make it produce a reliable high, short, soft, flop sort of shot. It might just not be designed to do that, or I might not know how to do it with this club. whatever the cause, I wasn't able to make it work. switch to the 588, no problems. back to the smart sole and about 1 of every 10 attempts would look reasonably close to what I was going for, with the rest being thin. I am not talking about a towering flop, but just a little one that would work well for getting over a steep greenside hill or bunker with a tucked-in pin. That's not a shot my dad needs yet, but it's one that I like having the option of playing.
 
baldguy said:
i spent some more time with my father's S wedge this week at the range. I hit it side by side with my 588 RTX 58* to compare, since they are the same in so many ways. I found it worked well for almost every shot I tried to hit with it. I just couldn't make it produce a reliable high, short, soft, flop sort of shot. It might just not be designed to do that, or I might not know how to do it with this club. whatever the cause, I wasn't able to make it work. switch to the 588, no problems. back to the smart sole and about 1 of every 10 attempts would look reasonably close to what I was going for, with the rest being thin. I am not talking about a towering flop, but just a little one that would work well for getting over a steep greenside hill or bunker with a tucked-in pin. That's not a shot my dad needs yet, but it's one that I like having the option of playing.
Click to expand...

I find that that's a shot while I like to be able to play, rarely is needed. At least for me anyways. I'll take consistency on other shots over the possibility of being able to play that one any day. Hence my ponder. If these are so easy, I'd be stupid not to game one.
 
Wicked Cool Bearded Man said:
After a really up and down weekend in the sand, the SS is back on my ponder list big time. Probably going to be in my MC bag. Might be in my bag sooner.
Click to expand...
Have you hit the S from the sand yet Tim? I actually hit it better from tight fairway lies and the rough than I do from the sand. I'm sure it's a swing fault of mine, but I'm frustrated that I can't figure it out. For my round tomorrow, I've actually put the S on the shelf.
 
I am still loving the S wedge....especially for shots 20 yards and in....I have gotten pretty good at flying it just short of the pin and having it check up pretty close.
 
Wicked Cool Bearded Man said:
I find that that's a shot while I like to be able to play, rarely is needed. At least for me anyways. I'll take consistency on other shots over the possibility of being able to play that one any day. Hence my ponder. If these are so easy, I'd be stupid not to game one.
Click to expand...

I will say that my father, who is as high of a handicapper as one can be, was hitting some pretty decent shots around the chipping green with his S. I have never seen him shoot under 120, but if he starts hitting that S as well on the course as he was on the range a couple days ago he may have a chance. So yes, it do believe that it makes some shots easier. for most other shots to me it felt the same, but I really don't have big consistency problems with short wedge shots. The one thing I've yet to try with it is sand shots, so I defer to others with that one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top