My Wedge Shaft Experiment

I've head a number of golfers say that wedge shafts are so short, the actual shaft choice doesn't really matter. I wanted to test that.

TLDR: It's totally subjective, but I think it does.


What I tested:
Club 1 - 54.10 S grind Vokey SM5, stock TT DG S200 shaft
Club 2 - 54.10 S grind Vokey SM5, UST Recoil Proto F4

The Data:(average of 15 balls with each club)
Club 1 - Club Speed 74 Attack Angle -3.0 Ball Speed 93 Vertical launch 24.1* Spin Rate 7864 Max Height 28(yds) Land Angle 48 Carry 107
Club 2 - Club Speed 73 Attack Angle -3.1 Ball Speed 95 Vertical launch 25.2* Spin Rate 8003 Max Height 30(yds) Land Angle 50 Carry 103

Now every swing is different so anyone trying to replicate this test will most likely get different numbers, so here are my thoughts on feel. Understand that feel is totally subjective.

The TT shaft is a TT DG shaft. It just has that feel to it that allows me to know where the club head is. The weight is spot on for a wedge and the feedback on hits/misses is quickly understood.

The Recoil Proto Wedge shaft was very close in feeling to the DG with one fairly big difference. The feel at impact was just butter. I could tell when I missed thin with a slightly muted feedback, but when my swing was on, OH MAMA. The one issue though was wider dispersion. This could have been due to inconsistent wind, or just the fact that these numbers were with the first 15 swings with this club.

I'm planning on continuing this test with some more controlled pitch and chip shots once I get back to the range. Those shots rely entirely on feel in my opinion, and I'll report back my findings on what I'm feeling/finding.

Very interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing.

Cool test. What were using to collect data? Trackman? I wouldn't mind trying this out as well.

Yes. I had the use of a Trackman for the hour.

Very good stuff man! I’m a big fan of the Recoil Wedge Protos myself, totally agree with you on the buttery smooth feel and the feedback you get from them. Hope you get them dialed in because I’ve had mine for the last 15-ish months and it’s really polished up my wedge game. I believe it’s partially due to the heightened feedback so I’m able to make quick adjustments.


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Just out of curiosity, what's your reason for the experiment? Is there something specific you're looking for in your wedges (i.e. higher flight, better feel, more spin)? Never had anything but stock shafts and box-set clubs until I went to Penn State and had access to discounts from most major manufacturers and the chance to order clubs that I wanted without my dad influencing the process because of price (lol). I went with the KBS Hi-Rev and my current sand wedge has the 2.0 version. Absolutely amazing shafts imo, don't know if I'll ever be lead away from them.

chadjordan7 said:

Just out of curiosity, what's your reason for the experiment? Is there something specific you're looking for in your wedges (i.e. higher flight, better feel, more spin)?

Click to expand...

Short answer - Because I could

Longer answer - I’ve heard so much positive talk around the Recoil Iron shafts that I wanted to get an idea for how they felt without paying for a full iron fitting. I picked up the shaft on Fleabay for $25 shipped and had a friend swap shafts in my spare 54 wedge.

I think a wedge shaft matters - I like it smooth and not too heavy and designed to give me adequate spin - usually I'll install Nippon Pro Modus 3 Wedge 115 and call it a day. Playing Ping AWT 2.0 and they work similarly. Give me smooth, give me spin, give me not too heavy - and it's fun.