Bridgestone J40 Wedges

Tmex · Jun 26, 2012

Wake said:
Like Mward said 54/60 would work. I have 52/56, and have been quite pleased. The 56 opens up very well. I have a 60 sitting in the closet at home, just haven't felt the need to put it in the bag.

Same set up as me Wake (52 and 56) but I had the 52 bent 1 degree strong. For full shots but I rarely take because I shank more full wedge shots than make them lol. Do these feel so soft yet sound so solid at impact??

Wake · Jun 26, 2012

Yoccos said:
Same set up as me Wake (52 and 56) but I had the 52 bent 1 degree strong. For full shots but I rarely take because I shank more full wedge shots than make them lol. Do these feel so soft yet sound so solid at impact??

I was going to do the same thing, and still may here shortly. I just haven't felt the need. When I lost confidence in my old wedges I got pretty good with my PW from 100 out. I am really confident right now with my 56 from 100 in, so my 52 has only been used once or twice a round, its weird because in the past my 50 and 52 were used the most.

You are dead on with the feel, its unreal how good it is. Everytime you hit the ball you just know it is going to fly with the perfect trajectory then land soft without looking at the ball. When I do miss I am absolutely flabbergasted because it felt so good.

FrankA · Jun 26, 2012

Where are the MC'er Gap Wedges?

#Cookie · Jun 26, 2012

ddec said:
I need to hear more about these wedges! Cookie talk to me

Alright man, you got it.

Looks: confidence inspiring. This really has to do with how large the face is, and to me it seems really large since I am coming from the SCOR's. As everyone knows I really liked the turf interaction and how easy the SCOR's were to hit but as of late the smaller profile started to mess with me a little bit as I was focused on thinking I had to hit the middle of the club face just right. Well, with the J40's and the larger profile I don't have that same concern. As you can see from the pic I posted on Sunday, these wedges just frame the ball extremely well whether it is a long swing or a chip shot around the green.

Performance:

Full shots: going into this, I thought I would see the following for full shots - 50* @ 110, 54* @ 100, 58* @ 90. What I have actually seen from 90 or 100 yards is that when I place that full swing on the ball to get those distances I see a very high ball flight with the Spinners. The higher ball flight has caused me to not get that distance that I thought I would. Thus far, I have found better results if from say 80 yards I just use a 3/4 54*. That helps me keep the ball flight down and offers more of a controlled shot that still offers plenty of hop & stop. The turf interaction has been effortless and that was one of the reasons I sought out the SCOR's last year. I consistently had problems coming in steep and digging as Wake eluded to yesterday but these have handled both hardpan lies and fluffy lies without a problem. I still need to work on controlling my distances better on those 3/4 swings though - I have hit a few superb shots and hit a few where I am still 30 feet from the flag so not all roses just yet.

Shorter shots: I tend to use the 54* around the greens quite a bit and have seen some solid results. On those little chips you can definitely see the ball land and the spin then kick in as it goes to check up. Obviously, just how much and how it rolls is dependent on the green itself so I tend to see more rollout on greens here in TX than I would elsewhere. I am anxious to get the 50* in the bag as I have found myself not wanting to use as much loft as the 54* has so I have been using the J40 9i & PW around the greens when I have a situation where a little bump and run can be executed. I have had only one shot out of the bunker and that was with the 58* in a hard dry bunker, picked it clean and set it to 3 feet from about 12 yards.

Overall, I am very pleased with how these perform. Only issue I have really run into is that full swing shot getting a little too high for my liking but that may be something I can get resolved by just ball placement in the stance and moving it back just a hair to impart a lower trajectory and perhaps get a little more spin by just that more aggressive move into the ball rather than just sliding under it so to speak and throwing it straight up.

Hope my rambling makes some sense!!

Tmex · Jun 26, 2012

Love it Cookie. You always put up some great detail and thoughts. if I could not shank full swing wedge shots I might try them more haha.

Tadashi70 · Jun 26, 2012

ddec said:
How do you guys like it out of the sand and which club do you use for that shot most of the time?

My level of confidence thaws wedges is at an all time high. I don't care were the ball ends up, I know I use my 56* to produce the shot needed.

Hawk · Jun 26, 2012

Yoccos said:
Love it Cookie. You always put up some great detail and thoughts. if I could not shank full swing wedge shots I might try them more haha.

lol at this. We are shankbrothers.

ddec · Jun 28, 2012

Along with my irons and gloves yesterday I also received 2 J40 Wedges. I chose to go with the Black Oxide wedges because I thought they flat out looked awesome. Seeing a picture a few months ago of Tadashi's wedges with the wear and tear on them made me want these over the Chrome model. My wedges came with the Lamkin Crossline grip that is on all my clubs and the KBS Tour shaft. Here are just a few pictures. I love the sticker that comes on the shaft. This look is preferred by tour professionals. Well this is the tour professional treatment, so it's fitting that these wedges will be in my bag for Morgan Cup 2.0

#Cookie · Jun 28, 2012

Beautiful Dean!! I did not get the sticker though. ha

ddec · Jun 28, 2012

mcook77 said:
Beautiful Dean!! I did not get the sticker though. ha

You know I've been dying to get these in the bag. They will be out on the course or range tonight. I'm really excited to put them to the test. This will be the first time I have ever gone with a 54 and 58 set up. I used a 54 scor wedge for a little while, but not enough to really get a feel for it in terms of full shot making ability.

War Eagle · Jun 28, 2012

Dean, why the KBS shaft over the Spinners?

ddec · Jun 28, 2012

War Eagle said:
Dean, why the KBS shaft over the Spinners?

I was torn. I have Spinners in my current wedges and rather like them. But I decided to go the route of keeping everything similar in terms of weight and feel throughout my set. I do like to take full swings with my wedges, so I thought going with the same shaft would benefit me more. I did talk to Freddie about this before since he's played this combo and he raved about them. I'm pretty excited to see if I made the right call or not. Time will tell.

War Eagle · Jun 28, 2012

ddec said:
I was torn. I have Spinners in my current wedges and rather like them. But I decided to go the route of keeping everything similar in terms of weight and feel throughout my set. I do like to take full swings with my wedges, so I thought going with the same shaft would benefit me more. I did talk to Freddie about this before since he's played this combo and he raved about them. I'm pretty excited to see if I made the right call or not. Time will tell.

Got it. Having just played the J40 wedges with the KBS shafts in them this past weekend, I have to say I really liked them, and the weight moving from my irons to the wedges staying consistent was nice. I think they will serve you well.

ddec · Jun 28, 2012

War Eagle said:
Got it. Having just played the J40 wedges with the KBS shafts in them this past weekend, I have to say I really liked them, and the weight moving from my irons to the wedges staying consistent was nice. I think they will serve you well.

I was told the KBS would fly higher and land softer. I mean that all sounds great to me.

Tadashi70 · Jun 28, 2012

Those are some beautiful wedges you got there Dean. Have fun pole hunting

ddec · Jun 28, 2012

Tadashi70 said:
Those are some beautiful wedges you got there Dean. Have fun pole hunting

thanks buddy, and thanks for your assistance throughout

Hawk · Jun 28, 2012

Nice bag, pole hunter!

ddec · Jun 28, 2012

Hawk said:
Nice bag, pole hunter!

that just sounds funny

Howzat · Jun 28, 2012

I spent quite a but of time with these today in the practice area and the results were mixed. I am glad a have a few weeks before the Morgan Cup as it is amazing to me how different they are to my previous wedges.

Looks: I am a big fan of the subtle Bridgestone "B" and the very clean lines of this wedge. They just seem like well crafted tools that are ready to go to work. The black oxide is better looking in person and really frames the ball nicely. Looks are very personal but I am a big fan of the entire J40 line.

Feel: There are a couple of areas where these are much different than my previous set and the biggest thing I am noticing right now is the head weight of the club. It feels quite a but heavier and while not a bad thing it is something I need to get used to. I seem to be punished more if I catch it a bit thin or heavy but I hope that spending more time with the wedges and getting used to being able to feel the head through the swing will be a good thing.

Shaft: I have missed the DG spinner shafts and I am very happy to have them back. In my opinion they flat out work. The ball lands and stops or has minimal roll out for me. I usually expect to see at least a foot or two of roll out and now I can go pin hunting again. I am thrilled Bridgetone offers this as a stock shaft as I think it automatically helps push the wedge to the front of it's class and also makes them a great value compared to some of the other wedges out there.

Sole design / turf interaction: The variable bounce technology of the sole is great but again something I am going to need to re-learn how to use. I have always had to hold my previous wedges very open in order to get the desired result and I need to remember that I do not need to do that with the J40's. If I forget and open up this wedge the trajectory changes dramatically for me and I leave it well short of my target. It is nice to know that shot is there when required but I will get used the new distances and the fact that this sole design will let me get creative in my shot making as it seems to be more versitile.

Sand shots: This is where the wedges shined for me today. I hit several shots from the bunker and will usually get out and on 80% of the time and get up and down maybe 10% of the time or less. I hit roughly 20 shots today in the practice area and I was on the green everytime and would guess I would have got up and down about 20% of the time. I hope this translates to the course and is something I will keep an eye on for sure.

Full shots: I am seeing about a 15 yard gap between the 54* and 58* on the range and although I don't expect to use these wedges very often for full shots I was happy with the dispursion I was seeing.

Wicked Cool Bearded Man · Jun 28, 2012

Howzat said:
I spent quite a but of time with these today in the practice area and the results were mixed. I am glad a have a few weeks before the Morgan Cup as it is amazing to me how different they are to my previous wedges.

Looks: I am a big fan of the subtle Bridgestone "B" and the very clean lines of this wedge. They just seem like well crafted tools that are ready to go to work. The black oxide is better looking in person and really frames the ball nicely. Looks are very personal but I am a big fan of the entire J40 line.

Feel: There are a couple of areas where these are much different than my previous set and the biggest thing I am noticing right now is the head weight of the club. It feels quite a but heavier and while not a bad thing it is something I need to get used to. I seem to be punished more if I catch it a bit thin or heavy but I hope that spending more time with the wedges and getting used to being able to feel the head through the swing will be a good thing.

Shaft: I have missed the DG spinner shafts and I am very happy to have them back. In my opinion they flat out work. The ball lands and stops or has minimal roll out for me. I usually expect to see at least a foot or two of roll out and now I can go pin hunting again. I am thrilled Bridgetone offers this as a stock shaft as I think it automatically helps push the wedge to the front of it's class and also makes them a great value compared to some of the other wedges out there.

Sole design / turf interaction: The variable bounce technology of the sole is great but again something I am going to need to re-learn how to use. I have always had to hold my previous wedges very open in order to get the desired result and I need to remember that I do not need to do that with the J40's. If I forget and open up this wedge the trajectory changes dramatically for me and I leave it well short of my target. It is nice to know that shot is there when required but I will get used the new distances and the fact that this sole design will let me get creative in my shot making as it seems to be more versitile.

Sand shots: This is where the wedges shined for me today. I hit several shots from the bunker and will usually get out and on 80% of the time and get up and down maybe 10% of the time or less. I hit roughly 20 shots today in the practice area and I was on the green everytime and would guess I would have got up and down about 20% of the time. I hope this translates to the course and is something I will keep an eye on for sure.

Full shots: I am seeing about a 15 yard gap between the 54* and 58* on the range and although I don't expect to use these wedges very often for full shots I was happy with the dispursion I was seeing.

Nice review dude. I love love love the black oxide look. Wedges just get so beat up, they might as well look cool when they do.

ddec · Jun 28, 2012

Had my first experience with these on the course today. While I will have more of a write up on these after the next few days I thought I'd throw some initial thoughts here.

54 degree: today I found this to be the perfect 100 yard club. My first approach of the day was from 114, normally a 50 but since that isn't in the bag yet i decided to hit this. It came up about 20 feet short of the pin. The ball flight with the KBS was high, but not a moonball. When I dropped some balls around the green and hit some chips I found it relatively easy to open the face and hit solid chips.

It pained me to hit some practice shots out of the bunker. I didn't want to dirty the wedge haha, but it had to be done. I hit 2 different types of shots where I would open the face, and the other without opening the face. When I opened the face I was able to escape the bunker with no problem. The ball would hit and have some check to it.

58: didn't get too much play tonight. Used it twice, once on a green side pitch and the other on a 20 yard shot that I just attempted for fun. Both worked out well. One was from a pretty bare lie, but the club was able to get under the ball and pop it towards the target. I did not hit this out of the sand tonight, but will be playing the next 2 days so will try it then.

The KBS shaft seems like a good fit so far. The ball flies high and hits pretty softly. On full swings it feels just like an extension of my irons. I think I'm really going to like that.

Howzat · Jun 28, 2012

ghsace said:
Nice review dude. I love love love the black oxide look. Wedges just get so beat up, they might as well look cool when they do.

Thanks. I only went with the black oxide at the last minute. I am not usually a fan of wedges that rust and I don't hit the center everytime but for some reason I kept going to the website and clicking on the black oxide version first.

Wicked Cool Bearded Man · Jun 28, 2012

Howzat said:
Thanks. I only went with the black oxide at the last minute. I am not usually a fan of wedges that rust and I don't hit the center everytime but for some reason I kept going to the website and clicking on the black oxide version first.

Thats the thing though. Wedges just get the crap kicked out of them. No matter what you do they just take a beating. That being said, the more beat up they look, the cooler they start to look IMO. I am however just coming to this realization hahaha.

Jjmorris · Jun 28, 2012

Enjoy catching up with this thread. I say it every time, but the J40 lineup is such a beatuiful setup. Glad to hear the performance is there too.

Wicked Cool Bearded Man · Jun 28, 2012

ddec said:
Had my first experience with these on the course today. While I will have more of a write up on these after the next few days I thought I'd throw some initial thoughts here.

54 degree: today I found this to be the perfect 100 yard club. My first approach of the day was from 114, normally a 50 but since that isn't in the bag yet i decided to hit this. It came up about 20 feet short of the pin. The ball flight with the KBS was high, but not a moonball. When I dropped some balls around the green and hit some chips I found it relatively easy to open the face and hit solid chips.

It pained me to hit some practice shots out of the bunker. I didn't want to dirty the wedge haha, but it had to be done. I hit 2 different types of shots where I would open the face, and the other without opening the face. When I opened the face I was able to escape the bunker with no problem. The ball would hit and have some check to it.

58: didn't get too much play tonight. Used it twice, once on a green side pitch and the other on a 20 yard shot that I just attempted for fun. Both worked out well. One was from a pretty bare lie, but the club was able to get under the ball and pop it towards the target. I did not hit this out of the sand tonight, but will be playing the next 2 days so will try it then.

The KBS shaft seems like a good fit so far. The ball flies high and hits pretty softly. On full swings it feels just like an extension of my irons. I think I'm really going to like that.