Selecting wedges, brand and type—any help is appreciated!

MickeyB105

New member
Joined
Aug 31, 2011
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Location
Vero Beach, FL
Handicap
23
Hey guys, I just ordered a set of Ping Eye 2's off eBay, and they didn't come with a pitching wedge. As you guys know, the market is flooded with quality options and I'm looking for your opinions.

Hawk's input on the Cleveland CG16 wedges was very helpful in the CG 16 thread, and I was wondering how much of a difference there was between the 50 and 52 degree CG 16 if I were to just use that as a pitching wedge?

This comes to the second part of my question. I bought a demoed Ping Tour-W 56 degree for cheap last week, and it felt like a great club my first time using it at the range. Would I be smart just to stick with the Tour-W and get a 50 or 52for continuity's sake, or are the CG 16's such a quantum leap that I shouldn't even consider buying anything else but?

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
If your Eye 2's stop at 9 iron which will probably be 45 degree's, you'll have a big gap if your next wedge is a 52, you should maybe consider getting a 48 deg wedge
 
I personally really like my Cleveland wedges. I have had various Cleveland wedges over the years, and for some reason every time I go in to look at a new one, or a replacement, or just to browse, I always end up at the Clevelands.

I did hit a TaylorMade the last round I was out, one of the guys I was golfing with just bought a used set of TM's and I hit the 54* he had in his bag, and it was real nice.

I think you need to try a few out to see what feels best for you, as everyone will give you their favorites, and what they hit. Good Luck in your search, let us know what you end up with!
 
I say to first start with the brand you like the best for whatever reason and go from there. Most all OEM's offer something for everyone. We all have our own personal preference for certain brands.

From there you have to ask yourself what kind of shots you plan to hit with each wedge most of the time and what your turf conditions are most of the time. If you are using them from the bunker, what are the normal conditions. If you are using them from the rough most of the time or from a tight lie most of the time, you may need to consider the different bounces offered with many lines.

I have no use for the new grooves right now, so I'm sticking with the old grooves but this is just personal preference. Lots of questions need to be answered when selecting wedges. There are tons of choices out there.
 
If your Eye 2's stop at 9 iron which will probably be 45 degree's, you'll have a big gap if your next wedge is a 52, you should maybe consider getting a 48 deg wedge

There should be a pitching wedge (48.5 degree) in that set makeup. They may be hard to find, but I'm sure they made them in the day.
 
If your Eye 2's stop at 9 iron which will probably be 45 degree's, you'll have a big gap if your next wedge is a 52, you should maybe consider getting a 48 deg wedge

The original Eye 2 setup does list the 9 iron as 45, and the W as 50.7*. Would you recommend the 48 over the 50, if we've eliminated the 52 as an option?
 
I personally really like my Cleveland wedges. I have had various Cleveland wedges over the years, and for some reason every time I go in to look at a new one, or a replacement, or just to browse, I always end up at the Clevelands.

I did hit a TaylorMade the last round I was out, one of the guys I was golfing with just bought a used set of TM's and I hit the 54* he had in his bag, and it was real nice.

I think you need to try a few out to see what feels best for you, as everyone will give you their favorites, and what they hit. Good Luck in your search, let us know what you end up with!

Thanks for the input!

You are right, everyone will have their favorites. There are a lot of people who really like the Vokey wedges, but every time I pick up either a Cleveland or Ping wedge it just feels great to me. Similar to when I played baseball and the Eastons always felt better than the TPX's.
 
If you look at most of the Scoring clubs, I believe they are around 4 degrees from one to another. My suggestion would be to find a PW or start from the angle of the 9 iron leaves off and work from there.

I had a DI-9 PW,48.5,and SW, then I purchased the 52,56,60..... I had way to many options when I was within 120 yards..... I have since only carried the PW,52,56,60 and was the best move I've made in my short game.
 
The original Eye 2 setup does list the 9 iron as 45, and the W as 50.7*. Would you recommend the 48 over the 50, if we've eliminated the 52 as an option?

Depends on how many wedges you want, personally my wedges are as follows.

48 - PW came with Irons

52 - Gap wedge, Vokey SM

46 - Sand Wedge, Vokey SM

60 - Lob Wedge, Vokey SW

You may want to consider if you go for the 50 add a 54 as a sand iron then maybe as a 58 lob wedge, ultimately it's your call.
 
If you look at most of the Scoring clubs, I believe they are around 4 degrees from one to another. My suggestion would be to find a PW or start from the angle of the 9 iron leaves off and work from there.

I had a DI-9 PW,48.5,and SW, then I purchased the 52,56,60..... I had way to many options when I was within 120 yards..... I have since only carried the PW,52,56,60 and was the best move I've made in my short game.

This sounds like great advice.

I'll probably add a used ping eye 2 PW, keep the Ping Tour-W 56*, and either add a 60* CG 16 or a Ping Tour-W 60*. The only thing with the 60* Tour-W's on ebay is that I haven't seen any above an 8 bounce. Either way, it sounds like the degrees between the clubs will be good.

I've played for over a decade (although I haven't played too much) with only one wedge in my bag. It will be exciting to have more choices in my bag going forward.
 
This sounds like great advice.

I've played for over a decade (although I haven't played too much) with only one wedge in my bag. It will be exciting to have more choices in my bag going forward.

Thanks Mickey for the kind words, I had to learn that process the hard way. I had way too many options in my bag. It took one weekend playing with my cousin (He played on the Nationwide Tour) to tell me this news. We removed 3 clubs and he gave me the sound advice of how to use the 52,56,60 to do anything from 115 yards in.

It will take some getting use to (Hitting different types of shots) don't get me wrong, but eventually you'll know your boundaries and start flopping,chipping and blasting with the choices you make. Good luck on your search.
 
That's sounds like some good advice! I've been playing with only a PW, and was planning on getting a 56*. I was playing with a guy today that had a 52* and a 58* which opened my eyes to using more that one wedge. Ill have to check the loft of my PW and go from there from the sounds of it. I saw the thread on the Cleveland 588s and am thinking to get some of them with some customization! Again, good tip, can't wait to see what other opinions are..
 
Cleveland CG15's are the best wedges Ive ever hit...nothing seems as good once you've played one...not even the 14's or 16's
 
If I were you, I would get a 50º, becase a 52º would leave a sizable loft gap from the 45º 9i. I have tested the Cleveland CG16s, and they weren't quite for me. But if you are looking for non-conforming grooves, I would recommend either the Spin-Milled Vokeys or the CG15s, which I find to be a little bit better than the 16s. If you are looking at C-C grooves, I would say Mizuno MP T-11s hands down. Great feel, some of the best spin for C-Cs, and amazing shaft.
 
Cleveland CG15's are the best wedges Ive ever hit...nothing seems as good once you've played one...not even the 14's or 16's

Really? Love my CG14 but the two CG15's need to go.

Tap,Tap,Tap
 
It's certainly easy to have a wedge bent 1- 1.5 degrees without screwing too much with the bounce. Golfsmith will do it for $5. I was pretty obsessed with getting perfect gaps between my scoring clubs and I've had two of my wedge lofts tweaked... been very happy with the results.
 
Consider the TaylorMade Xft wedges. I played Vokeys for years. Was a Vokey snob, actually. I really thought the TM wedges were kind of clunky looking and gimmicky. Talk about being close minded and short sighted. When I received mine for playing in The Morgan Cup, my scores improved measureably. They are less, for lack of a better term, "bladelike" than Vokeys, which I had convinced myself I needed. I find these slide through the grass easier, I don't dig quite as much with them when I go after a shot, and they make the ball dance around the greens.

I play a 52-09* bent to 51*, a 56-12*, and a 58-09*. I don't worry that much about gaps, but more if the wedges I carry allow me to hit the wide variety of shots I want to hit. The KBS Hi-rev shafts feel right to me, too.

I like these clubs a lot, and my game is all about wedges. If I don't have my wedge game going, I don't score. Simple as that.

Kevin
 
I like these clubs a lot, and my game is all about wedges. If I don't have my wedge game going, I don't score. Simple as that.

Kevin

Kevin, I think you are spot on here and that should be the thing for all us amatuers to think on, get good with your wedges and your putter and see the handicap drop.
 
Kevin, I think you are spot on here and that should be the thing for all us amatuers to think on, get good with your wedges and your putter and see the handicap drop.

You are absolutely correct.... Sometimes I wonder what people are saying when I'm on the range... Because I start off with my 60* hitting around 15 balls, then I move to my PW hit around 20 or so balls, then my 7 iron 20 or so, back up to my 5 iron and hit around 15 or so and then Move to my Hybrid and hit around 10 , and finally end up with my Driver hitting around 5 balls!

Most of the time on the range I see people start off with the driver and start trying to bomb away some drives! And by the time they feel comfortable with the driver they only have around 20-30 balls left to hit.

Someone once told me really sit back and analyze how many times you actually use the driver throughout the day compared to how many times you are using the scoring irons!!! There's your sign.
 
Good points by all. I have played various brands, currently playing Mizuno. I have had Clevelend and was pleased with those as well. Funny enough, heard a lot of great things about the Volkeys, had one but could not get it to check, let alone spin. I loved the look and feel of the club, but could not get it to perform.
I am certainly not saying the Vokey is a bad wedge, instead making a point that you need to break it down to your comfort from a visual standpoint and go from there. Some clubs work better for different people.

I too spend most of my time warming up with a wedge, but I do start with a 7 iron to get loose.
 
+1 to everything that's been said so far. I've been seriously considering picking up a set of the Adams Watson wedges to use/dial in my wedge game and then step up to the new cleveland 588's for next season.

My x22's came with an AW and a SW when I bought the set, but lately I've been feeling wanting. They are great for full shots but I've sometimes found them lacking when I want to do some other things with the ball. I think the large part of that is because they are designed and constructed just like the rest of the irons in the set.
 
You are absolutely correct.... Sometimes I wonder what people are saying when I'm on the range... Because I start off with my 60* hitting around 15 balls, then I move to my PW hit around 20 or so balls, then my 7 iron 20 or so, back up to my 5 iron and hit around 15 or so and then Move to my Hybrid and hit around 10 , and finally end up with my Driver hitting around 5 balls!

Most of the time on the range I see people start off with the driver and start trying to bomb away some drives! And by the time they feel comfortable with the driver they only have around 20-30 balls left to hit.

Someone once told me really sit back and analyze how many times you actually use the driver throughout the day compared to how many times you are using the scoring irons!!! There's your sign.

Went to the range today to hit my Tour-W 56* to get a better feel for it, and see if I wanted to get a 50* and 60* version of the club. I worked my way up the ladder from 56*/12* to the driver I just got (clearance?) at Sports Authority, a 9.5* Nike SQ Machspeed Str8 driver. It was my second time to the range with each since buying them.

It was tough to tell that much with the wedge because the ground was so wet and the lie was so thin, but I suspect I'll be happy completing the set of Tour-W's.

Anyway, by the time I got around to hitting the driver, I was really in a good place with my swing and I crushed the first four or five pretty long and straight(ish). Of course, I fell in love with the distance, and I started spraying it everywhere the next five balls.

I learned my lesson and went back down to low irons, and worked my way back up. I know I'm probably in need of a lesson (it has been over 20 years since my last), but I also know that you are so right about how important it is to practice the short game.
 
Personally I'm a big fan of the Cleveland stuff... I've gone through a few and my current setup is: 56 (SW), 60 (LW), because with my Mizuno's I received a PW and a AW or GW however you wanna look at it... I also just purchased a 64* Callaway Jaws and I hope it arrives today so I can game it tomorrow. But we'll see. I went with the Callaway mostly because I wanted the jaws and a 64* wedge and that was the best price in the 64 of brands I was looking at. Now I just need to reshaft all of them with the some spinners!
 
I think a set of 3 matching wedges is a good idea. Whether they are the Adams/Watson @ $29/each, or a set of new CG15's @$110/each, three matching wedges are nice to have.

I first bought my Nike SV Tour 60* and 56* wedges, and once I realized how much I liked them, especially compared to the cavity back AW that came with my iron set, I had to search out the 52* to match. I carry the Nike SV Tour 52*/56*/60* wedges, as well as the stock cavity back PW (which I don't pull out of the bag too often, unless there is a 90 yard shot I need to make).
 
Back
Top