Free Advice On Choosing A Top-Quality Wedge Club
The wedge is the most important club in your bag. It will create more birdies than any other club. You use the wedge to hit the ball close to the hole on par fives and short part fours. Your wedge will get you out of trouble when you miss greens. It is even more important than your driver or putter.
Here are some things you should look out for when choosing a high-quality wedge:
- The loft
- The grooves
- The bounce
- The leading edge
- The name
- The look
- The grip
Wedges have between 49 and 64 degrees of loft. If you have too much loft the ball will go in the air and won't go anywhere. Too little loft will make it difficult to extract the ball out of bunkers. Most golfers have three or four wedges in their bag depending on the course.
The sharper and deeper the grooves, the more spin you will impart on the ball. Amateur players do not impart as much backspin as pro players, so having sharp grooves is very important.
Take a look at the bulge at the bottom of the clubface. If the bottom of the club is too big, the wedge will bounce when you contact the ball and you will thin many shots.
If the leading edge is too sharp, you will dig the wedge into the ground and hit too many shots fat - meaning you will take too much turf from the fairway.
Realize that your wedge does not have to be the same brand as all of your other irons. There are companies that specialize in wedges, so you could have your 3-9 irons from one brand and the wedges from another.
Aesthetics is important. You want a club that you like the look of because you will be using this club so often. Many wedges have a rounded leading edge that make them pleasing to they eye.
If the grip is shiny, it will slip more and you will wear it down sooner. Chord grips are the best because the rough texture of the grip reduces slipping.
The way to make an intelligent choice when buying your wedge is to test. When you are testing wedges, hit all kinds of different shots: bunker shots, chip shots, pitch shots out of long rough and off the short grass on the fairways.