My 54* Wedge Adventure!

[demon]

Well I am back from Golfsmith and for one I dont think I will ever buy anything again from them. When I get there I immediatly went to the wedge section with my 7 year old. I pick through all of the wedges for 54*'s and wound up with about 10 of them. I took them to this guy that worked there and asked him to swing them all, he said all I needed was two, I said I wanted to try them out he said what do you want, I said one of those 54* wedges, he said only two were 54* wedges. I then took the wedges and asked the guy next to him if he would put some tape on them so I can try them out. The guy was kind of shocked by the way he was treating me and I really didnt care at that point.

On to the testing.....

All the clubs faces and backs were taped up and I would hit 4 regular shots with each wedge, after hitting the four shots I would separate them into a maybe and a I dont think so sections Here is how it went.

Sonartec t-35: Nice looking wedge, hit my first four balls and immediately noticed that the toe was a little heavy on club so I decided to pass on it. I was able to get under the ball nicely though, but it just felt a little too wierd.

Titleist Spin Milled: Again nice looking wedge, hit my four balls and was hitting everything a little off-center towards the toe, each shot was about 1/2" off of center. I then tried to open up the clubface laying it flat on the surface, shots were jumping off the face and hitting the top of the net with no problems, the feel of the club was doable and played better than my Cleveland 588 RTG's. If this club had more of a buttery feel I would have been in love.

Mizuno MP-R: Classic looking wedge with nice angle grind allowing you to seriously open up this wedge. After four perfectly centered shots I decided to open up the face and crank away with some wristy shots. I immediately noticed the flat lie it had and was able to hit massive flop shots with the 54*, this is so far is the best wedge. Better than the Spin Milled and the Sonartec didnt even deserve to sit on the same rack.

Cleveland 588 and CG10: Felt like a Cleveland wedge, hit like a cleveland wedge. I am used to these wedges so nothing to brag about, four shots perfectly on-center was able to hit mild flop shots with it but the bounce really prevented you frow opening it up like the MP-R. As a matter of fact the Spin Milled and MP-R were a much better wedge for me.

Taylormade RAC TP: Decent wedge, similar feel to the cleveland wedge but maybe a little lighter. Four shots were on center and was not able to open up that 54* wedge as much as the MP-R but was consistent with the Spin Milled for flop shots. This was in the Ill have to pass section along with the Cleveland 588 and CG10.

Callaway X-Tour Vintage: OMG, I am in love. Four shots perfectly on-center great weighting, very well balanced club. Every shot was like slapping a PRO-V1 with a stick of warm butter. Flop shots were awesome like the MP-R and I was able to pop them up with a massively open face and only move them about two feet forward and high up in the air. I knew this was the wedge when I was able to hit flop shots like the MP-R, This was with a 13* Bounce as well.

I tried some other wedges but none were worth mentioning, they didnt have any Bridgestone wedges so those were out of the question. Here is my rating:

1. Callaway X-Tour Vintage
2. Mizuno MP-R
3. Titleist Spin Milled Oil Can
4. Cleveland 588
5. Cleveland CG10
6. Taylormade RAC TP
7. Sonartec t-35

[Sandpiper3]

Pfff, spin milled #3?!? You must be getting paid to bash them!

Have nvr actually tried a cally wedge, nvr liked the look of them b4. Not sure about the new vintage one you speak of. Will have to take a look.

[Fitzpatrick]

Thanks for the review, Demon. I have to say I was surprised to read your review of the Sonartec wedge. Sonartec has such a reputation for quality with woods that I had hoped that it would have carried over into their wedge line.

[demon]

Originally Posted by Fitzpatrick

Thanks for the review, Demon. I have to say I was surprised to read your review of the Sonartec wedge. Sonartec has such a reputation for quality with woods that I had hoped that it would have carried over into their wedge line.

Just remember this is my opinion, I like Sonartec fairway woods as well, but the toe is heavily weighted on the club.

[IrishGolfer]

Cool reviews
Too bad you didn't get a swing at the Srixons, they look fantastic.

[demon]

Originally Posted by IrishGolfer

Cool reviews
Too bad you didn't get a swing at the Srixons, they look fantastic.

Sorry they didnt have any Srixon merchandise there.

[MCDavis]

As much as I love my TP's (just bought the 60º), I really want to try the Srixon's.

[ualtim]

I loved hitting the Srixon's last week, the only thing that is keeping me from pulling the trigger is the price. Best price I have found (new) so far is $109.

Since its raining down here in Orlando today I am probably going to head on up to the local Golfsmith, Edwin Watts, and Special T golf shop to run through some wedge testing myself. I think I have finally settled on a 52 and 58 degree set up and I want to see where I can get a bang for the buck deal. The Mizuno MP-R Nickels look intreaguing at $99.99 a pop. I still want to hit the Tour Edge JMAX Black Nickels as they are far and away the cost leader at $59.99 a pop and even lower priced at $39.99 a pop if you want the 304 steel version. I sure wished I hit more of the TE equipment last week at the show. I was at their hitting bay for the fairway woods and should have looked around to see if they had any of the wedges. I do not recall them being there, but they may have been.

[bames]

Thanks demon, you helped lock my vote for the MP-R. I was going to replace my Vokey 56 and 60° with an MP-R 56°. It sounds like it is versatile enough to not have any problems as a lob wedge or a shut-down shot. Thanks.

[Rockford35]

People, just quit denying it. Fantastically undervalued wedges.

R35

[HighTopFade]

Are made to rust wedges like the Cleveland RTG still being produced?

[demon]

Originally Posted by bames

Thanks demon, you helped lock my vote for the MP-R. I was going to replace my Vokey 56 and 60° with an MP-R 56°. It sounds like it is versatile enough to not have any problems as a lob wedge or a shut-down shot. Thanks.

That was easily put in my number two spot, if it was as soft as the cally I would have had to hit a lot more shots to pick between the two.

Originally Posted by Rockford35

People, just quit denying it. Fantastically undervalued wedges.

R35

I was one of those people, I hit mizuno wedges over time and never liked them. The MP-R is very nice wedge.

Originally Posted by stuck@16

Are made to rust wedges like the Cleveland RTG still being produced?

They are usually called raw wedges but yes they are still being produced.