wedge advice

[RickinMA]

I'm shaking up my bag a bit - I have a 60* wedge bent to 58* on the way,
planning to play my PW at 47.5*, and figured I'd add the gap wedge at 52 and bend it to 51, leaving a need somewhere around 54*

I currently hate my cheap 56* (12) so I'm not even thinking about getting it adjusted to 54*

can you guys recommend 54* wedges with low bounce? I'm looking for a satin finish, but I'm pretty flexible

The Vokey looks like it's 10* bounce - I suppose I could do a 56(10) and bend it, but was hoping there'd be something else.

The Callaway looks like it has 13* of bounce

Cleveland's "low bounce" is 10* on the CG10

The mizuno is 10*, Ping is 12.5*

any other ideas? on the other hand, is there a reason for this? I'm looking low bounce because i'm rarely in the sand, and usually have shots off of hard-pan or wet traps and my swing usually picks the ball out instead of blasting it - am I way off?

[FKA19]

just carry pw,52,58 dude. maybe bend the gw to 53. should be able to work with those 3 np problem, minimizing confusion as to what shots to play etc.. you could also fill all the gaps you needed to in the other end of the bag.

[RickinMA]

The other end of the bag I think is easy

Driver (10.5*)
4 wood (16.5*)
3 iron 20*

i can get my head around missing from 200-225 yards out, pisses me off to miss the green from 65 yds...

[Augster]

Or you could bend your 56* to 54*. Doing so would lower the bounce from 12* to 10*.

1* change for 1* change generally between loft and bounce.

[TheOnlyGolfProHere]

The question is, are you that precise with your wedges? Having this and that bent, does that mean you are a good player? If so, why not leave you clubs the way they are and learn to hit your clubs to different distances. Most golfers have a PW (47-48 degree), GW (52-54 degree), SW (56 degree), and LW (60 degree). Each of these clubs can be hit multiple distances. You can choke down and inch and apply a full swing and easily take off 10 yards on each of these clubs. Or you can take a 9, 10, or 11 o'clock swing on each and adjust your distances there. Or choke up and apply the clock swing. All this bending is just out there (imho). Another thing that you need to make sure of is that the lie of your wedges are adjusted to fit your swing.
*
I am sure with a little practice you will develop a good touch from 100 yards and in.
*
TOGPH

[RickinMA]

last year i played with a 48* PW, 56* SW, and 60* LW

I hardly ever used the 60* - it's not worth having in my bag - but I wanted something for those short/high shots - so I ordered a Wishon CX-Micro 60* bent to 58*

and, I found alot of approach shots (I play pretty short courses) where I couldn't get there with my 56* (for years before I played a 55* SW that matched my cleveland VAS+ irons, so I'm thinking 54* is the way to go for my SW)

the standard loft Wishon 560mc PW is 47.5 - so I'm hoping to plug the 47.5 - 54* gap with a nice gap wedge - I don't practice enough to have the touch I'd like with my wedges (I'd love to, don't get me wrong, but with career and baby on the way, it's not realistic)

As a kid, I did OK without any wedges - you can bump and run with a 7 or 9 iron, but I'd rather try to make the bag set-up work for me

I don't exactly understand why you're OK with bending for lie, but think loft bending is "out there" - isn't it all about getting the sticks to help you as much as possible?

I think it's similar to everyone making the move to hybrids - with practice, if you're a good player, you can hit a 3 iron - but without time to practice - why bother?

[Pa Jayhawk]

As mentioned bending from 56* to 54* will lower the bounce.

I also believe the Cleveland 588's, or at least the Gunmetal I looked at came with 8* bounce on the 53* model. Then again, if you bend that you will end up with around 9*, which is likely more than if you went the other way from a 56* with 10*. BTW, some of the Mizunos come with 56*-8*, as the one I own. The 56* Mizuno with 8* would effectively give you around 6* at 54*

edit 1 - actually, looking at the specs, the Black OX comes in a 54*~9*bounce model, not sure if that would be acceptable.

[RickinMA]

Originally Posted by Pa Jayhawk

some of the Mizunos come with 56*-8*, as the one I own. The 56* Mizuno with 8* would effectively give you around 6* at 54*

This could work - but on the mizuno site, i'm seeing 54-10 and 56-10 in the "R" wedges and 53-8 in the "T" wedges - which model are you playing?

[Pa Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by RickinMA

This could work - but on the mizuno site, i'm seeing 54-10 and 56-10 in the "R" wedges and 53-8 in the "T" wedges - which model are you playing?

You will not find them on their site. I believe there are an older model. You can still find it in most golf stores and some pro shops.

Just doing a quick search, this is the club. I know nothing about the credibility of site I linked, it is just the first that popped up and had the specs.
Mizuno Mens MP Raw Black Ox Forged Wedges

Great wedge, Rock turned me on to looking at these, as he has a few.

BTW, the finish will wear off and they will rust in time. I bought mine at my Pro Shop but have seen them in the store at both Golfsmith and Golf Galaxy in the last 6 months.

[limpalong]

A couple of additional points. If you are bending the wedges stronger (like your 60 bent to 58) it will add offset. If you are playing offset irons and all your wedges are bent strong, the appearance will be consistent. But, if you bend 2 wedges strong and add a 3rd at factory standard, you may have trouble adapting from wedge to wedge. If you happen to play irons with little or no offset, the strong bent wedges may look a lot different that your other clubs. I'm not suggesting anything is wrong with bending wedges strong, just making the point you will add offset.

Also, you mention the higher bounce angle of the Ping wedge. Ping measures bounce differently than any other OEM out there. Ping wedges usually play with quite a bit less dynamic bounce that stated bounce.

A company called Merit used to make zero bounce wedges. You might "google" Merit, or maybe someone on the DB knows if they are still around.

[RickinMA]

thanks limpalong, I hadn't considered the change in offset

thankfully, after playing the cleveland VAS+ for so long, I've developed an immunity to ugly clubs

I'm currently playing MacGregor 1025cm's (nice looking at address) and just ordered a Wishon 560mc 7 iron - one I get my specs dialed in, I'll get the rest of the set

Does bending weak decrease offset? how about if there's very little to start with? wouldn't want to wind up with one of those F2 wedges

the 60->58* should arrive tomorrow - how much offset should I brace myself for?

thanks again

[limpalong]

Man, if you can look at a VAS+ and not throw up... a couple of degrees of offset surely won't bother you!!! LOL The ONLY thing uglier than the VAS iron was the VAS+ iron!!

The visual effect of loft adjustment and offset are so subjective to both the specific wedge and the eyes of the person holding the club. I had a couple of Callaway Vintage wedges a couple of years ago. These had way too much bounce and I strengthened the loft to reduce the bounce. Never could get used to the offset after that adjustment. And I play Pings which are really offset!!! Go figure!!

My main point was the transition from wedge to wedge in your set. To strengthen 2 and get used to that look, a third wedge ordered standard may have a completely different set up.

I'm interested in your Wishon you have ordered. Please let us know your first reaction and then keep us informed through the honeymoon period how it performs. Good luck!!!!!!

[RickinMA]

Originally Posted by limpalong

The ONLY thing uglier than the VAS iron was the VAS+ iron!!

oh come on, the VAS+ is so much better looking than the original VAS 792

vs

the MacGregor 1025s have been a really nice switch from the crazy offset hosel

If I was smart, I'd keep playing them, but having read Wishon's book and stuff, I wanted to give some of the wishon golf stuff a shot.

I'm hoping that since I never saw the 60* Wishon CX micro wedge before it was bent, I won't notice much offset - it'll just look like a new wedge

[dave.]

Just get them ground on a tour van

I can't see any point in bending down 1 degree though,and the older Clevelands had lower bounce than the GC10s

[LyleG]

You will not notice the increase in offset at all when bending 2* strong.