Equipment
Forum Thread of the Day: “What’s the most forgiving wedge?”
Today’s Forum Thread of the Day comes from lefty74pgh who is in search of a wedge that will offer him the most forgiveness. Our members weigh in with not just club advice, but also general suggestions for those struggling with their consistency from 50 yards and in.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- Lancj1: “I say again if you are buying GI irons, get them down to lob wedge. My ping G400 is far better than the Cleveland’s – I’m sure When I had Callaway XR those were great too. If you aren’t good enough to play specialist wedges, imho stick with the set till you are.”
- herdman: “I have a CBX for my 50-degree wedge, and then a PM grind 56 and then a Ping Eye Gorge 60. I like that setup. I find them all to be pretty forgiving. But, I like the PM Grind at the 56 because it is very versatile. Mainly use the CBX for the 90 to 100-yard shot.”
- dpark: “At a minimum, you should be fit for wedges to figure out what type of sole design is best for you. Obviously, lessons and practice would be better. Depending on if you are “digger” or “sweeper”, the right sole design will help with your mishits.”
- Mahamilto: “In short: If you want forgiveness at the bottom of the bag, pick a set style wedge for the GW, as most amateurs use this club for full swings more than anything else. For the remaining wedges, you have to pick them based on turf interaction and your style of play/swing. The wedge that gives you the best turf interaction will give you the best accuracy and ease of use. I cannot begin to stress this enough. It took me a while to understand it, but when I did, my wedge game became a weapon instead of a liability.”
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.
“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
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It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.
From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
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Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms
Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105
Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
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Maria Torres WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4 3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4 5-wood: Ping G440...
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Wyndham Clark’s winning WITB: 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D Tour (15 degrees) Shaft: Project...
joro
Dec 24, 2018 at 6:29 pm
Every Wedge has its own personality and what is good for one may not be good for others. Depends on how you swing it, a bounce that works, a feel that you like, right weight, right look and feel. So the question is really stupid. But, if you are looking for the most forgiving wedge it would be the Incredible Alien. That thing is so easy that a Monkey could hit it. I had one and was 100% with all shots Wedge, and Sand was a snap as was off cement, out of a puddle, and any other iffy lies I could get into. Even from a rock in a lake, lol.
Brad
Dec 23, 2018 at 9:04 am
If you are seeking extra forgiveness in something with as much loft as a wedge – i.e. the easiest club to hit in the bag because loft is your friend – then it is time to spend at least half as much time practicing with your wedges as you do with your driver…
Tom
Dec 22, 2018 at 5:43 pm
This guy Gianni doesn’t know ‘Richard’ about golf equipment
Dan
Dec 22, 2018 at 12:43 am
If the question is most accurate wedge then your not asking about short game, where accuracy is based on technique. Be definition the best wedge needs to be inaccurate to be versatile on many lies, distances and spin. So if you need accuracy play a game improvement iron down to sw and get a LW in a wedge(Vokey md4 etc) your welcome
Scheiss
Dec 21, 2018 at 11:40 pm
EF Grooves. 1025 carbon steel body with Nickel Cobalt played have that never wear out = awesome feel and sharp grooves for ever means reliability and predictability.
And predictably is what leads to forgiveness because you know what’s going to happen and you learn from it.
Most of those other edges leave you wondering why something went wrong because they’re unpredictable like that so it leaves you guessing, robbing you of confidence
Tom
Dec 21, 2018 at 12:36 pm
Hahahaha…forgiving wedges, are you kidding? there is no such thing!!
Dan
Dec 22, 2018 at 12:38 am
Spot on
lance
Dec 21, 2018 at 12:30 pm
The most ‘forgiving’ wedge is not necessarily the ‘best’ wedge… IOW, forgiving and best may be an oxymoron… like most gearheads here… 😀
ChipNRun
Dec 21, 2018 at 3:36 pm
If wedges beyond PW come with an iron set, the litmus test is usually with the AW or the GW. For the Calla X20 irons, the AW was clunky, real problem with distance control. With the TM SLDR iron, the AW was an excellent club. It blended nicely with a Tour Preferred SW and LW.
Unless a wedge has a really strange grind, if you like the head you can learn to use it. After all, it’s shaft length is much shorter than a 3i shaft and easier to control.
Big thing on wedges is the shaft you are using. Let’s say you have:
* Speed Step 85 (85 grams) in your irons
* Dynamic Gold wedge flex S300 (129 grams) in your wedges.
The big weight difference – irons to wedges – may throw off your swing tempo.
The DG wedge flex is stock shaft in a lot of specialty wedges, so make sure you want a shaft that heavy before ordering.
lance
Dec 21, 2018 at 7:04 pm
Interesting points on shaft specs for wedges. What do you think about so-called single length irons where the wedges have the same length as a 7 or 8 iron? What shaft specs are needed to make the long shafted wedges effective? Thanks.
Jamie
Dec 21, 2018 at 11:01 am
Wrong question. Correct bounce + profile that fits your eye = confidence. Better than the illusion of wedge forgiveness.
C
Dec 21, 2018 at 11:54 am
Agreed. Wedges aren’t meant to be very forgiving, otherwise they’d all be cavity backed.
smz
Dec 21, 2018 at 1:45 pm
My PING ZING2 wedges…. P/G/LS/L…. are cavity backed and are tremendously forgiving even when I hit them on the toe… not so much on the heel. I will never change my WITB ZING2s cause they are the ultimate club design.!
Caroline
Dec 23, 2018 at 12:00 am
Unlike other clubs in your bag wedges have one purpose getting you as close if not in the hole from any where within a 100 yards or so…wedges are played to the hole not just the green so you had better one get the right fit or practice with that wedge until it is the right fit.
Tom
Dec 23, 2018 at 1:37 pm
If you can’t hit a wedge on the center of the face, you must be a very poor player!