Bridgestone Tour B Wedge Review Golf Digest Hot List
Old versus new: Wedges
Fresh grooves equal more spin
Information technology'south easy to become comfortable with a order and not replace it. Only that kind of thinking tin be detrimental to your game, especially with wedges. "It'due south not like your grooves become from being perfect, perfect, perfect and all suddenly, they're terrible. It's gradual, and you might not notice information technology," says Bob Vokey of Titleist. A study by Golf Datatech indicates golfers buy new wedges every iv years. To find out what you're giving up, nosotros conducted our own examination: we had a scratch role player hit shots from multiple distances and turf conditions with a new wedge and a four-yr-old wedge that had endured normal utilize, and nosotros measured the results using a Foresight Sports' GCQuad launch monitor. The new wedge produced 27.iii percentage more than spin than the former wedge on a 40-metre shot from the fairway. On a 16-metre shot from fairway, the improvement was 26.6 percentage. The spin gain on a 40-metre shot from lite crude was an impressive 64 percent. Anecdotally, the new wedge showed noticeably more grab, too. Investing in your brusk game is a wise play, and seeing the amount of comeback with fresh grooves should send those with older wedges to their nearest golf shop seeking replacements.
— Mike Johnson
Callaway
Mack Daddy 4
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★★
Look/audio/feel ★★★★ ½
Demand ★★★★
VERDICT Spin applied science and fitting options define wedge operation. Few are milling this expanse (literally) like Callaway. There are two types of milled grooves depending on the loft, plus a new process for creating surface friction betwixt those grooves. Instead of cut into the flat surface betwixt grooves, the MD4 mills ridges that rise from the surface to create more contact points for spin on the shortest shots. Equally for fitting, the MD4 has more options than e'er (21) across nine lofts with four
sole grinds.
COMMENTS ( Fifty ) Yous tin can hit those bounce-bounce-check shots hands. ( M ) I like how the bounce lets this society set flat backside the ball. ( H ) It has a sandpaper-like face that puts corking activity on the brawl.
Cleveland
Cbx
Functioning ★★★★ ½
Innovation ★★★★★
Look/sound/experience ★★★★
Need ★★★★
VERDICT Cleveland's response to the traditionally circuitous wedge marketplace is to make a guild that complements the irons most boilerplate golfers buy. The progressive head shapes – iron-similar in the low lofts and wedge-like in the higher lofts – assist these wedges fit in with the rest of your irons. That's in improver to the lighter shaft, the perimeter weighting to aid forgiveness and a wide, playable sole. For good mensurate, the CBX adds its summit-shelf groove applied science and micro-milled surface-roughness pattern.
COMMENTS ( Fifty ) Mayhap the looks aren't for you, but there's nothing you can't do well with it around the green. ( Grand ) The big sole tin escape any sand situation. ( H ) You can clamper this and still get it on the green.
Cleveland
Rtx-3
Operation ★★★★ ½
Innovation ★★★★★
Await/sound/experience ★★★★ ½
Need ★★★★
VERDICT Feel is one of the must-haves in wedge blueprint. Just for Cleveland, "feel" isn't some vague emotional paradigm. It's science. Specifically, the centre of gravity aligns with the eye of the face, thanks to a weight-saving hosel pattern. This centres the head's mass for more consistent feel. It also improves altitude command, accuracy and spin. Much of that extra spin comes from a new groove design (narrower and deeper for improve action from the rough) and surface-roughness treatments optimised by loft.
COMMENTS ( Fifty ) The shot I see in my mind is the shot I hit. Versatile, too. ( M ) The ball only comes off the face softly, with control. ( H ) The finish reduces glare. Caput responds to all my little adjustments.
Cobra
Rex Blackness
Performance ★★★★ ½
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Look/audio/feel ★★★★ ½
Demand ★★
VERDICT Designing sparse faces has been a focus of virtually golf clubs, but Cobra actually thickened the face on its wedges considering it believes more material in the striking area leads to better experience. The thickest area of the confront is slightly college than on previous Cobra wedges to better beneficial vibration at affect. The thicker topline has a subtle chamfer to make it easy on the eyes. Wider, shallower grooves on the college lofts provide more volume, and a variable milling design offers actress short-shot spin.
COMMENTS ( L ) It didn't cut through the sand as much as it "cushioned" through it. ( One thousand ) Just big enough without being clunky. ( H ) Love the action. There's a quieter sound but positive feedback.
Mizuno
S18
Operation ★★★★ ½
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Look/sound/feel ★★★★ ½
Demand ★★★
VERDICT Altering the head shape by loft isn't an aesthetic exercise here. Rather, it was washed to calibrate how each loft presents different performance requirements. As loft increases, more mass is placed towards the top of the blade. That raises the middle of gravity, which yields 2 things most players prefer in their higher-lofted wedges: flying control and increased spin. Other popular Mizuno features are hither, likewise. That includes grooves and sole grinds that alter with loft, and a forged carbon-steel pattern that uses boron for durability.
COMMENTS ( L ) Nice, meaty await. Terrific effectually the green. Easy out of the bunker. ( Chiliad ) Amazed how it consistently gets through the worst lies. ( H ) Nice contrast between the hit area and grooves.
Mizuno
t7
Performance ★★★★ ½
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Look/audio/feel ★★★★
Demand ★★★
VERDICT Mizuno's ground-breaking employ of boron-infused carbon steel in these forged wedges is something of a difference from how it has been used in the visitor's irons. There, its strength was seen as a way to pattern thinner faces for increased distance. Here, its force allows grooves, which vary based on loft, to exist designed more precisely at the edges and with increased durability. The heads also change shape through the lofts: a straighter leading edge on the low lofts to piece of work better with full shots, and a rounded shape on the college lofts to help on open-face up shots.
COMMENTS ( L ) Smashing command and experience on full or touch on shots. ( M ) More of a tour wedge. Narrow toe has a tonne of workability. ( H ) Dense sound. The ball ends up exactly where you expect it to be.
Ping
Glide 2.0
Performance ★★★★ ½
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Look/audio/feel ★★★★ ½
Demand ★★★ ½
VERDICT The idea that the R&A and USGA's rollback on groove performance was a deterrent plain never reached the engineers at Ping. They say the milled Glide 2.0 has "sharper groove edges than whatever previous Ping wedge." The grooves (tailored to each loft) generate more spin than the original Glide wedges because of precisely milled edges that grab more of the ball. The 4 sole grinds range from narrow (preferred by brusk-game specialists) to wide (for deep divot-takers who require more forgiveness).
COMMENTS (L) It's a harm-control club: It can save a mediocre brusque game. (Chiliad) I could shut it down or open up it upwards, even with the wide sole. (H) Picks out the perfect amount of sand like the name suggests.
Ping
Glide 2.0 Stealth
Performance ★★★★ ½
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Expect/sound/experience ★★★★ ½
Need ★★★★
VERDICT The latest upgrade to Ping'south Glide line is more than its darker finish – though information technology does provide increased durability for its grooves and 4 sole grinds. What catches your eye – and helps take hold of the ball on those short pitches and fries – is the half-groove cut tight to the leading edge in the higher lofts. The extra groove edges and volume yield better brawl contact. Also important is the use of 8620 carbon steel for a softer feel, and a end that repels moisture for more cheque on those dewy mornings.
COMMENTS ( 50 ) Perfect turf interaction. There wasn't any way it could get stuck. ( M ) It has a cushy feel on full shots. ( H ) I like the more than square leading border. Chipping was comfortable fifty-fifty on tight lies.
TaylorMade
Milled Grind
Operation ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★ ½
Look/sound/feel ★★★★
Demand ★★★★
VERDICT Grooves might exist cool, but the business organization cease of a wedge actually is the sole design and the leading edge. Those precise curves and angles greatly determine the subtle interaction of the club and your swing with the ground. Become it right and you make clean contact more probable, which leads to better spin. That's why these wedges eschew handwork in favour of computer-guided milling to produce the final contours on its 3 sole shapes beyond 17 lofts, as well equally the new high-toe version with two extra grooves.
COMMENTS (L) Never played a wedge where off-center-hits felt so good. (One thousand) Anywhere you hitting it, information technology gave you the same feel. (H) With all those scoring lines, in that location'southward no place where you're not getting spin.
Titleist
Vokey Blueprint SM7
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★★
Await/audio/feel ★★★★★
Demand ★★★★★
VERDICT The 23 stock options – the most for any model in golf game – are meant to brand every unique swing deliver the club more consistently through the turf. The effect is more reliable distances and spin. Those options include the tour-proven D-Grind, now 1 of six sole grinds across a 16-degree loft range. The correct grind makes it easier to reap other new features. Those include sharper cut grooves matched to specific lofts and new middle-of-gravity locations from low lofts to high for consistent distance and trajectory control.
COMMENTS (Fifty) The beefed-up superlative helps on those loftier-face shots from the rough. (One thousand) Consistent flying, spin and turf interaction. (H) The right grind moved through the turf and spun improve, likewise.
Bridgestone
Tour b xw-one
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★ ½
Expect/audio/experience ★★★★
Demand ★★
VERDICT Despite offering just six lofts and one sole grind, this wedge family checks the important boxes of feel and spin. The forged carbon-steel structure and centred weight pad make middle strikes experience sweeter. Every bit for spin, sure, the grooves have been optimised to R&A and USGA limits, but what's improved from by Bridgestone designs are the flat areas between the grooves. Rather than milled with randomised swirls or etched-in lines, a distinct blueprint of four mini-grooves adds actress friction.
COMMENTS ( L ) The teardrop shape lets me hit every shot I wanted. ( M ) Easy to open it upwards for loftier shots, or close it for a runner. ( H ) The way the heel meets the head makes it smooth through the sand.
Epon
Bout wedge
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★
Look/sound/feel ★★★★
Need ★
VERDICT Epon might not exist on your radar, simply its parent visitor, Japan-based Endo, is well known within the golf industry for making many of the top brands' forged clubheads. These compact wedges illustrate that expertise quietly (glimmer and yous'll miss its logo on the back). With the hosel and clubhead forged from a unmarried piece of soft carbon steel to enhance experience, this design incorporates three sole grinds based on loft. Oh, and those distinctive grooves? An extra layer of milling improves spin in wet weather condition.
COMMENTS (M) The shorter shaft and head weight made it easy to get the clubhead to the ball. (L) Not equally forgiving just yet versatile. Skillful seize with teeth. (H) A good role player'southward wedge. The feel is solid.
Wilson
pmp raw
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★
Await/sound/feel ★★★★
Demand ★★
VERDICT When Wilson changed its groove blueprint, the differences were in the tens of thousandths of an inch. In practical terms the groove is now more foursquare-like. It's legal, and similar many in the wedge game, its sharper edges and steeper sides push spin rates closer to what they once were. The edges mean amend take hold of, and the steeper sides aqueduct debris for cleaner contact from the crude. The 11 light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation-etched lines betwixt each groove give partial shots more spin, and the raw finish of the 8620 carbon-steel head yields a softer feel.
COMMENTS (H) The feel of the ball on the face feels similar a forged club. (M) Prissy heft so y'all feel the society throughout your swing. (L) With the raw stop, at that place'due south no glare, and information technology felt softer.
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Source: https://www.australiangolfdigest.com.au/2018-hot-list-wedges/
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