Opinion & Analysis

Are your wedges giving you the shaft?

Published

7 years ago

Mar 26, 2019

Since I started designing wedges back in the early 1990s, I have always thought the shaft should be given much more attention than it gets from all the major brands. If you look through the wedge displays at nearly every major store or shop, you’ll see a practically endless array of loft and bounce options, but nearly every single wedge has a heavy steel shaft, mostly True Temper Dynamic Gold S400, or with some a proprietary label marked “Wedge Flex.” So, just what is that?

In general, a “Wedge Flex” shaft is a standard weight steel shaft that ISN’T an S300 (because those are allocated to OEMs and the aftermarket). Using the same shaft in every wedge sold is much easier to “stock ‘em deep” in the retail displays, but is that really the best way to optimize your wedge performance?

I’ve long challenged the big noise in wedges about “fitting bounce,” (which I think is very difficult to do, and approached all wrong – a subject for another article), while none of the major wedge brands talk much – if at all – about the importance of the shaft in the wedge fitting process. In my thousands of golfer tests and demo day interactions, I have come to firmly believe that getting the right shaft in your wedges can have a dramatic effect on your short-range performance.

Think about what you ask your wedge shaft to do. It has to stabilize the heaviest clubheads in your bag. It must optimize performance at full swing speeds when you are hitting full shots, but it also has to deliver the feel you need for on the most delicate little chips and pitches when clubhead speed might be 10 miles per hour or less. That’s a tall order. For a club to perform at those low speeds, the shaft simply must flex a little, to give what’s called “motion feedback.” That is the quantity of “feel” that you get from the club so that you can gauge how far back you took it, how fast it is moving, and the orientation of the face. You have to have this to build a good short game. But if the shaft is too soft, it will produce ballooning trajectories and loss of control at full swing speeds.

In general, I think you should select the flex of your wedge shafts based on your short game tempo, regardless of your strength profile. If you are aggressive and rather quick, you should lean to a slightly stiffer flex; a player with a more rhythmic tempo usually benefits from a slightly softer shaft flex.

The other aspect of shafts that I have come to appreciate as even more important to your short game is the overall weight. With more and more golfers playing graphite or light steel shafts in their irons, carrying wedges with the stock heavy and stiff shaft creates a huge “disconnect.” If the shaft in your short irons and pitching wedge weighs less than your wedges by a full ounce or more, it totally prevents what I call a “seamless transition” in your scoring clubs. That has a negative effect on all aspects of your short game, from full swings to short shots around the greens.

Realize that tour professionals hone their short games to unbelievable levels, and they do it with standard-weight steel shafts – which nearly all of them also play in their irons. They also are extremely fit and strong athletes, who work out daily, so they have hand and forearm strength you can’t imagine. That allows them to do amazing things through nuanced manipulations of their wedges during the swing, no matter how short the shot. We average recreational golfers simply cannot dream of doing those things with a wedge that is – proportionate to our strength profile – much heavier than the tour pros use.

This holds especially true for juniors, women and senior golfers. Put wedges in their hands that have shafts that are more matched to their strength profiles, and you will see immediate results.

So, if you have any frustrations with your short game, this may be a great place to start searching for a solution.
The good news is that it is not terribly expensive to have your wedges re-shafted to more closely duplicate the feel and balance of your irons. Any qualified clubmaker can measure the weight and flex frequency of your short irons and retrofit your wedges with the same or similar shaft to ensure a seamless transition in weight and performance.

Until next week . . .

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Terry Koehler

Terry Koehler is a fourth generation Texan and a graduate of Texas A&M University. Over his 40-year career in the golf industry, he has created over 100 putter designs and dozens of wedges. In 2014, he put together the team that reintroduced the Ben Hogan brand to the golf equipment industry with his TK 15 wedges and Ft. Worth 15 iron designs. Since receiving a U.S. Patent for his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” in the wedge category. In addition to inspiring multiple companies to emulate this sole technology, the performance of his wedge designs have stimulated all other companies to reposition some mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges. Terry is retired from his role as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf, and remains active in the industry as an independent designer and consultant. But his most compelling work is in the wedge category. Since he first patented his “Koehler Sole” in the early 1990s, he has been challenging “conventional wisdom” reflected in ‘tour design’ wedges. The performance of his wedge designs have stimulated other companies to move slightly more mass toward the top of the blade in their wedges, but none approach the dramatic design of his Edison Forged wedges, which have been robotically proven to significantly raise the bar for wedge performance. Terry serves as Chairman and Director of Innovation for Edison Golf – check it out at www.EdisonWedges.com.

13 Comments

Dave r

Mar 27, 2019 at 5:32 pm

All my irons have the same shaft. That’s four thru sand feel the same but then again I’m not a fast hard hitter.
Yes and can’t wait for the proper loft lie on wedges you talk about.

Reply Report comment
Jason W

Mar 27, 2019 at 5:29 pm

Great to hear from TK post Ben Hogan. The Ft. Worth TK 15 Wedges are easily the best full shot wedges I’ve hit, and by some margin, and the Scor wedges were/are excellent. And both had the best turf interaction with the V-Sole

Great timing as I am thinking of reshafting my TK 15s.

Reply Report comment
Robert

Mar 27, 2019 at 2:11 pm

Terry, would love to hear your thoughts on wedge shaft weight/flex versus irons and whether how you use your wedges affects which route you go. Looking at the top-10 OWGR, you see a few different schools of thought:

4 Players have wedge shafts the same as irons (Bryson, Molinari, Rahm, Xander).
3 Players have wedge shafts that are heavier & softer than their irons (Brooks, JT, Rickie).
2 Players have wedge shafts that are lighter & softer than their irons (DJ, Rory).
1 Player has wedge shafts that are heavier & stiffer than their irons (Rose).

I understand the thinking of playing wedge shafts a bit softer than irons for better feel on touch shots and chips (possibly just soft-stepping them), but in terms of wedge shaft weight vs. irons I’m kind of lost. Thanks

Reply Report comment
- GD Vet
  
  Mar 27, 2019 at 6:52 pm
  
  Are you comparing yourself to “the top-10 OWGR”? Unless you have their game, strength and finesse that’s your first mistake and maybe why you think you are lost.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Peter McGill
    
    Mar 28, 2019 at 11:32 pm
    
    Terry?
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Robert
    
    Apr 3, 2019 at 10:53 am
    
    Absolutely @GD Vet, if you want to be the best you need to compare yourself to the best. The only difference between me and the top-10 in OWGR is 80+ yards off the tee, a 10+ stroke difference in HDCP, the availability of time to play/practice constantly, access to the best equipment and fitting tech, sponsors, and the best facilities and coaches and trainers and sports psychologists and nutritionists in the world. But after that, we’re all basically the same. So yes I definitely compare myself to the best in the world regularly. Anyone who doesn’t is lost. I piss excellence.
    
    Reply Report comment
Bob

Mar 27, 2019 at 1:21 pm

Very Interesting. I always felt the best shafts in wedges I ever used were the “Spinner” shafts Mizuno used in their T11 wedges. Probably just happened to suit my tempo and strength profile.

Reply Report comment
Brandon Reeves

Mar 27, 2019 at 9:21 am

Good to see the “Wedge Guy” again. Blades vs Cavity Backs is still my favorite article that Terry wrote.

Reply Report comment
Alex

Mar 26, 2019 at 4:40 pm

Wedge flex is usually s200…s400 is a far superior wedge shaft.

Reply Report comment
- Geoffrey Holland
  
  Mar 30, 2019 at 6:26 pm
  
  Speak for yourself.
  
  Reply Report comment
MeToYou

Mar 26, 2019 at 1:32 pm

use the same shaft as your irons, just soft-step them twice

Reply Report comment
- Tony Wright
  
  Mar 27, 2019 at 10:59 am
  
  Great article by Terry thanks! And totally agree with you MeToYou…..soft step twice (often just 8 iron shaft) is a very good option to get great feel on short shots.
  
  Reply Report comment
Jim Thomson

Mar 26, 2019 at 12:17 pm

Interesting article. Looking forward to your thoughts on “fitting bounce.”

Reply Report comment

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