Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: “Sole” food, Part 2

Published

7 years ago

Apr 9, 2019

Writing for a knowledgeable and diverse crowd like you GolfWRXers is not easy, but I thank you for keeping me on my toes. Last week’s article was titled “A Discussion of Bounce,” but maybe it should have carried a disclaimer that it was only the beginning…let’s call it “Part 1,” OK?

Your grading and feedback reminded me that I’m writing for a wide range of skill levels and questions/opinions. Please understand that there is simply no way to write anything of value to any of you without also being either too elementary or too advanced for some of you.

I seem to have resonated with the over 400 of you that gave the article high marks, but almost 75 “flops”, “OB” and “shanks”? Ouch! I’ll try to do better.

From the comments, I surmise that most of you who were not enthused felt like I didn’t go deep enough, or that my advice to demo the wedges you were thinking of buying was not useful. Let me address that latter point first.

Some of the major retailers – both online and brick-and-mortar – are beginning to see the light and create demo programs for clubs across the board, so that’s an option. Another one is to borrow wedges from friends and try them. Ask your golf shop staff for help if you have a relationship there.

The reality is that I can’t figure out a way to make sure you get the wedges that will work best for you without an honest on-the-course trial. We offered an extensive demo program at both EIDOLON and SCOR, for that very reason. In summary, my advice here is to be creative and diligent, unless you just want to leave it to chance with what is a major purchase – a set of wedges.

With that behind us, let me try to dive a bit deeper into some of the nuances of the bounce/loft/sole grind conundrum, as it is the most complex aspect of wedge selection.

The industry’s guidance about higher lofts for steeper swings and/or softer turf is certainly a basically sound piece of advice, but it is just not that simple. If you play firm turf most often, and/or have a shallower angle of approach to the ball, then lower bounce options will likely satisfy you…most of the time. Likewise, a softer course and/or steeper swing path should steer you to higher bounce options. But getting just the right wedges for YOUR game is more complex than that.

Let’s start with what your wedges cannot do: they cannot fix swing errors. If you let the clubhead pass the hands and hit the ball right “in the forehead,” the wedge isn’t going to fix that. If you hit too far behind the ball and “lay the sod” over on it, ditto — the wedge cannot overcome that.

But the right bounce and sole grind can offer you a measure of forgiveness on those slightly fat mishits, and that’s where trial comes in. I’m sure you understand and can appreciate that there is just not enough time or space…or patience on your part…for me to offer an “owner’s manual” for every bounce/grind configuration out there. So I will not even try.

One way to give yourself a broader combination of options for any lie or shot you face is to put together a set of wedge lofts with different bounce configurations so that you can optimize your own shotmaking versatility. Realize that any wedge sole increases the effective bounce as you lay the face open. So, if you have a 52-54-degree loft wedge with medium bounce, you can make it a high bounce wedge for shots where you want more bounce and height to the shot. Likewise, a 57-60-degree wedge with a medium bounce can handle tighter lies if you just position the ball a bit further back in your stance and maybe even close the face down a bit.

Unless you play very soft turf and/or very fluffy sand, you might shy away from wedges with a very high bounce angle, as it will limit this kind of versatility. By the same token, if you play courses that pretty consistently have firm turf conditions and/or firmer sand, having at least one of your two “go to” wedges with a pretty low bounce will probably serve you well.

So, where can any of you go from here (well, almost any of you, that is)?

My suggestion is to take a bag of balls and your wedges to the far end of the range and experiment with hitting shots of short and medium distance with each of your current wedges with the face square, opened to varying degrees and hooded slightly. See what turf interaction seems to feel the best for you for different shots . . . and produces desired results. Find different turf conditions to hit shots from, and spend time in the practice bunker, too. That will help you experience and appreciate what a low, medium, and high bounce actually feel like through contact.

Again, I know this advice will not be just right for all of you, but I’m trying the best I can to bring some sense of order and simplicity to a very complex subject. Please let me know how I did this time!

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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.

12 Comments

Jamho3

Apr 15, 2019 at 4:59 am

Now we’re cooking with gas! I like where you’re going with this. Tiger did it TK is up next! Solve a problem that they don’t think can be solved!

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TheCityGame

Apr 10, 2019 at 7:44 am

(I think your line “The industry’s guidance about higher lofts for steeper swings and/or softer turf is certainly a basically sound piece of advice” should be “higher BOUNCE” for steeper swings…)

The biggest problem with wedge “fitting” is that some people think, “if I do X, I need wedge Y” and that’s their “optimal wedge” it will cure their problems. It’s so much more complicated than that and if you want to be a good wedge player, you need to UNDERSTAND bounce/turf/swing interaction.

For instance a high bounce wedge makes sense for non-tight fairways, and non-firm fairways but if you get in the habit of relying on the bounce a little too much (and “cheating fat” on your shots), and your fairways become SODDEN (as they were in Maryland all of last year), then no amount of bounce is going to accommodate your fatness.

A few things. . .for full shots. . .if you properly strike a wedge, the bounce shouldn’t matter. Ball first contact, then club enters the turf. Unless you’re playing off a cart path, the bounce is not going to affect that shot significantly.

After that. . .you just need to realize that if you have a high bounce wedge for fluffy sand, you can’t use that wedge for pinching spinners off tight, firm fairways.

If you have a 60º/04º that you like to slide under the ball for green side floppers, that’s not going to let you get away with an iota of fatness if you’re trying to hit down on a 40 yard pitch shot.

Some grinds allow you to open the face around the green. Some force you to keep the club more square.

But, the problem is that people want an answer from EQUIPMENT GODS. They don’t want to learn it in the dirt. These are your “shankers” when you actually try to write a thoughtful article here.

An interesting article would be to take your 4 bullet points from the first article and show exactly WHY (with diagrams if need be) those 4 things make sense. I know it should seem obvious, but to most people it’s not. Go ask a random golfer why they don’t want a high bounce wedge for a shallow swing and see what kind of gobbledy-gook spews forth.

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Dr

Apr 10, 2019 at 3:15 am

Refreshing to have someone offer a method to find a solution rather than trying to come up with a generic solution that usually works for some. Looking forward to part3 and 4.
Things to cover – how to tell things are working well or that you need change, what are the tell signs that equipment changes are needed vs lessons, wedge wear.

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James T Wing

Apr 10, 2019 at 2:01 am

When I think of the term The Wedge Guy, the names that come to mind are Rodger Cleveland and Bob Vokey..just saying

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- TheCityGame
  
  Apr 10, 2019 at 9:44 am
  
  says a lot more about YOU than it does about Koehler.
  
  Reply Report comment
Smiley Green

Apr 9, 2019 at 9:46 pm

Terry
Don’t sweat “shanks” or whatever. Golfwrx is ultimately part of the internet and some men just want to watch the world burn.

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M White

Apr 9, 2019 at 4:50 pm

I think *both* articles were very helpful. Kudos.

As for the need for all of us to learn and try different options, there’s another option that really isn’t too painful or expensive if you don’t have access to demo clubs: buy used clubs. Used wedges are everywhere, from 2nd hand sporting goods stores to eBay to used golf sellers online. Mostly, if you’re willing to have something that’s not the latest – they’re cheap. You can experiment to your heart’s content for not much more than the cost of a round of golf (if that). Then you’ll have a feel for what really works on your courses in your hands and you can go and buy new versions of wedges with those characteristics – if you so desire.

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Obee

Apr 9, 2019 at 3:35 pm

Getting the right grind/sole combo on a wedge is both art and science. I have always set up my two highest lofted wedges to be able to play all conditions that I might encounter. I am a steep player with wedges, so I carry a high bounce, moderate sold-width 56 degree, but I also carry a low(ish) bounce LW with a narrower sole because the bunkers at my home course have been quite firm and tight for the last many years.

Now, though, we have re-done all of our bunkers and they are also soft and fluffy for the time being and a low-bounce “knifey” LW is NOT the club out of fluffy, new bunkers. So I bought a 12* bounce LW for use until the bunkers firm back up.

I’ve always found that the LW is the club that needs the most attention based on conditions. I can hit my high bounce SW on any fairway conditions because I have a lot of forward shaft lean at impact. But for an LW to work for me ideally from the fairway (high bounce, rounded, wider sole), I have to give up to much playability out of tight bunkers.

So I rotate in and out several different LW’s depending on conditions. 🙂

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Robert

Apr 9, 2019 at 1:41 pm

Until we have teachers that can fit players into wedges, it’s going to be a crapshoot on finding the right wedge. It took me several years and trying 20+ wedges to finally find one that fits me the right way. Right now I would guess there are maybe 10 people in the US that can fit wedges properly and I would guess that of those 10 maybe 3 are available to the public. Wedge fitting isn’t something that anyone can learn like driver or iron fitting. It takes vast experience and knowledge of how a club should interact with the turf. Until that knowledge is taught and shared, we all face the doom of trial and error fitting.

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David Bloom

Apr 9, 2019 at 12:49 pm

The fewer words the better……This was outstanding. Thanks

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Brian Terry

Apr 9, 2019 at 11:46 am

Nice follow-up Terry! I thought both have been quite informative. I am fortunate to have the chance to play courses all over the US and Europe and know how much the RIGHT wedge set can help you. I have both high and low bounce wedges with me most of the time and choose depending on the course conditions of the day. I also understand that wedge practice is HUGE in learning how to properly use those wedges. Many do not put in the hours necessary to become truly proficient

Hopefully, you will have an article on grinds in the near future. I learned long ago that a belt sander can be a best friend to your wedges. In the past, sole grinds were not nearly as plentiful as they are now. Fortunately, it’s not rocket science adding some grind to a wedge yourself! Something to think about if those who can’t find the exact grind they want.

Keep up the good work!

BT

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SV677

Apr 9, 2019 at 10:20 am

I like the idea of demoing wedges, however, being left-handed presents a problem. No green-grass shop or big box carries left-handed demos. Using a friend’s wedge is impossible since every one is right-handed. This leaves the tried and true method of looking at right-handed wedges to see if they look good, finding one with less than 10* bounce, buying it and then seeing if it fits the bill. While it is a big problem for wedges it isn’t much better for other clubs.

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