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.”
This week, we have our Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, on the ground at the OccuNet Classic at Tascosa Golf Club in Amarillo, Texas, for the 14th event of the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season. With that, we see some great things in the Lead Tape Report as we roll into Amarillo.
Joel Thelen
Monday Qualifier, Joel Thelen is in the field this week. He has played on the Korn Ferry Tour for a full season in 2023, and he is back in action this week. A couple of clubs caught my eye this week in his bag.
First off: His trusted Titleist 816 H2 hybrid. This club came out in October of 2015, and it still remains strong in the bag. Also, take a look at this Odyssey White Hot OG 7, putting a capital S in the 7S model. This custom neck has some impressive lean for an arm-lock-style putter. The bottom of the putter is covered in tape for optimal weighting.
Mitchell Meissner
Taking a look at Mitchell Meissner’s bag this week, we have some great lead tape coverage. Top to bottom working from fairway metals, irons, and wedges. We can see on the short irons and wedges that there is tape at the base of the grip, adding a little counterbalance. Along with that, some tape on the short irons and wedges as well. Moving to his putter, he rolls the Odyssey 7 Bird putter. Meissner putts left-handed and strikes the ball right-handed.
Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.
Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: Titleist GTS3 (15 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 70 TX
7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 80 TX
Irons: Titleist U505 (3), Titleist 620 MB (4-9)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 8 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putters: Scotty Cameron Tour Prototype, Scotty Cameron GOLO 6.3 Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
In our forums, one user has offered up a prompt for the true sickos, inviting fellow forum members to share every set of irons they’ve ever owned. As to be expected, this is a lengthy forum topic.
@Lamosteve began:
Can you name every set of irons you’ve owned? Here’s mine
Spalding Dots
Spalding Eclipse
Ram Lazer FX
Lynx Parallax
Mizuno EZ Comp
Ben Hogans
Cleveland CG Red
Taylor Made R9s
PING i20
PING iE1
Taylor Made M6
Our members in the forum have been offering up their own collections. 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.
- macedan: “Started with a hand-me-down Golden Bear set from my brother when I was in high school, never really played more than once a year or got into the game until about summer of 2017. First purchased a set of Cleveland CG4’s (I actually really miss this set sometimes, soft & not terribly large for a GI iron), moved into Nike Vapor Fly’s by the end of the year. Those lasted until spring of 18 when I decided I wanted new, so I traded them in for TM Rbladez. Honestly, although I liked the Rbladez, poor decision on my part, I think this was really about the only time so far that after a week or two I was kicking myself for not staying with what I had. Rbladez stayed with me until late last summer when I switched to P790’s and (knock on wood) I am hoping this will be my longest lasting set.”
- JimmyC59: “MacGregor Jack Nicklaus Triple Crown. Palmer The Standard. Still play these.”
- jgrzask: “Tommy Armour 845u
Mizuno MP-32
Mizuno MP-33 (2 sets)
Bridgestone J33cb – still own
Srixon i-302 (2 sets) – still own
Tourstage X-Blades – still own
Mizuno Hot Metal – still own
Nike Forged Blades – still own
Titleist 714 AP1 – still own
Cobra Forged SS – still own”
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Bud Cauley WITB 2026 (June)
Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament. Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura...
Hannah Green WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Titleist GTS3 (10 degrees, D4 SureFit setting) Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana RB 53 S 3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees,...
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Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 S 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (16.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue...
Brianna Do WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (9 degrees) Shaft: KBS PGW 3-wood: Callaway Elyte Titanium (15 degrees) Shaft: KBS PGW 5-wood:...
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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!