Re: loft changes generational ?

There are 3 (or 4) factors at play in a wedge and the "right wedge" is completely dependent on interacting factors.

The factors for the wedge itself are: loft, bounce, and sole characteristics (sole width and sole grind).

The interacting factors are: turf type, sand type, shot type, swing type.

The general rule is this: the firmer the turf or the sand, the shallower the swing and the more delicate (ie open faced) the shot; you want a narrower sole and/or less bounce. This promotes digging means the head is less prone to bounce off hard surfaces, and also allows it to get the leading edge closer to the turf. Likewise, for lush grass and fine, powdery sand, a steep swing and stock shot, a wider sole and/or more bounce helps to keep the head from digging into the turf or sand helping to shallow out the path.

Now, where it gets tricky is that a wide sole, low bounce club can play very much the same as a narrow sole, high bounce club in many situations. They'll feel different but where they get used is the same.

IMO the most versatile wedge is 56 degrees (true loft) with 8 degrees of bounce, a medium sole (not much wider than your PW sole width) and heel relief ground into it. More bounce than your irons (helping out of bunkers) but not so much sole width you can't open it up and hit a little flopper from the shaggy stuff.

Re: loft changes generational ?


Boy did I ask for it ! My brain is still hurting,and I had a break half way through! Thank you for your detailed reply,I am not certain if I fully understand it and some of what I have to say seems contradictory.

As far as I can see the wilson marked 55* has
- very little if any bounce angle
- sole 3/4 inch
- very little heel toe camber
- minimal trailing edge curve
- slightly rounded leading edge

The unknown has 60 degrees loft and

- maybe 5 degrees bounce
- 1 1/4 inch sole
- minimal if any heel toe camber
- minimal trailing edge curve
- sharp leading edge

We have a lot of hard ground on our course , a mixture of grasses and coarse , often damp sand bunkers.
I have only played 4 rounds to compare them although I have used the wilson for 2 years. The wilson does well in almost all conditions except hard pan or grassy hard ground where it tends to bounce off rather than slide under, this is mainly a problem close in , maybe 20 – 30 yards. I prefer to play lofted shots any where from 120 yards to 20 yards and closer , I just seem to have a talent for picking the distance and club , some have called me a feel player. The problem with the wilson and my style of play is that really close in I have to start opening the face and sometimes flipping. This starts to cause me problems when faced with a shot requiring a very light touch, interestingly I tend to stop short with a sticky ball.
The unknown ( or mega force 2 as it is marked ) is spot on when faced with these strokes, with the club sliding easily under in the hard stuff , slicing through the lush grass and I am able to play even very close in shots with a conventional short up and down lob stroke. It only comes to grief when playing out of the sand where it digs in , I think because of the sharp leading edge. If I use it from to far out the leading edge tends to slide right under causing a very short shot indeed.


I have a pitching wedge, approach wedge and the 55 degree sand wedge as standard but the mega plays well for my style and seems to fill a gap nicely. The trouble is this gives me too many clubs. I suppose I could toss my 4 iron and use my 7 wood in it's place , I don't play my long irons well anyway. We don't have a pro for advice. Is it just a matter of keeping the mega , tossing the wilson ,and persevering in the sand? Or keeping the wilson tossing the mega and become more skilled up close? Or is it still sound thinking , given the course, my experience level, and style of play, ditch the 4 iron and go with four wedges , driver and 3 fairway woods?

I know this is a lot to wade through and if you are still reading this I am very grateful, I only have 2 years experience, and am thirsty for info and guidance.
Am I right in the saying that we are only allowed 14 clubs including the putter?

Best Regards Peter.

p.s I promise not to be so verbose in future!

Re: loft changes generational ?

The more you provide, the more accurate the help can be.

I agree with Dave Pelz that you want more options around the green than you do from 200 yards out - the logic being that you're pinseeking greenside, whereas you're NOT pinseeking @ 200 yards.

In my own bag I've setup the yardage gaps based on how I want to play my wedges - so I play a pair of wedges at 54 high bounce and 58 low bounce (same sole width and camber), then AW-4i (23.5 degrees), a 2H (17.5 degrees) a 3w (14.75 degrees) and my driver.

I'd keep both wedges and toss the 4i - it sounds like the mega force is saving you strokes around the green - how many strokes will the 4i save you?

I completely blanked on leading edge - if your Wilson is rounded it will certainly resist digging against an edge that's squared or sharp. Speaking of digging, with a 1 1/4" wide sole, if you open that 60 out of the bunker, it will stop digging, I promise.

To check actual bounce, measure the loft of the wedge with the head soled properly (ie there's no shaft lean). Then set up the club so that it's centered on it's sole (the shaft should lean) and measure the loft again. The difference is the bounce. This link contains a great article on the how-to.

Re: loft changes generational ?

Thank you very much for sticking with me on this, it has been very enlightening. The advice on what's in my bag is sound ,I hadn't looked at it that way. I looked up some sites after your last post but none were as easy to understand as your link, so thanks for that. I really enjoy green side play , I think I will go with the 4 wedges for now and put in some practice out of the sand with the mega and see how I go.
On another note ,as you know I am starting on my foray into club repair and building and you advised me to get a hydraulic puller. Guess what I am getting for xmas. I found a genuine JB brand new on ebay for $ 130 shipped to OZ. I don't know what they are usually worth, I had trouble finding that out, but this seems like value for money. Anyway thanks again, I learned a lot.

Regards, Peter.

Re: loft changes generational ?

It's great value for the money. The original JB new was 150 plus shipping, with the JB Pro being 185.

Re: loft changes generational ?

Hi again, it turns out to be the pro model with vice adaptor,so I seemed to have scored well. Any one else looking, they on ebay brand new.

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