Well since I've been asked more then a few times regarding the Chikara wedges, I figured it's about time I submit a review. I apologize in advance for the length but when I believe in something, I like to be thorough in my explanation of it.
BACKGROUND
I've known Carl for quite a while now. He's been my regular club maker. He's had the tireless duty to build me numerous clubs. He's also had a tireless duty to listen to my wishes for the perfect club every time I've used his services. Once I found out about Carl's past duties at Gauge Design as their wedge designer and saw a few of his creations, I knew I had to get a few made for myself. A few of those were shown in post here……
DIARY OF A WEDGE GRIND
and
FLAMED NIKE WEDGES
Carl has succeded where many other wedges have failed. He's stopped my wedge ho'ing instantly. In the past, I've played numerous Tour Vokeys, Proto Vokeys, Tour Clevelands, Tour Taylor Made, Tour Callaway and a multitude of JDM wedges. One afternoon sitting with Carl and discussing his grind and why he did what he did convinced me that what I needed was a wedge from him.
The first wedges I had Carl do for me were the Vokey Spin Milled's. I was initially nervous taking a wedge brand new in the plastic and having him pull the head only to see sparks flying all over the place in seconds. My trepidation was rewarded with a fine playing wedge.
When I noticed the success I was getting with my TBC/Tuned By Carl wedges, I always encouraged Carl to start his own line. When Carl finally told me that he was going to take a big step and put something out with his name on it again, I was thrilled and eagerly put in my order for a 52* and 58* with him without knowing what they would look like, how they would be made or even what they would cost. I trusted Carl knowing his anal issues with perfection and his consummate attention to detail that whatever he produced would work well for me.
I was fortunate to be able to play pre-proto Chikara's. When I say pre-proto's, these were heads that Carl initially ground for testing and review. A handful of Carl's close associates were able to play and test these wedges to give him feedback. I was chosen because I'm pretty blunt. I will not give something a glowing review if I think it's lousy. I know Carl well enough that I can tell him exactly what I think of pretty much anything without holding anything back. After the data was collected by the intial reviewers, Carl headed back to Japan to create the 300 hand ground Prototypes for his dedicated old customers as well as his new found ones.
I have now been able to get in a few round with my new Prototype Chikara's as well as some long range sessions. The following are my results.
APPEARANCE
Initially when I first saw the Chikara pre-proto, I mentioned to Carl how mechanical they looked. Much more angular then what I had expected from his TBC wedges he had done for me. Carl explained it as being visually different but actually having the same playing characteristics. He wanted to create something with a different look yet still have a lot of playability. He believes that a wedge is a great weapon in the bag and wanted his wedge to have that "stealth" look to show purpose and aggressiveness. I believe with the black oxide finish and grind, he truly achieved his goals. The black DG S400 installed in the head really sets this wedge off from all others as well.
The look definitely has purpose to it. The grind is an interesting thing. On first glance you would just think there's a channel in the sole. It's when you really start looking at it from different angles, you notice the degrees and purpose to the grind of the sole. Carl calls it a five cut sole. It's very different then normal retail offerings and extremely different from custom offerings with their obligatory heel, toe and trailing edge grinds.
The head shape is my preferred look as well. Probably more similar to a Cleveland 588 than a Vokey. The wedge appears to have a miniscule amount of offset yet upon closer look at the base of the hosel, the heel of the wedge turns rearward at the same time the leading edge extends out and is still in line with the hosel. I asked Carl about it and he told me he wanted to have a traditional player look yet still offer some forgiveness to his wedge.
The topline grind, a trademark of most of Carls previous handgrinds is one of my favorite looks. It definitely gives the Chikara a different view from above. Almost knifelike.
FEEL PERFORMANCE
The feel on the Chikara Prototypes really stands out. It's not clicky yet it's also not spongy. Its sound and feel fit perfectly. When I say that, I mean there are some wedges where it feels hard and clicky no matter how hard or far you actually hit a ball. With the Chikara, the sound and feel are equal to what you would expect in distance. From initial play, there seemed to be no learning curve to them. I found this to be very odd because no matter what wedge I've ever used, there was always a learning curve on distance as well as feel. I even remarked to Carl after my first round with them that they felt like an "old friend" in my hands.
Performance was not much of a surprise to me. I've played Carl's grinds and I knew what to expect. Carl's grind in my opinion always play to a higher loft and a less bounce then what they actually are. I've argued many times with Carl that I don't like a wedge with high bounce. Needless to say, Carl has usually won those arguments explaining to me that with his grind, I will achieve better contact and without the added bounce, I'd be sliding under the ball too easily. This is where the channel cut stands out. No matter what the lie, I'm able to get good contact. From thin, short grass, or bare ground, my Chikara is able to get good clean contact. Whereas with other wedges with thicker soles, I've always felt like I bottomed out when I contacted the ground on those lies. I'm able to pick a ball cleanly when I need to with little to no effort. Yet when I'm in the thicker stuff greenside or off in the rough 50 yards from the green, I'm able to dig out a ball without digging in too deep and getting stuck. The sole grind helps to make it feel effortless. In sand traps, I also feel that even on shots where I want to splash the sand and let out a soft-landing roller, the Chikara excels in getting through the sand with ease. The heel grind on my 58* is fantastic. I usually get 60* wedges and bend them to 58* because I like the sole/heel grinds on 60*'s. Carl urged me to get his 57* and bend it to 58* because I'd get a much more playable wedge. One that could do the high flops of a 60 yet allow me to get more distance/playability when I needed it.
Spin is also excellent on these wedges. Actually much better then the Pre-Proto's that I initially tested. Carl actually had to tame some of the spin off on the Proto line. The ball will come off spinning but playable. I didn't find myself backing up outrageous distances but where I wanted to hit it and have it stop, it did it's job.
CONTROL
The forgiveness in the Chikara's is very noticeable. The sole allows me to actually miss hit a shot yet still allows me to get good contact. It will not perform miracles though. A fat shot is still fat but it seems to allow me to glide through shots better then with other wedges. It easily set me up for two par saves and a birdie in my last round with it. I couldn't help but yell out to my three playing partners who also had Chikara's after my first shot with it stuck two feet from the pin and sucked back "CHIKARA!!!!".
NEGATIVES
I don't have any. Well on second thought I guess probably the only one I initially had was that it was too pretty. Almost "art-like" in construction. I know I grimaced the first time I was in a bunker with it. For me it's perfect but I'm sure like any other club though, there will be people that it won't work well for. I know there has been talk about durability of the finish but for those who chose to buy the prototype, they went into it knowing the black oxide finish would wear off in time. This wedge unless oiled will rust and the finish will wear off especially when you're hitting it up to a 100mph into a bunker or hardpan. For those who worry about rust maybe the retail model in tour satin chrome with the raw face will be more up their alley. I've noticed people get surprised at the price. I for one am used to paying a higher price for "tour" and Proto wedges. The Chikara Prototype is made to "tour" qualities and standards. It's hand ground by the designer and made in a limited number of 300. The exact same wedge you can purchase has already had play on the PGA by Tadd Fujikawa. It's also currently in the hands of at least ten Japan Professional Golfers. I don't know of any other "tour" wedge that can be so easily had by making a simple phone call. The retail models will also be at a higher price then normal retail wedges but in my opinion, if it saves me shots and ends my new purchasing immediately, that's a lot of dollars saved.
CONCLUSION
I love this wedge. I have tried many wedges in the past years but this one fit me like a glove from the first round out. There is not a shot that I like to use that hasn't been better with a Chikara. I don't know if it's the answer to everyone's woe's but for me, there is nothing better. It fits my game perfectly. I highly suggest trying a Chikara Design wedge to all golfers. I know I've got my retail wedge set on order already.
This topic is locked
alpha_pro, on Aug 10 2007, 05:41 PM, said:
Posted 16 August 2007 - 03:56 AM
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