19 replies to this topic

[Gxgolfer]

An RD Series 4.1 Overview

The Solus wedges embody the first legitimate new technology for short game wedge play in the last 70 years - since Gene Sarazen developed the bounce sole contour to create the modern SAND wedge in 1931.    In great contrast to the Sarazen sand wedge improvement (and its many variations in the marketplace today), Solus UTILITY wedge technology attacks the complete range of short game needs for golf from the ground up - specifically recognizing that the overwhelming majority of short game shots are NOT sand play, but they instead are a broad variety of shot-making situations played from different lies and surfaces - requiring different distances, trajectories, and ball spin rates.

Solus recognizes the situational demands for shots requiring different distances, trajectories, and ball spin rates and therefore offers multiple lofts for a complete short game utility wedge set.

THE CRESCENT CUT SOLE CONTOUR
- the Foundation of the Solus Difference

The rearward 2/3 of the bounce contour of a conventional Sarazen wedge sole is repositioned upward and behind the leading edge of the club head, the bounce angles are increased slightly, and a camber is added to the rear of that sole contour extending from heel to toe.

This improved sole contour lowers the leading edge (more than 1/8 inch lower than the industry sales leaders) for better set-up and play on square-faced shots from tight lies, downhill lies, and buried bunker shots. Yet, an opened club face orientation for bunker explosion shots reveals an even greater bounce surface area (two 18-degree bounce surfaces) for improved sand play.

The sole contour camber extending from heel to toe creates a negative bounce area for a "pro-grind" relieved heel area to play open-faced lob shots without a dangerously raised leading edge.

This same camber also creates a "keel effect" for the club head in an area of maximized bounce contour directly below the C.G., so that contact with the playing surface at impact does not miss-align the club head.  

The C.G. for the club head is also slightly raised and moved rearward with the design of the crescent cut sole contour.   This higher C.G. increases ball spin rates and improves trajectory management capabilities.  The more rearward C.G. enhances gear-effect and increases the Moment of Inertia of the club head for better distance and directional performance on off-center hits.

This Patented Crescent Cut Utility Wedge sole contour is provided on all lofts of the Solus Utility Wedge set.

[sandan]

I'm a new golfer and just bought a set of used solus wedges. Are there any expert members who have tried this wedges? I tried everything Ben Hogan, Titilest, Callaway and Taylor Made and could not feel  any particular difference or feel except for the Taylor Made RAC.

BUT, these Solus wedges are a lot easier from the fairway and spin the ball a lot more. Am I correct?

Edited by sandan, 14 December 2006 - 07:30 PM.

[rdavis]

I wouldnt consider my self an expert but I will say I havent found a shot or condition that these didnt work with. I love the fact on tight lies that you can get the leading edge under the ball. They are also very good for flops due to the sole grind. Yes they do make the ball spin. Lots of other golfers look in my bag and wonder what Iam carrying but I wouldnt switch. I did get rid of the grips cause Iam a Tour Velvet fan.

[weissmanjeff]

Admittedly, I go through wedges pretty frequently, and am a slef-diagnosed golf-ho.  That being said, I don't see my Solus wedges leaving the bag, until they need to be refinished and regrooved.  I am playing the Tour versions, but the retail versions are nearly as good.  Objective pros and cons:

Bad:
- Stock shaft and stock grip kind of, well, suck
- Medallion in the back of the head is butt-ugly
- Cast clubhead and thus not quite as soft as forged offerings

Good:
- Square set-up with no offset so it frames the ball really well
- Finish is nice looking
- Grooves and milled face spin the ball as well as any retail wedge available
- Sole allows an average (or better) golfer to manipulate the head to different conditions

Really Good:
- Just plain stupid in the sand - if you can't hit bunker shots with these, try bowling

The infomercial is no joke.  These really are good!

[PMoretz]

I recently purchased the 53 and 59 degree wedges from TGW.com.  I had read the reviews here and elsewhere and I have to say these wedges are awesome.  I had played Clevelands, Wilsons and TaylorMades in the past, but these are much better.  I was amazed at the amount of spin these put on my ball, something I wasn't able to do with the other wedges.  In addition, it was really, really easy to open up the blade and hit a flop shot!  I thing that I noticed that is different on my wedges from the posts I've read is, Solus had Golf Pride DD2 grips in mine, rather than the Winn grips everyone was complaining about.  These wedges certainly make wedge play a little easier for the higher handicapped player.

[epic]

I play the 56* 4.1 Series and I absolutely love it... From the factory stepless shaft to the spin milled face it is my all time favorite wedge. I love the way it sets up and it can check a ball like no other wedge I've used. Try one out and you wont go back!

5 Stars from me...

[Robmc826]

The guy that hooked up with our threesome today has the solus wedges. i asked if i could try them . i then proceeded to hit the 2 best bunker shots of my life. the spin is un believeable with these wedges. i have never been able to spin the ball as good as i did today. Just ordered the 56 today. maybe in the future i will get the 51 too.

Robert

[Swingtheclub]

weissmanjeff, on Apr 7 2007, 12:53 PM, said:

Admittedly, I go through wedges pretty frequently, and am a slef-diagnosed golf-ho.  That being said, I don't see my Solus wedges leaving the bag, until they need to be refinished and regrooved.  I am playing the Tour versions, but the retail versions are nearly as good.  Objective pros and cons:

Bad:
- Stock shaft and stock grip kind of, well, suck
- Medallion in the back of the head is butt-ugly
- Cast clubhead and thus not quite as soft as forged offerings

Good:
- Square set-up with no offset so it frames the ball really well
- Finish is nice looking
- Grooves and milled face spin the ball as well as any retail wedge available
- Sole allows an average (or better) golfer to manipulate the head to different conditions

Really Good:
- Just plain stupid in the sand - if you can't hit bunker shots with these, try bowling

The infomercial is no joke.  These really are good!

I just watched the infermercial and was interested in the sole although I have seen a grooved sole like that before

Your excellent review leaves me with a couple of questions

What is the difference between the tour version and the retail version?

What is the stock shaft and what did you change too?

You say they are cast ?  What material are they using?  My Volkeys are cast but my understanding is they are cast in carbon steel.


Again great review   Solus should be paying you

[19th_Hole]

I have 2 questions on the Solus wedges, how does it work when you open the face (to throw it up in the air more) on a shot from the fairway, when you wouldnt normally want any bounce, do you have to hit these with a straight face????

Also why do they have the crescent cut sole in the 51 deg, why would you want bounce on a 51? you arent going to hit bunker shots with one of these?

[aec4]

I sold my Solus wedges simply because delicate shots were very difficult to play with them.  Sure, they were very nice from the fairway, and longer than any other wedge I ever had (not that it matters).  I was hitting the 59* 100 yds, while my 60 Vokey SM goes 90.  However, any short pitches were so hard to hit soft because the face felt so hard...  I put the vokey back in and bam. those shots came back instantly..

[kiwidave]

What the opinion on the blade versions ??

[19th_Hole]

kiwidave, on Oct 15 2007, 06:28 PM, said:

What the opinion on the blade versions ??

I have just had a set (51,56,61 of the 7.1s) arrive and they look mint! I have been chipping in the backyard and hitting some wedges in the park next door and im very excited about taking them for a spin, dam it im not playing till Monday.

[weissmanjeff]

kenk7us2002, on Sep 9 2007, 12:36 PM, said:

weissmanjeff, on Apr 7 2007, 12:53 PM, said:

Admittedly, I go through wedges pretty frequently, and am a slef-diagnosed golf-ho.  That being said, I don't see my Solus wedges leaving the bag, until they need to be refinished and regrooved.  I am playing the Tour versions, but the retail versions are nearly as good.  Objective pros and cons:

Bad:
- Stock shaft and stock grip kind of, well, suck
- Medallion in the back of the head is butt-ugly
- Cast clubhead and thus not quite as soft as forged offerings

Good:
- Square set-up with no offset so it frames the ball really well
- Finish is nice looking
- Grooves and milled face spin the ball as well as any retail wedge available
- Sole allows an average (or better) golfer to manipulate the head to different conditions

Really Good:
- Just plain stupid in the sand - if you can't hit bunker shots with these, try bowling

The infomercial is no joke.  These really are good!

I just watched the infermercial and was interested in the sole although I have seen a grooved sole like that before

Your excellent review leaves me with a couple of questions

What is the difference between the tour version and the retail version?

What is the stock shaft and what did you change too?

You say they are cast ?  What material are they using?  My Volkeys are cast but my understanding is they are cast in carbon steel.


Again great review   Solus should be paying you

I think the main difference is finish (raw vs. black) and head weight.  I don't what what they are cast from, but to me they feel as good as Vokeys and Cleves.  Current shaft is same profile as stock shaft but a little heavier and stiffer.  Stock shaft is a proprietary shaft, and they also use a proprietary shaft for tour versions.

[CallawayKID9]

19th_Hole, on Oct 16 2007, 07:03 PM, said:

kiwidave, on Oct 15 2007, 06:28 PM, said:

What the opinion on the blade versions ??

I have just had a set (51,56,61 of the 7.1s) arrive and they look mint! I have been chipping in the backyard and hitting some wedges in the park next door and im very excited about taking them for a spin, dam it im not playing till Monday.

I just got the same set up coming off of Mizuno's and these things are just amazing!  No more figuring out course conditions and which wedges I want to put in my bag (do I need more bounce...no, no...maybe less bounce...AHH!).  These things do it all!!!!

[bgolfing]

Just bought three off of ebay and cant wait to try them. Very nice looking heads. Setup square, not too big. Short game is my strength and I wanted to have 3 wedges all the same look, feel, and technology which is what got me to get these.

[eggs]

I was on the hunt for a cavity-back Gap wedge and after reading up on the Solus 4.1, decided to buy a 51* version (no chance to demo one where I live).

I have to say that the club was a disappointment, particularly with feel - I found it very harsh and clicky and I just couldn't get used to it.
Little feedback was there either and as I thrive on greenside play (cos I don't hit enough GIR), I felt the club was hindering me or rather it wasn't helping as much as others seem to. There was none of the 'caress' feeling on patial shots and chips that you can get with other wedges; even though, conversely, the aggressive grooves and face milling meant that the ball was easy to control.
There was also something strange going on when looking at it from set-up - the face appeared (to me) to be too far away from the hosel, like it had been stretched too far across.  
Additionally the TT stepless shaft felt very soft, possibly too soft, but the worst aspect is the plastic medallion in the cavity, which just looks cheap.

It's not all bad news tho - the black finish had hardly worn at all in the few rounds + practice that I used it for and in fact I'd put it as probably the most durable finish I've ever experienced on a golf club.
As mentioned before, the grooves and face milling put a helluva lot of spin on the ball and the leading edge is easy to get very, very tight to the ground.
In all three of these attributes, I'd venture that the Solus is as good as anything out there, which will appeal to many players.

However, overall performance for me was somehow poor and I expected so much more. The unusual appearance and the lack of feel were just not for me and my hunt goes on. A 52* Cleveland CG14 has just been placed in the bag so we'll see how it fares - my initial impressions of it are far more positive than those of the Solus 4.1.

3 stars for the good point mentioned above but my opinion is that it's one of the least likeable wedges I've played.
Judging by the positive opinions elsewhere, however, it would seem to be a love-it or hate-it deal.

[liu374]

I carry the 51*, 56* and 61* Solus 4.1 (cavity back). I've probably played 7-8 rounds with these  since acquiring them earlier this summer as part of a complete overhaul of my Play-it-Again bag of clubs. Here are my two cents:

It's a great beginner club. The crescent cut sole makes it ridiculously easy to hit off tight lies and even though weissmanjeff mentioned that it's stupid in the sand, I haven't had the same type of success. I struggle in the sand regardless of what club I'm swinging (so it's me, not the club).

The head is heavier than other wedges (i.e. CG, TM) which works well for me. I like having a club that feels more consistent with my irons.

The darker finish is sweet.

The last few rounds I've really started to notice how much spin I can/do put on the ball. Consequently, I've left more than my fair share of chip shots short, but I can also stick the ball from 65 out onto a sloping green.

At some point in the future (probably next season), I'll probably end up re-shafting these to a more wedge-friendly shaft. The stock shaft isn't bad, but I imagine an upgrade wouldn't hurt.

To end my rambling, I'll just mention that I've chipped in twice with the 56*... The first two chip-ins of my short golf career.

(p.s. I know the Solus plastic medallion on the cavity is tacky, but really, when do you see this when you're addressing or swinging a club?)

Edited by liu374, 30 July 2008 - 10:06 AM.

[NWgolfer19]

These wedges are sweet. I love their look at set up and the confidence I have when I stand over a shot. I do want different shafts though. Does anyone know if these are .355 taper tip?

Edited by NWgolfer19, 08 March 2011 - 01:13 AM.

[rodan]

I love these wedges.  I purchased the 56* & 61* from Golfsmith for $35/piece to go a long with my Ping Eye 2+'s.  I play a lot of flop and trajectory shots and the sole/grind allows you to get the leading edge up to the ball without compromising sand play.  These fit nicely with my Eye 2+'s.  I used a hair dryer to remove the ugly medallion - looks a lot better.

[BewareTheGlowball]

rodan, on 05 May 2011 - 01:10 PM, said:

I love these wedges.  I purchased the 56* & 61* from Golfsmith for $35/piece to go a long with my Ping Eye 2+'s.  I play a lot of flop and trajectory shots and the sole/grind allows you to get the leading edge up to the ball without compromising sand play.  These fit nicely with my Eye 2+'s.  I used a hair dryer to remove the ugly medallion - looks a lot better.

I bought one of these on a whim from divot.com one day when they were 29 bucks. I got the 61 degree 4.1. I was sceptical but my current lob was needing to be replaced. I am still a little sketchy on what my max distance is but so far 100 and in seems to be just like my old 60 degree, but the short chips and pitchs and lobs I am making are way better then my old callaway wedge. I think I have chipped/pitched in about 6 times in the last 5 rounds played. And with proper sand "ie no hard-pan masquerading as sand with a light skiff on top of it , I don't think I have been further then like 10 feet from the pin yet.