Equipment

The wedges the top short-game players on Tour are using

Published

8 years ago

Dec 28, 2015

What wedges are the PGA Tour’s best short-game players using?

To answer that, we have to define “best short game players.” We’ll use scrambling percentage from 2014-2015. The Tour defines scrambling as “The percent of time a player misses the green in regulation but still makes par or better.”

In this story, we’ll take a look at the specific wedges the five best scramblers from last season were using, as well as their scrambling percentages.

5. Jonathan Byrd

Wedges: Callaway Mack Daddy 2 Tour Grind
Lofts: 54-11, 56-11 (bent to 58)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 Tour Issue
Scrambling percentage: 64.92

4. Jordan Spieth

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM6
Lofts: 46-08 F Grind, 52-08 F Grind, 56-10 S Grind, 60-04 L Grind
Shafts: True Temper Project X 6.0
Scrambling percentage: 65.03

3. Steven Bowditch

Wedges: Cleveland 588 Forged Custom
Lofts: 50-08 (two dot), 54-12 (two dot), 60-08 (one dot)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro WV 125 (50), True Temper Project X 7.0 (54, 60)
Scrambling percentage: 65.19

2. Jason Day

Wedges: TaylorMade Tour Preferred EF
Lofts: 47-09 Tour Grind, 52 ATV Grind, 58 ATV Grind
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 Tour Issue
Scrambling percentage: 65.34

1. Chad Collins

Wedges: Fourteen MT28 V5 Forged, Fourteen RM-12
Lofts: 48-06, 50-08, 56-08, 60 (RM-12)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400
Scrambling percentage: 66.18

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24 Comments

Dan F

Dec 30, 2015 at 8:13 pm

This looks like a True Temper endorsement.
All but one of the wedges uses a TT shaft.

Reply Report comment
SeanM

Dec 30, 2015 at 6:00 pm

As with the recent article on drivers, this shows the club brand is insignificant. Five top scramblers using 5 different companies. These 5 guys could use a garden rake and still be among the 5 best.

Reply Report comment
Magnus

Dec 30, 2015 at 5:54 pm

Ie you can play almost any wedge you want as long as you find a fitter/club builder to make them fit your game.

Reply Report comment
Lee

Dec 30, 2015 at 5:38 pm

What a total load of Bull Sh*t, the way the Pro’s have their wedges/clubs setup is so personal (forget the advertised so called loft/bounce/grind) that this forum will never have a clue.

Reply Report comment
- Tom
  
  Dec 31, 2015 at 10:32 am
  
  I just p/u an L grind to my specs…I’m no pro.
  
  Reply Report comment
- KK
  
  Jan 3, 2016 at 11:24 pm
  
  A lot of the grind customizations are tweaked until they fit the eye and feel of the pros. Really can’t accurately describe them in a sentence or two so why complain about it?
  
  Reply Report comment
tiger168

Dec 30, 2015 at 2:24 pm

Most of them has custom grind and wieght and loft, thus, can’t take any face values of the stamps.

Where is Michaelson’s?? Z. Johnson?? Stricker?? S. Garcia?? Oossie?? Are they “the top short-game players…” anymore??? Or they belong to “the Magicians…” category??

I thought really hard about Tiger, and then… I back spaced….

Reply Report comment
Justin

Dec 29, 2015 at 9:58 pm

interesting, do they use the high loft wedges — J. Bird? for bunker play. i have a similar set up – used 56* with high bounce to get out of deep bunkers.

Reply Report comment
tom

Dec 28, 2015 at 11:12 pm

As good as these guys are they don’t need high bounce wedges. Neither do most amateur guys who have really good short games. Higher bounce was created for higher handicappers.

Reply Report comment
DK

Dec 28, 2015 at 1:21 pm

So out of 16 wedges only 4 have a bounce of 10 degrees or higher, yet in the instruction forum all the ‘experts’ preach high bounce. WTF?

Reply Report comment
- Matt
  
  Dec 28, 2015 at 1:49 pm
  
  You gotta remember that the fairways they play on are pretty durn tight! Lower bounce deflects better and won’t dig as much.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Callaway Guy
    
    Dec 28, 2015 at 2:57 pm
    
    That is 100% false information. Lower bounce wedges dig more…
    
    Reply Report comment
  - alexdub
    
    Dec 28, 2015 at 3:51 pm
    
    Matt… high bounce = less dig. Low bounce = more dig.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Tom
      
      Dec 29, 2015 at 12:26 am
      
      depends on your am
      depends on your angle of attack.
      
      Reply Report comment
- Stephenj2891
  
  Dec 28, 2015 at 4:20 pm
  
  That’s because pros typically play courses with very tight fairways and especially around the greens. Most of them will use 12 degree opf bounce only on the sand wedges, so do I.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Crono
  
  Dec 30, 2015 at 12:04 pm
  
  Maybe, just maybe, because the PGA Tour guys are better golfers and have better short games than non pros?
  
  Reply Report comment
- David Ober
  
  Jan 1, 2016 at 6:01 pm
  
  Makes sense due to the firm fairways they play on week in and week out. In the summer at my club, I play wedges with plenty of bounce due to how wet we have to keep the course to keep the grass alive, and then in the winter, when our fairways and surrounds get firmer and tighter, I switch to lower bounce wedges.
  
  Reply Report comment
Casey

Dec 28, 2015 at 1:02 pm

So which ones of the top 5 are not endorsed by the company whose wedges they use?

Reply Report comment
- Josh
  
  Dec 28, 2015 at 2:06 pm
  
  pretty sure Steven Bowditch is a TM tour player… the Cleveland wedges threw me off
  
  Reply Report comment
Benny

Dec 28, 2015 at 12:59 pm

Not only is it cool to see what brand they are playing but what loft and grinds. Do they play 4 or 3 wedge sets and how they break their lofts down. Just crazy to think these guys can get up and down 70% of the time. It’s probably much more often than this if you could remove their bad rounds that shouldn’t count but its their average so it has to be counted. Just shows why this site is better than all others. Thx WRX! 😉

Reply Report comment
Justin

Dec 28, 2015 at 12:07 pm

Impressive that 5 different companies are represented

Reply Report comment
- Ronald Montesano
  
  Dec 28, 2015 at 12:10 pm
  
  Precisely my thoughts…the secret is…find your own secret!!
  
  Reply Report comment
- West
  
  Dec 28, 2015 at 12:24 pm
  
  Wedges are virtually the same…Most important thing is to find the right loft and bounce/grind.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Jack
    
    Dec 31, 2015 at 1:50 am
    
    loft, bounce, and make sure that they are not all worn out.
    
    Reply Report comment

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Whats in the Bag

Drew Brees WITB 2024 (April)

Published

2 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (10.5 degrees)

Mini driver: TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper (13.5 degrees)

5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (19 degrees)

Irons: TaylorMade P790 (4-8, PW), TaylorMade P760 (9)

Wedges: TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09, 56-10, 60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Select Newport 2 Prototype

Check out more in-hand photos of Drew Brees’ clubs here.

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Equipment

Putter Roundup: 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Published

3 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Brian Knudson

We always get some great photos of some phenomenal putters at tour events and love to share them. Here are a few from the 2024 Zurich Classic that caught our eye and seemed interesting. (And as a reminder, you can check out all our photos from New Orleans here)

MJ Daffue’s Scotty Cameron T-11 Prototype

MJ is going with the new Scotty Cameron T-11 Prototype this week. The putter is a multi-piece mallet that puts an emphasis on stability with the wings on the back. Daffue’s putter does have a design that differs from retail with a monotone finish, which eliminates the black paint on the aluminum parts that we see at retail. He also has a half siteline milled into the top and an L-neck welded on for some additional toe hang. The face features a deeper milling that should offer a softer feel and slightly quieter sound.

Scotty Cameron T-7.5 Prototype

We spotted a few different Scotty Cameron Phantom models with modified rear flanges. It looks like the straight black flange was cut into a half circle for a little softer look at address. On this T-7.5, you can still see the raw aluminum from the back view, so this might have been a last-minute job to get them out on tour. The semi-circle also has a white line on it, maybe to frame the ball differently.

Alex Fitzpatrick’s Bettinardi SS16 DASS

Alex’s SS16 is made from Bettinardi’s famous D.A.S.S., or double-aged stainless steel, for a softer and more responsive feel. The face has a unique diamond pattern milling and features a logo that I feel like I have seen before, but can’t put a name to. The putter is a classic mid-mallet style with a simple, single white siteline on the top. The sole is clean with just the SS16, DASS, and a green triangle logo on it.

Steve Stricker’s Odyssey White Hot No. 2

This putter has made some amazing putts in its long career! Stricker’s White Hot No. 2 might be in the top 10 of most famous putters in golf. When you see all the dents and lead tape, you know the heel will be up and it will be sinking putts! The soft White Hot insert looks to be in good shape and has less wear on it than the rest of the putter. We don’t know how much lead tape is on the sole, but it has to be multiple layers compacted down over the years.

Doug Ghim’s Scotty Cameron T-7 Prototype

This T-7 should win the award for “best color finish” in this list with its deep chromatic bronze. It looks like Scotty added a cherry bomb dot to the heel of the deep-milled face and filled it with a very dark blue paint. The rest of the putter looks pretty stock with its single site line on the topline and twin site lines down the “fangs” of the putter. Twin 5-gram weights are installed in the sole and the putter is finished off with a gloss black double bend shaft with a fill shaft offset.

Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic

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Equipment

Spotted: Project X Denali hybrid shaft

Published

4 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Brian Knudson

Project X’s Denali wood shafts have been seen in more and more golf bags this year as we start off the season. As a refresher, Denali Blue is the mid-launch and mid-spin model while Denali Black is for players seeking lower launch and spin.

Denali combines great feel with stability and increased ball speed. Currently, Project X only offers Denali Blue and Black in wood shafts, but we spotted a hybrid shaft in Daniel Berger’s bag at the 2024 Zurich Classic.

Check out in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s full WITB here.

The shaft looks to be a Denali Blue 105G – HY in TX flex. No word on details from Project X yet but we can assume that this is a mid-launching shaft that weighs around 105 grams in Tour X-Stiff flex.

Berger has this shaft in his TaylorMade P770 3-iron, likely for some added launch and spin to hold the green from longer distances.

Hopefully, this means we will see some more shafts coming under the Denali name in the future, as I think many of us would like to try one in a hybrid or utility iron!