Equipment

Forum Thread of the Day: “What’s the most forgiving wedge?”

Published

7 years ago

Dec 21, 2018

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.”

Entire Thread: “Most forgiving wedge?”

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Gianni Magliocco

Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected]

15 Comments

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.

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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…

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Tom

Dec 22, 2018 at 5:43 pm

This guy Gianni doesn’t know ‘Richard’ about golf equipment

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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

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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

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Tom

Dec 21, 2018 at 12:36 pm

Hahahaha…forgiving wedges, are you kidding? there is no such thing!!

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- Dan
  
  Dec 22, 2018 at 12:38 am
  
  Spot on
  
  Reply Report comment
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… 😀

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- 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.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - 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.
    
    Reply Report comment
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.

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- C
  
  Dec 21, 2018 at 11:54 am
  
  Agreed. Wedges aren’t meant to be very forgiving, otherwise they’d all be cavity backed.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - 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.!
    
    Reply Report comment
    - 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.
      
      Reply Report comment
    - 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!
      
      Reply Report comment

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Equipment

Best ‘forgiving’ wedges – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

2 days ago

May 29, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

In our forums, our members have been discussing the most forgiving wedges on the market. WRXer ‘aaronpoling’ lays out his current setup and what he’s currently considering, saying:

“I am looking at getting new wedges, but looking for a forgiving wedge.

I currently play Ping G25 50°, MD4 54° and 58°. I used to play the CBX2 in the 50°, 54° and 58° and liked them a lot; but like any good dad, my son took them.

I am currently looking Callaway’s CB12 and Cleveland’s CBZ. Anyone have thoughts on these? Or recommendations of other wedges that I should check out?”

And our members have been weighing in with their thoughts and recommendations in response, with one brand coming out emphatically on top.

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.

boggyman: “CBZs are amazing wedges!”
drewbens: “Agreed, the Cleveland CB wedges are great! Already had a CBX Full Face 2 54 and recently added a 50 and 58 (for well under $100 a piece). Was chipping so well last week that my brother-in-law asked if the wedges were legal. Definitely underrated wedges for those of us that are not scratch golfers.”
BogeyTed: “Get Cleveland CBX/CBZ. Very underrated clubs.”

Entire Thread: “Best ‘forgiving’ wedges – GolfWRXers discuss”

Equipment

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: Ping PLD Ally Blue Onset putter

Published

2 days ago

May 29, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @negncic has a Ping PLD Ally Blue Onset putter up for grabs.

From the listing: “34” Ping PLD Ally Blue Onset. Ping composite shaft Ping PLD Pistol grip. No issues. $345 shipped.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules

Equipment

I built the worst fitting clubs ever – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

3 days ago

May 28, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

In our forums, our members have been reacting to a WRXer who claims to have built the “worst fitting clubs ever.” ‘dlow206’ recounts his experience with plenty of insightful findings for where he can go better next time in a detailed post, saying:

“Here’s my story of building the worst fitting clubs ever (for me). And my findings of what a better fit is.

I am short in stature, as well as a very short wrist to floor of 30.5″. I went down a rabbit hole of wanting to try irons 1″ shorter of more than standard length. Given the shorter lengths, the swingweights would be super light unless I added back a ton of weight to the heads, but I don’t like adding an extreme amount of weight back to the heads, so I decided to compensate with heavier shafts (115 grams instead of 95). Played with this set for a while and was hitting all irons extremely poorly. Thin, fat, right, right, left. My swing didn’t deteriorate that much because I was hitting my driver well, woods well, etc.

Went back to my older set of irons, playing at standard length, and my iron play improved immediately. Since then, have been doing more testing, while paying more attention to different possible variables. What I have found is I actually prefer lighter total weight with relatively normal or slightly heavier swingweights. Did a recent fitting and found that 85 gram shafts were better for me than 95 grams with standard length and relatively standard swingweights.

Still trying to dial in a final iron shaft choice, so have a few contenders that I will be testing. Will be moving away from my current Steelfiber i95 S parallel to lighter and softer

MMT 80 parallel R – worked pretty well in a limited number of swings at a fitting
Fujikura Travil 85 R – the fitter liked the Axiom 95 R for me at Club Champion, but i didn’t love the effort required to swing them. If there was a 85 Axiom, that would probably have been a great fit. So i am going try a Travil 85 R which is japan only
Steelfiber i80 CW R – i have been playing Steelfibers for a long time, so need to give one Steelfiber shaft a shot

Given I do club building work, I am going to build all of these shafts with the All-Fit universal iron adapters to pair with a Srixon 7 iron head for testing. With these adapters, there isn’t a swingweight issue because the amount of weight from drilling out is about equivalent to the universal adapter components.”

And our members have been sharing their reactions in our forum.

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.

Mikey_HACKilroy: “That length cut costs you a fair amount in swing points. I’d posit the length mattered more than the weight because a 115g shaft isn’t going to actually add enough back after cutting an inch off. Does it mean 115 would ultimately work? Hard to say. Maybe try a 1/2″ cut and add 2g to the head to compensate assuming the 7i is 37″ long. Maybe that will feel better. It translates to the same ~D2 you’re swinging at with the 95g shafts (estimated based on common weight, but you can weigh your parts on your own obviously).”
Stuart_G: “Your process is good – keep at it and trust it.”

Entire Thread: “I built the worst fitting clubs ever – GolfWRXers discuss”