The Best Wedges for Beginners and High Handicappers 2023
How well you can perform from within 100 yards will be critical if you want to go low with your golf score. For Beginners and high handicappers finding the right wedge will be vitally important if you want to improve your game. There are four main classes of wedge, and each has its own strengths and abilities. Below are my choices for the 5 best wedges for beginners and high handicappers 2023.
The Best Wedges for Beginners and High Handicappers – The List
- TaylorMade Milled Grind 2 Black Wedge
- Callaway Mack Daddy CB Wedge
- Cleveland Golf RTX Zipcore Wedge
- MacGregor MACTEC X Chrome
- Titleist SM8 Vokey Tour Chrome
- I love this wedge, it looks so cool in black!
- The center of gravity has been optimized for precise flight and enhanced feel.
- The all-new Milled Grind 2 wedges combine precision-milling with Raw Face Technology designed for increased spin.
- While the face rusts over time, the rest of the head will maintain its original finish.
- The milling process means each wedge has a precisely crafted grind that produces optimal turf interaction and consistent performance.
- The TPU Insert in the back cavity of the wedge provides vibration dampening, for a solid feel at impact.
- More Spin from Groove-In-Groove Technology
- Four Sole Grinds to Suit a Variety of Playing Styles, Attack Angles and Course Conditions
- Broad Range of Lofts and Bounce Combinations
- Satisfying Feel from Soft Carbon Steel, Precise CG Locations and Crisp Turf Interaction
- Platinum Chrome or Black Matte Finish
- Choice of loft 48 – 60 degrees
- ZipCore shifts the centre of gravity enhancing spin, control, and consistency.
- UltiZip Grooves are sharper, deeper, and narrower for more groove contact per shot.
- Heat treated which increases the durability of your wedge.
- True Temper Dynamic Gold Spinner Tour Issue flex shaft for stability, control, and consistency.
- High Quality Stainless Steel Offers A Soft Feel With Enhanced Feedback
- Classic Head Shape
- Large Groove Design For Improved Control And Optimised Spin
- Soft Compound Macgregor Grip For Greater Traction And Feel
- 52, 56 And 60 Degree Loft Options Available. Available In Men’s Right Hand
- Classic Chrome Finish.
- The SM8 grooves maximise spin and control.
- Improved distance and trajectory control.
- A type of sole for every game.
- In 52 degrees loft.
What are the different types of Wedges?
The different types of golf wedges for beginners that exist might look very similar in their features and technology, but they are not. They have different lengths, loft and bounce. Understanding the different types and specifications of a golf wedge is vital to get the most out of your game. The four main classes of wedge are the Pitching Wedge, Gap Wedge, Sand Wedge and Lob Wedge.
What Wedges should a Beginner carry?
The key to choosing the best golf wedge for beginners is to ensure that there is no large gap between the loft of each club, usually try to have a 4-5 degree gap between each wedge. This gives the beginner golfer the opportunity to hit different types of shot without having to dramatically alter how they swing the club. Therefore the best three wedges for a beginner or high handicapper to carry would be a Pitching Wedge, a Gap Wedge and a Sand Wedge.
What is a Pitching Wedge?
Abbreviated as PW, the modern pitching wedge hits the ball the farthest of the different types of wedge. The pitching wedge has a lower loft angle between 46 to 48 degrees. The low loft of the pitching wedge makes the ball fly a bit lower in the air and roll farther when it lands on the green. In other words, Golfers use this wedge to hit a long-distance shot. A pitching wedge is considered indispensable and it is meant to be carried around always. The Pitching wedge is generally used from the fairway or the rough to approach the green from distances of approximately 100-120 yards. As with other types of wedge club this can also be used effectively to chip up onto the green from shorter distances and allow the ball to roll after landing in a chip and run style shot.
What is a Gap Wedge?
This is one of the best wedges for beginners to use when trying to bring your ball closer to the flag for high performance and reliability. This club was created to bridge the loft gap between pitching wedge and sand wedge, which can have up to 10 degrees in difference. These gap wedge clubs are generally 50-52 degrees and allow skilled players to be able to effectively find the right club to get as close to the flag from between 100-80 yards. The popularity of this club is the way that it has bridged the gap between the pitching wedge and the sand wedge. It has been designed to be able to be used in the sand but also being well designed enough to easily hit from the fairway.
What is a Sand Wedge?
The sand wedge, as the name might suggest, is designed to be used in bunkers. The sand wedge is used to easily exit bunkers. It is the widest of all the golf wedges. It offers the best club shape to allow the head to pass through the sand smoothly and avoid digging. The sand wedge can also be especially useful in hard, moist, soft long grass, and is also used effectively on loose ground or wood chips. It has a higher club loft, averaging 56 degrees and has a high bounce angle meaning this is perfect for bunker shots, but not great from a flat bare lie.
What is a Lob Wedge?
The lob wedge was made famous by ‘Flop Master’ Phil Mickelson. The lob wedge lifts the ball with a loft of 60 degrees. These tactical shots are great when you must land the ball on an elevated green with risks on all sides, and you just need to land it softly with little or no roll. This club is ideal in situations where you have a limited landing area. Mickelson performs an amazing trick shot by placing someone a few yards in front of him, before hitting a full lob wedge flop shot and making the ball loop straight up in the air and over the top of the person’s head before safely landing behind them on the ground. Shot making at its best and certainly one of the best wedges for beginners.
This club became popular in the early 1980’s by Tom Kite it was in response to more difficult green designs which made landing the ball on the green more difficult. These clubs can also be hit from approximately 70-80 yards distance but are far more effective in and around the green but are probably not suitable for the list of best wedges for beginners.
Which Wedge has the most loft?
When looking for the best wedges for beginners there are clubs which have been produced which have even more loft than the lob wedge, some named the ‘ultra-lob wedge’, or the ‘flop wedge’, these marketing stunts have loft in the region of 70 degrees. There seems to be little use for these when you can effectively open the lob wedge if necessary and many have dismissed these are gimmicks.
How far should I hit my wedge?
You’ll see from the chart below a guide to indicate what distance you should hit your golf irons and what loft you should expect to see on the different clubs:
An A wedge in golf is a member of the subset iron set, particularly used in tough lies, bunker shots, and approach shots from the fairway. The A wedge is known as an attacking/aggressive approach shot wedge. It has a loft that comes between P wedge and S wedge. Its loft is between 50°-52°. It has a higher trajectory than the P wedge and a lower trajectory than the S wedge. It can cover a distance of 100-125 yards.
An A wedge in golf is a member of the subset iron set, particularly used in tough lies, bunker shots, and approach shots from the fairway. The A wedge is known as an attacking/aggressive approach shot wedge. It has a loft that comes between P wedge and S wedge. Its loft is between 50°-52°. It has a higher trajectory than the P wedge and a lower trajectory than the S wedge. It can cover a distance of 100-125 yards.
Every golf brand has a specialty of its own. TaylorMade, Titleist, and Cleveland make the best golf wedges. Their high-tech design of wedges provides the golfers with the best in-hand feel and accuracy of the shot. Around 80% of the professional golfers use wedges make by these brands. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy use TaylorMade Milled Grind wedges.
The loft of a lob wedge is 60°. It is particularly used in tough lies, bunker shots, and approach shots from the fairway. Its sole is designed in a way to help the golfer with an additional bounce off the shot in tougher lies. Since its loft is 60°, it provides the highest trajectory with the shortest distance. It produces a massive spin on the ball. Its distance ranges from 70-90 yards.
Bounce on a golf wedge is an angle between the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sole. Higher angles offer more bounce to the ball. The bounce of a wedge depends upon its loft angle. The pitching wedge has a bounce of approximately 2.5°, and the gap/approach wedge offers approximately 5°-10° bounce. Sand wedge produces the highest bounce of 10°-16°. The lob wedge has a bounce of approximately 10°.
Lob wedge in golf is a member of the subset iron set, particularly used in tough lies, bunker shots, and approach shots from the fairway. Since the loft of a lob wedge is 60°, it provides the highest trajectory with the shortest distance. It produces a massive spin on the ball. Its distance ranges from 70-90 yards.
That depends on your playing style and the measured distances of each wedge. Most of the professionals carry 3 wedges, P wedge, S wedge, and L wedge. Since these wedges have different loft angles, each of them offers a different shot. To carry 4 wedges, one has to compromise an iron.
Grinds are measurements, properties, shapes, and angles of the sole of the wedges. Different grinds are made for different swing types and turfs. Swings can be shallow/sweeper, neutral, and steep/digger. Turfs can be firm, neutral, and soft. Grinds can be classified according to their geometry as L, S, K, M, and F.
A gap wedge in golf is a member of the subset iron set, particularly used in tough lies, bunker shots, and approach shots from the fairway. The gap wedge is also known as the approach wedge. It has a loft that comes between P wedge and S wedge. Its loft is between 50°-52°. It has a higher trajectory than the P wedge and a lower trajectory than the S wedge. It can cover a distance of 100-125 yards.
Sand wedge in golf is a member of the subset iron set, particularly used in bunker shots and approach shots from the fairway. Since the loft of a sand wedge is 56°, it provides a high trajectory with a short distance. Golfers can produce a good spin on the ball by using an S wedge. Its distance ranges from 80-110 yards.
Conclusion
So in conclusion, the best wedges for beginners and high handicappers are having a mixture of the different types of pitching wedge, gap wedge and sand wedge. My choices is the TaylorMade Milled Grind 2 Black Wedge. Not only does this offer amazing performance with its milled grind and TPU inserts, the balance in shots is excellent.
If you are looking for advice on the best golf balls or the best budget rangefinders be sure to check out my other articles.
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