best sand wedges for fullish stock swings

[metaldog]

Bit of backstory, I always felt my contact was a bit off my with 54 degree sm9 s grinds, played around with f grind and m grinds as well and just never felt like I could flush the thing. 

Had a weird thought experiment and went and bought a 52.08f bent to 54 and I hit this quite well! (I'm guessing it's due to lower cg) Which led to wonder...

Anyone ever have experience with sand wedges that just go well with fuller swings? Obviously I need to bump and run these sometimes, but I don't have issues with bump and runs even with a non wedge like 8/9/p. So I really want wedges that seem to be hit well with fuller stock swings. Kind of hard to describe why and it's probably my lack of skill/compression where I can't hit the darn things. But would enjoy thoughts on other wedges for me to try out. 

[HOLN1UK]

A friend of mine is a low handicap (2-3) golfer. He plays Mizuno 923 Hot Metal irons, and all his wedges (P, G, S, L) match the set. He takes full swings with his S and L wedges all the time. I noticed the 925 Hot Metals only go up to G wedge. 

[Poor Mans Ty Webb]

Could just be a bounce thing, too. More bounce and a full sole can help with shaft lean and compressing a wedge on full(er) shots.

 

I really like the F grind for harder wedge shots, and I’m a fan of bending gap wedges weak for this purpose, too. A wedge like this lets you get away with coming steep into soft turf and trapping the ball with an abbreviated follow through, which can compress the heck out of the ball and shoot it out low with a ton of spin.

 

One of my favorite sand wedges is the old Mizuno MP T wedge; 56* with 14* of bounce and a C style grind. Very stable on full shots but some room for face manipulation in there, as well. I think Vokey’s D grind is another example of this type of wedge.

 

But if you always play it square or only slightly open, the F grind is the way to go. Justin Thomas plays his SW with high bounce and a full sole. 

[CafecitoHippo]

I really enjoy the Cleveland CBX Zipcore. They still offer give a lot of the versatility that you want in a wedge but they're also more forgiving on full swings (at least for me). I never liked hitting my wedges with full swings and would always club up and do a 2/3 swing with them but with the CBs I don't have any problems taking them on a full swing if needed. The CBX 4 Zipcores are offered in 44-60 degree lofts too so shouldn't be any problems finding the loft that you want.

Edited January 6 by riehlg

[brutus27]

3 hours ago, HOLN1UK said:

A friend of mine is a low handicap (2-3) golfer. He plays Mizuno 923 Hot Metal irons, and all his wedges (P, G, S, L) match the set. He takes full swings with his S and L wedges all the time. I noticed the 925 Hot Metals only go up to G wedge. 

This ^^^^

Used JPX GW and SW with my 919 HMP’s.

Now playing PXG 0211 XCOR2 (winter irons) and now have all the wedges down to the LW. 
These wedges are great for Central Texas winter turf conditions (dormant bermuda and various soil). Not bad out of bunkers too. Use them on full swings except the LW.

So as a 8 index I have no problem using set wedges. Do you loss some feel and finesse, yup but I like the forgiveness.
 

[Pepperturbo]

11 hours ago, metaldog said:

Bit of backstory, I always felt my contact was a bit off my with 54 degree sm9 s grinds, played around with f grind and m grinds as well and just never felt like I could flush the thing. 

Had a weird thought experiment and went and bought a 52.08f bent to 54 and I hit this quite well! (I'm guessing it's due to lower cg) Which led to wonder...

Anyone ever have experience with sand wedges that just go well with fuller swings? Obviously I need to bump and run these sometimes, but I don't have issues with bump and runs even with a non wedge like 8/9/p. So I really want wedges that seem to be hit well with fuller stock swings. Kind of hard to describe why and it's probably my lack of skill/compression where I can't hit the darn things. But would enjoy thoughts on other wedges for me to try out. 

Maybe after bending, the added bounce helped your impact.  It's NOT the SM9 design.

 

I have sets of SM6 & SM9, both have slightly different/lower COG though each set.  When SM10 came out, I bought a F46.10, had it bent to 47.11 and bought a F52.12 and T58.4.  The ONLY reason for buying, SM10 is the first with progressive COG that climbs the face, bringing full shot trajectory down through the set.  They are used for partial as well as full swing shots and since putting in Tour Issue wedge 

 

 

[hammergolf]

22 hours ago, metaldog said:

Bit of backstory, I always felt my contact was a bit off my with 54 degree sm9 s grinds, played around with f grind and m grinds as well and just never felt like I could flush the thing. 

Had a weird thought experiment and went and bought a 52.08f bent to 54 and I hit this quite well! (I'm guessing it's due to lower cg) Which led to wonder...

Anyone ever have experience with sand wedges that just go well with fuller swings? Obviously I need to bump and run these sometimes, but I don't have issues with bump and runs even with a non wedge like 8/9/p. So I really want wedges that seem to be hit well with fuller stock swings. Kind of hard to describe why and it's probably my lack of skill/compression where I can't hit the darn things. But would enjoy thoughts on other wedges for me to try out. 

Could be many things. You stated your contact is off. Where was your strike location? Was it hit or low on the face, or was it heel or toe side? Is your wear pattern more towards the leading edge or trailing edge of the soles of your wedges?
 

OEM’s do a disservice to consumers by only listing bounces or “grinds”. Sole width and camber are just as, if not more important to how a wedge performs. Not to mention the player’s delivery can make a high bounce wedge perform like a low bounce wedge and vice versa. If a player has more shaft lean at impact,  a wedge with a wider sole and more camber will generally perform better. On the contrary, if a player has less shaft lean at impact, a wedge with less width and less camber will perform better.  

Edited January 7 by hammergolf

[metaldog]

1 minute ago, hammergolf said:

Could be many things. You stated your contact is off. Where was your strike location? Was it hit or low on the face, or was it heel or toe side?
 

OEM’s do a disservice to consumers by only listing bounces or “grinds”. Sole width and camber are just as, if not more important to how a wedge performs. Not to mention the player’s delivery can make a high bounce wedge perform like a low bounce wedge and vice versa. If a player has more shaft lean at impact,  a wedge with a wider sole and more camber will generally perform better. On the contrary, if a player has less shaft lean at impact, a wedge with less width and less camber will perform better.  

low, cause i struggle to compress sometimes. 

 

hence why I got myself a 54.08m to try out, but couldn't flush that one too (ball speed from launch monitor, and the feel is just weird), i easily suddenly get 2-3+ ball speed out of my 52.08f bent to 54, checked lofts on both and they are both 54. 

[metaldog]

10 hours ago, Pepperturbo said:

Maybe after bending, the added bounce helped your impact.  It's NOT the SM9 design.

 

I have sets of SM6 & SM9, both have slightly different/lower COG though each set.  When SM10 came out, I bought a F46.10, had it bent to 47.11 and bought a F52.12 and T58.4.  The ONLY reason for buying, SM10 is the first with progressive COG that climbs the face, bringing full shot trajectory down through the set.  They are used for partial as well as full swing shots and since putting in Tour Issue wedge 

 

 

I couldn't get along with the 14 bounce f grind sand wedge so I'm guessing it isn't the added bounce (or too much bounce), and the 54.10s/54.08m grinds I didn't hit well either. vs. a 52.08f bent to 54 (so supposedly 10 bounce)

[hammergolf]

23 minutes ago, metaldog said:

low, cause i struggle to compress sometimes. 

 

hence why I got myself a 54.08m to try out, but couldn't flush that one too (ball speed from launch monitor, and the feel is just weird), i easily suddenly get 2-3+ ball speed out of my 52.08f bent to 54, checked lofts on both and they are both 54. 

Bounce is just one part of it. As crazy as it sounds, the M grind for your delivery may be the worst for you since it’s trailing edge grind, flat sole and leading edge make it harder to get into the turf and raise your strike point. In addition, the trailing edge grind relief doesn’t add any forward deflection at impact to move your strike point higher. Like you said, you tend to have less shaft lean at impact, so I would guess your wear pattern is more the back side of the wedge. Since there is no real trailing edge, there’s no opportunity for the leading edge into the ground. It’s not just what the “bounce” is. It’s so much more than that. Where is the bounce? Closer to the trailing edge? On the leading edge? Or in the middle of the sole? What has happened with you 52F bent weak to improve performance is four things:

1 It has a thinner sole which is easier to get get into the turf.

2 Since it doesn’t have the trailing edge relief, it can add some lead deflection at impact it can raise your strike point.

3 Since your strike point is raised and now in the correct area it improves feel and ballspeed.

4 You’ve now found a sole/camber/trailing edge/bounce that lets you strike it in proper area. 

 

Wedges are some of the harder fits because they need to be versatile. However, bounce is just one small part of correct performance. Without seeing you hit shots, I would recommend you to stay away from any wedges that have  a trail edge grind or relief. 

Edited January 7 by hammergolf

[Spederman]

I take full swings all the time with my SW.  use it for 75 yard shots. I never got along with blade type wedges since they weren’t very forgiving with full shots. This past year I went to a bit more forgiving wedge. Mizuno S23 and use the 54/08°. It’s forged and has plenty of forgiveness and is very easy to hit full swing shots. 

[Hillsdale]

20 hours ago, Spederman said:

I take full swings all the time with my SW.  use it for 75 yard shots. I never got along with blade type wedges since they weren’t very forgiving with full shots. This past year I went to a bit more forgiving wedge. Mizuno S23 and use the 54/08°. It’s forged and has plenty of forgiveness and is very easy to hit full swing shots. 

I have always struggled with Vokey wedges.   I have switched to Mizuno S23 and it has transformed my wedge game.  I'm sad that it is discontinued.  

[Spederman]

4 hours ago, Hillsdale said:

I have always struggled with Vokey wedges.   I have switched to Mizuno S23 and it has transformed my wedge game.  I'm sad that it is discontinued.  

I was hoping there would be a S25 wedge but not seeing any besides T1 and T3. I really hope they don’t leave us hanging. There’s nothing else out there that I’ve seen as perfect as the S23. 

[Hillsdale]

I agree.  My miss with a wedge is always on the toe.  The S23 goes almost the full distance!  Brilliant!! 

[Poor Mans Ty Webb]

8 hours ago, Spederman said:

I was hoping there would be a S25 wedge but not seeing any besides T1 and T3. I really hope they don’t leave us hanging. There’s nothing else out there that I’ve seen as perfect as the S23. 

 

13 hours ago, Hillsdale said:

I have always struggled with Vokey wedges.   I have switched to Mizuno S23 and it has transformed my wedge game.  I'm sad that it is discontinued.  

 

Start (now) stocking up NOS/slightly used.  There's a very competitive market amongst "old Mizuno wedge" loyalists out there that grab stuff as soon as it becomes available.  I'd love to play some T-11s but they're hard to get in good condition.

[GoldenAges]

2 hours ago, Hillsdale said:

I agree.  My miss with a wedge is always on the toe.  The S23 goes almost the full distance!  Brilliant!! 

I also have the S23 52 and 54 (bent to 56) degree. Both in the 'S' grind. The Mizuno S grind is perfect for full shots.

They just released their new lineup for pre-order. New lineup is the 'Mizuno Pro' T1 and T3, l believe.

 

 

[ShortGolfer]

On 1/7/2025 at 1:29 AM, hammergolf said:

Wedges are some of the harder fits because they need to be versatile. However, bounce is just one small part of correct performance. Without seeing you hit shots, I would recommend you to stay away from any wedges that have  a trail edge grind or relief. 

That is true if you are trying to play as few wedges as possible.

It may help to have different grinds for different lies.  Perhaps have a dedicated SW and another for shots off the fairway.

 

Consider buying a used ladies wedge to replace a discontinued wedge that is worn out.  It is very easy to pull a steel shaft, though one should have the proper tools to pull a graphite shaft.

They can often be found in mint condition.

 

 

Edited January 10 by ShortGolfer

[Jack Pearsall]

love the mizuno T series wedges. 

JP is always a bit behind with his mizzy wedges now that they've made the grooves much more long lasting given the metallurgy developments...

 

still, he is trying to get comfy with the 925 hmp gap wedge but it does go further and higher than a comparable loft t20....

[1puttTUT]

I never thought Vokeys felt very good. For one they're cast, so going from a forged iron set to a cast wedge might be part of the issue?

 

Also, my wedge miss is toe side. I never miss off the toe with my 5 iron, but for whatever reason I do with sw/gw.

 

Last year I switched to S23's which have the sweet spot pushed out further to the middle of the club vs the heel like most other wedges. They are also forged.

 

Complete game changer for me. Better feel, distance control, and spin retention compared to the Vokeys.

[JermWRX]

I had this same issue. I don't like to take partial swings. Tried countless wedges over the years, but never loved any of them. Mizuno S23 changed that. They're like an extension of my irons. Best wedges I've ever owned.

[popp]

Maltby TSW grind 56* works great for me from 100 yards. My wedge approaches were about the only area I excelled at last year. I'm considering getting the 52* and 60* to match this year, or a full set of the DRMs in 52-56-60.

 

In your case, the feeling of a lack of compression and low strikes leads me to believe you have a low angle of attack. The "lack of skill" part I wouldn't know without seeing you play, but sounds like you need a less players-style wedge with a lower COG- maybe something like the CBX line would help with the full swings, but they seem like a trade off with a possible lack of versatility around the greens.

 

I've also looked at the S23s but the heads looked kind of small in hand that particular day for what's considered a more forgiving wedge. I'm sure they're pretty close in size to the TSWs though.

[hammergolf]

6 hours ago, JermWRX said:

I had this same issue. I don't like to take partial swings. Tried countless wedges over the years, but never loved any of them. Mizuno S23 changed that. They're like an extension of my irons. Best wedges I've ever owned.

The s23 wedges are very good and so underrated. Mizuno absolutely killed it with the design and cg placement. Unfortunately they don’t get the attention they should and Mizuno don’t tell the consistency, dispersion, and standard deviation story. 

[hammergolf]

6 hours ago, 1puttTUT said:

I never thought Vokeys felt very good. For one they're cast, so going from a forged iron set to a cast wedge might be part of the issue?

 

Also, my wedge miss is toe side. I never miss off the toe with my 5 iron, but for whatever reason I do with sw/gw.

 

Last year I switched to S23's which have the sweet spot pushed out further to the middle of the club vs the heel like most other wedges. They are also forged.

 

Complete game changer for me. Better feel, distance control, and spin retention compared to the Vokeys.

The s23 and CBX Zips perform more consistently than any others on the market. Unfortunately Mizuno and Cleveland don’t tell the story.