What shafts should I play in my wedges? That is a very common question in our fittings. The very short answer is play the same shaft in your wedges as you do in your irons. But, boy do we see a lot of variation of what is in our players bags. First off, most wedges you buy off the rack will have a standard heavy steel wedge shaft like a True Temper Dynamic Gold. Titleist uses an S200 (130gr) in their SM6 wedges, Callaway uses the DG S300 (132 gr) in the MD 3, and Mizuno uses the DG S300 as well in the S5. Only if you are playing a steel shaft in your irons like the Dynamic Gold, KBS Tour, or Nippon Modus 3 120 will the weight and flex of these wedge shafts come close to matching you. If you are playing graphite shafts in your irons and steel shafts in your wedges, there will be some issues in terms of distance and trajectory. If you are buying a stock set of clubs with a gap and sand wedge included, you will get the same shaft as what is in the rest of the iron set. This can be a good thing in terms of weight but the actual flex may be quite a bit softer in the wedges due to the heavier weight we usually see in a sand wedge and lob wedge.
So what do the pros have in their wedges? Last weeks winner of the Bay Hill Classic played the same shafts in his irons and full complement of wedges. The winner and runner up in the 2016 Open Championship both played the exact same shafts in their wedges as they have in their irons. Even Lydia Ko plays the same UST Mamiya Recoil graphite shafts in her irons and wedges. Some tour players like to play softer flexes and heavier weights in their sand and lob wedges since these are more feel-oriented clubs. Steve Stricker favors that setup. Rory McIlroy favors a softer shaft, Project X 6.5 in his wedges versus the Project X 7.0’s in his irons.
There have been a lot of new offerings in wedge shafts like the True Temper DG Spinner and KBS 610 wedge shafts that offer increased spin and more controlled ball flight. These are great if you lack the technique to hit those punch spin wedge shots. For more information about what tour players have in their bags, check out the GolfWRX section here.
When we go through a iron and wedge fitting, we get very specific with our golfers on not only the shafts in their wedges, but the lofts, lies, bounces and grinds. Each individual has certain swing dynamics that not only dictate the weight and flex of the shaft but the bounces and grinds as well. Same thing with the type of courses and sand conditions. So go to a qualified fitter and dial in your wedges for tighter shots.
Dan Sueltz
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