Earlier this year I went through an intriguing process — a wedge fitting. Now I’ve been through tons of club fittings — drivers, irons, even putters. But no one had done a specific wedge fitting. And everyone knows you make your score from 100 yards and in — so it made sense to go through the process with Chad Cole, the man when it comes to club fitting for Titleist in Canada. In the end I have a fine new set of fit Vokey BV wedges in my bag — and I’m thrilled with them (more on that my review). If you’re interested in the concept, here’s five questions with Cole on fitting wedges.
1) People talk a lot about club fitting “ but not so much about fitting scoring clubs. Why?
It’s good that people are talking about club fitting! Actually, I would say that Titleist loyalists have long understood the importance of their scoring clubs and that fitting their wedges is just as important as the other parts of their bag. It only makes sense that the clubs relied on to turn pars into birdies and bogeys into pars be matched to the golfer’s swing characteristics and the course conditions that they play.
2) What are the benefits of having wedges fit?
Wedge fitting enables golfers to capitalize on their scoring opportunities and to minimize their mistakes made out on the course. Think of the importance of lie angle as it relates to your scoring clubs. If the lie angles for these clubs are too upright or too flat and the golfer is making good swings, the impact they will see on their accuracy is significant. The way to best demonstrate this is grab your wedge and rest the sole on something flat. Place a pen or pencil (or lie rod) on the middle of the clubface. As you rotate the wedge’s shaft up and down, you’ll immediately see why you want your wedge lie angle to be correct. That’s just the lie angle. Now take into consideration the importance of finding the correct loft, bounce, camber, shaft length and shaft flex. Everyone would benefit from having their wedges fit.
3) How much of a variation do you see from player to player?
There’s lots of variation when you get into wedge fitting. One player may like to flight the ball high while another may prefer a lower trajectory into the green with lots of spin. It’s not like fitting a driver where we work towards obtaining optimal launch conditions for the golfer. However, when we train our Titleist FittingWorks accounts and work with golfers, we reference two distinct player types for wedge sole performance and player shot tendency. Namely, the Slider/Sweeper and the Driver/Digger. We make recommendations that will best serve these swing types. If you’re interested in finding out what type of player you are, please visit www.vokey.com or www.fittingworks.com!
4) What kind of reactions do you get from golfers after a fitting for Vokey wedges?
You have helped golfers out in an area that will have an immediate positive impact on their scorecards, so satisfaction is a typical reaction. For the golfers that we see at Titleist Fitting Centre, many just need some fine tuning. When you look at the Vokey Design Spin Milled line up, we have a comprehensive selection of multiple lofts, bounces and finishes to offer to our customers. We spend time discussing that when conditions change (weather, season, golf course) a different wedge may be necessary. For example, less bounce when the course conditions get firm or more bounce when conditions get soft.
5) Theres an impression that only better players benefit from fitting “ can higher handicaps benefit from having their wedges fit?
Absolutely. Whether you are scratch or high handicap, you want to minimize your margin for error and be sure that you are using the correct wedge for the circumstance. Having multiple wedges serving specific yardages or shots rather than forcing a shot with a single wedge takes an enormous amount of pressure off higher handicaps. When you are forced to scramble for pars and or have a chance to hit the ball close for a birdie, having properly fit wedges will make you more confident knowing that you have the right club in your hands.
