The best wedges offer a multi-faceted system for spin and short-game control. We considered 24 wedges; 14 made the list.
GOLD
Callaway
Mack Daddy 4
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★★★
VERDICT
Spin technology is abundant here. To help you induce shot-stopping spin on all swings, there are two types of milled grooves, depending on the loft. Callaway also uses a new process for increasing surface roughness between grooves. Milled ridges provide more than 80 contact points for grabbing the ball’s cover for maximum spin, especially on those touch shots. The line’s 21 options, including nine lofts and four sole grinds, are the company’s most ever.
COMMENTS
(L) The ball comes off the face soft with trajectory control. The choice of grinds really lets you dial in.
(M) The most precise wedges I’ve played. I could play every shot I wanted.
Cleveland
CBX
Performance ★★★★½
Innovation ★★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★
Demand ★★★½
VERDICT
Cleveland designed the CBX to fit a variety of forgiveness needs to better serve the skill levels of most golfers. The line features meaty, cavity-back, iron-like shapes for the lower lofts and chunk-fighting, wide soles in the higher lofts. Plus, a lightweight shaft serves the speed-challenged. Of course, these average – golfer tools aren’t generic where it matters. You’ve still got Cleveland’s top-flight groove and face technology for greater spin consistency.
COMMENTS
(M) The balance and the weighting are so good that the ball launches high and straight each time.
(H) It was free and easy through the turf, what a wedge should feel like.
Cleveland
RTX 4
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★★
Demand ★★★★
VERDICT
Played as a prototype for a year by its tour staff, this is Cleveland’s most complete “players” wedge ever. First, the three-tiered milling process for the grooves and surface roughness has resulted in sharper edges. There’s also a new fourth sole grind (XLow) designed for shallow attack angles, extreme tight lies and flop shots. The tour input also led to a more compact shape, and the shape of the lower lofts blends perfectly into your shorter irons.
COMMENTS
(L) Turf interaction isn’t something you have to worry about.
(M) Handy around the greens. Whether you’re picking it clean or hitting down on it, you get ideal results.
Cobra
King Black
Performance ★★★★½
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★
VERDICT
Groove action on short shots is where the King grabs
its crown. Wider, shallower trenches on the higher lofts create more effective groove volume for cleaner contact, and a variable milling pattern improves surface-roughness consistency for additional spin. This King has feelings, too. The face has been thickened to minimise vibration. Finally, a chamfer on the topline provides a more traditional look.
COMMENTS
(L) No grab through the turf or sand. Lay it open or close it down, I couldn’t miss
(H) Beautiful, crisp feel and sound. Easy workability. Good energy in the sweet spot.
Mizuno
S18
Performance ★★★★½
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★★
VERDICT
Forged from a 30-percent stronger, boron-infused carbon steel, the S18 is optimised for the typical shots played by each loft. Those elemental changes include loft-specific bounce angles, sole grinds, grooves and centre of gravity (CG) location. Example: in the higher lofts, there is more mass at the top of the blade, lifting the CG for better trajectory control. Also, the grooves get wider on the higher lofts for better spin on less-than-full swings.
COMMENTS
(M) This wedge can do anything, and it excels at everything.
(H) Excellent turf interaction on full swings. No matter if you hit it thin, fat or fully flushed, it felt like you pured it.
Ping
Glide 2.0
Performance ★★★★½
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★★½
VERDICT
All the little things work towards ideal spin. First, a hydropearl-chrome finish repels water for a cleaner, consistent interaction between club and ball. But the real story deals with grooves. Precision-milled and varying by loft, they optimise spin and control for the demands of each club. Higher-lofted wedges even have two more grooves than the original Glide. They’re milled with a sharper edge for more grab on short shots.
COMMENTS
(L) It sits any way you want it. Even on a higher loft, the ball never ran up the face.
(M) Hit it thin on a full swing and still got good trajectory. It cut through the grass nicely.
Ping
Glide 2.0 Stealth
Performance ★★★★½
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★★½
VERDICT
This is not a Glide 2.0 in a different colour. The dark finish does more than provide a compact appearance: it adds durability
to the 8620 carbon steel, which is a step softer than the standard Glide 2.0’s 431 stainless steel. Also, by not painting the face, the available groove area increases by 30 percent. A bottom half-groove just above the leading edge on the higher lofts means more contact area with the ball for better spin on the shortest shots.
COMMENTS
(L) Awesome out of the bunker. It’s the sole, man: you can hit it out of all types of sand.
(M) Feels and looks like a pro club. In varying terrains, I could make it work.
TaylorMade
Milled Grind/Hi-toe
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★½
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★★★
VERDICT
The sole of a wedge sets up the club for solid contact, so TaylorMade engineers sought more control of its shape. Instead of hand-finishing, each sole is computer-milled to make every curve and angle as precise as possible. Those subtleties include a channel in the sole to create two bounce angles, allowing for smooth turf interaction without excessive digging. An increased bevel reduces the leading edge for more flush contact with the ground.
COMMENTS
(L) You can open that Hi-Toe so easily in the sand. You almost could carry it just for that.
(M) The copper finish is subtle and provides good contrast from the face.
Titleist
Vokey Design SM7
Performance ★★★★★
Innovation ★★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★★
Demand ★★★★★
VERDICT
New grooves – with sharper edges and matched to certain lofts – are the big improvement. Another one is the internal weighting. The centre of gravity (CG) varies across the lofts to improve distance consistency and flight control, an ideal trait for your scoring clubs. For example, by raising the CG two millimetres on the higher lofts, Titleist wedge designer Bob Vokey found shots produced about a four-foot-tighter dispersion.
COMMENTS
(L) Digs through without being ‘diggy’. Good energy off the face, but still under control.
(M) K grind is money out of the sand, and on chip shots it maintained a tight dispersion pattern.
SILVER
Ben Hogan
Equaliser
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★
Demand ★
VERDICT
Based on Ben Hogan’s theory about wedge design, these forged heads use mass higher in the lower lofts to eliminate ballooning shots and lower in the higher lofts for a higher, softer-landing flight. The milled face features grooves with a sharp U-shape pattern for improved spin, especially on less-than-full shots. The V-shape sole’s softened leading edge prevents digging for a wider variety of players and course conditions.
COMMENTS
(L) Beautiful-feeling small club. Easy to hit the right distance on sand shots.
(M) The balance of the head allowed me to repeat my swing.
(H) Never digging, never bouncing – just right.
Callaway
PM Grind (2019)
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★½
Demand ★★½
VERDICT
Based on input by Phil Mickelson and famed wedge-maker Roger Cleveland, this club focuses on the shortest shots. The high-toe design raises the centre of gravity to promote a lower trajectory. The surface-roughness pattern of raised ridges is canted at a 20-degree angle to the grooves. This results in better contact on open-face shots. More offset offers more control on knockdown shots. The C grind has extra bounce for maximum versatility.
COMMENTS
(M) I had great control out of the bunker – short, long, anything. Crisp, even when it wanted to dig.
(H) A lot going on visually, but I can appreciate the science behind the face.
Cobra
King Mim
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★
Demand ★★
VERDICT
Instead of a traditional cast or forging, a metal-injection moulding process forms these heads. Metal powder is injection-moulded into a precise shape that eliminates the need for hand-polishing, delivering a metal that is softer than typical cast and forged steels. The face-milling pattern is a perfect spiral with constant pitch and spacing that rotates out from the centre of the face for consistent friction, even on open-face short shots.
COMMENTS
(L) Got through the turf on full shots with consistent distances.
(M) Glided through the turf with a meaty sound. Strong spin, even out of the thick stuff.
Fourteen
FH-V1
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★
Demand ★
VERDICT
For stability in a traditional look, these use a double-reverse-taper blade shape. The head gets thicker from low heel to high toe to increase forgiveness and raise the centre of gravity for trajectory and spin control. The clubface is milled twice as much as previous models for a more consistent surface roughness. Finally, wedge-specific shafts were developed for the full swings made with the lower lofts and the touch shots made with higher lofts.
COMMENTS
(L) So easy to launch it low with tons of spin. There’s more mass behind the sweet spot.
(H) Very nice feel on flop shots. Ball gets off the face effortlessly.
Ping
Glide Forged
Performance ★★★★
Innovation ★★★★
Look • Sound • Feel ★★★★½
Demand ★★
VERDICT
This is Ping’s first forged wedge in seven years. The clubhead – developed with tour-player input – is slightly smaller so better players can manipulate it more easily. A tungsten toe weight increases the size of the sweet spot. Milled grooves result in a sharper-edge radius to create more friction for extra spin and trajectory control. Inspired by the famous Eye2 wedge, the tapered hosel helps the club move smoothly through sand and taller rough.
COMMENTS
(L) Clean look with a lively feel off the face. It flew how I wanted and landed soft. Very soft off the face.
(M) Versatile around the greens. Plus, it cuts through the sand well.
