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Sam De'Ath runs through 17 best wedges on the market in 2025 to see which one will save your short game.
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00:00i've tested 17 of the best wedges in 2025 which one is best for you let's find out
00:14so we are down here at the beautiful north hans golf club in hampshire
00:18where we're conducting the biggest wedge test we have ever done i'm testing 17 different models
00:25across five different categories testing them both inside on a gc3 launch monitor as well as outdoors
00:31on the practice area to determine which one is best for your game right let's get into the video
00:36okay so we're going to break this video down into five sections the first section is the looks now
00:42i'm going to start with the tailor-made mg5 this is new for this summer in fact so it's one of the
00:49latest releases and i just think they've done a really good job in keeping this looking simple
00:54it's got the mill grind sole here which i think gives it a really premium look obviously you're
00:59loft and bounce on the toe there but what i also really like about this club is down behind the ball
01:04it's got a raw face on it that goes so well against this kind of satin chrome finish i just think it
01:09frames the ball superbly at address will inspire confidence and that minimalistic look is something
01:15that i really like now we'll move on to something that's slightly more loud and i wouldn't say
01:19it is minimalist in terms of what's actually on the club but this is the mizuno pro t1 now it's an
01:27absolutely stunning bit of artwork i mean this cobalt blue finish is ridiculously nice it might not
01:33be to everyone's taste but they do offer this wedge in a black iron finish as well as a satin chrome finish
01:41but when you do turn it over and lay it down behind the ball you do have the kind of satin gray face which
01:47like the mg5 frames the ball really nicely it's a bit out there but i think it's pretty cool when i
01:53go through these categories i don't want it to all just appeal to one style of golfer so i'm someone who
01:58does like a slightly more compact smaller looking bladed wedge but i know not everyone does and so if
02:05you are looking for a slightly larger head something that might inspire a bit more confidence down behind
02:09the ball then the cleveland cbz is definitely i think the way to go i think this looks really premium
02:15considering it is a large forgiving wedge and then when you flip it over you actually have full face
02:20grooves so despite it being a more forgiving looking wedge i do think down behind the ball
02:25you've got the oversized footprint which will inspire confidence and those oversized grooves
02:30actually even stretch the face further so for that reason i think this is the perfect wedge for those
02:36who want a premium looking wedge but also want that forgiveness that comes with it now if i was
02:41to pick a winner for the best looks that would have to be the 14 frz wedge this kind of gray smoky
02:47finish i think looks superb they are available in chrome as well but i think this um this gray charcoal
02:53finish just like reduces glare especially when down behind the ball again quite a small compact looking
02:59head quite rounded which i quite like and it's got a slightly rounded leading edge which um will help
03:05those who like to open and close the face and just keep the bounce and the head sitting flush to the
03:11turf it's paired with a black kbs this is dollar taper shaft and matched with this z quad grip that
03:17i've got on it i just think it's hard to beat this wedge so for that reason i think this is the best
03:22looking wedge of 2025. the next section we are going to be talking about is the feel of a wedge and like
03:28the looks how a golfer interprets a wedge's feel is very much subjective so out of all the wedges that i did
03:34test this year the best kind of firm feel i thought was the cleveland rtz now i'm going to clip a few
03:40away here using my foresight gc3 launch monitor to get some data but also hopefully you'll be able to
03:46kind of pick up on the sound and just how clicky this kind of sounds through impact now i think it
03:52probably feels firmer than it sounds but let's see if the mic will just pick this up i'm going to go
03:58to this yellow flag out here which is about 60 yards away and even just straight away there you
04:05can hear that kind of click as it leaves the face now what i have noticed throughout my testing is
04:11that it does offer a slightly faster ball speed which is probably a good indication of that firm
04:16feeling face so if you are someone who likes that clicky feel for impact then the cleveland rtz might be
04:22the way to go now moving on to i would say a medium kind of feeling medium sensation wedge and that is
04:30the ping s159 this has this kind of face blasting on the grooves here to kind of enhance the duration
04:36which you would think actually makes it feel a bit firmer but i i thought these were still pretty soft
04:41they do have this insert on the back here as well which actually feels like it dampens vibrations which
04:47might maybe give it the sensation that it is a bit softer than it actually is but again i'll clip one
04:52away here and um hopefully you guys can get an understanding of how this sounds
05:01i mean it feels really good it actually feels like it kind of stays on the face um for longer than it
05:06does it feels like it just kind of rides up the face creating lots of spin but not quite as much as
05:12this next wedge this is the proto concept rr now again might not be a wedge that many of you have
05:19heard of it's quite a premium wedge quite a niche brand but testing this wedge i mean just feels like
05:25a knife through butter it is so soft off the face again made from an sc20 carbon steel so it's a really
05:33really soft metal and my only concern about that is that it might kind of ding up a little as you hit
05:39stones in bunkers and and of you know if you hit it into the rough like me you're often playing off
05:44some pretty nasty lies so i'm a bit concerned about these wedges and how they might hold up over time
05:49but initially off tight grass like this i mean they just feel absolutely superb they sound soft as well
05:56and i notice they produce a decent amount of spin which again highlights the fact that it is quite a soft
06:03feeling wedge comes out you know as tour pros would like it that kind of low fizzing ball flight with
06:13plenty of spin so yeah if you're liking a soft feeling wedge then i think that is the way to go
06:18however i'm going to throw in one wild card here and that is the avoda w2 wedge now i know what you're
06:26thinking what on earth is going on here well that is down to the fact that avoda they're the people that
06:32make bryson de chambeau's irons the ones that you've won the us open with at pinehurst last year
06:38so the idea behind these wedges is well the combo set of these um avoda clubs is that lob wedge to eight
06:45iron actually run at the same length so as you can see if i hold this up against one of the other
06:51wedges i've got here you can see it's it's got a good extra inch and a half on it now in order to
06:57counteract the length and make sure that the ball doesn't just fly miles they actually make these heads
07:01much lighter so as you can see i'm in a graphite 110 gram shaft as well with a larger jumbo max zen
07:08light grip but what that does i mean it's hard to explain how light and soft these wedges feel it
07:16feels like you can really just attack the golf ball knowing that you're not going to get the ball speed
07:22that some of the other wedges produce due to the kind of lightness of the head so for that reason these
07:28are definitely worth checking out if i was to pick my personal favorite obviously like i said this is
07:33a matter of opinion it would have to be the ping s159 i just think they offer it offers such a good
07:40feeling off the face it's not too soft not too firm delivers just that right amount of spin and ball
07:45speed and they are offered in 25 different loft and lie bounce configurations so if you're in the market
07:53for kind of that perfect all-rounder when it comes to feeling sound then the ping s159 is the way i
07:58would go if you're enjoying today's video make sure you hit the like button down below hit the subscribe
08:03button as well so you don't miss any future golf monthly youtube videos and if you like any of the
08:08products that you've seen in today's video i'll make sure i put the handy links in the description box
08:12down below for the best prices in your area so making sure that you get the right performance in your
08:16wedges is crucial to playing better golf lowering your scores and reducing your handicap the idea behind
08:22my testing was that i hit 50 yard shots i managed to get a sample size of six shots they all had to
08:29land within two yards or 50 yards so anywhere between 48 and 52 and then from there i got my averages of
08:37as you can see on the screen kind of launch spin full speed as well as the carry number and peak height
08:43so let's dive into it the first one i think is worth a shout is the 14 frz wedge now this was the
08:50wedge that produced the most spin out of any wedge that i tested this year and while spin isn't
08:54everything it is a massive factor when it comes to performance you want this to be able to spin not
08:59just only off a tight kind of fringe or fairway but also when it comes to out the rough and out the sand
09:05as well these wedges like we've touched upon before look absolutely exceptional and producing over 7800
09:11revs of spin i was nearly taking the cover off the ball from 50 yards so that i thought was a really
09:17really good option and if you're wanting a premium looking wedge that offers superb amounts of spin
09:22then that 14 is the way to go now the next wedge that i'm going to talk about is the callaway opus sp
09:28wedge now sp stands for spin pocket so what callaway have done this year compared to the opus from last
09:34year is create a two-piece construction head where essentially they've managed to save some weight in
09:40behind the face move it further up the head create a higher cg placement which then lowers the ball flight
09:45while producing a lot of spin these wedges look spectacular they are available in a couple of
09:50different colors as well as well as multiple grind and bounce options so you'll have to scan through
09:55those or go and have a fitting to identify which kind of combination of those is going to be best for
10:00you but i really like this black kind of mist head i think it looks really smart really premium and as
10:05you can see from the data produce some really reliable numbers now the next wedge is one that is a carry-on
10:11product from last year and one that this video wouldn't be worth putting out there if it didn't
10:16feature it and that is the Titleist Vokey sm10 wedge arguably the most popular wedge on tour they often
10:21dominate the wedge count across the pga tour and dp world tours just produced exceptional numbers really
10:28really reliable consistent spin from a multitude of lies i found that when i went out on the course as well
10:33i was able to stop the ball exactly how i wanted and predictability is key to consistent scoring
10:39they are available also in seven different grind options as well so depending on if you're someone
10:44who likes to get a bit steep or you're a shallow picker of the ball then there are bounce and grind
10:49options for anyone and everyone but if there was one wedge that i thought was the most i guess consistent
10:56across the board and all-round performer that would have to be the tailor-made mg5 we've touched upon
11:01this mill grind sole when it came to the looks but i also think that helps just glide through the turf
11:05really nicely again six different grind options so depending on if you're steep or steep or shallow or
11:12if you like to be a bit more versatile and creative with your chipping opening the face up there's some
11:16heel and toe relief this one i've got here is the sb grind in a 54 degree head so it has 12 degrees of
11:23bounce but actually sits quite tight to the ground even when you open or close the face in again it's got
11:29this new kind of spin tread pattern this year which has helped with moisture management that was
11:33something i noticed particularly in the dew and rain and i've managed to put these wedges finally to
11:38the test in damper conditions and i've seen exceptional performance really haven't noticed
11:43much drop-off in spin and control when coming from wet rough so that was an absolute banker for me
11:49but it also produced really you know generous numbers like i got a good amount of launch i sometimes
11:54struggle when weight is moved too high and the flight is a bit too low but i could flight this around
11:59quite a lot gained really good traction off the face really really good numbers it's a premium
12:04looking wedge that feels amazing so from an all-round perspective the performance of this wedge is one
12:09that i thought couldn't be beaten this year so the short game is often a part of the golf game where a
12:15lot of people struggle whether that's duffing or thinning chip shots chipping and pitching around
12:20the green can often be extremely difficult depending on the lie at hand but there are a few wedges that
12:26have been released this year that i think really make it easier for golfers to play their best golf
12:32and get up and down more often now the first of those is the cleveland cbz now i know we've spoken
12:37about this earlier in the video this particular model is a 54 degree with 12 degrees of bounce a really
12:43really wide sole particularly towards the toe end it's a large cavity back head here and it actually
12:50features the same hydro zip and ulti zip grooves that the rtz the more premium kind of offering
12:56from cleveland has as well so these full face grooves mean you can kind of hit it off the heel
13:01and toe a little you're still going to catch plenty of groove generate plenty of spin and therefore a
13:06consistency of ball flight a really really forgiving club but there are a few more in this category as
13:12well that i think deserve a mention and that is the cobra king x now this has this really nice
13:19it features mim technology it actually looks more like a premium wedge down behind the ball it's not
13:24quite as large as the cleveland cbz which i think will appeal to a lot of golfers the fact you've got
13:30a cavity packed design some relief on the leading edge here and a really nice versatile sole i mean it
13:37i would say it is suited to those who prefer hitting square face chip shots and don't want to get too
13:42creative and bring in the leading edge or the bounce but um yeah the cobra king x wedge is a wedge that i
13:48thought also feels really good um through impact um considering it is a larger cavity back model if
13:55there was one winner in this category that would have to be the callaway cb12 wedge now i really
14:01liked the callaway cb wedge over the last couple of years and i thought it was an amazing forgiving
14:05wedge but they've just kind of won up to themselves here um 56 degree this one so slightly more loft but
14:1114 degrees of bounce and a really really wide kind of tri sole design again so similar to the cleveland
14:17but it's got um urethane microsphere insert here behind the face to really dampen vibrations so it
14:23feels really really uh soft through impact but you get all of that in a really forgiving wide sole
14:31wedge with plenty of bounce so if you're struggling with your games um particularly around the greens with
14:36your chipping your pitching and if you like to hit full shots but see the flight that you would get
14:41out of a you know a standard bladed wedge then the callaway cb12 is the wedge that i would choose
14:47if you're new into the game you don't want to spend quite as much money or you want to refresh your
14:51wedges for the next season then there are three great options to give you some pretty solid performance
14:57at a cheaper price point now the first of those is the rife scs1 wedge this is only 79.99 under 100
15:05pounder wedge nowadays is is pretty rare but there are a few kind of discrepancies with that it's a
15:10very head heavy wedge which is unlike any of the other wedges really but i mean that might be a case
15:16of personal preference you might actually like a heavier head there's a few different options but
15:20for 79.99 i don't think you can go too wrong the next one i want to talk about is the tacomo sf 002
15:27wedge now you've got this kind of milled groove pattern full face grooves as well so there's plenty of
15:32opportunity to kind of cut across the ball and not lose any spin performance down behind the ball
15:38i think they look pretty good it's quite a compact looking wedge so it may suit the eye of that golfer
15:42that doesn't want to spend a lot of money but wants a premium looking wedge with decent performance
15:46but if i was to pick one wedge that i would class as the best value wedge for the year it would have
15:51to be the wilson staff model zm and the reason behind that is it's actually a carry-on product and
15:56while i might be cheating this category a little they were initially available at around 149 pounds
16:02but you can now get them for about 129 pounds so a touch more than the others but we're talking
16:08uh 50 60 pounds saving on some of the other premium wedges out there and i thought the
16:12performance on these wedges were absolutely superb so there you have it we have tested 17 models across
16:18five different categories all of the best manufacturers that release wedges over the last
16:22year and we have come to a verdict it is the tailor-made mg5 i've talked about it it won the
16:29performance section it featured in a few others i think it looks great feels amazing and those spin
16:35numbers and control that i had from distance and close range around the greens was unrivaled so remember
16:42if you did like this video make sure you hit the like button down below subscribe so you don't miss any
16:46future golf monthly youtube videos and if you do like any of the products that you've seen in today's
16:51video and you want them for the best price in your area i've put the handy links in the description box
16:55down below so you don't have to go searching but that's all from me here at the beautiful
16:59north hans golf club we'll see you next time
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