Feature - Cleveland Wedge Fitting

No doubt you will have all heard of custom fitting, in fact many of you will have had a driver fitted, maybe even your irons, but have you ever though about having your wedges fitted?

There is no doubt that a wedge fitting is not something that occurs to many amateur golfers, but why not? On an average 65% of all golf shots occur within 125 yards, which means your short game needs to be dialed in. Clearly it is time we all thought a little more about our 'scoring clubs'.

Here at Golfshake we decided it was about time we found out a little more about the importance of wedge fitting and how it is done and so we headed to Studley Wood with four Golfshake readers to have a fitting with a company renown for their top class wedges - Cleveland Golf.

We were met at the Cleveland Centre of Excellence Martin Conner,  Cleveland Golf's UK Fitting Technician & Fitting Day Manager who explained the process that each golfer goes through when undertaking a wedge fitting:

The Cleveland FITTING process

1.       Distance Gapping – Model selection CB or Blade, Loft of the wedge then the Shaft selection, The distance gap should be between 10-14 yards between each wedge, which in most cases will be 3-6 degrees between each wedge.

2.       Bounce Fitting – with full/ half shots off turf, chips shots off turf and then Bunker shots. I then also ask questions on the golfers typical course conditions.  Bounce should suit two things the players game followed by typical course conditions. You can however go for different bounces on different wedge lofts i.e. Full bounce for use on full and bunker shots and Low bounce for use around the green and Lob shots.

3.     Custom Options/Fitting – Lie angle, Length and Grip size.

Martin went on to explain that it is really important that Wedge fitting is conducted as its own fitting, in the same way as a driver or set of irons is and would take between 30-45 minutes to fit  wedges correctly.

The Golfshake readers were fitted for the Cleveland 588 RTx 2.0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yc6VhsXikU

How did the Golfshake Readers find the fitting process?

Philip Eadsforth an 11 Handicap

The fitting session allowed us to use the custom wedges in various situations from chips, pitches, bunker play and full shots allowing the wedges to be customized for every scenario. With help from the fitters they managed to make my spins rates more consistent on full shots allowing for better distance control. Other most notable performance increase was the wedges in the bunkers. The new fitted wedges just seemed to glide through the sand

The Cleveland Fitters were very knowledgeable and the feeling between my current wedges and the fitted wedges was night and day. I found it to be a huge benefit having fitters explain all aspects of the process and where benefits would be best targeted

Cleveland Wedges look great as usual. For me when I think of Wedges I think classic Cleveland 588. Black satin finish on the wedges appeals as it reduced glare on a very sunny day for the wedges fittings

The fitting team were superb I even had a cheeky short game lesson from one of the fitters Brendan who made me think about shots around the green in a completely different light. (Very enlightening!)

Wedge fitting isn't something I've experienced before and I must say that I got more out of wedge fitting than previous driver and iron fitting experiences by a mile!

The bottom line

Great facility, great fitters, great clubs!

James Dawson 15 handicap

This is the first time I have been fitted for wedges and currently play with Titleist Vokey's which I bought off the shelf. The fitting was very straight forward and informative. I was gap tested on my current wedges and then tested the Cleveland Wedges that were recommended for me.

Currently I use four wedges, 52, 56, 60 & 64.  The fitting process was able to reduce this to three wedges for my bag, 54, 58 & 62. The Cleveland 54 replaced my 52, and I was able to carry an extra five yards whilst having a higher trajectory and 1000 more rpm.

Understanding gaps and spin rates really hit home how useful the fitting was as I realised I could gain more spin and distance using the fitted Cleveland's compared to my off the shelf set of wedges and as result carry one less wedge giving me options elsewhere in my set.

The Cleveland's had lighter shafts fitted and overall felt much more responsive than I anticipated. The 62* was a bladed club. The control and confidence I was able to gain from the bunker with a tight pin, due to the correct fitting of loft and lie, left me impressed.

The bottom line

I am, after the fitting, a convert to being fitted for wedges. The control, distance and confidence it gave me in my ball striking cannot be underestimated.  It is now just a matter of time before I head out reconsider the wedges in my bag."

Jim Parkes 10 handicap

Custom fitting was a real eye opener for me, I have previously brought all of my clubs off the shelf. The trial and error method I have used has left me with a number of club in excess of the 14 that can be carried on course, some even with different length shafts and lie angles.

Using ball tracking the custom fitter identified a 25 yard gap between my PW and my next wedge, this short game distance is an area I have consistently struggled with and can understand why now!

Two other key areas that I have had concerns about were the shaft length and flex. I was pleased to know the stiff shaft I have been using was correct and as suspected I should be using longer than standard shafts

The bottom line

Overall I found the process very indepth and informative and with the right club in my hand found the Cleveland wedges a better feel than my existing set

If you are interested in booking a Cleveland wedge fitting please visit their website - Click Here

Cleveland Golf also have a fantastic offer running through to September 2015 allowing you to buy one wedge and receive the second 1/2 price. You can find out more information by - Clicking Here