SILVER
SILVER
SILVER
‘Simple shape. Feels compact on full shots. Makes ball-first contact around the green. Easy to clip the ball and hit a variety of shots from the sand.’ – 5-HANDICAP
‘Nice teardrop shape and chrome finish. Cuts through the turf and feels like I’m pinching the ball at impact. Confident hitting a variety of shots.’ – PLUS-1-HANDICAP COBRA SNAKEBITE R2 500 WHY WE LIKE IT
OVERALL RATING ★★★★ PERFORMANCE ★★★★ INNOVATION ★★★★ LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★
OVERALL RATING ★★★★ PERFORMANCE ★★★★ INNOVATION ★★★★ LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★
OVERALL RATING ★★★★ PERFORMANCE ★★★★ INNOVATION ★★★★ LOOK • SOUND • FEEL ★★★★
‘The ability to hit high-spinning sand shots feels effortless. I was able to dial in my distance control and have pinpoint accuracy on touch shots.’ – 11-HANDICAP
MIZUNO
TAYLORMADE
S23 R3 500
HI-TOE 3 R2 800
WHY WE LIKE IT Because wedges often have long hosels and substantial mass towards the heel, the centre of gravity leans towards the heel, but that doesn’t make for an efficient wedge, particularly for average players who tend to hit out on the toe. Mizuno addresses this by using a shorter hosel and a back cavity that stretches from right of centre all the way to the heel, leaving more mass in the toe area. This creates a more centred CG and extends impact for maximum spin.
WHY WE LIKE IT TaylorMade’s Hi-Toe wedges, developed by staff players seeking more spin on open-face shots, came to have an almost secret following. It wasn’t easy to discern whether the wedge was designed for the game’s elite or simply a hacker’s helper. The answer is both. Although tour pros gravitated towards this model, TaylorMade’s team studied the impact location of 130 000 golfers and found nearly two-thirds had impact locations towards the toe. This led to the high-toe shape with grooves that stretch across the face in lofts 54 degrees and higher. • The raw face rusts over time for additional spin. • A four-way cambered sole combines with a low leading edge to improve turf interaction. • 10 options (50-60 degrees); 3 grinds; 2 finishes
Cobra knows golfers have issues generating as much spin as they would like. This wedge revs up the golf-ball revolutions per minute by having narrow, deeper grooves for the 48- to 54-degree wedges and full-face grooves that stretch across the entire face on the higher lofts. A face-mill blast is applied after the chrome finish to reduce the loss of spin in wet conditions. For those seeking a tour-pro look, a new raw finish is available through custom order.
If you want to take advantage of that fancy new driver you spent half your salary on, you’ve got to learn to make contact with the ball in the sweet spot more often. Many golfers I teach tend to hit the ball out on the toe of the clubface (the spot furthest from you). This typically happens when you lose your posture in the downswing, spin out or use a shaft that’s too flexible and droopy. A lot of faults in golf can be corrected by trying to do the opposite. It’s the, “You can’t find the middle if you don’t know where the ends are” adage. In this case, you can find the sweet spot more often if you try to hit the ball in the heel of your driver’s clubface ( above ). This helps keep you from spinning out and/or losing your address posture, as you must stay down a beat or two longer to try to achieve that heel impact. Often you won’t find the heel, but you will move your contact closer to centre – which is the goal. – with Ron Kaspriske GO FOR THE HEEL TO MAX OUT YOUR DRIVER BY JASON GUSS
• Milled grooves infused with boron help durability. • Microgrooves are laser etched between the grooves to help reduce loss of spin in damp conditions. • 30 options (44-62 degrees); 4 grinds; 2 finishes
• A heelward notch in the high-lofted wedges enhance turf interaction on open-face shots. • Option to match the company’s One Length irons. • 13 options (48-60 degrees); 3 sole grinds; 3 finishes
FULL SHOTS
FULL SHOTS
FULL SHOTS
Poor
Excellent
Poor
Excellent
Poor
Excellent
SAND
SAND
SAND
Poor
Excellent
Poor
Excellent
Poor
Excellent
GREENS IDE
GREENS IDE
GREENS IDE
Poor
Excellent
Poor
Excellent
Poor
Excellent
Jason Guss is one of Golf Digest’s Best Teachers in Illinois. The Jason Guss Golf Academy is at Naperville CC.
TOP 10 BEST ON SAND SHOTS, WEDGES, MIDDLE-HANDICAPS
TOP 5 BEST LOOKING, WEDGES, HIGH-HANDICAPS
TOP 5 BEST ON FULL SHOTS, WEDGES, MIDDLE-HANDICAPS
95 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 96
HOTLIST 2024
HOTLIST 2024
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