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7 best golf wedges for honing your short game out on the green

harry fletcher
·14-min read
A good wedge set in a few different loft settings is one of the best ways to lower your scores (The Independent)
A good wedge set in a few different loft settings is one of the best ways to lower your scores (The Independent)

Most golfers will never hit a 300 yard drive. Most won’t hit a seven iron 180 yards, even. But everyone who’s ever swung a club can make themselves into a great wedge player. All they need is the right gear and plenty of application.

As players progress in the game and get into the habit of attacking more pins, the ability to manipulate the ball with their wedges becomes more and more significant. From low, nipped chips hit out the back of the stance, to the flashiest of flops designed to impress your playing partners (which get bladed over the back of the green more than many players would like to admit), wedge shots are absolutely crucial to lowering scores.

They also get used more than almost any club apart from the putter – especially if you find the bunkers as much as we do. So getting dialled in with a good set in a few different loft settings is one of the best ways to lower scores and improve out on the course.

It’s not just about shaving shots off your round either; it’s far more than just tidying up our scorecards. Wedge play is one of the most pleasing aspects of the entire game. You can keep your champagne putts and your nuked drives; for us, there’s nothing more satisfying than finding the green from 100 yards and in. Finding the best wedges for your game will help you improve, more importantly, help you have more fun.

Of course, every golfer on the planet loves new gear too, and we’d argue a fresh set of matching wedges is the most aesthetically pleasing thing they can add to their bag.

How we tested

We took samples for our usual rounds at our local course and on several weekend golf trips, testing throughout the summer. While we certainly kept an eye on stats, we placed the most emphasis on finding clubs that made us confident around the greens and hitting off the fairway for longer pitches.

It’s a difficult factor to quantify, we know, but our biggest priority was great feel. As such, we picked out the clubs that made us believe we had the best possible chance of getting a good result every time. We’ve picked out different qualities from all of the wedges we tested, and highlighted the best areas of the clubs we tried. We’re sure there’ll be at least one listed below that will work for you.

The best golf wedges for 2022 are:

Mizuno T22 wedges

We were struck by the looks of these exceptional clubs before we got our hands on them, and the T22s did not disappoint once we tried them out. Of all the wedges we sampled, the control we achieved was the most apparent from the first hit. We noticed immediate grab and grip even on short, nipped chips – even in damper conditions.

The feel off the forged club face was also one of the most satisfying we experienced and there was forgiveness even on the thin shots and mishits off the toe. That’s partly thanks to the quad cut hydroflow grooves, and the weight distribution in the club head. They’re one of the smaller heads we tried out, with the company reworking the compact profile and smaller teardrop shape than the previous T20 after consulting with their tour pros. Thankfully, it still makes for a forgiving and high-spinning wedge.

The looks are some of the most striking on the market, and for us, the denim copper versions are the most aesthetically pleasing we tested. If you’re not into it though, the satin chrome option offers a more conventional option, while the raw option is designed to rust up over time to create a rustic finish and extra grip off the face. It’s also worth pointing out that while the copper finish is lovely it will mark up, so if you’re after a pristine finish we’d definitely say go for the satin chrome instead.

A custom fitting will pay dividends with these clubs too, with players able to pick and choose from the S-grind (minimal sole for shot shaping and versatility) to the x-grind (more sole for added forgiveness) and the C and D-grinds which offer a mixture of both.

One thing we did notice is that there are no numbers on the base of the clubs and the loft numbers on the back of the club face aren’t the most legible – especially if you have the same habit of throwing your clubs back out of sequence in your bag as we do. But it’s a very minor criticism of a wedge we were immediately taken with, and kept putting back in the bag time and again. If you’re a player looking to take your game to the next level, the performance of these fantastic clubs and the customisation on offer makes them a fantastic option.

Buy now £149.00, Affordablegolf.co.uk

Cleveland CBX zipcore

It’s easy to forget that most wedges are essentially the thinnest blades on the market, but that doesn’t mean they need to be the hardest to hit. Instead, the CBX Cleveland wedges are equipped with a hollow cavity back, which delivers more forgiveness on those pesky mis-hit chips.

Cleveland’s reputation in the wedge game is strong, and its experience came across straight away in the CBXs. They’re packed with tech, all designed to make them easier to hit – for example, the zipcore in the title refers to an aluminium pad which optimises the centre of gravity, and makes allowances for toe strikes. In our experience testing them, they felt reassuring straight away. Plus, the allowances the larger headed clubs make for off-centre shots in no way detracts from the overall control, balance and spin. The UltiZip grooves offered zip and receptiveness on the greens and the look of the club behind the ball helped with confidence.

We didn’t fall in love with the look of them, and some people probably wouldn’t pick the CBXs on aesthetics alone. But they are certainly among the easiest to hit of all the ones we tested out, and ideal for mid to higher handicappers; after all, there are no better qualities in wedges for most players than assurance and confidence-boosting performance. The clubs are available in three different grinds and lofts all the way from 44 degrees to 60 degrees and they’ll certainly suit a lot of players.

Buy now £129.00, Americangolf.co.uk

Kirkland wedges

Kirkland gear from Costco has developed a strong cult following over recent years (its V2 golf balls offer superb performance and only cost around £1 each), and there’s a good reason why its wedges have established themselves as some of the best value clubs in the game. The three-piece package comes with the 52, 56 and 60 degree lofted clubs, and for the equivalent of £50 a wedge you get a matching set of really impressive clubs offering the kind of performance you’d expect from sets costing twice as much.

The traditional look and elegant profile is pleasing. The clubs are nice and easy to hit, the milled face grooves offer plenty of spin and the face provides an assured touch which is far better than it has any right to be for the price. The downsides? They only come in a complete set of three and can’t be bought separately, there is no custom fitting available, there are currently no left handed options available and you need to be a Costco member –  or know a Costco member – to buy them. Still, for the price they’re very hard to beat.

Buy now £149.98, Costco.co.uk

TaylorMade hi-toe 3 wedges

The likes of Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm have used the TaylorMade hi-toes over recent times, which is quite the endorsement, and ot’s not hard to see why they’ve become one of the big players in the world of golf equipment. There’s plenty of forgiveness on offer, which makes them ideal for a wide range of players – from mid-handicappers lacking a little confidence in their short game to scratch players looking for wedges that can do everything, and even the best players in the world.

The forgiveness comes from the smart construction. The low leading edge and wide sole was designed to help players who have a problem both with fatting chips and achieving consistently good contact on shots from tight lies. We found we were able to zip in checked approach shots and hit high flop shots with the same hi-toe club with more confidence than others we tested. We also still trusted it to deliver when we cranked open the club face, and the hi-toes were also some of the best we tried out of bunkers thanks to the wide sole.

We’re fond of the aged copper finish but it might not be for everyone. The club face also oxidises and rusts over time, which is designed to add spin and control – but on an aesthetic level it could also put people off who favour more traditional looking chrome and satin wedges. However, these clubs can do basically everything you ask of them and represent one of the strongest all-round performers we tested.

Buy now £139.00, Americangolf.co.uk

SmithWorks cast milled XSpin wedge

Golf should always be fun. Sometimes though, maybe during a bad round or a prolonged rough patch of form, that can be easy to forget. Thankfully, the fun factor of golf is right at the heart of what SmithWorks do.

The company was founded by PGA Professional Stuart Smith, a designer who previously worked on clubs for the likes of TaylorMade, who wanted to help more people enjoy golf by creating technology which replicates tour professional experiences for the everyday player. The result was the SmithWorks cast milled 2.0, which claims to be the biggest spinning wedge ever made.

It’s non-conforming, so it can’t be used in official competitions, but the cast milled XSpin wedge was definitely the most uniquely enjoyable club for us to test out, simply because it offered such extreme spin around the greens. And when we say extreme, we mean extreme. The cast milled club face is so abrasive we managed to get more zip on our shots than we ever thought possible and rip back balls on approach shots with consummate ease – which is never normally the case. Just be warned that the club offers so much spin, it scuffs up balls for fun, so you might want to leave the pro V1s at home if you decide to put this in the bag.

It comes in satin, gunmetal and copper finishes and has a robust industrial look which we enjoyed. Left handed options are also available. We also tried out the elite range version of the XSpin, which has a laser milled face and is approved for use in competition, which we were also very impressed by, and offered very good performance in its own right.

The fact the cast milled XSpin is not approved for official competition will no doubt be an issue for some players, but the club is far and away the biggest spinning club we’ve ever used, and it’s a welcome reminder of how fun the game can be.

Buy now £129.00, Smithworksgolf.com

Wilson Staff wedge

It’s fair to say Wilson products usually occupy a place between affordable and premium in the golf world, offering good value and performance without necessarily challenging the likes of Titleist, Ping and TaylorMade. But the Wilson Staff feels like a top-end product in every respect. The feel is nice and soft, it offers impressive response and delivers a nice sound off the club face too – all things which add to the overall pleasant experience of using the club.

They look the business, too, offering some of the most stripped back and satisfying aesthetics out of all the clubs we tested. The satin finish does a good job of eliminating pesky glare in the sun while standing over the ball and we’re sure the classic looks will suit lots of players – and the price is enough to get players picking them off the shelves too. The best thing, though, is they’re around £30 cheaper than most of the other clubs offering similarly strong performance.

Buy now £119.00, Americangolf.co.uk

Ping glide 4.0

It could be the tapered hosel or the bounce that the club offered, but we found the deeply impressive Ping glide 4 wedges performed superbly out of bunkers. We got more spin than ever out of the traps and it helped us feel assured when cranking open the club face. It’s the club which we felt gave us the best chance possible of getting up and down from tight green side bunkers, and if we had to hit a pressured shot out of the sand, out of all the clubs we tested, it’s the glide which we’d be reaching for every time.

Saying that, we wouldn’t want to sell the club short or to pigeon hole it as purely a good bunker club. It’s a top end performer which we loved hitting out on the course, with lots of versatility, a buttery soft contact off the grippy, textured face. We really liked the look of the wedges too, perhaps because the back of them looks like a UFO from a Sixties science-fiction film from certain angles. While it might not be for everyone, it’s a unique design which we enjoyed looking down on and pulling out the bag.

These could easily have been our top choice of all the clubs, and we found them to be one of the most forgiving and confidence boosting clubs we tried throughout the whole testing process.

Buy now £139.00, Americangolf.co.uk

Golf wedge FAQs

What golf wedge should I use?

If possible, we can’t recommend trying out clubs before you buy enough. Custom fittings can prove invaluable in determining which ones to go for, and which bounce and loft set-up will compliment you the most. Standard grind and loft set-ups will work for most casual players, but getting a proper evaluation will point players in the right direction and could save costly mistakes in the long run.

Buying second hand is always an option, and it can be a good way of making an expensive sport a little more affordable. However, all the clubs buy new rather than pre-owned, we’d recommend going for new wedges if possible. Fresh wedges with fresh grooves spin a great deal more and will help you achieve greater control and confidence around the greens. They also look absolutely fantastic in the bag and will give you a little boost every time you reach for them too.

What should I pay?

Weekend warriors and casual players might not be willing to splash the cash on a premium set, but golfers really can spend whatever they like on new wedges. Premium options can easily cost upwards of £150 a club and while there are some seriously impressive products out there for that kind of money, there are options to suit most budgets – we tried to include a range of price options in the guide above.

The verdict: Golf wedges

Our pick for the best overall wedge, which we just fell for straight out the box, is the Mizuno T-22. It offered the best looks, great feel and control in our experience out on the course and left us very impressed indeed. We also really enjoyed playing with the Ping glide 4.0, which only narrowly missed out on the top spot and delivered top performance.

The SmithWorks clubs really put a smile on our face, offering something genuinely different at a very competitive price point which makes them one of the most interesting brands we tried. While we believed the clubs included above all more than warranted their price points, the value for money which the Kirkland wedge set offered was pretty staggering at around £50 per club. Whichever price point golfers go in at, there are certainly fantastic options out there.

Lighten the load on the green with the best golf bags to take you from the first tee to the 18th hole