Even the best in the world almost never hit all 18 greens in regulation (that is, in one stroke on a par three, two on a par four and three on a par five). Things calmed down a bit until towards the end of the century, when professional golfers in particular properly recognised how crucial the short game was if they wanted to improve their scores. This style of design was subsequently deemed to be legal by both the R&A and USGA – the rulers of the game worldwide – and almost immediately became a must-have item for golfers. When he came to Britain in 1932 to play in the Open Championship, he smuggled the new club into his bag, scared that the authorities would ban it. Sarazen experimented with soldering lumps of lead to the underside of wedges until he found the combination that worked best. He wondered if the same principle could be applied to a golf club – lower the back of the club to create more lift, especially in bunkers, so that the club splashed out a portion of sand, along with the ball. Legend has it that while Sarazen was flying in a private plane (owned by multi-millionaire Howard Hughes – knew you’d be impressed), he noticed that on take-off, the flaps on the wings of the plane were lowered, to create lift. ![]() If you want someone to blame, look at Gene Sarazen, one of the game’s greatest players and the first man to win all four of golf’s modern majors (the Masters, US PGA, US Open and Open Championship) because he is credited with inventing the sand wedge, the first truly specialised modern short club to meet a specific need. Oh, but wasn’t life simpler back in the day, especially in golf? We used to carry just one lofted iron in our bags, a pitching wedge or, more likely, a niblick, which roughly equates to a 9-iron. It’s hugely satisfying to let rip with a driver and blast the ball as far as you can but ultimately it’s much more satisfying to consistently get up and down for par or birdie. A significant number of those are putts but nevertheless, the rest of the short game is incredibly important. In statistical terms, 70% of all shots you hit on the course are from within 100 yards. There are four main types of wedge but they all have commonalities, which are – shorter shafts (for greater control), increased loft (a greater angled clubhead), and more weight in the clubhead. Some of this simply reflects new technological advances but a lot of it is poorly understood because it is poorly explained, so here’s our guide to the myriad mysteries of the world of the wedge. Things like MOI, COG, COR, ‘kick point’ and so on. ![]() Problem is, the deeper you get into the game, the more there is to find out and more baffling acronyms and phrases come your way. You would imagine that, as your experience of golf grows, your understanding of the game would increase exponentially.
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