“Forgiveness and Consistency in a Player-Friendly Profile“
The Set-Up
As intimate as the putter in your golf bag is to the individual golfer, wedges are what I would consider a very close second. While you may use the putter 25-30 times, missed greens make the wedge ultra-important. Good wedge play can salvage an otherwise rough day on the links.
Often, I’ve thought about wedges. Not necessarily mine but wedges in general. wedges can be a tricky club to master, especially in higher lofts, and I’ve wondered why wedges can’t be designed clean while offering forgiveness. Another thought that I’ve had over the years is if the majority of golfers elect to play cavity-back irons, why is it that they play a wedge with a blade-like design? Enter Edison Golf.
Terry Koehler is the Chairman/Director of Innovation for Edison Golf. Mr. Koehler has a wealth of knowledge in club design and he’s also been referred to as “The Wedge Guy”. Having been involved in the industry for four decades you might know him from other brands in the past. Past brands including Eidolon, Reid Lockhart Golf, Scor Golf, and the reboot of Ben Hogan Golf Equipment from 2014-2016 where he designed the Fort Worth irons and TK Wedges respectively. After a brief hiatus (retirement) in 2017 he started to develop what would become Edison Forged Wedges.
A key difference between Edison Golf Forged Wedges and wedges from other golf manufacturers and their designers is that Edison Golf focuses on recreational players, not paid Tour players. Which is where this story and review really take off.
Have you ever been out on the golf course, pulled out a 56* wedge and struck a ball. The head slid under the golf ball a tad and now you’re ball lands well short of your intended target. Consequently, now you have a similar shot later on in the round and that ball comes out of the rough and lands exactly how you envisioned it. What gives? The answer is in the the design.
When looking at conventional wedge design, often we have a head shape that is inspired by blades and they feature a flange above the sole of the golf club. The flange is the thick part where much of the mass is placed that helps to get the golf ball elevated out of the rough. Unfortunately, with this design there is a lack of balance in the head, meaning there isn’t much in the way of mass up higher in the head. That’s why your shots from the rough can be very inconsistent.
Conversely, when it comes to Edison Golf Forged Wedges, weight has been taken from other areas and placed higher into the head. This concept and design can be seen in the two cross-section illustrations below to help give you more of an understanding. The weight that is placed higher in the head allows the golfer to be more consistent as the strike will be consistent off of the sweet spot or higher up on the face. Also note, that because of this mass up into the top part of the face the head takes on a bit of a cavity-back personality, without turning the head into a bulky shovel.
Below are three exploded diagrams that shows two wedges (Titleist Vokey SM8 and a Cleveland Golf RTX ZIPCORE) sandwiching an Edison Forged Wedge. The Vokey has the most weight in the hosel section while the RTX ZIPCORE has the least. The weight distribution in the top and the bottom of the head is pretty much balanced. The Edison Forged Wedge on the other hand, features more weight in the top section of the head, while there is a 34-gram differential from the top of the head to the bottom. This is the genius of the design of Edison Forged Wedges and why these wedges are touted to be more consistent and simply, better.
The heads themselves are crafted and forged from 1025 Carbon Steel and typically come in a swing weight of D2-D4. The “Koehler Sole” is unique as it features two distinct bounce angles, something that other brands do not do. “The main rear portion of the sole has a low bounce so it can handle tight lies, firm turf and shallow swing paths. But the leading portion of the sole has a high bounce so that the same wedge can handle softer lies and steeper swings”. For example, a 57° features bounce angles of 30° along the leading edge and 3° towards the rear.
The Transition
Before continuing, I feel that I should extend many thanks to Mr. Koehler whom I spoke with personally in arranging this review opportunity. Terry, thank you!
Through our conversations, we determined what I would be testing. Initially, I thought that it was going to be one wedge, so I was surprised when I received a set of three to review. The wedges that I received were 49°, 53°, and 57° respectively. While Edison Wedges have the option of being custom-built with either the KBS Tour 120 or KBS Tour 105, I elected to go with the KBS TGI 80 in Regular flex. Dating back to my days of being on Titleist Staff and being fir there, I always play a flex less in my wedges. The Mid-Size grip was worked up with two additional wraps, and my lie angle was set to 2° Flat.
Aesthetics – In a word, the Edison Forged Wedges are what I would describe as being clean. Examining the head during the unboxing, I really appreciated the simple elegance. The satin chrome head with a smattering of classic red and black paintfill. On the hosel, I love the inclusion of Mr. Koehler’s signature being present. I really admired the face with it’s CNC-milling from toe to heel. The higher lofts features an “X Pattern” between the grooves. From the address position it’s a wedge that is very easy to look down upon. You feel really good over them.
Feel -If you’ve struck golf balls with a forged iron or wedge, you know that it’s nearly a given that the feel will be “buttery” as cliché as it is. Well, seeing that these wedges are forged from 1025 Carbon Steel these wedges feel soft. The golf ball feels smooth off of the face whether it’s a full swing from the fairway or a greenside chip. It is said that there’s no discernible difference between a cast wedge head and a forged one. I beg to differ. The Edison Forged Wedges feel great.
Performance – This is what matters right. A club can look great, or feel great but if the performance is less than adequate, then what difference does it make?
These wedges are true performers that truly produce as advertised. One of my first conclusions dating back to the winter while we were in lockdown is that from lies that I described up above the consistency of these wedges was undeniable. Strikes towards the top of the face were just as good as strikes off of the sweet spot. Moreover, as easy as it was to elevate the golf ball and the ball did have a nice apex, I found that the trajectory flattened out a little bit more than you might expect. Again, this is a by-product of the design. As the season has wore on and as I’ve played golf and had several range sessions with the Edison Forged Wedges it’s become more apparent that they are everything that they are said to be when it comes to forgiveness and consistency. Part of the consistency is also aided by great gap control. The lofts all have a separation of 4°.
The spin is very good with the Edison Golf Forged Wedges. Bear in mind that your choice of golf ball can play a significant role in this facet of the performance. Generally speaking, this season I’ve played with a variety of golf balls. Sometimes it’s been the Srixon Q Star Tour DIVIDE, Wilson Staff DUO Optix, TaylorMade Tour Response, Soft Response, TP5 and TP5x. Last but not least the Titleist Pro V1 has also been included in the testing. Greenside spin has proven to be very good throughout the testing no matter the green conditions. You might expect more rollout with a DUO but it was still very admirable. With other models of golf ball it gets a little better yet.
Pitches and approaches from the fairway are rewarded with plenty of spin and stopping power whether the golf ball was a 2-piece distance ball or a tour-level golf ball. From the rough there is less spin than from a fairway but the spin is still quite high.
The Finish
Terry Koehler IS “The Wedge Guy” and for a very good reason. Nobody has researched wedge design and recreational golfers as much as Mr. Koehler. The design of these Edison Forged Wedges are the first true breakthrough in wedge design over the last 50 or so years. While all of the R&D across the industry has been focused on driver, metalwoods, and irons it’s the wedge that needs more focus. Mr. Koehler has addressed this.
The Edison Forged Wedges are true performers that perform just like they’re described. At Edison Golf there is no marketing hype or fluff, just tested results. I highly recommend Edison Golf Forged Wedges.
If you’re interested in learning more about Edison Golf Forged Wedges, please click here.
Until The Next Tee!!
#fightandgrind #seeuonthenexttee
