Edel SMS Wedges Review

[Scooby45]

Oh boy was the P grind fun this afternoon. Got several tricky lies on firm ground and it confirmed it’s such an escape artist. Hard pan, no issue; downslope on the bunker, no issue

So here’s the beauty of the P grind. It was designed to help pick it off harder, tighter lies from what we heard directly from Edel. That said, the wider sole made it really easy to splash out from a really fluffy bunker I encountered over the weekend. I was a touch nervous as it was too deep for the 54 D grind in my opinion/I wanted the loft. It splashed through so well, leaving me with a 4’ birdie. So much fun.

 

[Scooby45]

P Grind + hardpan = sweet bliss

 

[JB]

P Grind + hardpan = sweet bliss

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that looks good

 

[ryang13]

Really good outing with these today. The last few rounds I’ve struggled with my chipping a bit, but tonight was much improved. The rough has been a little thicker recently, and I think I’ve been decelerating a bit, but tonight I focused on keeping a nice steady tempo and committing to the shot, and was rewarded with a few really good chips and pitches. Had a few opportunities to full swing the 50/54° D-grind, and it just seems like such a great fit for my game - that extra bit of bounce has probably helped me numerous times on full swings, and it’s been so good for me around the greens. I’ve really enjoyed playing with these this year, and appreciate the opportunity to test them.

 

[Scooby45]

Who can help me decipher between the T and V grind? Occasionally when some of the local courses become hardpan the D grind has a little more love in the sole than ideal for me on square faced shots. Easy enough to spin it open some, but was curious if the T or V would be better there, and which one might be the better fit for me.

 

[JB]

Who can help me decipher between the T and V grind? Occasionally when some of the local courses become hardpan the D grind has a little more love in the sole than ideal for me on square faced shots. Easy enough to spin it open some, but was curious if the T or V would be better there, and which one might be the better fit for me.

Are you leaning a certain way or have a fear of one of them?

 

[Scooby45]

Are you leaning a certain way or have a fear of one of them?

Honestly no. I play a P grind at 58 in firmer conditions so no fear here.

They seem pretty similar based on what I’ve read and seen in the local shop which is why I posed the question. I’m not sure which way I’m leaning. May ultimately decide to simply adjust when I have a 90 yard shot off firm fairways instead of the luxury add of another wedge but was thinking about this week.

 

[JB]

Honestly no. I play a P grind at 58 in firmer conditions so no fear here.

They seem pretty similar based on what I’ve read and seen in the local shop which is why I posed the question. I’m not sure which way I’m leaning. May ultimately decide to simply adjust when I have a 90 yard shot off firm fairways instead of the luxury add of another wedge but was thinking about this week.

I always viewed them as fairly similar, but there is a bit of a difference. The V favors those that might impact the turf a bit early or take massive divots. To me personally, the steeper one is, the more the V over the T makes sense. It is subtle in description, but in playability there is a bit more separation between them.

As a person that flips and hits the turf a bit early, I have favored the V.

 

[Scooby45]

I always viewed them as fairly similar, but there is a bit of a difference. The V favors those that might impact the turf a bit early or take massive divots. To me personally, the steeper one is, the more the V over the T makes sense. It is subtle in description, but in playability there is a bit more separation between them.

As a person that flips and hits the turf a bit early, I have favored the V.

Sounds like then if during the fitting the fitter was quickly like “D grind” the V might be more the way to go. Thanks for the insight.

 

[JB]

Sounds like then if during the fitting the fitter was quickly like “D grind” the V might be more the way to go. Thanks for the insight.

I think that makes some sense.
I actually love the V grind

 

[Scooby45]

I think that makes some sense.
I actually love the V grind

Good to hear. I’ve been pretty enamored with the D grind but with end of summer firmness looking at potentially other options.

V handle bunkers pretty well I assume? I’ve yet to see an Edel wedge that can’t but what’s been your experience there. This spot gets the bulk of my bunker work.

 

[EdelBlake]

Good to hear. I’ve been pretty enamored with the D grind but with end of summer firmness looking at potentially other options.

V handle bunkers pretty well I assume? I’ve yet to see an Edel wedge that can’t but what’s been your experience there. This spot gets the bulk of my bunker work.

The V-grind is a great all around wedge, but shines on the square face and full swing shots. The T-grind has a little less bounce than the V-grind and with the heel relief it performs better on tight lies for most. Can't go wrong with either. Both work admirably in the bunker.

 

[Scooby45]

Just another clean pick for the P grind to set up a tap in.

 

[ryang13]

These showed up in a big way for me this weekend. Those partial wedge shots have been a weak point for me for most of the year, but something has just clicked over the past couple of rounds and I’m turning those opportunities into scoring situations. Todays round was the first time in a while I’ve been out in the morning, and the dew/water was still somewhat fresh. The D-grind cuts through the wet rough really well, and despite seeing a bit less spin, I still got really playable chances at pars and a few birdies. 2 straight rounds in the 70’s for me, and the SMS wedges are making a very strong case to be back in the bag next year as well.

 

[hackitup]

I took a flier on a P grind 58* wedge because why not, right? I took it out on the course today. I started off warming up in the short game area. I tend to hit down in the ball for my chips and I’ll take a small square of turf. Pre-round thoughts: “oh, my! This thing is saucy.” Continued chipping. Additional thoughts: “the ball goes right where I’m looking”.

The ground was a little moist today. It wasn’t soggy, but still not ideal conditions for the P grind to shine. Or so I thought. Knowing the turf wasn’t firm made me a little tentative at times with mediocre results. When I trusted that I needed to be aggressive with my chips I was handsomely rewarded. My overall <25 yards SG in Shot Scope showed 0.03 strokes lost to a tour player. If you take away my 3 tentative shots it’d be even better. Edel wasn’t kidding when they said it was a “versatile wedge in all conditions.”

I had 2 full swing shots today. I usually take the entire beaver, not just a pelt, on shots from a downhill lie in the fairway. It was a good divot but not overly juicy. The grind and sole design worked how it was supposed to and it was pretty cool to see. From the heavy rough it cut through the tall grass nicely. I didn’t lose near as much yardage as I expected trying to lift it over the trees from the thick stuff.

I even played in the sand on one shot just to give it a full workout. I struggle in bunkers. It’s gotten really bad. I’m glad I didn’t mention that to my playing partners before plopping the ball out and leaving a 4 footer for a par save.

There’s only one bad thing that I could find. Now I need to replace my SW too because this P grind was ridiculous. I’m thinking V grind as a steeper wedge player.

 

[JB]

I took a flier on a P grind 58* wedge because why not, right? I took it out on the course today. I started off warming up in the short game area. I tend to hit down in the ball for my chips and I’ll take a small square of turf. Pre-round thoughts: “oh, my! This thing is saucy.” Continued chipping. Additional thoughts: “the ball goes right where I’m looking”.

The ground was a little moist today. It wasn’t soggy, but still not ideal conditions for the P grind to shine. Or so I thought. Knowing the turf wasn’t firm made me a little tentative at times with mediocre results. When I trusted that I needed to be aggressive with my chips I was handsomely rewarded. My overall <25 yards SG in Shot Scope showed 0.03 strokes lost to a tour player. If you take away my 3 tentative shots it’d be even better. Edel wasn’t kidding when they said it was a “versatile wedge in all conditions.”

I had 2 full swing shots today. I usually take the entire beaver, not just a pelt, on shots from a downhill lie in the fairway. It was a good divot but not overly juicy. The grind and sole design worked how it was supposed to and it was pretty cool to see. From the heavy rough it cut through the tall grass nicely. I didn’t lose near as much yardage as I expected trying to lift it over the trees from the thick stuff.

I even played in the sand on one shot just to give it a full workout. I struggle in bunkers. It’s gotten really bad. I’m glad I didn’t mention that to my playing partners before plopping the ball out and leaving a 4 footer for a par save.

There’s only one bad thing that I could find. Now I need to replace my SW too because this P grind was ridiculous. I’m thinking V grind as a steeper wedge player.

How are you working with the weights

 

[hackitup]

How are you working with the weights

I tested it in all 3 positions with a foam ball and with partial swings without a ball indoors. I ended up liking the weight in the heel. Toe weighting left me shanking the foam ball pretty frequently. I was supposed to use today’s round to fully test more positions outdoors but after the day I had I think it’s in the right spot.

I’ll probably swap it to the center to test tomorrow because my main miss on chips was a slight pull, but we’re talking less than a foot left for a couple of 12-15 yard chips. I’m very pleased but if they’re going to give me adjustability to fine tune I’m going to make use of it.

 

[JB]

I tested it in all 3 positions with a foam ball and with partial swings without a ball indoors. I ended up liking the weight in the heel. Toe weighting left me shanking the foam ball pretty frequently. I was supposed to use today’s round to fully test more positions outdoors but after the day I had I think it’s in the right spot.

I’ll probably swap it to the center to test tomorrow because my main miss on chips was a slight pull, but we’re talking less than a foot left for a couple of 12-15 yard chips. I’m very pleased but if they’re going to give me adjustability to fine tune I’m going to make use of it.

Love following along this stuff. Looking forward to thoughts as you get more time with it

 

[Carolina Dundee]

I have not moved my weights since my fitting. I’ve considered moving them towards the toe for mishits but it hasn’t happened yet

 

[hackitup]

I have not moved my weights since my fitting. I’ve considered moving them towards the toe for mishits but it hasn’t happened yet

Where is your weight now and were the differences easily visible in your fitting? I’m curious if it’ll show up more on 50 yard partials, 30 yard pitches, or 15 yard chips.

 

[Scooby45]

Where is your weight now and were the differences easily visible in your fitting? I’m curious if it’ll show up more on 50 yard partials, 30 yard pitches, or 15 yard chips.

50 yard pitches was were I noticed it the most

 

[hackitup]

50 yard pitches was were I noticed it the most

Appreciate the confirmation. While my son’s grinding on the range I’m gonna be testing out weight positions. It’s already proving to be a solid weapon but I want to confirm the best position and then hide the adjustment wrench.

 

[Carolina Dundee]

Where is your weight now and were the differences easily visible in your fitting? I’m curious if it’ll show up more on 50 yard partials, 30 yard pitches, or 15 yard chips.

It’s in the middle. I saw some difference in full swings but not anything that did better than the center.

If I pacticed i would possibly see the difference

 

[hackitup]

That was a weird range session to test out weight positions. Given enough swings I can adjust to any position but in the toe I have more of a tendency to slide the club head under the ball and come up way short. Center was pretty good and I was having a hard time picking a location until I started hitting partial iron swings in between to mix it up.

I guess with the weight in the center or toe there’s something that changes in my swing that causes me to shank partials with any other club. I didn’t have that issue with the weight in the heel. I don’t hit partials often, but I use them and I can’t be out there shanking chip shots. Heel weighting wins for me.

During our end of round wedge contest cool down I told my son to hit my 58. His wide eyed response was “Oh my god, that felt good.” I think the previous descriptions of “dense” fits best. It’s not clicky, but it’s not buttery either. It’s just got that firm but soft feel that’s hard to describe. Whatever word describes it, it’s a good feel. V grind on order.

 

[Scooby45]

That was a weird range session to test out weight positions. Given enough swings I can adjust to any position but in the toe I have more of a tendency to slide the club head under the ball and come up way short. Center was pretty good and I was having a hard time picking a location until I started hitting partial iron swings in between to mix it up.

I guess with the weight in the center or toe there’s something that changes in my swing that causes me to shank partials with any other club. I didn’t have that issue with the weight in the heel. I don’t hit partials often, but I use them and I can’t be out there shanking chip shots. Heel weighting wins for me.

During our end of round wedge contest cool down I told my son to hit my 58. His wide eyed response was “Oh my god, that felt good.” I think the previous descriptions of “dense” fits best. It’s not clicky, but it’s not buttery either. It’s just got that firm but soft feel that’s hard to describe. Whatever word describes it, it’s a good feel. V grind on order.

Weight location is pretty crazy huh?