Golfweek The new name of wedge game: customization
By James Achenbach Temecula, CA
A cottage industry is growing up around wedges. It includes small companies that specialize in wedges and will customize any and every feature of their products.
An avid movie fan decided to pay homage to one of his favorite cinematic villains. He wanted the name Keyser Soze, from the movie “The Usual Suspects,” stamped on the back of several wedges.
No problem for Scratch Golf (www.scratchgolf.com) of Springfield, Ore. Ari Techner, one of the Scratch founders, gets these types of requests all the time.
“I’m a club nut,” Techner said, “I understand what these golfers want. We make forged wedges from 46 to 64 degrees, and we like creating personalized clubs for individuals. We can do any shape, any grind, anything at all.”
Here in Temecula, located about an hour north of San Diego, Don Wood is surrounded by Coca-Cola. No, he isn’t drinking it. Rather, he is acting like a mad chemist at his custom club business called For Golfers Only (www.forgolfersonly.com).
“We will pre-rust wedges for people who want that,” Wood explained, sticking the wedge heads in a bowl of Classic Coca-Cola. We’ll leave them there for the weekend. They’ll end up looking like they’re 100 years old.”
“Why not use water?” Wood was asked.
“No, no” he replied. “Water doesn’t work. Salt water isn’t much better – it will rust the heads, but it gives you that orange look. It’s got to be Coke – Classic Coke.
Wood is a wedge geek. He sells a stock line and a custom line.
“The personal grind is for serious golfers, better players, people who know how to use wedges,” Wood said. “Typically they will want to match something they used to have. We will build the sole shape around that.”
Custom wedges have a long and honored history. From the furrowed grooves of Jock Hutchinson to the heavily back-weighted sand wedge of Gene Sarazen, innnovation in irons and wedges has defined not only the playing of the game but also the rules that govern golf equipment.
Ping Eye2 wedges became immensely popular after Ping founder Karsten Solheim began grinding and beveling the sole. Cobra Trusty Rusty wedges, designed by wedge wizard Phil Rodgers, became trendsetters because of their extensive sole shaping
Scratch Golf has built a solid reputation by matching certain types of swings with certain types of sole grinds. For example, if one golfer is a sweeper and another is a digger, they should not be using the same wedges.
So Scratch came up with five basic grinds to match five different swing tendencies.
Other custom choices include head shapes, toe shapes, top lines, leading edges, hosel transitions and variety of shafts and grips. In addition, Scratch offers six different finishes.
Scratch, like For Golfers Only, has stock wedges as well as totally custom ones.
“Customizing is the cornerstone of our business,” Techner said. “It always has been and always will be.”
At For Golfers Only, Wood sells many wedges with a sole grind he calls PBA (parabolic bounce array). The sole has a different amount of bounce in the heel, toe and middle.
Wood is adamant that the 60-degree wedge is the modern sand wedge, replacing the old 56-degree wedge. “Please don’t call it a lob wedge,” Wood said. “If you listen to Tiger Woods, you will hear him refer to his 60-degree sand wedge. Touring pros use the 60-degree wedge
for most of their sand shots.As reported in Golfweek, five players at the 2007 Masters carried 64-degree wedges. A trend toward higher-lofted wedges is evident, and Wood said flatly. “The whole definition of the wedge has changed.” Cleveland has a 64-degree wedge in its 588 line, but other major companies such as Titleist, Callaway, TaylorMade, Ping, Mizuno and Nike do not yet offer stock 64-degree wedges.Regardless, golf professional Lee Miller has made the high-lofted concept an important part of his club company, Feel Golf (www.feelwedges.com). Miller has offered a 64-degree wedge for several years, and now he also sells a 73-degree wedge.“Don’t judge it until you try it.” Miller said. “All I can tell you is this: Each shipment (of 73-degree heads) is totally sold out before we get them. Why? Because these wedges really work. Take a full arm swing, and you’ll be surprised at the shots you can hit.”
When it comes to modern wedges and all their individual features, perhaps nothing should surprise us.
