The 6 Best Wedges for High Handicappers
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No matter whether you are a beginning golfer or a PGA Tour Pro, a golfer’s short game is vital to shooting lower scores. And despite how much focus is placed on putting, amateur and professional golfer’s know that becoming an expert with their wedges is one of the keys to becoming a better player.
First, we’ll take a look at a comparison of the 6 best wedges for high handicappers. Further down, we’ll explore the different types of wedges and why I favor one particular type over another for beginners.
If you’re interested in buying a new wedge and just want a high-level comparison, check out the chart below…
6 Best Wedges for High Handicappers – Comparison Chart
| Wedge Description | Wedge Details | BGST Rating |
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Cleveland Smart Sole |
4.9/5.0 |
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TaylorMade Grind Hi-Toe Wedge |
4.8/5.0 |
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Callaway Mack Daddy 3 |
4.7/5.0 |
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Cleveland Golf RTX-4 Wedge |
4.6/5.0 |
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Titleist Vokey SM6 S-Grind Wedge |
4.5/5.0 |
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Cleveland Golf RTX-3 Wedge
Configurations: |
4.5/5.0 |
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Cleveland Smart Sole Wedge S – Top Pick for Best Wedge for Beginners and High Handicappers
This wonderful all-purpose golf wedge from Cleveland Golf is one of a newer line of wedges from one of the leading wedge manufacturers in the world.
The Men’s Smart Sole 3.0 S Wedge has already established a reputation for helping higher handicappers around the green and on approach shots. Cleveland Golf is an industry leader in the manufacturing of wedges and the main reason for that is because Cleveland designs wedges that specifically meet the needs of higher-handicap golfers.
A perfect example would be their Smart Sole line, which could most accurately be described as a collection of amazing game-improvement wedges. In short, these are wedges that were designed to help average players enjoy more success around the greens. And the new Smart Sole 3.0 wedges are doing that even better than their highly popular predecessors.
Featured here as my #1 pick, the Smart Sole 3.0 S-Wedge features feel-balancing technology, which moves weight away from the hosel and more towards the center of the clubface. The result is an improved feel and better shot dispersion. The new three-tiered sole provides improved interaction with the underlying rough or fringe for better results from any lie.
- PROS: Great all-purpose wedge from the leader in golf wedge manufacturing. 3-tiered sole for easy, smooth turf interaction. Price.
- CONS: Fewer loft options than other similar wedges.
With it’s new Lamkin Blue Cap Grip, Feel Balancing Technology, improved hosel design, and 3-tiered sole design, this club improves playability from any lie and in all conditions. Available in right-handed AND left-handed models and different shaft flex options for more ball speed no matter your skill level. Cleveland Golf has designed an excellent new club that that beginners will fall in love with very fast. Read more about the Cleveland Smart Sole S-Wedge on Amazon.
RUNNER-UP: TaylorMade Grind Hi-Toe Wedge – Best Material and Most Beautiful Design
The TaylorMade Milled Grind 4-Way Hi-Toe Wedge has a radical look in one of the most beautifully designed clubs I have ever seen. This is a golf wedge that professionals use, but that amateur golfers can benefit from even more!
These Hi-Toe wedges are designed to get the most accurate performance on shots around the green, but are just as good on approach. The 4-way cambered sole has additional trailing edge surface area and heel relief for golfers with an average to steep swing path.
The expanded toe area and full-face scoring grooves deliver equal spin all across the club face. TaylorMade’s patented ZTP-17 grooves feature steeper sidewalls and are designed for maximum spin. Three cavities in the back of the sole balance out the weight added to the top of the club.
TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges are ideal for golfers who want to get creative around the greens with their shot-making skills. The High-Toe design expands the contact area and the strategically-placed center-of-gravity (CG) offers incredible feel and control at time of impact.
The shape of the club head is similar to traditional wedges, but the material and milling of this wedge is a thing of beauty. The back cavity design is unique among TaylorMade’s extensive line of clubs and the feel and balance of the TaylorMade Milled Grind 4-Way Hi-Toe Wedge adds a touch of elegance to any golfer’s bag.
- PROS: Beautiful design features, including new back cavity design. Excellent balance and improved groove design for increased spin. Constructed from 8620 carbon steel for incredible feel and an elegant look.
- CONS: Very expensive
This Hi-Toe wedge from TaylorMade was a serious contender for the #1 spot in this review of the best wedges for high handicappers. However, as with the entire line of Taylormade clubs, their price point is a little higher than other similar clubs and sometimes more than what a typical beginning golfer may want to spend. See the entire line of Hi-Toe Milled Wedges from TaylorMade and Current Prices on Amazon.
THIRD PLACE: Callaway Mack Daddy 3 S-Grind Wedge – A Technological Innovation and Greenside Darling
While not specifically known for their wedges, no list of the best wedges for beginners would be complete without this incredible new club for 2019 from Callaway. The Mack Daddy (MD3) S-Grind Wedge makes its debut on the list of best golf wedges for high handicappers – a testament to the renewed focus on wedge golf technology from Callaway – a brand usually more recognized for drivers.
The Mack Daddy 3 is the first wedge from Callaway to be available in 3 different grinds (see below for an explanation of the difference between the new S, C, and W Grinds). With their new slogan, “Get Up And Down From Anywhere…“., Callaway has re-invented themselves with the Mack Daddy 3 (MD3) line of golf wedges.
The engineers at Callaway wanted to design wedge options for all different golf course conditions, for different shot types, and for players with different swing speeds and characteristics and for all different handicaps.
The end result of trying to develop a line of clubs that could be used by a wider audience was the development of three different grinds and three different groove patterns in three different clubs, but all in a beautifully designed package.
In terms of the grinds available, the S-Grind (Standard) is appropriate for the largest number of golfers. This ‘grind’ or wedge ‘type’ is an excellent choice for all different swing shapes, speeds, and turf conditions.
The C-Grind (Crescent) is most effective for players who have a shallow angle of attack and is an excellent choice from firmer turf and sand conditions.
The W-Grind (Wide), employs a wider sole that makes this wedge easier to hit and a great option for players with a steep angle of attack. The W-Grind (not pictured here) is also a good choice from softer sand and turf conditions.
As for the grooves, the pitching and gap wedges (30V grooves), the sand wedges (20V grooves), and the lob wedges (5V grooves) have different groove patterns to control spin, with the grooves becoming more aggressive in terms of spin as the lofts increase.
- PROS: Multiple grinds for golfers of varying skill levels. Revolutionary back cavity design. Technological look. Sleek lines. Well-balanced, forgiving. Excellent groove design.
- CONS: A bit pricey
The MD3 wedges are ideal for golfers of all ability levels from the absolute amateur who plays with a 20+ handicap to the scratch golfer who is thinking of taking his game to the next level. Choosing the best wedge for your game is simply a matter of identifying what you need out of your wedges for your level and the courses you typically play. See more close-ups of the MD3 Milled Wedges on Amazon.
FOURTH: Cleveland Golf RTX-4 Men’s Wedge – Best Budget-Friendly Wedge
Another all-purpose wedge from Cleveland Golf, the RTX4 Wedge is elegant in its simplicity. A leader in wedge innovations, Cleveland Golf has really outdone themselves again with the introduction of the RTX-4.
Cleveland Golf has a long history of creating popular clubs in the wedge category and their new RTX4 Golf Wedges are no exception. With the new line of RTX-4 wedges, Cleveland is hoping to bring the novice golfer an easy-to-hit club that is excellent around the greens in an affordable package.
According to the Cleveland Golf website, the RTX4 was designed with sharper, deeper grooves that help the novice golfer slice through grass or sand for more consistent spin on every shot. The laser-milled design makes for a longer-lasting face that pushes the boundaries of face roughness to the conforming limit for more friction and more spin on all shots. Four sole grinds mean that the high-handicapper will be able to find a club with enough versatility to execute the most challenging greenside shots..
The lower-lofted RTX4 wedges are more compact and feature a straighter leading edge. The higher lofts have more of a traditional wedge shape for approach pitch shorts, as well as short chip shots from around the green.
- PROS: Available in 4 sole grinds. Varying lofts. Forgiving. Stable. Easy-to-play club. Great for golfers who have trouble with short chip shots. Beautiful look and feel.
- CONS: One of the more expensive wedges from Cleveland Golf.
Low RTX 4 lofts are more compact with a straight edge, blending perfectly with your short irons. Higher lofts have a traditional wedge shape for pitch and chip shots around the green.
RTX 4’s more compact blade shape is a direct result of the feedback from professional PGA Tour players. Beginners will enjoy the better feel and control with this tour-developed, player-oriented wedge that is just as good for a touring pro as it is for a beginning golfer. See all of the features of the Cleveland RTX4 Wedges on Amazon.
FIFTH PLACE: Titleist Vokey SM6 S-Grind Wedge – New Club on the Block
The Vokey SM6 S-Grind Wedge from Titleist may be the most advanced wedge to come from a true innovator in golf club design. The SM6 S-Grind wedge features a larger, more forgiving profile that will give beginners more confidence whether hitting their next approach shot from over 100 yards away or playing from just off the green.
The ‘BV’ stands for Bob Vokey – a golf club designer from California who began designing golf clubs in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Mr. Vokey began designing a line of clubs for Titleist a few years ago and the Vokey SM6 wedges were born.
The SM6 S-Grind wedge features accurate distance and shot-making versatility in a sleek package that is appropriate for all different abilities or levels.
Bob’s various tour-proven grinds provide every player – even the typical high-handicapper – with enhanced shot-making versatility to fit any type of swing and varying golf course conditions.
These Spin Milled 6 wedges have established a new performance standard by improving the three key areas of wedge play: 1- Distance gapping, 2-Shot versatility and 3-Maximum spin. The grooves and face have been have designed with a new texture that creates a more parallel slot edge for more consistent spin, which can help beginning golfers around the green.
- PROS: Cool black club head. Steep grooves. Larger face. Available in four separate grinds (lofts). Different shaft flexes and materials available.
- CONS: Somewhat expensive.
This is the first club from Titleist to make one of my ‘Top’ lists, but after trying out this club I know it won’t be the last! The Vokey BV wedge comes with a stock steel shaft and comfortable grip. Available in different flexes, this golf wedge from Titleist has an incredible feel and balanced center-of-gravity (CG) to provide golfers of all skill levels improved feel and touch around the greens. Read more about the Titleist Vokey SM6 Wedge on Amazon.
SIXTH PLACE: Cleveland Golf RTX-3 Wedge – Most Available Lofts – for Pros or Amateurs
While not the newest club on this list, Cleveland Golf’s RTX-3 Wedge is the predecessor to the all new RTX4 profiled above. This wedge was the third-generation club in the incredibly popular line of RTX golf wedges. The RTX-3 from Cleveland Golf established them, once again, as the leader in wedge innovation.
RTX stands for Rotex and refers to the design of the face. Under this design philosophy, Cleveland has removed 9 grams of mass from the hosel and redistributed this weight to the club head. This created a center-of-gravity closer to the impact area where the club face contacts the golf ball.
Not only does this improve feel, but Cleveland tested this design modification with golfers of all different skill levels. The results showed that this Rotex Technology actually created the tightest shot dispersion of any wedge Cleveland Golf has ever produced!
This wedge club is great for beginning and intermediate golfers because it is extremely forgiving no matter where on the club face you contact the ball. The RTX-3 is available in three tour-proven grinds, all of which feature a V- shaped head with a generous leading edge to develop a bounce to help the club head through the turf faster at impact for crisper feel and more consistent performance.
- PROS: Black satin finish on the head. Rotex face design. Enhanced milling. Most lofts of any club on this list.Excellent price point.
- CONS: Older generation wedge.
The third-generation RTX face features a refined groove shape, a new Rotex micro-milling pattern engineered to optimize spin performance by loft, and Laser Milling. These technologies combine to generate not only the most spin, but the most consistent spin within the limits. See more close-ups of the RTX3 Wedge from Cleveland Golf on Amazon.
What’s the difference between a C Wedge an S Wedge and a W Wedge?
It seems like only a few years ago, beginning golfers just needed to know the difference between a Sand Wedge, Lob Wedge, and Pitching Wedge and decide whether they wanted to carry all three types of wedges in their bag. Among the most popular lofts were 54 degrees, 56 degrees, and 60 degree wedges.
Then club manufacturers started to offer more club choices by introducing new wedges to the market and designating them by their respective lofts. Take a quick look at this Golf Wedge Buying Guide from Nick Foy at GolfPracticeGuides.com to get a better understanding of all of the new golf wedges and their applications.
Golfers with higher handicaps needed to expand their knowledge and understand what the most appropriate application was for each different wedge loft. Typically, your 54 or 56 degree lofted clubs were your Pitching Wedges, and as the lofts approached 60 degrees (and greater) these clubs were more likely to be uses as Sand or Lob Wedges.
Today, these clubs are named S-Wedges, C-Wedges, W-Wedges and each different type may be available in more than one loft (depending on the manufacturer). If you’re like me, you are probably thinking, “I just want to play golf – I don’t want to take a math class to figure out which type of wedge to buy!”
I’ll try to make understanding the different golf wedge types as easy as I can for you!
First off, think of the letter (W,S,C) as describing the type of sole the club has
S-Wedge (Standard) – has a tapered sole towards heel. This model is probably the best all-around club. Typically, it’s a lower-loft wedge that could be characterized as your Pitching Wedge (PW)so
W-Wedge (Wide) – this club has a Wide sole. This is – more often – a higher-lofted club than the S-Wedge. Think of the W-Wedge as your Lob Wedge (LW)
C-Wedge (Crescent) – this club is the highest lofted wedge. Minimizes bounce and I like to think of this club as your typical Sand Wedge (SW)
Why are some of the newer golf wedges called S-Grind?
When a golfer misses the green and has to play from anywhere off the green (and needs an ‘up-and-down’ for Par), this is referred to as grinding.
And the club most associated with short game grinding is the wedge. But the GRIND designation given to a lot of these new clubs HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH GRINDING!
“The grind is the relief and contour that is ground into the sole of the wedge. A grind can provide shotmaking opportunities around the greens. For example, our M grind soles allow you to open the face of the wedge without the leading edge coming off the ground…” 11 Questions with Master Craftsman Bob Vokey from the Titleist.com website
What wedges should a beginner carry?
Golfers who are just starting out don’t need multiple wedges of every different loft. This is really just an idea put forth by the golf industry to sell more clubs.
A higher-handicap golfer (like me or you) really just needs a Pitching Wedge and a higher-lofted wedge for greenside bunker shots.
When I first began golfing I carried a Pitching Wedge (PW) and Sand Wedge (SW). I used my Pitching Wedge from about 110 yards out all the way down to chipping from just off the green.
I used my Sand Wedge (SW) for hitting out of bunkers.
In today’s golf lingo for wedges, I typically carry an S-Grind wedge like the Taylor Made Hi-Toe S-Grind Wedge, as I like it best for all-around Pitching Applications and I carry a higher lofted club like the Cleveland Wedge C seen here. (NOTE: I didn’t include this model in the 6 best Wedges for Beginners table above because I felt the Cleveland S-Wedge (that I ranked #1) was a better overall club IF you were just going to pick one wedge to buy.
What makes one wedge better than another?
All of the golf clubs presented in this article are high-quality, durable, and beautifully designed. Some golfers may favor a particular brand or look or style. But whichever club you ultimately decide to buy comes down to what you need a wedge for? What application or purpose do you need the club to accomplish?
Answer the following questions to make the best decision:
- Do you need a general, all-purpose golf wedge for approach shots, but that could also be used around the green? If so, a good-all-purpose S-Grind or 56 degree pitching wedge like this one should do the trick.
- Are you primarily concerned with greenside bunker shots and trying to replace your old Sand Wedge? If so, a higher lofted club like a C-Wedge or 62 degree club is probably the right choice for you.
- Are you a true high-handicapper who is looking for a club that is easier to play because you frequently skull your close chips? Try a W-Wedge with an extra-wide sole like this Mack Daddy 4 from Callaway Golf. This style of club helps beginners get the ball in the air quickly and with sufficient rotation to stop the ball on the green.
Please understand that the reason I go into such detail in these golf articles is so that you don’t have to just rely on what new club this website or any other golf website tells you to buy, but so that you understand how to evaluate these new golf wedges for yourself in order to make the most informed buying decision you can.
So there you have it: The 6 Best Wedges for High Handicappers. I realize that the club selections above are just my opinions and that you may agree to disagree. Do you have a suggestion for an excellent, all-purpose wedge that you’ll be carrying in your golf bag this year? And that you would recommend for golfers who may be just starting out and only need one or two wedges at the most? Please add a comment below – whether you agree or disagree with my comparison guide above – just to let me know what you think.
Happy Golfing!
