April 27, 2016 – For the last few months you’ll have noticed the presence of a new fitting tool, the Cleveland Golf Wedge Analyzer, in your local golf shop. Well, we have visited GOLF AGE Barcelona (C/ Comte de Salvatierra, No.10, tel. 93 277 97 36) to find out how it works and look for our next wedges.
The Fitting Wedge Analyzer with Swingbite technology is a simple and accurate device serving golfers of all levels to help us choose the best type of sole and bounce for our play. The system uses motion analysis to capture the player’s swing and, with the advice of the shop staff, recommends the ideal wedges for you based on your swing and the typical ground conditions where you usually play.
“We first speak with the customers to find out what wedges they need or want, and we look at the loft of their pitching wedge and see what set of irons they have. Then we work out the intervals of degrees so that there is a consistent gap between the wedges, and so that all the distances are well covered”, says Oscar Miguel de Almenara, pro and head fitter at GOLF AGE Barcelona.
During the process, the sensor transmits your swing data via Bluetooth to a computer or iPad, which in turn generates a 3-D representation of the movement, showing us the key parameters of the swing.
As a leading brand in short game clubs, Cleveland Golf currently offers four models of wedges 588 RTX 2.0 (the versatile Black Satin and Tour Satin blades, and the more forgiving CB Black Satin and CB Tour Satin cavity backs) in nine options of loft and up to three combinations of sole/bounce: 1 dot (low bounce grind), 2 dot (standard bounce grind) and 3 dot (high bounce and full sole).
This may seem confusing, but every wedge version has its own purpose, and the Wedge Analyzer helps you to understand visually why we need a specific combination of sole/bounce.
“We run a test with this system to see how the player attacks the golf ball,” adds Oscar Miguel. “We also ask about which golf courses he or she usually plays. If you are a club member we look the usual conditions of the course, whether it is harder or softer ground, what the bunkers are like, etc… and that gives us information that helps us, together with what the client requests, to recommend the club and bounce that will suit better, both for sand and for grass”.
This system allows you to include key parameters such as the player’s usual grass conditions, or whether the ground is moderate, soft, medium or firm. Then you can see the simulation of your swing, and get to the recommendation of the bounce.
“As soon as we know if you need two or three wedges, depending on the set of golf clubs you have, we make up the set of wedges watching out for the bounce. We can choose between three bounces, the high bounce, the standard bounce and the low bounce, depending on the terrain and the angle of attack. So we are making the game easier for the client, while developing his short game.”
“With the lowest bounce you tend to dig the club in too much, and under soft ground conditions it digs in even more, so it is not recommended; and with a higher bounce you produce smaller and narrower divots, and this helps a little to get a better attack angle,” concludes Óscar Miguel.
The shop assistant also has to consider if a blade or a cavity back will be more appropriate, if you need versatility or forgiveness, a narrower or wider sole, the length of the shaft and the swing weight, the women’s wedge… a part from the mentioned bounce.
Adam Sheldon, Brand Manager of Cleveland Golf, explains it in this video:
And here the short game guru Dave Pelz shows us how it works:
CLEVELAND GOLF – WEDGE ANALYZER
In other words, the system recommends the ideal wedges for you, with the loft/bounce degrees with which you should play. And it does this in an easy and accurate way, based on the loft of your pitch, the data of your swing and the course conditions.
The Wedge Analyzer has helped us to understand the retailer’s explanations of the benefits of the different soles and bounces, depending on what type of player you are and your usual playing conditions, with data that have helped us see and be more aware of the importance of the short game in golf.
Through Cleveland Golf we now know that 65% of all golf shots on the course are within 125 yards of the green, and that about 45% are hit using a wedge. Players with a medium/low handicap tend to use three or more wedges in their bags, while the average high handicap uses only one or two.
Also in this review we have found that with more wedges we will be narrowing the gaps of distance between clubs, and that will give us more options to lower our card, something … more than interesting! Thanks to Oscar and GOLF AGE Barcelona.
MyGolfWay.com verdict:
