We took a chipping lesson earlier in the year and caught a bit of flack about our outdated wedges, so we decided to up our game a bit. The ribbing we took actually coincided with another blog post we wrote on older wedges losing their ability to spin the ball, so it was clearly time for an upgrade. (See Blog Post Here)
The first new wedge we purchased was a Callaway Mack Daddy PM Grind 58/10 sand wedge to replace our current Cobra 56* wedge. We thought we would do a review for those interested in this unique grind for their bags.
As many of you know the PM grind was made for Phil Mickelson, you've heard of him right? Old Phil has been in the news lately for a few, shall we say, dalliances with the rules of golf. So it may not be a shocker to anyone that Phil worked with Callaway to push the boundaries with the design of this wedge. As you can see from pictures below the wedge has quite a bit more surface area than our old 56* Cobra wedge. The additional 3 grooves versus our old wedge, in theory, should provide more grip on the ball and of course more spin.
We put the 58* wedge through our normal short game testing process against our older Cobra 56* wedge. Yes there is a slight loft difference, but the Callaway wedge will be used for all the same shots we normally hit with the Cobra wedge.
We are not fans of the Golf Pride cord grip that came with the club so before testing we removed the Callaway grip and regripped the club with the new Forward Golf midsize grip, which you can find here.
Chipping:
We hit 20 chips with each club. We were actually closer to the hole more often with the Cobra than with the Callaway. We tended to dig into the turf and leave the Callaway struck balls short more often than with the Cobra. We skulled 2 balls with the Callaway and one with the Cobra wedge, so in the chipping department there was not much improvement with the Callaway.
Here in Georgia our rough is primarily thick Bermuda and the ball tends to settle way down when you hit in there. The Callaway really made popping out of that thick stuff easy. We hit 10 shots out of the rough and over a sand trap and stuck everyone of the balls near the cup. We left 2 of the Cobra struck balls short in the trap.
Flop shots were a breeze with the Callaway if we had a fluffy lie. On tighter lies we had to force ourself to really open up the club and trust our swing.
Sand:
We had a love hate relationship with the wedge out of the sand. We hit some absolutely beautiful shots that hit green and stopped on a dime and we hit some huge skulls off the back. Part of the issue for us is the rounded leading edge as compared to all of our previous wedges that are square shaped. Its a totally different look when you've got the blade wide open and that will take some getting used to.
Half Swing:
We hit 10 balls with each club twice to a small 50 yard target on the practice range. With the Cobra wedge we hit the target with 5 out of 10 and 7 out of 10 balls. With the Callaway we hit 7 out of 10 balls inside the circle both times. Not a huge difference between the two, but the feel with the Callaway was much more solid and the trajectory was much higher, in theory, allowing the ball to stop faster.
Full Swing:
Historically we've always felt comfortable taking a relaxed full swing with our 56* wedge from 80-85 yards out. Even with the additional 2 degrees of loft we still feel comfortable with this wedge from that same distance.
Specs:
Manufacturer: Callaway
Lie/Loft: 58/10
# of Grooves: 18
Shaft: KBS Steel
Price: $119
Summary:
If you struggle with your wedges around the green or out of the sand, the Callaway is certainly no panacea, but if you are good player this club should make you a better one. This wedge requires a lot of practice to get it dialed in, so if you're someone who loves to practice and can be patient with a steep learning curve I'd recommend it. However, if you are someone who just wants to go out and play once or twice a month I think a more traditional wedge or even a game improvement type wedge may be a better option. We are lucky enough to have a number of short game practice facilities available to us so we are going to keep working on making the Calllaway Mack Daddy PM grind a long term fixture in our bag!
The Callaway wedge used for this review was purchased by Golf Gear Box.