I want to change wedges from, MD Golf Gunmetal to either Cleveland 588 or Mizuno MPt.

Any recommendations. I find the MDs to be a bit light.

Try the new Nike SV tour wedge.

Great value from ebay i got mine, but they go for about £49 brand new in a few online shops.   Great wedge.

I have the Mizuno MP-T Black 58.10. It feels good just to hold it, it's beautifully balanced and beautiful to look at. Played a round Thursday and used it maybe 7-8 times, with results that were good enough to draw compliments from the 3-handicapper I was playing with. Played out of sand, shots over bunkers, 3/4 shots into the green, and didn't hit a bad one.

It took a while to get used to as it's very different from my Ping G5s and I had a touch of the shanks at first, but as I learn to get the best out of it I increasingly love it.

I back Paul here.

I swapped my progen wedges for the Nike SV tour and they are outstanding, and at £40 to £50 very good value.

Make sure you look for SV tour, they are improved over the SV.

I liked the 52 so much I have just bought the 58 10 degree bounce off eBay new for £38 delivered.

Wormburner, I'm not so sure about that. I play off 26, and I've got 2 specialist wedges - the classically-shaped MP-T mentioned above and a 54* Cleveland CG11, which is cavity-backed and therefore supposedly better for a more erratic player such as myself.

For me, though, the CG11 feels a bit "clunky", whereas with the Mizzy I feel freer and more able to be creative in my shot-making. Maybe the CG11 is more forgiving for full shots, but I rarely use either of these clubs for a full shot (I'm happier with a 3/4 gap wedge) so really it's all about feel - and the factors that promote that are the same whether you're a hacker or scratch player.

I find that more and more I only use the CG11 for coming out of iffy rough, where maybe the cavity backing helps if the head gets deflected, but more importantly if it gets scratched up, I'm less fussed about it.

Hmmm,I am noy having  a go but it does sem to be a badge of honour to play certain wedges,on the forums anyway.If you ahven't got an MP-R or 900 or SV or whatever,then you aren't a 'player'.Fact is you need to spend as much time thinking abour wedges as you do your driver.A beginner wouldn't dream of trying to hit a 905R with an X stiff V2 yet they still think its easier to get to grips with a Vokey 200,yet in fact the technique required for the Vokey is just as complicated and takes just as much practice. 

Getting to grips with what bounce you need,whether you need offset,where you want or need the weight,what flex you need (crucial on half shots at say 50 yards),what grind you want or need,what lie angle (how many players have fitted their wedge?)  and then what gaps you need based on loft etc etc 

I just find it strange that a beginner will seek forgiveness off the tee and the fairway,yet for some reason struggle around the green because they want a top brand or whatever other reason

getting the right wedge and lower your handicap,simply as that

I'm equally not having a go, but I have to deny any delusions of playerdom - I play a high-lofted driver, game improvement irons, a high-MOI putter; I'll take any advantage I can. That's the reason I bought a cavity-backed wedge - but I've found that it hinders rather than helps my game.

For a less expert player such as myself (I won't say beginner because I've been playing 20 years, albeit fewer than half a dozen rounds a year most of that time), I would recommend making simpler shot choices around the green - the chip-and-run instead of the lob, and certainly not expecting two feet of backspin or anything. The only reason I played a 3/4 lob wedge off the fairway (instead of half a pitching wedge) was  because I was already out of the hole, and it was a chance for a bit of practice in a shot that's hard to play off a range mat. But when I do need a bit of touch, when I really have to go over the obstacle instead of round it, or when I'm up against the face of the bunker, I find that the classic wedge design is the best tool for the job, even in my unskilled hands.

But the percentage shot for the higher handicapper will always be a gap wedge,slighly open face hit CLEANLY.Yet we still see many using lob wedges,wide open,witch changes the bounce and trying to hit a floaty softie with a classic wedge,madness.Lob wedges have a lot to answer for.Handicaps have not come down since 1981,when we all played with 200cc persimmon drivers and surlyn/balata.Imho,it might have something to do with the ridiculous use of lob wedges.Modern drivers and balls have put 50 yards at least on most players,yet its wasted around the greens.I can't think of any other reason why handicaps have not some down.Our most lofted club in 1981 was a sand iron at 54 degress and we learend quickly how to use this ONE club,now you still see 24 handicappers with 3 or even 4 wedges convincing themselves they need them and also they need the classic wedge shape because they look better in the bag.We all think about putters,drivers and irons yet few think about wedges enough.Classci wedges suit a player who KNOWS the right technique to use and can execute it all the time,its got nothing to do with whether it helps the finesse shot for beginners,its whether the palyer has the technique or not that matters

Maybe I am wrong and its still down to puttng

I pretty much echo WB's advice. My own experience was that learning to hit a variety of shots with a single wedge helped my game enormously. After a couple of years at golf carrying an arsenal of wedges that I couldnt hit,  I switched to using a very reduced bag of 7 or 8 clubs for most of my golf and have carried on this way until now, and used a 54* wedge for just about everything around the greens and pitches. My greenside recovery play and pitching improved using the single wedge.  When I joined a links course early on this year I found the 54* just wouldnt cut it, so changed to a 64*, though the large resultant gap between the 64 and my 44* PW needed filling, yet I have still not found a wedge around 50-52* that I cam comfortable with. I understand bounce, opening up etc but in general as with all my golf I try and just play a few simple shots that I am most confident with, I've found that prudent shot selection goes a long way to reducing scores. I play all my low chips etc with the PW, and anything I need to lob up I hit the 64*, I only open the face of the 64 when under the face of the deep greenside links pot bunkers.  I'm certainly not a finesse player but have found that gaining confidence with a single wedge does help.

Interesting point WB mentions re the lack of reduction in handicaps despite the easier to use equipment, better tended courses and greens, and lower spinning golf balls. One could extend that to the pro ranks, while the courses have gained in length the equipment gains and improved greens have at least matched that yet pro scores in general arent better than Palmer's era. I wonder why that should be.

I agree with you about the wide-open face. I tried to hit a "Mickelson flop" a couple of times when I first got my 58* and soon learned it was no kind of percentage shot for me. But surely the point of a 58* is that it doesn't need to be as open as a 54* to get the same height and stop on the shot?

I also agree about mastering one wedge and that's why I've started using a 50* gap wedge (ie an old-fashioned pitching wedge) for almost all shots from 85 yards down to about 10 feet off the green, unless there's an obstruction. However, when I do have trouble between me and a pin cut at the front (or with another bunker behind) I would rather hit a positive shot with a lob wedge than a tentative one with a gap wedge - whilst acknowledging that both have their risks.

My own theory about the failure of average handicaps to come down puts it down to: increasing popularity of the game, but a higher proportion of those new players being "casual" or thinking they can learn it all from watching TV; players putting too much faith in technology and believing the hype, and therefore trying shots they don't have the skill to execute (like the flop), or using clubs they can't get the best out of (like 8.5* drivers); and longer drivers (both shafts and distance hit) putting people further in the trees.

But equally, I could be wrong.

The Mickelson flop is actually highly advanced technique,you slide the club under the ball and control the distance as you do with a bunker splash,its exceptionaly difficult to master.It requires a good grip,knowedge of stance and posture,the right amount of tension in the wrists and arms,the correct lie angle for you,knowledge of how to use bounce and of course the correct technique when playing the shot ie the club face should ideally point at you when the wrists are set.This means you have max loft maintained and you can clear the body and 'bounce' the wedge under the ball.

 Massively difficult,makes you wonder when anyone apart from those that have hours to practice,enormous talent and a guru stood watching will ever attempt to play it.Just nip a 56 degree up with a square face and try and hole the 10 footer instead.

 A very interesting thread. Am a high handicapper but do like the shots around the green as it makes the game so intertesting. I find myself getting into trouble trying to alter swing length/swing speed or opening the face of the club. I seem to have better results with a committed full swing. My clubs are Mx 17s and the Sw was not the club for me out of bunkers and I have found through experimenting that my best set up is just a very old model mizuno [ silver cup ] Sand wedge which I have found to be 54* in loft. This is now my go to club. I like it for bunker play and if too close for a normal pitch with it then I grip down for more of a flop shot. To complement this I may [ not always, but def for a nomad course ] put in an old petron impala sand wedge which is 60*. Another club which I feel comfortable with for a full swing and again I grip down if I just need to flop over a bunker. I also use this club in the bunker if close to the pin. I realise that, being a high handicapper my opinion of being happy with these 2 cheap as mutton clubs might go against the grain but they suit me and I feel that, with the gripping down the shaft, I have all I need to manufacture a shot close to the green. My one problem at the moment is the gap between my Mx17 pw and the 54* Sw. I am working on ball in stance for both those clubs to minimize that, as I am loathe to put another club in the bag. P.S. I do not know the bounce on both these clubs but it does seem very little and off the hard lies of late have suited very well. Am hoping that, come wetter weather I will still feel as happy with them but think I will be.

Never found any need to use more than a 52* GW around the green, occasionally a 56* SW if I need a high one over summat - but how rare is that?

My SW tends to get a free ride if I am on my game (missing bunkers) but the GW gets used regularly for final flicks in over wide semi and has enough stop in it to get me close. Otherwise I chip in with a 9i

Can't understand all this rack of shiny expensive wedges approach - never seems to lower the scores of the buggers I play with.

I agree with wormburner entirely. In many senses I think it is an age thing in the UK. I do not see too many older guys falling into the trap, they know to play a percentage shot when possible and that means the LW has no place around the green. Even on longer shots the club is not a percentage play. It is very very rare to actually need the LW loft to get to a flag and chances are, if you do, you should not be playing at the pin at all! Most of the time I see LW hit, the strike is not clean and, although the ball may go high, it rolls out so darned far as to have been a waste of time.

It just seems that newer golfers have totally lost the ability to work around the golf course, it is always a case of carrying the ball up to the pin and having it spin and stop. Very few seem to take the safe view of playing as close to a putt as is sensible - get the ball rolling.