Bettinardi HLX 5.0 Wedge Review

Bettinardi HLX 5.0 Wedges Key Features:

• Forged soft carbon steel construction: delivers soft feel and premium looks
• High helix cut grooves: provides a more pronounced groove depth, creating maximum spin
• Raised centre of gravity:  pushed up by 5% to promote a lower trajectory

Bettinardi, a brand with a strong reputation in the golf industry, is primarily known for its exceptional putters. However, it also offers a fantastic selection of wedges and has now expanded its range to include irons.

We recently tested the Bettinardi CB24 irons, and to see if the wedges could make it into our best golf wedges guide, we took them out for a spin, too.

The new HLX 5.0 wedges are forged from soft carbon steel to provide a soft feel and premium look, and the grooves are meticulously milled using Bettinardi's patented High Helix Cut machining process.

The process is said to add greater depth to the grooves, pushing the limit of what is legal by USGA standards. 

The wedges' centre of gravity has also been pushed higher by 5% to promote a lower and more controlled flight. 

To assess their performance, we took them to Foxhills in Surrey. 

Let's get into it.

Player Level

The HLX 5.0 wedges are best suited to experienced players looking for premium feel and construction at a premium price point. 

The wedges themselves offer a good amount of forgiveness, but due to the blade-like design and higher CG, they are optimised for golfers looking to flight the ball down and control spin. 

Typically, beginner golfers need help getting the ball airborne and are better suited to wedges with a slightly lower centre of gravity. 

Bettinardi HLX 5.0 Wedges Looks and Feel

Much like the CB24 irons from Bettinardi, these wedges look absolutely beautiful. 

The sole design is simple yet effective, with a Bettinardi stamp near the toe and branding behind the striking area. 

The sole also features Bettinardi's signature honeycomb design milled into the head. 

This added touch really elevates the visual appeal of these clubs and adds premium detailing without being too in your face about it. 

Sat behind the ball, the HLX wedges have a classic pear-shaped profile that will suit the eye of the experienced golfer. 

With premium construction comes premium feel, and that's exactly what these irons deliver. 

The soft forged carbon steel produces a muted feel and sound at impact, while you can really feel the deep grooves grip the ball on clean strikes.

The HLX 5.0s are right up there in terms of feel with the best wedges on the market in 2024, including the Titleist Vokey Design SM10s and the PING S159s. 

A special mention also has to go to the weight of these wedges. Personally, we prefer a slightly heavier swing weight, and the HLX 5.0s felt superb, allowing us to swing with good tempo and achieve ideal turf interaction. 

Bettinardi HLX 5.0 Wedges Performance and Forgiveness

These new wedges have been designed to deliver tour-level performance. The raised centre of gravity has been engineered to help players flight the ball down for greater control on approach shots. 

During testing, we did find that our ball flight was indeed a touch lower than what we were able to achieve with our current gamers, and while the flight was lower, spin remained consistently high, allowing us to stop the ball on a dime from roughly 100 yards. 

The impressive design adjustment is ideal for players who like to alter their ball flight in demanding conditions and also makes the wedges very versatile. 

When we wanted to hit a slightly higher shot, we simply moved the ball further forward in our stance and laid the clubface slightly open, which in turn allowed us to hit more delicate shots to hard-to-reach pins. 

We also tried hitting a few shots from the heel or toe to test out both spin retention and forgiveness, and while spin remained consistent, we would have to say there are more forgiving wedges out there on the market today. 

While this isn't great news for high-handicap golfers, the trade-off is workability, which these wedges excel in. 

Closer to the green, we found the wedges to be extremely responsive while also delivering bags full of spin on bump and runs and more flighted chip shots. 

The sole also glides beautifully through the turf, and we were able to use the bounce to our advantage on several occasions to land the ball softly.

All in all, the HLX 5.0s really impressed us during testing. Are there more forgiving wedges out there today? Absolutely, but when it comes to feel, versatility and spin, there are few that can match them. 

Should you buy the Bettinardi HLX 5.0 Wedges?

This is a tricky question. Do these wedges perform well, look great and feel fantastic? Yes, they do. 

However, they also cost £219, which is considerably more expensive than, say, the Titleist SM10 and PING S159s, which both cost around £159. 

The question is, are these wedges worth the extra £60? Personally, we don't think so. 

Having said that, for the premium price tag you're paying, you are getting a wedge that has been precision milled with premium materials, so you're certainly getting what you pay for. 

Another small issue we have with these wedges is that they are only available in two grind options. We hate to keep banging on about Titleist and PING wedges, but both brands offer a far more extensive range of grind options, which in turn means they will likely suit a broader audience of golfers. 

It's worth mentioning that this is simply our opinion; we would highly encourage you to test out the HLX 5.0 wedges for yourself. They are fantastic performers, and the shelf appeal alone is enough to turn heads on the fairway.