Premium v Budget wedge test

HOW does a £100 wedge stack up against a £25 wedge? That's what we set to find out.

Does the average golfer need a top-of-the-range wedge or are you just paying for the sponsorship deals and global advertising campaigns of the top brands without really getting much more bang for your buck?

Many manufacturers aggressively pursue the top professional players, spending millions of pounds on sponsorship and also claiming to spend millions on Research & Development to get the edge, but does that edge really benefit the average player? 

For the majority of amateurs, certainly for me at least, the stock 100-yard wedge represents one of the most comfortable shots you can face on the course. You know exactly which club to pull when the GPS says 100 (or least you should), you know the ball is going to travel high into the sky (unless you duff it) and you know the ball is pretty much going to go straight down the intended target line and slam on the breaks when it lands (unless you knife it).

A wedge is a wedge, right? Maybe. Yet when you consider the vast majority of shots are played from inside 120 yards, given drives are flying further by the season (hence why some pros are now bagging four wedges), the importance of finding the correct wedges to suit your game is becoming paramount - particularly when it comes to all the different grind, loft, bounce and finish options.

For £100, you'd expect a wedge to provide you with better ball control than Lionel Messi and more impressive moonwalking skills than Michael Jackson. With that in mind, we sought to find out whether a £100 wedge really does make much more difference than one costing £25.

Plucking a brand new, top-of-the-range Callaway Mack Daddy 2, pitching it against a Dunlop DP1 off the rack, I joined my staff writer Charlie Lemay at Hersham Golf Club to find out just how much difference a premium wedge makes in comparison to an affordable one.

Article continues. Click this link for our Premium Wedge v Budget Wedge test.