As the leader of the Golf Instructor team at Tell Me More Golf, I am making sure you make an informed buying decision; getting you a deal on the Best Sand Wedge for High Handicappers!

These expert review guidelines are used by Tell Me More Golf’s review team:

• Forgiveness
• Control
• Spin
• Feel

#1. Cleveland CBX Full Face Wedge – Most Forgiving

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When searching for the best sand wedges for high handicappers, our review team mainly looked at the club’s forgiveness, control, spin, and feel.

The Benefits:

The Cleveland CBX Full Face sand wedge features grooves over the entire face, which has plenty of benefits. Since most of us amateurs don’t always strike the ball in the middle of the face, more grooves will increase the spin on poor shots. The trajectory control is excellent, and we really enjoyed the soft feel of the thick sole sliding over the turf. The wide sole also significantly decreases the risk of hitting fat shots. 

The full-face groove aesthetic may be off-putting for some, but it will benefit you significantly if you struggle with inconsistent strikes.

#2. Callaway Golf MD5 Jaws Wedge – Best Performance

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A wedge’s overall performance must consist of excellent trajectory control, forgiveness, and spin. To find the wedges with the best qualities, we hit multiple different types of shots with them and looked at the results.

The Benefits:

Made of mild carbon steel, the Callaway MD5 wedges offered us a very satisfying feel because of their perfectly placed center of gravity. We found this sand wedge to deliver excellent spin rates that enabled us to stick greens easier. The control and forgiveness were also great and suited high handicap chippers, which combined with the feel and spin makes this wedge one of the best performing available today. 

With that said, the MD5 wedges feature quite a slim design which looks great but may not be very confidence-inspiring. This can be easily overlooked if you consider all the other benefits.

#3. Titleist Vokey SM9 – Most Consistent Spin

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Spin is one of the most important aspects of a good wedge no matter your skill level. Without sufficient spin, you won’t be able to stick the greens and put the ball close to the flag. To find the wedges with the most spin, we hit multiple shots using a TrackMan and averaged the results.

The Benefits:

Titleist sand wedges offer a great combination of high spin and control, and they’ve recently upped their game with the new SM9 Vokey wedges. When testing out this wedge, we were struck by the consistency of spin and how easy it was to square up the face, which is largely thanks to Titleist’s Progressive Center of Gravity design. It’s also one of the most versatile wedges because of all the grind and sole options available. 

There are more forgiving wedges available, but if you’re looking to maximize your chipping capabilities, the SM9 is a great choice.

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#4. Ping Glide 4.0 Wedge

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Great trajectory control is a must for a sand wedge to perform on all of its jobs, including pitching and chipping. When searching for the best sand wedges in this area, we looked at multiple factors, including apex and launch angles.

The Benefits:

With its teardrop design, the Ping Glide 4.0 sand wedge is one of the best looking wedges available. The Emery Face Blast technology enables greater forgiveness across the entire face, and we found that even poorly struck shots had consistent spin and distance. This wedge features top-of-the-line spin numbers with excellent control, and we recommend the wide sole option for high handicap golfers to achieve maximum forgiveness. 

Some golfers may however not enjoy the firmer feel featured on this wedge, but if you play with soft golf balls this shouldn’t be an issue. 

#5. Cleveland CBX ZipCore Wedge

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For amateur and especially high handicap golfers, a forgiving wedge is crucial for hitting good wedge shots and shooting lower scores. To find the sand wedges with the most forgiveness, we hit multiple shots and looked at the dispersion rates across all types of strikes.

The Benefits:

The Cleveland CBX ZipCore sand wedge features quite aggressive milling that help promotes high spin, which enables you to stick greens and flags easier. This wedge also uses a blend of a muscle-back and cavity-back design – making it forgiving while not looking too chunky. We found the spin rates very consistent, and the trajectory control was phenomenal.

While the feel of the CBX ZipCore wedges is great, the sound is a little clicky, which might not be to everyone’s liking. However, the sound produced is largely a result of what golf ball you use.

Finding the Best Sand Wedge for High Handicap Golfers – Our Buyer’s Guide

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The Optimal Wedge Lofts for High Handicappers

There are many types of wedges to choose from, including the pitching wedge, lob wedge, and gap wedge, which can make a difficult decision. Professional golfers need all of these clubs to perform at their level, but the truth is that most amateurs, and especially higher handicaps, play better golf with lower lofts.

That’s why we strongly recommend golfers to use wedges with no more loft than a sand wedge in most situations. When you take a higher lofted club such as the lob wedge, the leading edge becomes more apparent, and you risk thinning the ball of all types of shots. While sole grinds do vary, the sand wedge is typically more than enough loft out on the golf course. 

The Key Traits of a Great High Handicap Sand Wedge 

We at TellMeMoreGolf have reviewed many of the best golf wedges, which means that we know what key traits to look for when it comes to finding a great high handicap sand wedge.

• Forgiveness

All golfers, including high handicappers, will hit poor shots on occasion. To combat this and score the best as possible we need forgiveness in our golf equipment. Forgiveness in wedges lies both in the dispersion patterns and the sole, as we want chunky shots to still come out okay. We found that the most forgiving sand wedge is the Cleveland CBX Full Face.

• Control

Wedge shots are usually pretty delicate, with little room for errors. This is the case for all aspects of the short game, but especially on full shots into greens. When looking for the wedges with the best control, we look at how accurate they are and how easily we can shape the height trajectory. 

• Spin 

Wedges are the spinniest clubs in the bag, and that’s for a reason. Many times on the golf course you will have short shots from the fairway into greens. Here, we want to stick the ball as close to the hole as possible in order to score well. To do this, we need consistently high spin. We believe that the best beginner sand wedge for consistent spin is the Titleist Vokey SM9. 

• Feel

Although often overlooked, feel is crucial in a good wedge game. Feel enables us to control our distances and the trajectory needed for a particular shot. It also gives us feedback on where we’ve struck the shot in order for us to improve our contact. 

Why the Sand Wedge Is a Great Club for Higher Handicaps

Compared to higher lofted wedges, the sand wedge offers a fantastic combination of high spin and forgiveness. Whether you’re hitting bunker shots or trying to attack a challenging pin location, the sand wedge has got you covered.

Tell Me More Golf – Frequently Asked Questions

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What is the best sand wedge for high handicappers?

Through our extensive testing when trying to find the best sand wedges for beginners and high handicappers, we found the Cleveland CBX Full Face wedge to be the best. 

What is the easiest sand wedge to use?

The Cleveland CBX ZipCore sand wedge is very easy to use because of its wide sole and muscle-back blend design. 

What degree wedge is best for sand? 

While it heavily depends on the situation and skill level of the golfer, we believe that the sand wedge, which usually sits around 54 degrees of loft, is the easiest wedge to hit out of sand. 

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In this article, we’ve shown what we believe to be the best wedges for high handicappers, and hopefully you now know why the sand wedge is a great club and which sand wedge suits you the best. Thank you for reading this article from TellMeMoreGolf.com – your golf comparison site.