The Loop
Feel Golf introduces conforming 73-degree wedge
By John Strege
There is a point of diminishing return, surely, in wedge lofts for better players, but for those who don't fit that category, there's this: A new conforming 73-degree wedge from Feel Golf.
"I think it helps the recreational golfer more so than a tour player," Feel Golf CEO Lee Miller said. "The nice thing about it, we designed it for the player to take their full swing, which is without a doubt the most repeatable swing anybody has. I have a guy here that's got to be about a 120 handicap. The only club that he can hit three or four times out of 10 is a 73. When he does, he makes it talk."
The object of the 73-degree wedge, Miller said, is to eliminate the need for the recreational player to open the clubface in an attempt to hit the ball higher and have it land softer. Just aim at the pin, he said.
Phil Mickelson uses a 64-degree wedge, the highest loft in play on the PGA Tour.
Feel Golf previously had introduced a 73-degree wedge, but as part of its wedge offerings with non-conforming grooves. This new one, in a satin finish, has been deemed conforming by the USGA.
What is the market for 73-degree wedges? "I did an interview on PGA Tour XM," Miller said. "I have never ever, ever, seen such a deluge of 73 wedge orders. Since Friday morning, I bet we've sold 200 of them."
The obvious question, of course, is that should you elect to open the face up, would you hit yourself in the forehead with the ball? Miller laughed. "That's the same thing they said about the 60, the same thing they said about the 64," he said.