The most forgiving wedge in golf.

Most wedges are built for a player who strikes the ball the same way every time. If that is not you, this page explains what forgiveness in a wedge actually means, and what we changed to get it.

What forgiveness means in a wedge

In an iron, forgiveness is about off-centre hits. Perimeter weighting keeps the face from twisting so a strike off the toe still goes somewhere useful.

A wedge is a different problem. Inside 120 yards you rarely miss a wedge sideways. You miss it fat, thin, or stuck in the sand. Almost every one of those misses is caused by the same thing: the sole of the club hitting the ground and stopping.

So a forgiving wedge is not one that corrects a bad swing path. It is one that keeps moving through the turf when your low point is not perfect.

The three ways a wedge punishes you

The fat shot

The club enters the ground behind the ball. A solid sole pushes a wedge of turf in front of it, the head decelerates, and the ball travels half the distance you needed. This is the single most common miss for a mid to high handicap golfer with a wedge in hand.

The thin shot

Often a reaction to the last fat one. The club bounces off the ground and catches the ball on the equator, and it screams across the green.

The bunker shot that stays in the bunker

Sand builds up against the back of the face, the head stalls, and the ball comes out short. The club never finishes the job.

What we changed

The sole of the PM1 Noir is cut open through the back of the head. Sand, wet grass and thick rough pass through the club instead of piling up against the face.

The channels run all the way through and are rounded on the inside, so nothing collects in them. The effect is that the head keeps its speed through impact on the shots where a solid sole would have stalled.

Off a clean fairway lie nothing changes. The sole sits flat, the leading edge stays low, and a full wedge comes off the face the way you expect. The design only does something when there is material to get rid of.

Is a forgiving wedge right for you?

It is worth considering if you recognise any of these:

• You chunk chips from tight lies and thin the next one
• You avoid bunkers rather than aiming at flags near them
• You lose distance on wedges out of rough and cannot predict by how much
• You play courses with soft turf, or coastal sand that packs

It is less relevant if you are a low single figure who strikes wedges consistently and controls spin by flighting the ball. A traditional grind gives you more shot shaping, and you already have the strike to use it.

Which loft do you need?

Start from the pitching wedge already in your bag, then space the rest four to six degrees apart. Most players end up with two or three wedges.

The head is the same 239 gram design weight stainless steel casting in all three. Only the loft and the bounce change. Full detail is in the fitting guide.

The specifics