57 - Black Nickel Not Oil Can...

With possible impending legal action from those lovely people at Titleist hanging over my head I’m rapidly going off Vokey wedges despite the fact that they are fantastic. Recently I have been looking around at other makes to see what they have to offer. I need a club that works and, most importantly, looks fantastic (I’m as shallow as piss on concrete).

It seems that the likes of Cleveland, Callaway and Taylor Made make some excellent wedges but so do my latest crush; Mizuno. I know I’ve gone on about them in the past but it does look like Mizuno’s Grain Flow Forged wedges are up there with the very best. The more I read the more I’m convinced.

Anyway, to cut to the chase, I’m gonna plump for a Mizuno MP-R wedge in Black Nickel. They don’t spin as much as the Vokey but what does? What is lost in ultimate spin is gained in control as the Mizuno has something called a C-Grind sole, which basically means that the company asked PGA Pros how they ground the bottom of their clubs for playability and then, erm, copied it.

I may have simplified that a little but that is essentially what those clever chaps in Japan (or the USA if you watch any of the promotional videos) did. It is claimed that because of these extra grinds the club is easier to manipulate around the green, gives more shot options and makes it easier to perform difficult chips.

This type of flexibility is exactly what I’ll need once I graduate from ‘complete golf clown’ to ‘seasoned municipal hacker’ (it is important to have a goal I reckon). Seriously though, even with my knackered ankle I can practice my chipping at the driving range so my stumble on Saturday might be a small blessing in disguise.

I’m going to get a grip of Richie, Terry and Alan (not in THAT way) and get them to show me how to chip the ball properly. After to speaking to them I know that Richie and Terry have spent a lot of time working on their short game and I’ve seen Alan hit the ball perfectly onto the green with a wedge with irritating regularity.

Jason (the Pro at Widnes) showed me the shot that he claims I’ll use on almost every hole I play. I was amazed when it worked and I’m hungry for more success. Hopefully the combination of a decent wedge, some tuition and a lot of practice will result in at least winning the Blue Basket Challenge at the driving range!