Best Wedges 2021

What were the Best Golf Wedges of 2021?

We tested all of the 2021 models head-to-head on a launch monitor to determine the year’s best golf wedges (read how we conducted our best wedges test).

If you’re in the market for any new equipment, make sure you read our guides to this year’s best drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, and putters and use our recommendations to narrow your shortlist. We’d always advise getting fitted for your clubs, as that’s the only way to optimise new models for your game.

Here are the best performing golf wedges you should be considering. Hit the club name to read our full review or click ‘View Offer’ to buy now…

EXPLAINED: How we test golf equipment

Cleveland CBX 2

RRP £109 | VIEW OFFER
Lofts: 46° / 48° / 50° / 52° / 54° / 56° / 58° / 60° | Stock shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold 115 wedge (s) Rotex Precision (g) | Head options: Loft only | Finishes: Satin only

We’ve seen enough performance data since the launch of the original Cleveland CBX wedges (in 2017) to say the majority of club golfers should now be opting for cavity backs when choosing new wedges. If you can get over the snobbish idea that wedges should have a blade-like design, you’ll realise that cavity back wedges have the capability to shave a couple of shots a round from a golfer’s game, with absolutely zero trade-off in looks behind the ball, feel or performance.

This thinking is backed up by the fact that the Cleveland CBX 2 was our test pro’s highest spinning wedge of 2021, and the only model to break the 10,000 RPM backspin barrier. The Cleveland CBX 2 wedges offer serious stopping power.  

We love how the complicated decisions of selecting sole grinds and bounce options are made for you, as the lower lofts have less bounce, while the higher lofts have wider, more forgiving soles, and extra bounce.

If you’re using cavity back irons and find yourself looking at new wedges, why wouldn’t you choose a cavity back wedge, knowing it offers more forgiveness? 

Titleist Vokey Design SM8 wedge

RRP £139 | VIEW OFFER
Lofts: 46° / 48° / 50° / 52° / 54° / 56° / 58° / 60° / 62° | Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold S200 | Head options: Six sole grinds (F, M, S, D, L and K) | Finishes: Tour Chrome / Brushed Steel / Jet Black, Raw

The Titleist Vokey SM8 wedges are a cracking, tour-level blade style wedge, and they’re just as popular today as they have been for the last 20 years.

For the first time, Titleist Vokey have really focused all of their attention on forgiveness, adding tungsten toe weights to the SM8 wedges to increase MOI by 7%. 

We’ve tested the Titleist Vokey SM8 wedges a few times now and they’re always well up any ranking we’ve compiled for spin and control, not just from perfect lies, but also from rough and when hitting half shots, too. If you insist tour level blade wedges are the best option for your game, the Vokey SM8 wedges should definitely be pinging your radar. 

Because there’s six sole grinds to choose from, as well as plenty of shaft options, you really should be searching out a proper wedge fitting session to optimise any Vokey purchase for your own personal style of play.    

RELATED: Do old and worn wedges really spin less?

Ben Hogan Equalizer wedge

RRP £110 | VIEW OFFER
Lofts: 48° / 50° / 52° / 54° / 56° / 58° / 60° / 62° | Stock shaft: Choose from 5 premium options | Head options: Loft only | Finishes: Satin chrome / Black

We’ve loved Ben Hogan Equalizer wedges for a few years here at TG, and once again they’ve performed beautifully against the competition.

We’ve seen before how the Equalizer’s milled face and clever leading edge relief have given our test pro some seriously consistent numbers.

This year, with just 6% drop off in spin on mishits, the Ben Hogan Equalizer was tied 1^st as our test pro’s best performing wedge for consistency and predictability (alongside the Cleveland RTX ZipCore). 

Ben Hogan only deal direct with consumers through their website (benhogangolf.eu), which means they can bring the Equalizer in for just £100 per wedge. That means you could get three Ben Hogan wedges for less than two Titleist Vokey SM8 wedges. In our eyes, that’s an absolute steal.  

If having the very latest model is important to you, rumour has it there’s likely to be a new Equalizer released during 2021, so it might be worth holding off until that’s unveiled. 

RELATED: Test your new wedges on one of Golf World’s Top 100 Best Courses in the UK and Ireland

TaylorMade Hi-Toe Raw wedge

RRP £139 | VIEW OFFER
Lofts: 50° / 52° / 54° / 56° / 58° / 60° / 62° | Stock shaft: KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 | Head options: Low bounce 58° and 60°, High Bounce Bigfoot (56°, 58°, 60°) | Finishes: Aged Copper only

When we spoke to TaylorMade’s wedge and putter guy, Bill Price, we asked if golfers can expect a performance gain when comparing the Hi-Toe Raw to TaylorMade’s brilliant MG2 wedge line-up. Surprisingly, the answer was yes. And the reasoning Price gave was how the higher toe design draws the centre of gravity up the face, so shots launch a little lower and with more spin. And originally that sort of performance was a direct request from TaylorMade staff players on tour.

Our test data doesn’t quite have the TaylorMade Hi-Toe Raw down as our highest spinning wedge, but it’s worth remembering our test shots were hit with a brand new, fresh face, which hadn’t yet had the time to rust.

We’re big fans of the TaylorMade Hi-Toe’s straight leading edge, and the new knocked back, less in your face, aged copper finish. The Hi-Toe is a wedge that looks brilliant at address, and if you happen to struggle from sand we also like how the wide soled Bigfoot (the sole is 6mm wider than the standard model) is well equipped to help out.

RELATED: Do rusty wedges really spin more? 

Callaway Jaws MD5 wedge

RRP £159.99 | VIEW OFFER
Lofts: 46° / 48° / 50° / 52° / 54° / 56° / 58° / 60° / 64° | Stock shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue 115 | Head options: Four Sole Grinds (C, S, X, W) | Finishes: Platinum Chrome, Tour Grey

We don’t know how Callaway get away with the micro-protrusions on the face of the Jaws wedges, as the idea pushes the rules to the absolute limit. Run an index finger over them and you get an instant idea how they help impart spin at impact. So it’s no surprise the model comfortably placed within our five highest spinning wedges of the year.

We’re particularly fussy when it comes to wedge head shapes and, in our opinion, the Callawat Jaws MD5 wedges are much nicer to look at than their predecessors, the very heavily rounded Jaws MD4. 

Being a tour style wedge, the MD5 does have a very sharp leading edge, which can be good for nipping shots from tight lies, but also means you need to be a precise and accurate ball striker, especially on damp turf or sand, to get the best from them. In the wrong hands, sharp edges increase the likelihood of heavy and fat shots. For this reason we reckon the Callaway Jaws MD5 will be at home in the hands of above average golfers.

Cleveland RTX ZipCore wedge

RRP £129 | VIEW OFFER
Lofts: 46° / 48° / 50° / 52° / 54° / 56° / 58° / 60° / 62° | Stock shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Spinner | Head options: Low, Mid and Full Sole Grinds | Finishes: Tour Satin, Black Satin

When Cleveland revealed the RTX ZipCore last year they shouted loud and clear about how a new lightweight aluminium pad in the heel (which meant there could be extra toe weighting) had led to a 10% increase in vertical MOI stability. Cleveland said the idea was to improve spin consistency between shots hit high and low on the face, which increases predictability on the golf course.

As part of our test, we thought we’d delve deep into the data and crunch the numbers to find out just how much spin each wedge dropped between a pure strike and a mishit.

Where some models ran to 2,000 RPM difference, the Cleveland RTX ZipCore was tied top of the pile (with the Ben Hogan Equalizer), dropping just 553 RPM between shots, which is a seriously impressive performance.         

Cleveland are wedge legends, and the RTX ZipCore is just the next step in a very long line of brilliant models. You really can’t go wrong with them; we love the ZipCore’s straight leading edge and the brilliant feel and feedback.

PXG 0311 Milled Sugar Daddy wedge

RRP £355 (Chrome finish) £445 (Black finish) | VIEW OFFER
Lofts: 50° / 52° / 54° / 56° / 58° / 60° / 62° / 64° | Stock shaft: PXG insist on fitting golfers to their best performing option | Head options: Low bounce in 58° and 60° | Finishes: Chrome or Black

Before protesting about how a wedge can cost £720, just consider for a second, the PXG 0311 Milled Sugar Daddy is the only 100% CNC Milled wedge we’ve ever tested. The whole head, hosel and all is very precisely CNC Milled from one piece of steel, and if you accept CNC Milling is the ultimate way to make a golf club (so the inconsistencies of hand finishing are removed) it stands to reason that it’s the best wedge available.

Of course we understand only a select few of the very elite will ever get their hands on one, but we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t highlight how good the PXG 0311 Milled Sugar Daddy wedge really is. Our test pro reckoned the PXG 0311 Milled Sugar Daddy was one of his favourite wedges in the whole test.

Ping Glide 3.0 wedge

RRP £118.50 | VIEW OFFER
Lofts: 46° / 50° / 52° / 54° / 56° / 58° / 60° | Stock shaft: Ping Z-Z 115 (by Nippon) | Head options: Thin sole (58°/60°), Wide sole

For golfers who can’t quite commit to using a full-on cavity back wedge (like the Cleveland CBX 2), the Ping Glide 3.0 wedges are an excellent midway alternative.

They look almost as good as bladed wedges, but offer more forgiveness, thanks to a custom tuning port (which removes weight low down in the head) and extra weight high in the toe.

Our test data has the Ping Glide 3.0 down as our 2^nd highest spinning wedge of the year, and thanks to the Hydropearl finish (it dissipates water) it’s highly likely they’ll perform just as well from damp or longer grass. We love the longer grip, which allows golfers to cover off different yardage gaps by gripping down the appropriate amount.

Mizuno ES21 wedge

RRP £155 | VIEW OFFER
Lofts: 54° / 55º / 56º / 57º / 58º / 59º / 59º / 60º / 61º / 62° | Stock shaft: KBS Hi Rev | Head options: Standard or Wide sole | Finishes: Black Ion only

As the only wedge on the market with a centre of gravity in the middle of the face (which is where most golfers try and hit shots) we really wanted to have the Mizuno ES21 amongst our top performers this year. We love the idea of the hollow head positioning the sweetspot right where golfers expect it to be, and the engineering and marketing story behind it should be applauded.

However, because the Mizuno ES21 only come in 54° – 62° lofts (which is down to it being hard to create a hollow head in a narrower soled 50° or 52°) we reckon golfers will struggle to work the model into their wedge setup. It’s highly likely you’ll need a different 48°, 50° or 52° model, which isn’t really the ideal wedge setup, making it hard to recommend the Mizuno ES21.

Honma T//World TW4

RRP £149 | VIEW OFFER
Lofts: 48º / 50º / 52º / 54º / 56º / 58º / 60º | Stock shaft: Wedge Flex Dynamic Gold S200 | Head options: Full sole (48º-52º), Crescent sole (54º-60º) | Finishes: Chrome only

Honma’s forged irons have excelled for us in terms of looks, feel and performance over the last few years, so it’s no surprise the Honma T//World TW4 wedge didn’t let the side down.

The Honma T//World TW4 was our third highest-spinning wedge of the year (9,801 RPM) which is really impressive for a brand that’s not typically known for wedges.

For forged iron players, it makes perfect sense to play forged wedges, and if that’s you the Honma T//World TW4 should be high up on your shortlist to try.

The design is great, with a very typical Japanese shaped high toe and angled head shape which our test pro loved.

Best Golf Wedges 2021: How every club performed

How we conducted our 2021 golf wedges test

– We gathered all of the 2021 wedge models at our indoor test lab at Keele Golf Centre.

– TG Test Pro Neil Wain did the testing, while Equipment Editor Simon Daddow collected data. 

– We used Callaway Chrome Soft X Triple Track balls and a Foresight GC Quad launch monitor to create the most reliable data possible.

– We recorded how shots launched, span, peaked and dropped out of the air, before crunching the numbers to come up with our conclusions.

READ NEXT: Best Golf Irons

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Simon Daddow is the Equipment Editor at todaysgolfer.co.uk

Simon has worked in the golf industry for 30 years. Starting out as trainee professional at Downes Crediton GC where he learned the art of golf club making, before going onto work for Clubhaus Plc and Tony Charles Ltd as a golf club maker, and running Product Development at Benross Golf.

Joining EMAP Active (now Bauer Media) in 2006 as Equipment Editor Simon has worked for Today’s Golfer and Golf World magazines and the Today’s Golfer website.
Simon has played golf for 40 years and plays to a handicap of 10. A lack of club speed means he’s short off the tee, but very handy from 125 yards and in.

You can contact Simon here.