In the game of golf, a good score is always built from 100 yards and in; smacking big drives down the middle of the fairway is fun, and hitting towering iron shots is great, but it’s the wedges that are key to a tidy scorecard. A good set, then, is essential for players looking to take their game to the next level.
They’re hit more than any other clubs, too – especially if people regularly practice at their club’s driving range and short game areas – and grooves will naturally wear down over time, and clubs will need replacing. In fact, some tour pros change their sets every few tournaments, but for regular golfers, it’s thought to be good practice to change them out every 75 rounds or so.
Spin, feel, versatility and looks are just some of the qualities that players will prioritise when picking a new set of wedges. With so many brands producing good products, though, it can be difficult to know where to start.
How we tested
We took samples out for our usual rounds at our local course and on a number of weekend trips and golf tours throughout the spring and into the golf season.
We also tested them out at the range and recorded spin numbers and stopping power, while also spending a lot of time around the short game area. Numbers were important for testing, but we placed the most emphasis on feel and clubs that made us feel confident around the greens and when hitting pitch shots – and focused on finding clubs that would appeal to all manner of players, from weekend warriors to scratch and below.
Best golf wedges at a glance:
- Best all-round premium option: Titleist Vokey SM10 - £169, Hot Golf
- Best for forgiveness: Cleveland CBX4 - £129, Clubhouse Golf
- Best value option: Kirkland Signature 3 Piece Golf Wedge Set - £154.99, Costco
- Best for stunning design: Mizuno T-3 - £169, Scottsdale Golf
- Best for workability: TaylorMade Hi-Toe 4 - £159, American Golf
- Best for crazy spin: Smithworks Cast Milled Xspin - £134, Smithworks
Titleist Vokey SM10
Best: all-round premium option
The Vokey SM series has been the industry standard for decades now, and that isn’t changing anytime soon. They nailed the looks a long time ago, and the timeless design is one of the most recognisable on the golf club market. It’s the perfect all-rounder, with great feel and adaptability - there’s a reason Vokeys are the most popular wedges among pros, representing more than half of the wedges played on the PGA tour last year.
The latest model of SM10s offers an incredible feel – think soft but robust through impact. They launch slightly lower than the previous one, helping players get more dialled in with more penetrating ball flight. The quality control from Titleist is uniformly excellent, and every wedge is given a heat treatment and individually inspected.
They’re some of the most customisable clubs on the market, with a myriad of options in bounce and grind helping players get the perfect wedges for them. A custom fitting with a Titleist specialist will help more advanced players get dialled in with clubs that suit not only their swing but also the type of courses they regularly play.
Essentially, the latest generation of SM10s has improved on an already industry-leading club that will suit just about every golfer playing today. They’re the joint-most expensive on the list, but you certainly get what you pay for - the SM10s will hold their value well compared to most other wedges, too, if that’s something you’re considering when purchasing new clubs.
Buy now £169.00, Hot Golf
Cleveland CBX4
Best for: forgiveness
Most wedges aren’t built to offer forgiveness, and they’re the thinnest clubs in the bag, too - not many clubs come with much real estate behind the ball. However, the Cleveland CBX4 is packed with tech in the blade, which is all aimed at making them the most forgiving on the market, and some of the easiest to launch and strike around the green.
The CBX4s are certainly chunkier than most other models, and you might lose a hair of feel through the strike compared to wedges aimed at lower handicap players. However, they’re really easy to hit, and the larger head profile will help people with confidence issues around the greens. The hollow cavity back will help with off-centre shots on longer pitches too.
We also found they still offered very good spin and control, so you don’t have to worry about giving up performance there. The UltiZip grooves offered receptiveness on the greens, but the CBX4s are not quite as soft through impact as some of the other models we tried. However, we did find them to be some of the best in bunkers during our testing, with the head profile helping us hit through sand with speed and avoid getting snagged.
Cleveland is a real wedge specialist, so you know you’re buying from a brand with real pedigree in this department. For more advanced players, the RTXs are a fantastic option with a softer feel too.
Buy now £129.00, Hot Golf
Kirkland Signature 3 Piece Golf Wedge Set
Best: value option
Kirkland gear from Costco has developed a strong cult following over recent years (its V2 golf balls offer really solid performance and only cost around £1 each), and there’s a good reason why its wedges have established themselves as some of the best value clubs in the game. The three-piece package comes with the 52, 56 and 60 degree lofted wedges, and for the equivalent of around £50 a wedge, you get a matching set of really impressive clubs offering the kind of performance you’d expect from sets costing much more.
The first generation of the Kirkland wedges came out a few years ago and marked Costco’s first foray into the club market. The latest generation is a step up, with simple but effective upgrades to the styling. The traditional look and elegant profile are pleasing, and there’s a lot to like about the performance too. The clubs are nice and easy to hit, the milled face grooves offer plenty of spin, and the face provides an assured touch, which is far better than it has any right to be for the price.
The downsides? They only come in a complete set of three and can’t be bought separately. There is no custom fitting available, there are currently no left-handed options available, and you need to be a Costco member – or know a Costco member – to buy them. Brand snobs won’t be interested, but for the price, they’re pretty hard to beat, and an upgrade from the previous model.
Buy now £154.99, Costco
Mizuno T-3
Best for: stunning design
If you play Mizuno clubs, then there’s a good chance it’s for the feel. The brand makes clubs that offer some of the best feedback when striking the ball on the market. It’s not just the feel, though, that’ll draw players to the new wedge range in 2025. We don’t say this lightly, but Mizuno has released some of the best-looking clubs ever made this year. Not enough people are talking about the beautiful Mizuno Pro S-3 Irons, which are some of the cleanest, most premium-looking on the market, and the Pro T-3 are our pick for the best-looking wedges you can buy right now, too.
The clubs come in a stunning satin finish, with an embossed Mizuno logo in the forged face, which offers a beautiful soft feel. The face is bigger than some other models we tried, with a nice teardrop face profile. The size helps to add a sense of security, but the profile is still sleek thanks to a clean top line.
The Quad Cut+ grooves really help create good stopping power, with loads of spin and soft feel. The small cavity back design makes it more forgiving than most, too.
The satin finish is really elegant and helps to reduce glare in the sun, which can bother players with chrome wedges, especially during evening rounds when the sun is low. They look superb, in our opinion, but the Pro T-3 wedge is only available in the satin finish. If you wanted to play Mizuno irons aimed at better players, but fancied something a little snazzier, try the Pro T-1 in the blue finish – it’s another gorgeous Mizuno product aimed at low handicappers which offers sensational feel and will be a guaranteed conversation starter the next time you pull them out your bag on the course.
Buy now £169.00, Scottsdale Golf
TaylorMade Hi-Toe 4
Best for: workability
I should probably start by admitting that these wedges will always hold a slightly special place in my heart, given that I once watched my brother get a hole-in-one at Turnberry with a 54-degree Hi-Toe. That aside, the Hi-Toe will appeal to lots of different players and offers one of the most interesting-looking clubs in the wedge category, too.
At any rate, the Hi-Toe offers one of the most interesting and versatile options on the market in 2025. Like the Cleveland CBX, the Hi-Toe was one of the first really popular models to utilise the full face grooves, and it’s such a simple but effective design feature, you can’t help but wonder why more clubs don’t have it as a feature.
Some better players like to manipulate the ball using different parts of the club – sometimes using the toe to swing at the ball harder. If you’re that kind of player, then these could be the wedges for you.
There’s a nice utilitarian feel to the design, too, which we enjoyed, and we found them some of the best for opening up in the bunkers and manipulating for different lies. They’re also the clubs of choice for short game wizard and inventor of the three-release method Dan Grieve, and if they’re good enough for him, they’re good enough for almost anybody.
Buy now £159.00, American Golf
Smithworks Cast Milled Xspin
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Best for: crazy spin
Now, for something a little bit different…
Smithworks was founded by PGA Professional Stuart Smith, a designer who previously worked on clubs for the likes of TaylorMade. Over recent years, they’ve gained a cult reputation for creating some of the most unique golf clubs on the market, and one of the most fun clubs you’ll ever hit is the Cast Milled XSpin.
Essentially, it’s a non-conforming wedge with incredibly deep grooves that spins like crazy – and it’s one of the most fun golf clubs we’ve ever hit. The spin on offer is extreme, and we managed to rip back balls on relatively short shots and achieve levels of spin we never thought possible during a round of golf.
In fact, the only two things to bear in mind are that the club is non-conforming, so it can’t be used in official competitions, and the wedges are so effective that they cut up the cover of balls on some full shots.
There’s a nice, robust and industrial look which we enjoyed, and we were also impressed with the conforming wedges which Smithworks make: a laser milled wedge which is approved for use in competition.
It’s not for everyone, and the fact that it’s non-conforming might put some off, but the spin it generates is ridiculous, and it’s certainly a cool toy to put in the bag.
Buy now £134.00, Smithworks
