Cleveland Smart Sole 4 Wedge Review
Perhaps the most forgiving option among Cleveland’s comprehensive wedge range is the Smart Sole 4. As a 3 handicap index player and relatively confident chipper, this product is certainly not aimed at me but I was able to pass it on to the perfect candidate. A good friend of mine, let’s call him Mr H, who is clinging on to a single-figure handicap but struggles frustratingly with the chipping yips. I passed on a 50° sample for him to employ over multiple rounds. Here’s his story and how he got on with the Smart Sole 4 wedge…
Mr H: Whenever I play a foursomes format I always tell my partner “If you can’t reach the green then leave me a 100 yard shot” as I can’t handle anything shorter into and around the greens – it’s been that way for about six years now. In plain terms, I having the chipping yips. I get that deep anxiety even thinking about chipping never mind standing over the ball. I was at my wits end, condemned to an eternity of chunks or thins, or so it seemed.
Out of the blue a friend calls me and reckons he has the answer to all my problems The Cleveland Smart Sole 4 wedge. He has similar demons and claims it has turned his game around. This club comes in three loft options, 42°, 50° and 58°. It’s finished in a very appealing matte dark grey which gives it quite a premium, stealth-like look that stands out among the best golf wedges. I opted for the 50° as it seemed to offer the best of both worlds in terms of forgiveness and loft, plus I could swap it out for my regular 50° approach wedge without adding an extra club to the bag.
(Image credit: Future)
The wedge has quite a large face which is adorned with plenty of grooves, some in places you think would never meet with a golf ball but hey, they’re there if ever called into action. Looking down at address it looks just like a regular wedge but all the tech and help is going on out of sight underneath. The extra wide, three-tiered sole coupled with added leading edge bounce is the key to its design with the sole getting progressively wider as the lofts go up – making it one of the most forgiving wedges money can buy.
(Image credit: Howard Boylan)
Testing it out initially on my artificial grass lawn the results were promising and I was clipping the ball nicely off the forgiving fake turf but the real test would come when I took it to the course. Golf coaches will tell you that the key to chipping is to get the bounce striking the ground…
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