Turf Entry, Both Panels
Soft and firm, back to back, watching where the leading edge enters and whether the trailing edge is releasing or catching. This is the section a mat-based fitting cannot honestly perform.
Bounce Is Not A Number You Choose Once
Effective bounce — what the club actually presents to the ground at your delivery, on the ground as it is that month — swings by several degrees between a soft April and a baked August in this part of Pennsylvania. We fit for the middle of that range and tell you plainly which grind is worth owning a second version of.
- $120, about 90 minutes
- Soft and firm panels, back to back
- Bunker work included
- With Deirdre Falk
The Same Wedge Behaves Like Two Different Clubs
Deirdre built this sitting specifically because too many golfers were reporting a wedge that was fine in May and unplayable by the end of August, and assuming that meant their swing had fallen apart. It was almost never the swing. It was the ground answer — the same sole presenting a different effective bounce as clay loam bakes hard through the summer.
Testing on a single mat gives you a number that is true for one afternoon. We hit the same shots on two panels set to spring softness and late-summer firmness in the same sitting, so the recommendation survives the season instead of the first hot week.
How we handle the two extremes →Ground Answer Carries The Whole Sitting
Grind And Camber
Matched to local bunker sand, which around Pittsburgh runs coarser than tour-spec sand most manufacturer charts are built for. A grind that spins beautifully on a tour-quality bunker can dig here.
Full Gapping
Carry numbers from your shortest full iron down to the flag, measured rather than assumed from the loft stamped on the sole. Two clubs going the same distance is the most common finding on this floor.
Roughly 90 Minutes
- Strike census on your current wedges, both panels20 min
- Grind and bounce candidates tested on soft turf20 min
- Same candidates tested on firm turf15 min
- Bunker work against local sand15 min
- Full gapping and spec card20 min
Two Reground Wedges, One September
A Fox Chapel golfer arrived in September certain her wedges had simply worn out. On the firm panel, Deirdre found the sole was catching on entry within four shots — the same grind that had performed perfectly in May. Two wedges got reground rather than replaced, and the difference from tight lies was not subtle.
More records from the season file →Bring The Wedges You Play Most, Whatever Their Age
A grind change is often a fraction of the cost of a new wedge, and the September check — free to past clients — exists specifically to catch this before the sole quietly stops matching the season.