50 Words or Less
The ONE Wedge is built to make the short game easier with a massive sole. High spin, strong consistency, and a total refusal to dig into the turf.
Introduction
Martin Chuck is one of the top golf coaches in the world and the inventor of some of the best training aids we’ve ever tested. Best known for the original Tour Striker [review HERE] and the Educator [review HERE], he’s now turned his attention to designing a club that can help regular golfers enjoy the short game more. That club is The ONE Wedge, and I tested a set to see if Martin has a future in club design or should stick to the lesson tee.
Looks
Your very first look at The ONE Wedge lets you know this is not your conventional Tour-style wedge. In the bag, you’ll see a massive sole with “Pitch Control” across the trailing edge and a cavity with numerous levels and textures.
At address, The ONE Wedge has several distinguishing features. The face is very large and completely covered in grooves. Between the grooves are lines at 45 degree angles centering on a small vertical groove on the bottom of the face. That vertical groove is centered on the bottom groove but is heel-biased if you’re looking at the entire club. Shifting your eyes up, you’ll notice that the top line is not uniform – it’s much thicker on the toe side. Finally, the hosel has a PING EYE2 look to it – long, tapered, and giving the appearance of onset (the opposite of offset).
Sound & Feel
I was not expecting much from The ONE Wedge when it came to feel, but it surprised me. On centered impacts, it produces a “thud” at average volume that’s paired with a medium soft feel. It’s right in the middle of the bell curve – neither a reason to game this wedge or turn it away.
Mishits deliver clear feedback in the form of a slightly louder “knock” at impact and a firmer feel. While I would not regard the feel feedback as pinpoint, you can tell if you missed thin, toe, or heel.
Performance
The ONE Wedge is not short on features and big promises. I’d like to spell them out before I get into my testing results. First is the “4-Way Auto-React Sole” which promises to “react perfectly to any lie” preventing digging and gliding through any surface. Second is “Pitch Control Weighting,” a promise to forgive shots hit all over the club face. Feature #3 is the “ONE-Tempo Shaft” which is counterbalanced to “ensure the club head leverages gravity.” While I think counterbalancing is fine, the copy irks me a bit because I have yet to encounter a club head that didn’t experience gravity. Fourth is the “Point ‘N’ Shoot Leading Edge” which simply means that the leading edge is square, not round, and they believe this is easier to aim. Finally, The ONE Wedge has “Control Spin Grooves” all across the face (they are conforming, according to Performance Golf).
Let’s boil all that down without the buzzwords. The ONE Wedge is counterbalanced, has full-face grooves, a straight leading edge, a cavity back, and a big, wide, rounded sole.
Moving to my testing results, I want to start with the things that surprised me. Given the enormous sole, I was expecting these wedges to launch extremely high with below average spin. Wrong and wrong. The launch angles on each of these wedges was on par with similarly lofted tour-style wedges, and the spin was slightly above average. Additionally, the numbers were more consistent when compared to traditional wedges.
What did not surprise me – but was still impressive – was the performance of the sole. It makes this club almost impossible to hit fat. Even was I was hitting behind the ball intentionally, the sole wanted to glide through the turf. The disadvantage of this sole is that it’s not built for versatility. If you try to open the club face, the leading edge lifts significantly, but this is probably not a big concern for the target player.
Finally, The ONE Wedge produced a tight dispersion. I was hitting shots off the heel and toe that were still flying straight. For players that want to hit little touch shots and baby fades, this is not the club. But for golfers that want to take a lot of stress out of the short game, this will fit the bill.
Conclusion
While the statement “Lower your scores 7-9 shots on average” should not be taken seriously, The ONE Wedge should be. This is a very impressive short game tool geared toward golfers who struggle around the green. With high spin, tight dispersion, and a sole that refuses to dig, it can turn short game opportunities from gut wrenching to welcome sights.
Visit The ONE Wedge HERE
The ONE Wedge Price & Specs
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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13 Comments
Lots of similarities with the Cleveland smart sole wedges, who’s copying who?
Most of these super game improvement wedges have similar features, I don’t think anyone is “copying” anyone else.
-Matt
Because of my short game issues I listened to the Martin Chuck infomercial and kind of a last resort decided to give it a try. After a couple of practice sessions I took it to the course and found it was as advertised, a club that makes the short game much easier. But there was one major issue for me. The club felt so heavy it was like a sledgehammer in my hands. It was throwing off my feel and tempo with every other club in my bag. I had to send it back and got a refund. Some months later I tried the Cleveland Smart Sole gap wedge and have not looked back. Love that club and am considering getting the sand wedge.
Larry,
Sounds like the counterweighting wasn’t for you. Glad you found something that works.
Best,
Matt
Looks suspiciously like the Cleveland Smartsole.
Very good review. Performance Golf has irritating marketing and outrageous claims. That said, the wedge works and, in my opinion, is superior to the Cleveland Smartsole for the target market.
Did you try the 60 degree out of sand? If so, how was it with that big sole?
Ken,
Yes. As you would expect, it will not dig. If you understand that and the type of sand you’re playing, it can work really well. That said, it can be tough if the sand is hard-packed or shallow.
Best,
Matt
In this day and age it seems to me it would make more sense to include a couple of short videos showing how it performs from a good lie, thick rough, sand, etc.
Pat,
I’d love to hear your explanation of why a video “makes more sense” than a carefully written review.
-Matt
I bought the 50 and 56 wedges. Absolutely hated the 50. Could not hit it without blading it or coming up 10-15 yards short of my 52 which I was looking for it to replace. The 56 however is money. There was a pretty good chance I would have been very competitive in a “Worst bunker player, ever” tournament. Not any more. I have made more sand saves with this club in the 6 months I’ve owned it then in the 30+ years I’ve been playing this game. Even holed out a few. Even out of the sand, it’s an excellent club around the green. It does take some practice and getting used to, but if you put in the effort, you will get results. 7-9 strokes, I don’t think so. 3 or 4, for sure. YMMV.
I generally shoot between 84-92. The weakest part of my game is the short game. Living in chicago and playing off of different grasses i have a hard time judging different lies and greenspeeds. I purchased the 56, I tried it out around the practice area and it seemed to be a gamer so I put it in the bag. When I tried it on the course and used it for more of a full wedge shot I couldn’t get the distance dialed in due to heavy shaft. Also on chips I found the weight causing me irregularities and my tempo was off so I was blading my chips. I didn’t find that the spin was any better than my Callaway 56. I couldn’t justify the switch to the pg one wedge from my regular wedge because it wasn’t versatile enough.
Jacob,
Thanks for adding your thoughts. You’re the second reader who has noted that the counter weighting felt unusual; that’s definitely something for people to consider.
Best,
Matt