I've been experimenting with a crazy wedge lately called the Bandit Wedge.  This wedge reminds me of those no-shank F2 wedges which I reviewed clear back in March of 2006.

In working on my review here I've been trying to do some research on the Bandit Wedge, but there's nothing out there.  No web site to be found.  I can't find anything about this club anywhere online.   So I'll proceed solely on my experience with the club.

The Concept

Many people shank their wedges.  I played with a guy who did it all the time.  It is hard to watch.  Fortunately I don't shank my chips, but I do hit an occasional shank with full shots.  I won't be doing that with this club.

The Bandit has a bent hosel to prevent shanks.  The head is perimeter weighted to make it easy to hit.

Bandit / F2 Comparison

Why wouldn't someone just use an F2 wedge instead of the Bandit wedge? They're the same right?  Wrong.

I'd prefer the Bandit over the F2 because the leading edge of the blade is actually in line with the shaft.  The face of F2 wedges is actually ahead of the shaft.  That was something I could never get used to. When standing over this club, you really can't see much of the funky hosel. It looks fairly "normal" as compared to standing over a regular wedge.

On The Course

As a fairly low handicap player I didn't find a huge difference in performance between this 52 degree wedge and my regular 52.  I hit this thing very straight.  I let a few pals try it too and they all made the same comments.  The club was very straight and easy to hit.

Compared to my regular 52 degree wedge, the distance was the same.  The launch angle of this wedge however, is much higher.  I hit this thing very high.

My divots are bigger with this wedge for some reason but that didn't affect the distance or accuracy.  I suppose I'm hitting the little ball before I hit the big ball.

Shotmaking

I would have loved to try a 60 degree or even a 56.  Being that this wedge is 52 degrees, it isn't really suitable for flop shots or many of the touch shots I'd use a 60 degree wedge for around the green.  For fun I tried to open the blade up and hit a flop, but that didn't really work.

I did find that the wedge was good for medium to longer length green side bunker shots.

Conclusion

If you shank your wedges or you have directional issues with your gap wedge, try a Bandit Wedge.

Related Links

More images are in my Bandit Wedge image gallery.

Comments (3)

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Lgsaltz said:

... From the perspective of the top photo you posted. I can see this as a 40 foot high sculpture rising out of a field beside the interstate somewhere in Kansas. The face looks like it has a rough finish to it. Is this going to be the new substitute for grooves? I've noticed this on some other wedges too.

August 08, 2010

Tony said:

... Yes right along with the five legged cow and the world's largest squirrel. Many wedges have milled faces or even sandy textures to them. My old Vokey Oil Can (which was stolen) I used to let rust for extra texture....

August 08, 2010

4Checker said:

... A very useful review, Tony, as I'm one of those golfers who sometimes shank my wedges on partial shots.

August 09, 2010

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