Why You Need the xE1 Wedge

Every golfer wants to shoot lower scores. It’s in our DNA.

The first step: Determining where you can drop the most strokes, preferably in the quickest way possible.

For some of us, longer and/or straighter drives could do the trick. Sharper approach play never hurt anyone, either. One problem: Improving those areas can require major swing changes.

And you may not gain many (if any) strokes for your troubles.

Fact is, the vast majority of amateurs would be wise to focus on the short game.

Why? For starters, we’re not very good at it. Consider these stats:

  • High-handicap golfers get up-and-down from around the green a mere 10% of the time.
  • Mid-handicappers are in the 15% - 20% range.

By comparison, the average tour pro is near 60%.

Want more proof of the short game’s impact? Here’s how legendary instructor Dave Pelz –who’s spent decades studying where players gain and lose strokes to par – ranks the importance of each area (on a scale of 1 – 10):

Driving
-3strokes
    Approaches
    -5strokes
      Putting
      -9strokes

        It’s no surprise putting earns the highest mark. In a typical round, about 40% of any golfer’s total strokes come on the greens. (This is true for pros and amateurs.) But before you race off to practice those knee-knockers, remember:

        • Better chips, pitches and bunker shots equal shorter first putts…

        • Shorter first putts equal more one-putts…

        • More one-putts equal lower scores.

        Finally, consider that if you shoot 90 or higher, you might hit a couple of greens in regulation, tops – which leaves a whole lot of chips, pitches and bunker shots.

        And a whole lot of room for improvement.

        Which is where the xE1 Wedge comes in.

        Eliminate Those Frustrating Wasted Strokes

        Think about your typical round.

        How often do you chunk a basic chip, send a thin pitch sailing over the green or leave the ball in a bunker? Twice? Four times? More than you care to count?

        Every single one of those is a wasted stroke - one you can easily erase with the xE1 Wedge.

        Thanks to a design that's <radically different from the outdated traditional wedge you're probably playing now>, the xE1 will dramatically boost your proficiency around the greens. Right away, you’ll shoot lower scores because this club is built to:

        • Glide across the turf rather than digging, drastically reducing (if not eliminating) your fat shots.
        • Prevent the sole from skidding off firm ground, making "bellied wedge" shots - where the club bounces up and into the ball - extremely rare (if not unheard of).
        • Slide easily into the sand with a natural “scooping” action, so you’ll get out of bunkers in one shot most every time.

        Let's back up to that "right away" part.

        Because the xE1 is so much easier to hit than a conventional wedge, you won't need hours of intensive practice before putting it in your bag. Just spend a few minutes getting a feel for the distance and trajectory of your shots with the xE1, then hit the course and improve your short game - immediately.

        One Wedge for Thick Rough and Tight Lies

        Aside from gimme putts, chips and pitches should be the easiest shots in golf. After all, they're basically miniature iron shots.

        If you always drew a perfect lie with plenty of green to work with, the short game would be a cinch, indeed. But you don't. And it’s the variables that trip us up.

        While the xE1 Wedge can't make every situation exactly the same, it greatly simplifies how you handle different lies and shot requirements. It also helps in tough spots where the traditional wedge lets you down.

        Case in point: The rough.

        A standard wedge, with its <thin sole and average-sized clubhead>, is prone to snagging and losing momentum in taller grass. That means you have to swing harder to get the ball up and out - so there’s no telling where the ball will go.

        Play the xE1, featuring the extra-wide <Auto-Glide Sole> and a slightly heavier clubhead, and you’ll face no such issues. It slides smoothly through tangled lies for clean contact. Since you don’t have to swing like a gorilla to get the ball out, you can actually use your touch and knock it close.

        You know what’s truly amazing? The xE1 performs just as well on tight lies as it does in dense rough. Here, the club’s <Repositioned Performance Mass (RPM)> does the trick. By keeping the leading edge down and the sole up, RPM assures crisp contact between face and ball.

        The same innovation makes the xE1 Wedge incredibly handy when your ball is stuck in a divot or other lousy lie.

        Now for the best part: The xE1 lets you play just about any shot from any lie without opening your stance or the clubface.

        The xE1 Wedge Makes Bunkers a Blast

        That's true in bunkers, too. The same features that work so well on turf perform minor miracles in the sand, making it a smart choice when you're in need of a sand wedge. Standard lies are a breeze thanks to the Auto-Glide Sole, designed to handle any kind of surface - from soft and fluffy to wet and compacted.

        When testing the xE1, golfer after golfer marvels at how cleanly it slips into the sand. You don’t need a perfect lie, either. Just ask Ken Kasses, an 11 handicapper who tested the xE1 against the dreaded buried lie.

        When I have a buried lie in the bunker, the objective is really just to get it out, but when I tried the xE1, after the first swing the objective was to get it close, and I had a lot more confidence to try to do that. It was a touch shot, not an explosion shot.

        Ken Kasses Ken Kasses
        11 handicap

        With the xE1 Wedge, routine shots are actually routine. Some of the tougher ones are, too.


        Yes, You Can Hit the Flop Shot

        Among amateurs, the most coveted shot in golf isn’t the 300-yard drive, the pin-rattling approach or the 50-foot bomb.

        It's the flop shot.

        Phil made it famous. Tiger has used it to miraculous effect. Hardly a week goes by without a highlight from Joe Tour Pro flipping a heavenly lob into the hole.

        To the average golfer, though, the flop shot is more elusive than a feral cat.

        Well, it was. Now, thanks to the xE1, playing this cloud-piercing, gravity-mocking pitch is as easy as 1, 2, 3 - literally. All you do is:

        • 1

          Step 1

          Set up with your feet square.

        • 2

          Step 2

          Aim the clubface at the target.

        • 3

          Step 3

          Make your normal swing.

        With the 65° xE1 Wedge, it’s really that simple. (You may need to open your stance and clubface ever so slightly with the 59° version.)

        Don't believe it? Watch this clip of Allan Brilz, an 18-handicapper, trying the xE1 for the first time:

        That’s what the Auto-Glide Sole with RPM can do - for any golfer.

        By the way, there’s actually a final step when hitting the flop shot with your xE1:

        • 4

          Step 4

          Watch your partners' jaws hit the ground.

        Get used to it. When you carry an xE1 Wedge, it happens all the time.

        With your current wedge...

        • Clubhead digs into turf, causing fat shots
        • Sole bounces off ground, producing thin shots
        • Extra-hard swings in sand = unpredictable results
        • Adjustments needed to play different shots
        • Thick rough & tight lies spell big trouble
        • No chance to execute a flop shot
        • Long putts for par
        • Up & down a small fraction of the time

        With your new xE1 Wedge...

        • Clubhead glides across turf for clean contact
        • Sole doesn’t skid, so chips & pitches are pure
        • Smooth bunker swings = out in one most every time
        • Normal stance & swing work like a charm
        • Varying bad lies are easily tamed
        • Flop shots are as simple as 1, 2, 3
        • Tap it in... or pick it up
        • Up & down again & again

        I've always been taught to hit two or three inches behind the ball (in the bunker) and make such a hard effort. I think that’s where a lot of my problems came in. With the xE1, it's just a simple, soft motion and the ball pops straight up in the air.

        Bob Hassett Bob Hassett
        18 handicap