Mr H:<\/strong>\u00a0Whenever I play a foursomes format I always tell my partner \u201cIf you can\u2019t reach the green then leave me a 100 yard shot\u201d as I can\u2019t handle anything shorter into and around the greens –\u00a0 it\u2019s 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.<\/div>\n<\/aside>\nOut 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\u00b0, 50\u00b0 and 58\u00b0. It\u2019s stands out among the best golf wedges. I opted for the 58\u00b0 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 58\u00b0 sand wedge without adding an extra club to the bag.<\/p>\n
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\u2019re 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\u00a0money can buy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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 rather than attempt to lift the ball off it and that\u2019s where the Smart Sole 4 comes into its own – it’s one of the best wedges for chipping. After a few practice swings without a ball I was brushing the short mown turf nicely without leaving a mark.<\/p>\n
I placed a ball down and told myself \u201ctrust the sole\u201d. I made the swing with only that thought in my head and \u201cHey Presto\u201d – I watched in amazement as the ball flew gently through the air and even checked on landing. This was a feeling that I had been missing for so many years. I continued to clip balls with a renewed confidence that I wouldn\u2019t duff the shot and after a short while noticed that the horrible anxiety that I usually felt was subsiding with each successful chip.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not saying that I\u2019ll never chunk or thin a chip ever again but I\u2019m no longer standing over the ball thinking all the bad thoughts of the past. In short, it definitely does what it is intended to do and that is to instil the confidence back into those that lack it. I\u2019m now more confident that I can get my eight handicap back down to the four or five of the not too distant past.<\/p>\n
It’s not completely one-dimensional but if confidence levels rise enough to the point that you want to get creative around the greens, you may need to switch to something with a narrower sole and a little more heel relief. But for basic chip shots, the Smart Sole 4 delivers consistency and confidence.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CLUB TYPE:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0WEDGE MAKE:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 CLEVELAND MODEL:\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0SMART SOLE 4 SAND WEDGE LENGTH: CONDITION:\u00a0 \u00a0EXCELLENT Never [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1037,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0},"product_cat":[22],"product_tag":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahggolf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/product\/1036"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahggolf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahggolf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahggolf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1036"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahggolf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ahggolf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahggolf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fproduct_cat&post=1036"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ahggolf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fproduct_tag&post=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}