Edison Golf

feature Meet Terry Koehler: “The Wedge Guy”

erry Koehler has been focused on the wedge category for over 30 years, T and has continuously advanced his approach to designing wedges . . . NOT for tour players, but for the rest of us — the millions who do not have tour caliber skills. His wedge innovations are numerous. He patented his “Koehler sole” in 1993, combining both high- and low-bounce into wedges to eliminate the specialization of grinds. From his first designs, he put more mass in the top of the wedge head than anyone before or since. He pioneered milled grooves in his EIDOLON® wedges long before that became a staple in the category, and his progressive weighting in his SCOR™ wedges influenced the leading brand to do something similar a few years later. His latest creation, the Edison® Forged wedges, push his quest to make wedges as forgiving as your irons to another level.

For nearly 20 years Koehler has written a popular weekly blog as “The Wedge Guy” published every Wednesday on www.GolfWRX.com.

We felt fortunate to be able to sit down with Terry and get inside the mind of a master wedge designer.

Q. How did you get into the golf industry?

A. My career started in the advertising business, and I landed Ray Cook putters as an account. I found myself spending more and more time in the back end of the house, learning how putters were made and how and why they worked. As I added golf companies to my client list, that learning curve accelerated.

Q. Why did you become a club designer?

Like anyone, I thought I could see a better way. It started with putters – over 100 designs – but wedges became by specialty by 1990.

Q. What was your vision for launching Edison Golf?

A. Every brand focuses on tour players and ‘tour design’ wedges, that frankly don’t vary much from one another, and haven’t since the 1980s or earlier. My vision was to design and craft wedges for ‘the rest of us’- everyday golfers of all skill levels - who simply do not have tour player skills and consistency.

Q. Golf has a variety of boutique wedge brands, what makes Edison different?

A. Most boutique brands offer some slight variation on the core ‘tour design’ of wedges. Just as we’ve seen irons, drivers and even putters revolutionized for forgiveness, Edison Forged wedges are designed with a bigger sweet spot, forgiveness, and intentional spin, which helps golfers turn “not so good shots” into good ones and experience more “bite” with their wedge shots. That makes golf fun.

Q. What is “smash factor” and why does it matter in your wedges?

A. Very simply, smash factor is the ratio of clubhead speed to ball speed. In drivers, it can be in the 1.4 range on a dead center hit, because of the face technologies. But on

wedges, a perfect shot on the 3rd or 4th groove will have a smash factor of about 1.18, regardless of the brand. ‘Tour design’ wedges see a rapid fall off that efficiency as impact moves up the face or toward the toe. If smash factor declines up to 20%, you just can’t get the same distance. Fixing that was my singular goal with the Edison design. Creating pene-

trating trajectories and improved spin were the “extras” in our secret sauce.

Q. How does Edison improve scoring performance?

A. By completely re-arranging the mass across the back of the golf club, we made a dramatic improvement in smash factor consistency. So, the shot hit a bit high on the face or toward the toe – which are the most common misses, even for tour players – turns out more like a solid shot in distance and spin. The improvement is huge and has been proven on the swing robot – on a half inch miss, high on the face, the Edison wedge delivers 30 feet more distance at 90 yards.

Q. What is the biggest misconception, most golfers have about wedge design?

A. There are many, but a common one is that bounce can be fitted. If your turf conditions are constantly varying and you don’t take the same divot every time, how can you fit that? But the biggest one might be that a tour player’s wedge is good for your game. When 98% of golfers don’t believe they are good enough to play tour blade irons, then opt to buy a ‘tour design’ wedge . . . well, that just doesn’t make sense to me.

Q. You believe that ‘tour design’ wedges are the ficklest clubs in your bag – why?

A. Because the “sweet spot” is infinitely small. Face it, a perfect impact low on the face will turn out good regardless of the brand, but ‘tour design’ wedges experience dramatic fall-off of impact efficiency with misses as small as ¼”. And a half inch miss high in the face loses 15-18% of its smash factor. That’s why most golfers miss wedge shots short, often very short.

Q. What makes Edison the most forgiving and accurate wedges on the market?

A. It’s all about the distribution of mass. We spread the mass more evenly across the back of the clubhead, so that you get more ‘oomph’ on those shots not hit exactly right. And that delivers more distance, better spin and more accuracy.

Q. How many wedges should the average golfer carry and why?

A. I think most golfers should carry at least 3, if not 4, and not just because we make them. Set match “pitching wedges’ are now as strong as 43-44 degrees, many have fast face technologies, and golfers are stronger and go at it harder than ever. But even on the PGA Tour, scoring happens inside wedge range, so you should have more options to keep your distance gapping between wedges to 11-13 yards.

Q. What is Edison’s Wedge-Fit Scoring Range Analysis?

A. It’s a simple process that lets us see what wedge lofts and shafts will fit you the best. What we seek is what we call a ‘seamless transition” from your irons to your wedges, so you can optimize your feel and performance as you get into prime scoring range.

Q. How can you order or demo an Edison Wedge?

A. Currently the easiest way is through our website – www.EdisonWedges.com. We build every day and are currently shipping orders within a week of the order date.

edisonwedges.com

Edison debuts four new wedge lofts

Edison Golf announces the immediate availability of four new loft designs expanding their industry leading, higher spin and more forgiving, forged wedge product line.

Two new pitching wedges in 45- and 47-degree lofts join the Edison combination of predictability and performance. At address, the leading edge of these wedges is straighter, the toe is more square, and the heel is shorter. These features provide more penetrating trajectories and tighter distance control than any cavity back pitching wedge, and more forgiveness than any blade style. From 125 yards and in, these pitching wedges deliver the precision and higher spin that most golfers need and the confidence to hit more greens.

Edison’s two new lob wedges - 61 and 63 degrees - further expand Edison Golf’s performance versatility and superiority. The face has a larger, rounder appearance, taller heel, softer leading edge and a more rounded toe. The uncompromising design make these wedges extremely forgiving and easy to hit, the ball flight is very predictable off the face, and the unforced shot-making and spin around the greens makes distance control exciting and fun.