One of my favorite things about writing for Golf Vacation Insider is interacting with our avid golf-traveler readership. I'm always curious about how the courses you play on vacation differ from the ones you play at home.
A common refrain from golfers I talk to: "[Resort course] is a lot tougher around the greens than my home course!"
The main reason why so many golfers have trouble around the greens at destination courses comes down to lack of familiarity. It's not always obvious where the "safe side" to miss is, so you can get yourself into some pretty tough situations in rough, greenside bunkers or even those tricky fairway-grass chipping areas that so many courses have around their greens these days.
So when I read about the two new models of wedges from Cleveland, I wanted to give you a heads-up about them. They carry the name Smart Sole 2.0, and are designed specifically for golfers looking to extricate themselves from tough lies around the greens. The Smart Sole feature is constructed and shaped specifically to eliminate the "chunked" chip, pitch, bunker shot or even a full wedge shot.
If you've ever "laid the sod over one" - and who hasn't? - you know exactly what I mean. It's a bit of embarrassing feeling, not to mention a scorecard killer. So if you struggle with hitting behind the ball with your scoring clubs, the Smart Sole wedges are going to appeal to you.
You might primarily be interested in using them just on vacation, but if I had to guess, I'd imagine you'll probably want to throw them into your bag at home, too.
To echo world-renowned short-game guru Dave Pelz's thoughts on these clubs, "The short game just got easier."
Cleveland Smart Sole 2.0 C
With 42 degrees of loft and an elongated clubhead from heel to toe, the Smart Sole 2.0 C is one of the most versatile short irons ever made. It's a little different-looking, but that's because the technology Cleveland has put into the club dictates a slightly different shape. Trust me - it's 100% for your benefit.
The 2.0 C will save you lots of lost strokes around the greens, particularly on tighter fairway lies and on chips and longer pitches out of the rough. That elongated, widened sole enables the club to glide smoothly through the grass and make easy, clean contact with the ball. That means it's easier to judge how the ball is going to come off the face, and instead of wondering whether you'll be on the green or not, you'll be wondering just how short your tap-in will be.
Finally, the 2.0 C is great for fuller approach shots, too. Many golfers love using it as far out from the green as 125 yards, as its sole makes it virtually impossible to chunk even a fuller shot.
Cleveland Smart Sole 2.0 S
If you're looking for a higher-loft solution to occasional snafu shots around the greens, the Smart Sole 2.0 S is your next sand/lob wedge combo club. At 58 degrees of loft, it both looks and responds more like a traditional wedge than the C-model, but still has that innovative Smart Sole, which means it is absurdly easy to hit out of bunkers and long rough around the greens. Many recreational golfers end up avoiding hitting their highest-lofted wedges or taking them out of the bag altogether, but once they get their hands on this club, they start to look forward to those formerly intimidating greenside shots.
For more information on these awesome wedges and to try them yourself, click here.
