Ping Tour Gorge Wedge Review

Technology
Ping’s Tour Wedge features Gorge Groove Technology. This starts with arguably the most precise milling process in the industry where Ping mill the Gorge groove so it can hold very tight tolerances to ensure maximum spin. By managing the process, Ping achieve the optimal size and shape of grooves for generating consistent, reliable spin and trajectories for confident shot making. The 17-4 stainless steel head has a traditional shape and features a custom tuning port in the back cavity that expands the perimeter weighting, creating a high MOI and a very solid feel across the face. The Tour wedge is also available in three sole widths: TS (Thin Sole) has the least bounce and is best for shallow swings and firm sand or turf conditions. SS (Standard Sole) offers medium bounce and performs great from most turf conditions and for most swing styles. WS (Wide Sole) has the most bounce and is exceptional in softer sand and turf conditions, or if you have a steep angle of attack.

Tested
As reviewed in our 2014 Wedges Test: The three sole widths cover most of the bases, but it’s a shame the Tour sole, an effective and versatile shape, doesn’t come in more than 6° of bounce. The white bottom groove helps alignment. Spin levels were good from short range, lacking on longer pitches. Softer feel than most and there’s enough spec options to find one that works for you. Checked up nicely from tight lies and one of the easiest wedges to line up. Love the feel, but looks a little clunky from the back. Tour sole was the most versatile, but tended to dig in sand.

As reviewed in our 2013 Wedges Test: Opinion was divided on the finish. James and Joel enjoyed the darker matte finish while Kit and Chris weren’t huge fans. Testers noticed big differences between the three sole widths. The wide sole worked well out of bunkers, but didn’t make the wedge particularly versatile while James felt even the standard sole was diggy in bunkers, not gliding through like he’d hoped. James praised the compact head size while Chris was particularly impressed with how easy it was to flight and spin shots with a square clubface and the consistency of spin and strike. Being in Joel’s bag already, he was impressed with the feel and control he got but would prefer a slightly smaller head size. Kit struggled to highlight any other stand out features but said it was a solid performer with no real weaknesses.

As reviewed in our 2012 Wedges Test: Ping’s Tour Wedges come in three different sole widths. The thin sole works best for golfers who play on courses with lots of tight lies, a wide sole operates best in softer conditions and then a standard sole is also on offer for the majority of turf conditions. I play most of my golf in the middle of England on a parkland track which has a lot of rain fall on it – so I had a go with both the wide sole and the standard one. The good news is both were impressive on full shots, but the real stand-out performance with these wedges came around the green. I’ve got form on leaving myself ridiculous chips and pitches, but these wedges offered a huge amount of versatility which allowed for more ambitious shots. It sounds daft to talk up the forgiveness of a wedge, but these feature Ping’s custom-tuning port in the cavity which increases the MOI. It’s nice to know that even if you do clunk one out of the toe, the results you get are still likely to be half-decent.

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