I would like to talk about the thoughts we put into wedges as Juicy's products and the essence of wedge selection over several sessions.
Is it necessary to choose wedges based on spin performance?
Last time I mentioned that when I started Juicy, I wanted to get away from wedge design, and I recently had another conversation with a Juicy member that led to the essence of this question.
The impetus for this was actually reading a wedge feature written in a golf magazine over 30 years ago. In it, there was a lot of talk about incorporating more pure golfer sensation into performance, and of course, there was talk about applying spin through the vance effect, and so on. What came up again at that time was, "I have the impression that before the introduction of balls and wedges with high spin performance, there were even fewer people suffering from approach yips than there are now." And, "I don't think people thought of wedges as something difficult to use, but rather as an easy club to get out of bunkers." This is what I was thinking.
This is exactly the discomfort I felt in wanting to get out of wedge design. In no small part, I have been influenced by the creation of a market in which "wedges with high spin performance are easy to sell," and the same goes for the other indicator that has been constructed: "Wedges called low-vance are difficult. Wedges, like putters, are inherently an area that is not easily affected by head speed, so I think it is good if you can choose them as a club to help you regardless of your head speed. Of course, I had been designing wedges not only for spin performance but also for ease of use, but all I was asked was, "Will the new model have more spin?" On the other hand, I often heard people say that they had the approach yips.
How to control approach yips
When we started from zero as a new Juicy model, based on the request from the pros to create a model that they themselves genuinely wanted to use, we had the underlying feeling that if we created a truly easy-to-use model, it would surely please a wide variety of golfers, and furthermore, that wedge shots would be We wanted to make a club that would make wedge shots more enjoyable. I also vaguely hoped that it would help those who have trouble with the yips.
There are many causes and triggers for the yips, but I believe that a major factor is the frequent occurrence of "a shot that I hit with confidence turning out differently than expected.
I believe that there are three major ways to control the yips.
The first is to "use something with a completely different image." The first is to use a completely different image. I will talk about this later, but the chipper is the biggest example. On a narrower scale, for example, a person who has been doing various things with a single 58-degree club might change the setting to 55- and 60-degrees.
The second is "changing to a club that provides a sense of security to cover mistakes. This is a very big theme and the most challenging performance. We have a good solution in mind and would like to commercialize it someday.
The third is "use reliable tools. This is what I would like to share with you this time, and it is a theme that seems obvious but is quite difficult.
Not amazing spin, but spin as expected.
I think it is safe to assume that increased spin performance is really one of the reasons for the increase in approach yips. The spin generation mechanism of wedges is very complex, and it is not true that the spin performance that increases at 60 yards, for example, will have the same effect at 90 yards or 30 yards, but I feel that there are many wedges on the market that have increased spin performance in only one part of the wedge. However, I feel that there are many wedges on the market that have increased spin in only one part of the wedge, and when you use such wedges, you may get unexpected results, such as very strong spin or sudden lack of spin, which directly leads to the beginning of the yips.
I, too, was very surprised by the strong spin when I first hit a carved-groove wedge with a urethane-covered ball more than 20 years ago, and I felt like I was getting better at it, so from then on I wanted to use a lot of spin to stop the approach. However, from that time on, the pros consistently asked for more spin, not just more spin, but more spin that would make it easier to hit the shots I wanted to hit, such as not enough spin on any shot or too much spin on this shot. I believe that the essence of choosing a wedge based on spin performance is not the absolute amount of commercial spin, but the purpose of the wedge, which is to have consistent spin performance that allows you to hit the ball as far as possible from various lies and distances. If you are worried about the wedge yips, please review your current wedge objectively and ask yourself under what circumstances you can hit the "rare good shot with strong spin"? Can you hit it the same way at other distances? Is it reproducible? What were the situations in which you tended to make mistakes? Please think about these questions in an organized manner. And if you have any doubts, please try the tT Wedge 2.0 T-Sole. As we call this model our juicy flagship, we have packed all our know-how into it so that you can hit a consistent shot with the spin you expect on every shot. I have not particularly communicated this to you until now, but in fact, many people, including pros and top amateurs, have told me, "After I switched to the Juicy, I no longer get the yips." I am very happy to hear that more and more people, including professionals and top amateurs, have told me that they no longer get the yips after switching to Juicy.