You may have seen the commercials touting the Square Strike wedge.
Interesting, for sure but first things first, this is a new take on an old club from 50 years ago.
Can remember as if it was yesterday, I’d caddy every Saturday morning at Westwood Country Club in Vienna, Va., my “steady bag” was 75-year-old Ben Miller.
There in Ben’s big leather club bag was the old “10-iron” or “The Chipper” as some companies stamped on the bottom of it. Whatever they called it — it was a specialty club made perfect for the short game, chips around the green. Ben Miller wielded it perfectly. He was Mr. Up-And-Down with that chipper.
Fast forward some 56 years later and you have the Square Strike wedge — a specialty club designed to help you around the greens.
We recently field-tested the Square Strike and made these observations:
First, it has a lot of weight to it, which is a good thing. A lot of modern irons are light, very light and that makes it harder to feel the clubhead on your short-game shots. It’s a reason professionals prefer forged irons, the head are heavier and have more feel, if you will.
Second, the Square Strike has 45-degrees of loft, about the same as most pitching wedges. It has a 35-inch shaft, shorter than a pitching wedge, about sand-wedge length.
Third, it has a sharp leading edge, can easily get through high fringes.
This club makes you place it behind your right foot at address thanks to the offset shaft. The face makes it easy to square up to your target.
If you have a problem leaving your longer chips short, say those 40-60 footers, this club will help thanks to its weight, the ball will come off running.
One area you might not use it would be shorter chips, say 15 to 20 feet. From that distance we used it to “belly” the ball, same as you do with the leading edge of a sand wedge and the Square Strike performed nicely with that technique. Three out of seven tries from 15 feet away, up against a higher fringe, using it to “belly” the shot, three found the bottom of the cup.
Overall, it’s really a nice club to think about if you’ve been having issues around the green.
We’d give this one an “A” for simplicity and effectiveness. Works quite well.
For further info on the Square Strike:
